Author Archives: willieryder

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About willieryder

Willie Ryder spent 10 years in the United States Marine Corps working in Communications and Information Technology in multiple different Leadership roles. He then went to work at Microsoft where he has been for almost 15 years now working in Engineer, Manager, and Leadership roles. Willie is very passionate about his personal and professional development and also helping others grow. Especially our next generation. He was an active member in Toastmasters for 8 years where he worked on his Communications and Leadership skills and has mentored many others in these areas. Willie has been a year round youth basketball coach at www.YesICanBasketball.com for 13 years where he has had the wonderful opportunity to work with and coach 100's of kids of all ages. The past 6 years he has regularly volunteered to speak about character traits and mentor kids at the nearby public elementary schools. Over the last 3 years he has been a volunteer mentor with the nonprofit organization www.RightMovesForYouth.org where he tries to make a positive impact on some of the local High School students. Willie has been married to Jennifer for 24 years. They have 2 daughters, a son, and a Siberian Husky. In his free time he enjoys spending time with family, attending and serving at Elevation Church, Coaching youth basketball, Writing, Public Speaking, Reading, and Running.

Fear can be our Enemy or our Friend

“Fear can be our enemy or our friend.” Regardless of who we are, where we are from, or what we have accomplished or experienced in life we are each afraid of something. What we are afraid of may be similar … Continue reading

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The Gifts of Words

My whole life I have heard that it is better to give than to receive.  I agree and I also believe that gifts come in all sizes, shapes, and forms. Some are big and some are small. The things we … Continue reading

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The Best Place To Work Is

Early into my Marine Corps career I learned a very valuable lesson.  One that had a big impact on me and how I thought going forward. At the time I had only been in the Marine Corps for around 18 … Continue reading

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Having Purpose and Seeing Value in What We Do

It was still dark outside, probably a couple of hours before the sun would rise. As I got out of bed and started getting dressed my wife woke up and asked, “How do you do it?” “How do I do … Continue reading

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Time

Time To accomplish everything we hope to in life we can’t wait for the perfect time to take action. We have to start right where we are now. There is nothing we can’t do when we put our mind to … Continue reading

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Support

Support To perform at our best we can’t go it alone. We need people we trust to support, guide, and hold us accountable at times. We all need people in our lives that see us for who we truly are, … Continue reading

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Purpose

Purpose We all deserve to live a life full of happiness and purpose. Every day is a blessing and should be started with a purpose in mind. It’s a lot easier to get up in the morning when you have … Continue reading

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Priority

Priority If we are not careful we could allow what appears to be urgent to keep us from doing what is important. Sometimes you have to remove all of the noise going on around you and get really focused on … Continue reading

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Potential, Learning, and Growing

Potential, Learning, and Growing As the sun rises a new day begins and with it comes the potential for many new and wonderful possibilities. Today is a new day! No matter what happened yesterday, last week, or last year today … Continue reading

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Plan

Plan As each year comes to a close we should take time to acknowledge what we did last year and plan for what we hope to do next year. Taking the time to consider what may be ahead for us … Continue reading

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