Week 12

Week in Review

Monday March 19, 2018

Today we woke up early and started practicing our third speech for Toastmasters. Our third speech had four objectives: to inform, to persuade, to entertain and to inspire.

After lunch, we made our way to the PEP classroom in preparation for our Toastmasters class. Our scheduled speakers were Mark I. speaking on “How Times Have Changed,” David B. speaking on “How to Build a Welding Truck,” Marcus J. speaking on “Believing in Yourself,” Jason C. speaking on “My Job History” and Kevin M. speaking on “Having a Good Prison Release Plan.”

All of the speakers spoke within the five to seven minute time requirement, and everyone received great feedback from the speech evaluators. It is amazing to see all of the progress we have made toward improving our public speaking skills.

Lee T. (a.k.a. “Robin Williams”)

Tuesday March 20, 2018

Today, the Soldiers of Spring ’18 were up and about early. It is amazing to see how every day we all wake up eager to get back to work. Some of us went to the computer lab today to get started on Excel lessons. A few of us didn’t understand how to use computers when we started, so it is great to see how we all have grown in that area.

In the dorms some of our brothers were studying for our weekly entrepreneurship test. The way we all come together is amazing. We assist each other and provide words of encouragement when someone is discouraged. Our Servant-Leader brothers, who already have graduated from PEP, are constantly providing us with positive feedback and words to motivate us toward our goals. We look forward to the day when we can join them in assisting the Fall ’18 class.

The Soldiers of Spring ’18 are now one day closer to graduation. It is great to see us all so motivated and determined to reach that objective. Through all the hard work and bumps along this road, we continue to lift each other up, watching each other better our futures – and ourselves. This is what PEP is all about.

Sergio R. (a.k.a. “Sour Patch”)

Wednesday March 21, 2018

Today, my brothers and I met with the upcoming Fall ’18 class. The Fall ’18 class begins PEP next week, and we helped to show them what PEP is all about. We got them super enthused about the upcoming PEP Kickoff event, scheduled for March 29^th. They were somewhat anxious about starting Phase One of the program, but we provided them with reassurance as we explained what to expect in Men’s Life and the Leadership Academy class. We also told them a little bit about Phase Two and our business instructor, Bert S.

Speaking of Bert S., we were supposed to have his class today, but it was postponed for one day. I believe all of my other brothers were just as anxious as I was about this week’s weekly test, so the postponement gave us an extra day to study. We reread Chapter 9 and held dorm study groups.  Afterwards, we played a game of Jeopardy based upon Chapter 9. All in all, today was a good day here in PEP.

Jarius B. (a.k.a. “Pop Rocks”)

Thursday March 22, 2018

Today, we had Bert S.’s class, which is usually held on Wednesday. We learned all about legal forms of business and how to make sure you know who you go into business with. We went over the different scenarios about how someone could steal your invention if you don’t get it copyrighted.

Bert made sure he explained the basics of business and that we understood the seriousness of protecting both our businesses and ourselves. We had a very interactive class, and we asked many questions that helped us better understand the lesson. Class ran a little long today, and then afterwards we hung around in class because we all wanted to learn more about Limited Liability Company (LLC), Copyrights, Partnerships and basic contracts. We are looking forward to next week’s class.

Adrian H. (a.k.a. “Beyonce”)

Friday March 23, 2018

Today in class, we enjoyed hearing from our guest speakers who spoke to us about Integrity Selling. The entire class participated in the various skill developing exercises. The speakers provided us with positive criticism and useful feedback. We took their words of encouragement to heart, knowing that it would help us better ourselves as entrepreneurs.

The Soldiers of Spring ’18 are moving forward toward graduation. We are pushing each other toward that goal on a daily basis. This is all a learning experience for us. We are doing well as a whole, even with a few minor setbacks, but we will prevail as a class. Just remember: when in doubt, put your hands together and look up. Keep striving, Soldiers of Spring ’18! We will prevail!

James B. (a.k.a. “Pancake”)

Expressions

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

~Unknown

People can easily distract you, but are you so weak-minded that you allow another human being to distract you? I think not! We are a brotherhood, and we stand for something; one goes down, we all go down. But don’t let it discourage you – all this is just making you stronger in multiple ways.

Don’t be afraid to speak up brothers. If there is something that you feel must be said, then by all means speak up! You never know, the one thing you say can touch an individual and make a difference in a major way. We all know what we want to get out of life. We also know that we are the only ones who can make a dramatic change in our lives. Life is what you make of it, brothers, so make life worth living.

Ronny V. (a.k.a. “Ron Cakes”)