1.   Read page 1 through page 36 in the book entitled “The Importance and Value of Questions” distributed in class today OR available on this Hope Life Skills web site.

2.  Answer the following questions:

• identify something you read in the ‘”The Importance and Value of Questions” book which made you think OR share with me something you thought about while you read the aforementioned pages in the ‘Questions’ book.   Send your well written answer with perfect spelling, good grammar and punctuation and short sentences to my email address no later than Tuesday evening, September 25, 11:59pm.  Thank you.
• please state the name of a person, ALIVE or DEAD, you would like to ask a question.  Send your well written answer with perfect spelling, good grammar and punctuation and short sentences to my email address no later than Tuesday evening, September 25, 11:59pm.  Thank you.
• please state the question you would ask this person.  Send your well written answer with perfect spelling, good grammar and punctuation and short sentences to my email address no later than Tuesday evening, September 25, 11:59pm.  Thank you.

3.  The purpose of a business card is to provide a person in your network with information about you.  For example, by providing your email or mobile number, you enable the person you have given your business card to the information to continue communicating with you.  Send me the information you want to appear on your business card to my email address, please, by October 2nd –

• your name
• your “professional” email address (most professionals use email for business or academic communication today.  As a result, once you start building your network of successful, professionals like business men and women or even your school professors, you should check your email regularly and respond as soon as possible.)
• your mobile phone #  (if you have a mobile device and comfortable with a person having the number.  As you know, many people seem to prefer contact through texting today.)
• the job or career you aspire (you can list “undecided” if you don’t know).
• a favorite or famous saying which inspires you (optional – people often list a saying as an “ice breaker” or a way to help start a conversation with whomever you give your card to. )

4.  Research me, Stephen Cronin, in order to prepare for your interview of me during our next class.  For example, you could Google “Stephen Cronin” and see what you find about me.  From the information you find, you could then formulate questions you want to ask me.  Please, rest assured, all your questions will be good questions.  If you want to know something, it’s a good question.

Arnell Millhouse (left) and Garin Veris

1.  Please connect with Garin Veris on LinkedIn.   Then, please let me know if you have.  Please send your YES OR NO answer to my email address by Tuesday evening, May 29, 2018, before I go to bed.

2.  Please answer the question posed by Arnell Millhouse and Garin Veris multiple times during today’s class.  Please read my blog about today’s class on the class web site to remind you what that question was.  Then, send your well written answer with perfect spelling, good grammar and punctuation and short sentence(s) to my email address by Tuesday evening, May 29, 2018, before I go to bed.  Thank you.  Have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

1.  Please tell me something Erica said during today’s class which made you think about your own plan to become the person you aspire to be.  If there was nothing Erica said that made you think about your career path and strategy, simply tell me “she did NOT say anything which made me think about my plan or actions to become the person I aspire to be!!!”  Please send your well written statement with perfect spelling, SHORT SENTENCES, good grammar and punctuation and capitalization to my email address before I go to bed on Tuesday, May 15th, 2018.   Thank you.

1.  Please tell me something you heard during your visit to CVS today as you listened to one of the many people you met that caused you to reflect and think about your own life or plan for your future success.  Please send your reflection to my email address in a well written statement with perfect spelling, SHORT SENTENCES and good grammar, punctuation and capitalization AS SOON AS POSSIBLE but before April 23rd!  Thank you.

You have TWO WEEKS to do this homework assignment because we don’t have class this coming Friday, March 30th.  I look forward to reading your answers.  Please get your answers to me as soon as you can.  Thank you.  Have a wonderful and peaceful Easter.

1.  Please tell me ONE THING which resonated with you from today’s class with Edwin.  In other words, identify one thing which took place during today’s class, whether it’s something Edwin said or something you observed during Rosa or Ianique’s mock phone interviews, which made you think about your strategy for success.   Please send your well written answer to my email address with perfect spelling and punctuation, SHORT SENTENCES and correct capitalization of words like ‘I”  as soon as you can.  I look forward to reading your answer.  Thank you.

