Dave McGlynn's Blog (25)

Life can get overwhelming with taskers, due-outs, deadlines, professional obligations, and family commitments.  Many of us take on more than we can handle in fear that we may lose out on an opportunity or expose that we are not reliable.  Over the past year I have found it extremely difficult to stay on track and organized with my day to day.  I thought with my new schedule I would be home more and be able to finally tackle a lot of the projects around the house and dedicate more time to…

There are 1,440 minutes in each day, let that sink in for a second.  Now obviously there needs to be time for work, for family, and for sleep.  Let’s try to make a realistic breakdown of the regular day.

• 540: It takes roughly 540 minutes out of your day dedicated towards work (1440 - 540 =…

A mentor once told me “Good things are hard but hard things are great.”  It always stuck with me, sadly though he passed away before I could put his great mentorship and guidance to use.  I often think of him in a lot of my daily interactions and regret losing touch as my career took me on a new path.  I share this because I feel his message warrants a larger stage, so with that I’ll keep this as short and to the point as I can.

When you’ve failed a test, missed out on a career,…

Out there today there is triple the number of people who want the job than there are “on the job.” Over time many give up, they settle for a separate career, or they become consumed with resentment towards others who got the job. The Fire Service whether you volunteer, or career is the greatest job in the world, no matter if you either are paid or not it is a profession. That being said, there is a large population of citizens and volunteers out there who want this job. With the competition…

Look at your Fire House right now, look at the people that make it up. Are they being inspired? Do they appear to be a goal setter, the person that gets it or do they lack passion and are just there. Inspiration is an important thing in life, it is a psychological fact that human beings work harder and set goals for success by being inspired.

You

Let’s start with you first; are you inspired? What inspires you? Do you find inspiration in something or from…

This week I learned something new that I preach about but didn’t fully understand the value of its meaning until this week; Reliance. Such a powerful thing reliance, the ability to rely or depend on someone else exposes so many amazing qualities as a leader.

The first quality is TRUST, proving that you can depend on others shows that you trust them, people will work harder at accomplishing the mission if they know that they are trusted to execute it.

Second would be…

It’s easy to use the word “passion” in this business. It’s easy to have the stickers and the T-shirts and everything else that makes for good marketing in this business. What’s hard is to actually be good at it.

For those who know me, reference me as “the passion guy.” I created a class about incorporating passion in your leadership. I have been…

 What comes to mind when you hear “The Pursuit of Happiness?” For me it’s a lot of things, first would be finding what makes you happy. What makes you feel fulfilled? What brings you joy? What defines success to you?

Success. That’s what we feel defines true happiness. Be that as it may, than what defines success?

The word pursuit is…

I was watching a Simon Sinek “Ted Talks” motivational video on Leadership. He spoke on something that opened my eyes, he said “why do we do it?”

Instantly my brain adjusted to referencing how that statement could apply to me as well as the people I work with and more importantly the people we serve. I first started with why I became a Firefighter.

Why did I become a Firefighter? Such an odd question that when asked many of us are seemingly caught off guard and can’t describe…

Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) International is considered by many in the Fire Service as “the Greatest Show on Earth.” This is a place where Chiefs, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders, Firefighters and all walks of life in Emergency Services come to learn, network and more importantly get their batteries recharged.

Batteries Recharged? This got me thinking…

As I walked through the show room and the halls and took in every second of everything I could that was offered…

Almost 20 years since the day you first started this, you used to say to yourself “I can’t wait to get on the job.” Years of mental stress, physical stress, time away from family and lost friendships over Fire House politics have taken their toll on you. You ask yourself “has this become a job?”

In every fire house across America there is someone just like you, someone who has lost their motivation, lost their desire…

I’m going to try something different, instead of sitting at the kitchen table in the fire house let’s pull up the chair that sits vacant most nights but is where your presence is most requested…our dining room tables.

There are few professions…

There’s a movie that I love called “A Bronx Tale” and in the movie there’s a question.. “is it better to be loved or feared?”

There’s an old study that there are only three types of Leadership; Democratic, Dictative and Autocratic. In my experience there are many more than just those three. I have been blessed to work with some of the best and worst leaders one…

You can do it. I believe in you. If you set your mind to it, it can be done. I’m proud of you. You did a great job!... These are just a few of some of the phrases that gets us going, some of the things that when we hear we get that “second wind.”

One of…

Have you ever watched that commercial that shows all the beaten dogs with the “Arms of an Angel” song by Sarah McLachlan playing in the background? I was up late one night and that sad commercial came on and it dawned on me, there are Firefighters who are abused by their previous leaders.

For years in every firehouse across the world there have been leaders who verbally abuse or neglect their people. These Firefighters might have the potential to be some of the best people for that…

One minute you and your girlfriend are talking about getting married, you both feel that you’re sole mates and begin to joke and fantasize about how awesome it would be to be married and make a family. Next minute you’re missing vacations, missing parties, no more date nights and calling out sick at work to take care of a sick kid.

I know that my first true love…

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoken over 50 years ago in a speech that changed our way of life, our perception and view on culture and reminded us what we as Americans stand for, what we stood for and what we should stand for. He started it with four simple words, four words that made the…

As we close 2015 and move into a new chapter in our journey by welcoming in 2016, let's look back at how things went.

For me 2015 was a challenge but through every challenge comes reward. I found out I am going to be a Father again, I started my own company, I was booked to present my Leadership Development class and open for Frank Viscuso, I was able to meet in person three of my mentors, men who…

Sometimes in our lives, We all have pain, we all have sorrow…

Some of us have talked about this, and some of us are too afraid to and I understand that. However after the news of the Kansas City Firefighter who tragically died after suffering from the illness we all pretend doesn’t exist called Depression, I felt the…

With the Thanksgiving season here I had an opportunity to reflect on things. A lot of us don’t realize that Thanksgiving isn’t just a time to eat great food and a whole lot of it, (well part of it is). But it also represents a time to reflect, a time to look back and look at yourself now and be thankful of where you were to where you are now.

As Fireman we…