7/11/03 I don't know why but I couldn't sleep this morning and it seemed like a good idea just to go ahead and get up and make an entry here. I have been thinking a lot about the mechanics of leadership and realize that, even though those mechanics can be learned, the heart of a leader is developed much earlier, while growing up. There are certain principles of life which I believe to be foundational enough that I have attempted to teach them to my children from their earliest days. They are: 1. All of life can be reduced to relationships, 2. Everything rises and falls on leadership, 3. Excellence in all things, 4. It is not what happens to you but how you respond, and 5. Perseverance - don't quit. These principles are then build on the Shema which says: The Lord God is ONE, love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. I can't overemphasize the importance of these principles when practiced in conjunction with the guiding force of the Shema. Teach them to your children, talk about them at the table over a meal, meditate upon them in the situations of your life.