2.  Please read the incredible story of Joe Rantz in “The Brand” textbook from page 89 to page 101 posted on this web site.  Then, please send me your assessment on how Joe Rantz was able to find the strength as a young boy, after his parents abandoned him TWICE, to persevere and continue his life to pursue his dreams, graduate from college and then become a successful engineer at the Boeing company!   Why didn’t Joe give up?  How was he able to continue, forgive and work hard in school and on his college and Olympic rowing teams?  Please share your insights with me by sending your well written statement to my email address with perfect spelling and punctuation, SHORT SENTENCES and correct capitalization of words like ‘I” as soon as you can.  

I look forward to reading your answer.

Thank you!!!!

Joe Rantz preparing to row for the United States Olympic crew team in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany against Adolf Hitler’s favored German crew team. An incredible race that shocked Hitler!

AND, HERE’S THE ACTUAL VIDEO OF THE RACE FROM 1936!

1.  Yes or No  –  Are you interested in applying for a paid, summer internship at CVS?  Please send me your answer to my email address before I go to bed on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

2. Please watch the following video about interviewing techniques.  Please remember what impressed CVS during Aimon’s interview for her summer internship.  Aimon did research on CVS before her interview and learned about CVS’s decision to stop selling cigarettes at their stores.  She then asked her CVS interviewer why CVS made the decision to stop selling cigarettes.  Aimon’s research and her question about the company’s decision impressed her interviewers.  Her interview performance created a very positive personal brand for her. She was perceived as being proactive, curious, prepared, hard working and someone who really wanted to be part of the company.   As a result, CVS interviewers thought Aimon would be a great person to hire.    After watching this video, please tell me something you will tell the CVS interviewer about yourself or something you’ve done that will hopefully convince them you will be a great intern at CVS during the summer of 2018. Please send me your answer in a well written statement to my email address before I go to bed on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Please answer each of the following 5 homework questions.  And, if you have time, please watch the video at the end.  It’s not just about wrestling.  It’s a story about pushing forward when life gets tough.  For those afraid to push out of your comfort zone, who may be thinking about giving up because of life’s many challenges, I hope the story of Dartanyon and Leroy will inspire and empower you to do more than you think possible.

1.  Go to your site on LinkedIn.  Click on “My Network” tab at the top of the LinkedIn site.   Tell me the number of connections you have.  Please send your answer to me in an email by Tuesday, February 6th, before I go to bed. Thank you.

Please check the upper part of the photo to see “My Network”, “Messaging” and “Notifications” tabs

Please note the number of “Connections” cited on the left side of this photo.

2. Go to your site on LinkedIn.  Tell me the name of the last person you asked to connect with you on LinkedIn.  Please send my your answer in an email by Tuesday, February 6th, before I go to bed. Thank you..

3. Go to your site on LinkedIn.  Tell me the name of the last person you were notified about through the “Notifications”  tab at the top of the LinkedIn site.  The Notifications tab encourages you to send a note of  “congratulations” or “happy birthday” through LinkedIn.  Please tell me the name of the last person you connected with in an email by Tuesday, February 6th, before I go to bed. Thank you.

Please see the “congratulations” message I sent to Kayla Jaffe.

4.   “Yes” or “No” – have you connected with last Friday’s guest, Olivia, yet on LinkedIn?  Please send me your answer in an email by Tuesday, February 6th, before I go to bed. Thank you.

5.  Please tell me the CVS Health department you would like to meet someone during our April 12 visit to the corporate campus of the $180 Billion dollar, international company, CVS Health.  For example, I would image Ayo will write something like this –  “Mr Cronin, I would like to meet someone who works in the IT department at CVS.”   Please send me your answer in an email by Tuesday, February 6th, before I go to bed. Thank you.

6.  Please watch this video.  I hope it inspires and empowers you to try harder and do what you once thought you could not do.

1.  Please bring TWO sheets of paper and a pen to next Friday’s class.  Next week’s class will feature guest, Nan Quinlan, who will help us prepare a JOB WINNING resume.

2.  Please read the Washington Post article I distributed in class entitled “The Surprising Thing GOOGLE Learned About Its’ Employees –  And, What This Means for Today’s Students“.    Please identify ONE SKILL you have that you would mention during a job interview with Google.  Next, please give me an example of when and how you used this skill effectively in the past.  As always, please send your well written statement with SHORT SENTENCES, perfect spelling, good grammar and punctuation to my email address no later than Tuesday, January 23th, 2018, before I go to bed.

