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.

Leadership Shorts – Open, Honest, and at times Vulnerable

In order for a leader’s people to want to follow them the leader must be willing to let their guard down and let them know who they really are. When given a choice most people will only willingly follow or be influenced by someone they trust.  Trust is not … Continue reading

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Faith

Faith During times of significant struggle one of the things people need from their leaders is the hope that things will get better. The hope and belief of a better future can help us to keep moving forward when having … Continue reading

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Dream

Dream A dreamer must take action if they want what they imagine to become a reality. We all have the potential and ability to create the life we dream of having. We just have to be willing to do what … Continue reading

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Decisions, Actions, and Behaviors

Decisions, Actions, and Behaviors Our thoughts influence the decisions we make, actions we take, and behaviors we display. We create the foundation for our future with the decisions we make and actions we take each and every day of our … Continue reading

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Prepare How You Plan To Perform

I believe how we prepare for something will determine how we will perform at it. A few years ago I decided I wanted to run a Half Marathon.  Since I had only been running 3 to 5 miles at a time the previous … Continue reading

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Day

Day How we start the day has a big impact on what the rest of our day will be like. Begin every day with a positive outlook on what the day will bring and a clear purpose of what you … Continue reading

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Character and Attitude

Character and Attitude We tell people who we are and what we care about the most by the decisions we make, actions we take, and the behaviors we display. Having patience and being flexible is essential because things don’t always … Continue reading

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Change

Change Even with the most well thought out plans the unexpected can happen. That is why it is so important to always be flexible and willing to change if needed. It’s never too late to change, follow our dreams, and … Continue reading

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Challenge

Challenge Most things in life are out of our control. We have to take care of what’s within our control and do our best with the rest. To achieve the best results we are capable of we must be fully … Continue reading

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Balance

Balance To gain and maintain good balance between our personal and professional lives we have to consider where we spend our time on a daily basis. Life seems so much greater when we can effectively balance our time between our … Continue reading

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