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Chuck Norris and Boy Scouts

Chuck Norris and his conspiracy theories about Obama and Boy Scouts of America got me thinking about my own experience with the organization and what I learned from it.

I was a Boy Scout. As far as I know, none of the kids were gay.

We did have a leader who was a pedophile, but he wasn't gay either. He liked little girls.

Only when he got caught fingering babies in a church nursery and was legally banned from all contact with kids did anything come of it.

Still, nothing was said. He just wasn't around anymore.

Just like the Catholic Church or Penn State, there are plenty of coverups regarding Boy Scouts of America, because admitting there is a problem can ruin a good image.

Admitting there is a problem in your organization is a must if you want to survive though, because the truth always gets out...eventually.

Even before the general public learned about the problem through high-profile Boy Scout sex abuse cases though, the kids in my troop knew the truth. And we grew up to be adults who know the truth.

No organization is immune from problems. People will forgive problems. When it moves beyond that though, into coverup and scandal, you're dead.

The solution to any problem is simple:

1. Know the real enemy.
2. Do the right thing.

Want to Get Better at Something?

There was a time in my life when I thought I would be a professional musician. Being from Nashville, I was raised with music and the music business all around me, so unlike a lot of kids, I knew it was an option and I had the resources to make it happen.

When I was a teenager, I subscribed to several guitar-oriented magazines, each with pages of ads in the back of every issue, selling everything from picks, to amps, to guitar instruction. I was always trying to play faster and more complicated pieces, so when I saw an ad for a "finger exerciser," I had to have it.

A couple of weeks later, a package arrived in the mail. I'm not sure how to accurately describe what it contained other than that it was a combination of Velcro rings you attached to your fingers and rubber bands, which provided resistance to work against.

At the time, I was taking weekly guitar lessons. I remember telling my teacher about my new purchase and how it was going to help me become a better player.

I'll never forget his response.

"If you want to get better at playing guitar, play more guitar."

Brilliant.

Forget the theory. Forget the "education" options. The most valuable classroom is the real world and the only true learning happens when you actually do something.