Values

        Every person loves their freedom! It is the foundation of democracy and the desire of people all around the world, but no person can live a life with pure freedom. If we were completely free then we are in this world as wandering individuals. We have nothing grounding us and nothing guiding us. I don't believe that we could survive in a completely free world.

        We, as human beings, need core values to ground us and guide us through our life. Without core values we are as good as feeder fish who are on earth to just get gobbled up by society. When you look at successful people and organizations they have a mission which is strongly based in a set of shared values. For example the Army has an acronym for their core values, LDRSHIP. If you were to ask any soldier what the core values of the Army are they would be able to recite them to you because their whole life is grounded in those values as soon as they sign their name over to service. LDRSHIP stands for:

Loyalty

Duty

Respect

Selfless Service

Honor

Integrity 

Respect

        While in Africa working for Promo Jeune Basket, one of our first organizational meetings focused on the formation of our core values. Dario Merlo, the organization founder, understood the importance of grounding our organization by developing a set of values to guide our organization through it's development. I truly believe that the meeting we had on developing our organization's values in early November 2011 set the tone for the fast growth of the organization. Though the Army has a set seven core values, we at PJB wanted to keep our values short and concise so as to be understood by all of our employees and players. Here are our core values with a brief explanation behind our thoughts on what each value means:

Discipline- When a person shows discipline, they show maturity. A disciplined person shows integrity, responsibility, and the heart to do what it takes to become successful. It takes great discipline to change the world, and at PJB we demand that every member, from administrator to player, shows this quality so that together we can change to world.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” -Jim Rohn

Hard Work- There is no substitute for hustle. People are born with different talents, and different levels of skill, but it is how a person uses that skill that really matters. Without hard work great things can never be accomplished. Hard work involves great effort but it cannot be defined only by effort. At PJB we define hard work as poised, wise, and enthusiastic effort for a cause that is bigger than one’s self.

“What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”- Stephen King

Team Spirit- We demand much more than just teamwork at PJB, we demand team spirit. Each and every member will work cooperatively to be successful and every role that is played within the organization is not just depended on, but it is celebrated. PJB members enjoy the collective responsibility and thrive within the team-centered environment not because they have to, but because they understand that they are part of a team. At PJB we want our players and staff to lose themselves for the team.

“As we look ahead to the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” –Bill Gates

        So throughout this year I have been focusing on really finding what it is that guides my life. What are those core values that I have lived by and want to guide me through the rest of my life. I came up with an acronym so that I can always have the ready to go, which is ME WISH. 

Maturity

Expressiveness

Wisdom

Integrity

Selfless Service

Hard Work

        I wanted to share these values with you, so throughout the next week or so I am going to post on each of these topics because I need to get back into my blog game. I hope that you guys take into consideration your own values and if you haven't been living by any, I encourage you to even take 5 minutes and write down what is really important to you and start living everyday by those values.