Keynote Address - Raising Others, Raising Self: The Power of Communication in Personal and Community Growth

Last week, I had the privilege of giving a speech at my alma mater, Youngstown State University, to a group of students, staff, friends, and family members at the 14th Annual Department of Communication Honors Banquet. Below is the speech I wrote. Although I didn't say it word

Saying Yes: Why I Decided to Get Married (2 min read)

In this blog, I discuss why I decided to take the plunge and get married. I explore the thought process behind my decision and the importance of saying yes to life's opportunities.

The One Choice that will Prolong Your Life

Slow is a gift. The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. We've been in our current form of humans for 200,000 years. Civilization is around 6,000 years old. The average lifespan of a human is 73 years. As author Bill Bryson explained, if you spread

Why Shaq Decided to Get a Bodyguard and so Should You (2-min read)

In the prime of his career, Shaquille O'Neal was 7'1", 365 lbs. So stronger than all others in the NBA, the league changed the game's rules to allow defenses to triple-team Shaq before he got the ball. Yet, despite the rule change, he

Decision-Making: The 5 Best Ways to Improve Yours Overnight

Decision-making is a critical skill in any area of life. Whether you're deciding what to eat for lunch or which candidate to vote for in an election, the ability to make sound decisions is essential. Here are five tips to help you improve your decision-making: 1. Make sure

Leafing

Here in Ohio, the leaves have left us. I was never a big fan of the fall since I felt like things were going away until this year when the stunning fall colors of the Cuyahoga Valley made me think differently. Fall is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Yes,

What are you going to do with that dirt?

“What are you going to do with these peppers?” My wife asked me, looking at the vegetable box that sat on the kitchen counter for over a month. I had recipes in mind for these peppers but waited too long, and they spoiled. “I’m going to compost them,” I

Dead Wood. New Life.

The Prairie Loop Trail at the Brecksville  Reservation is burned from time-to-time for the prairie grass to produce more seeds the next season. The pine cone Jack Pine needs a fire in order  to  open its scales and release seeds. Forest  fires have the benefit of removing dead wood, creating

hiking

The Lines We Make

The lines we make are everywhere. Some are helpful; others are harmful. Find out which ones are which.

Surrounded by Life

Last week I hiked the Wildflower Loop Trail at the Brecksville Reservation. The trail starts at the Harriet Keeler Memorial, pictured below. Harriet Keeler was an author, teacher, and superintendent in the Cleveland area when women were expected to be behind a kitchen apron instead of a desk. She wrote

7 Ways to Support the 190 Mile Hiking Project

A few years ago, I’d jump on a bus headed to downtown Cleveland for work at 6:00 AM and return home around 6:30 PM. In the winter, there were a couple of months when I would see less than 15 minutes of sun each weekday. This realization

Insults or Info?

Fredrick Douglas (1818-1895) was born into slavery when it was illegal for African Americans to read and write. Not only was it illegal for them to read or write, but it was illegal for white people to teach African Americans to read or write! Douglas recounts his former slaveholder’s

The Enemy Close to You

I’ve had four severe reactions to poison ivy in the past three months. Poison ivy spreading and blisters have happened to me since I was a young boy playing in the woods, but I hadn’t had it this bad in over 15 years. My reactions to the plant

Beggars can be Choosers

Roughly 2,500 years ago, a 28-year-old Indian prince named Siddhārtha Gautama shaved his head and facial hair and left his home in the middle of the night with only the clothes on his back, leaving behind a wife and newborn child. After traveling to India and exploring different religions

A letter to my Unborn Child

My wife and I expecting our first child in a few weeks. Here's my letter to him: Dear son, We haven’t met yet, but for these past 37 weeks, I’ve thought about you every day. I’ve thought about how I can be the best Dad

A Bad Idea

People often asked me how I wrote jokes when I did stand-up comedy. “I write a lot of bad jokes until I find one that’s not.” That is the answer. Creativity is a numbers game. It demands consistency and patience. It requires the courage to show up and start

You Can't Persuade Me

Last week I shared a lesson from a late friend who borrowed everything [https://www.louislee.net/can-i-borrow-that/] in his house. This week, I have another lesson from him: "You can't persuade people. You can only influence them." His comments took me aback since I was

Can I borrow that?

I had a friend who passed away a few years ago. He was relatively well-off in his late 70's. Unfortunately, the last time I spoke to him was when he invited me to his home at the park's edge. He told me how he came into

What You're Supposed to Do

On the Lex Fridman podcast, retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink was asked what discipline is. "It's doing what you're supposed to do," was Jocko's answer. "What are you supposed to do?" Lex replied. Jocko said, "I think you know

What’s Going On?

I walked into a float center and saw the owner sitting in the lobby, barefoot with his feet on the table. "What's going on?" I asked. "Nothing, man. Enjoying being alive," was his answer. It wasn't the answer I expected, but it

His Story

History suggests human nature is hostile towards environments and other humans. As Bill Bryson explains in A Short History of Nearly Everything, for the large animals that have gone extinct in the past one hundred thousand years, the time frame on when a species died aligns with when humans showed

More Work

“There will always be more work to do,” said professor George McCloud, “but you won’t always have more time to do it.” Dr. McCloud taught me this as an college upperclassman, and by the time I got closer to graduation, I thought I’d have my life figured out.

Humble

The head instructor of my Jujitsu academy shared feedback other instructors got from students. He told us, “If an instructor shows you something, you don’t have to say ‘well Bill says this’ or ‘Bill teaches it that way.’ You can trust all our instructors know what they’re doing.

Wait and See

"How's work going?" asked a friend of mine. "Well, we had thousands of employees start working from home when the pandemic hit, and we set a record revenue in the same year," I told them. "Everyone thinks working from home is a good

Take Three

When I was 12, my Dad took me on set in New York to a reality TV show we watched every week on the Speed channel. I was excited to meet the people I saw on TV & to see the behind-the-scenes setup. It threw me off, though, when they