Nan Quinlan discussing the best ways to position your brand in your job resume with a previous Life Skills class.

1.  Here’s an interesting video.  So many of us too often state we can’t get something done by a deadline because we’re too busy with other things going on in our life or we’re too nervous to introduce ourselves to someone we’d like in our network or too embarrassed to play the role of HOST for one of our Friday morning classes. “Oh, I’ve been too busy, Mr Cronin to do the homework…….” ……”Oh, I’m too embarrassed to introduce someone.…….”  This video is the story of a remarkable high school girl who is never too embarrassed to try something she is challenged to do, and often fail, but continues to persevere and try harder to get better so she can be the best she can be.

Isn’t this the goal we all have?

After watching this video below, please send a well written statement composed of short sentences, good grammar and punctuation and perfect spelling to my email address by December 27th, 2017, about what YOU COULD DO that you’re not doing now by simply “pushing out of your comfort zone” to be the best you can be.

2.  Please read my blog on Today’s class and tell me what you think about what we discussed in class today.   Please tell me one thing you agree with AND WHY you feel this way and, if there is anything you disagree with, what you disagree with AND WHY you feel this way.  Please send a well written statement composed of short sentences, good grammar and punctuation and perfect spelling to my email address by December 27th, 2017.

3.  Please tell me the name of one person you met in our class this year that YOU SENT AN EMAIL TO WISH THEM “HAPPY HOLIDAYS and Happy New Year!”

4.  After listening and reading our list of coming events and guests during Friday’s (December 15th) class for the second half of our class, please state a PERSONAL GOAL(s) you have for the second half of our Hope Life Skills class.  For instance, you might indicate being invited to go with the class on our tour of a college campus OR being chosen for a paid CVS Health summer internship at CVS offices in Woonsocket, RI OR meeting and adding an FBI agent to your personal network in one of our classes.   Please send your well written statement composed of short sentences, good grammar and punctuation and perfect spelling to my email address by December 27th, 2017.  Thank you.

5.  For those of you interested in the story of Kayla Montgomery, the female track star battling the debilitating disease, MS (multiple sclerosis), here’s a video of what she’s doing now in college.

At the end of Friday’s class,

I encouraged all of you to prepare for Future Forum 2.

The better we prepare, whether it’s a softball game, an exam, or a networking event like the Future Forum, the better our chances for the success we hope to achieve.

I encourage you to watch the videos posted here.  The speaker, Masayoshi Son, is Japan’s wealthiest person.  Be patient watching this video.  However, if you can, it will be worth your while.  Watch and listen.  You will not only learn a lot;  many of you will become more curious, more creative and more confident.

‘Masayoshi Son’ is worth $23.5 BILLION! despite having lost most of his wealth in the year 2000

when his investments in internet companies failed.  He didn’t quit; he persevered!  Today Masayoshi Son is the Founder and chief executive officer of SoftBank, the chief executive officer of SoftBank Mobile, and current chairman of Sprint Corporation.

Masayoshi Son believes ‘AI’, Artificial Intelligence, will increasingly change our future.

He has stated the year 2017 is the tipping point for the world’s focus on AI, Artificial Intelligence. From this year forward, there will be more and more conversations, investments and uses of artificial intelligence devices. Siri, Google and Ford driverless cars, Rumba vacuum cleaners, drones, to name a few, are here NOW!  UnderArmour is designing and producing intelligent sportswear with AI in the fabric of the clothing.  In fact, Masayoshi Son predicts

in “30 years, when the population of the earth will be 10 BILLION, there will be 10 BILLION robots on the earth as well“.

Tuesday’s Future Forum is our first step getting prepared for this eventuality.

You are intelligent and creative enough to be successful in a world of artificial intelligence.  Yes, you are! Keep being curious. Don’t be afraid to be imaginative. Work hard always.

Push out of your comfort zone!

And, keep building networks of diverse, curious, hard working, respectful people who always do the right thing.

If you examine your network and everyone looks like you and has the same interests as you, you are missing opportunities for success.

Build a diverse network of good  people who have similar AND different interests as you.

See you Tuesday at the Forum!  And,

don’t forget your business cards.