Better Than Good
and Improving
Raise a glass to toast your journey…
Why Better Than Good and Improving™
And What Does It Really Mean
I have heard it said that if you ask why, get the answer, and then ask why that is the answer, and you continue asking why until you have asked either five times or maybe even seven times, then you will finally get to the real reason you do something. The significance isn’t five, or seven, or even seventy-seven. The significance is, by continuing to ask why we can find the real motivation. The process can be scary, it is dramatic, and it always is eye opening, provided we are honest with the Man in the Mirror as Tom Hopkins would say.
Thus, my umpteenth why is because I want to provide value to others to the point that I “… can help enough other people get what they want …” -Zig Ziglar. Jesus Christ was one of, if not the first, to provide us with the servant leader concept when he said “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:” (Matthew: 20:27, KJV). I cannot win at Better Than Good and Improving™, unless you win! Like Edison who did not fail 999 times, rather he found 999 things that did not work, or Nelson Mandela who said ‘… I never lost, I either won or I learned …”; if you do not win, then there is something for me to learn in that process.
The only way for me to profit or win is for you to profit and win. Do not confuse profit with money. Some of the most profitable things in the world cannot have a price tag put on them. A perfect example is my wife. One of the most profitable things I have done in my life is marrying her. She has done so much for me that I cannot begin to describe it. Another profitable thing is getting my doctorate. In so doing I achieved a 50-year goal. And I will categorically say that I do not expect cash profits as a result of getting my doctorate. Do not get me wrong, I have now had the opportunity to teach and yes, I received a paycheck. At the same time, the time invested to teach does not equate to profit. Thus, profit has to be measured in ways other than cash!
In closing, the reason why Better Than Good and Improving™ is so that I can give back, pay it forward, and help others, including you. Please join me on this journey to success as success is journey and not a destination. I hope you enjoy our blog and you too will be Better Than Good and Improving™.
Who is Dr. Edward M. Dunlap, Jr.?
I have a full-time job in the manufacturing industry doing project and program management within the IT department. To pay it forward / give back, I also serve as an adjunct professor teaching operations management to both MBA candidates and BA under graduates, as well as first term statistics to BA under graduates. This has now expanded and I am also teaching statistics to students without a math background in a new Masters program for Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence as well as Quantitative Analysis to undergrads.
I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering, both from the University of South Carolina – Columbia. Go Gamecocks! I also hold a Doctor of Executive Leadership from the University of Charleston West Virginia (UCWV). These were each occasions of Better Than Good and Improving™ even though I failed to recognize them as such at the time. In addition to college education, I am a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Project Management Professional (PMP). All of that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee, somewhere; just not Starbucks. Sorry Zig.
I have been blessed to work in numerous industries over the years including internationally, living and working in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands for about two years. I am unashamedly a Christian. I have two favorite authors: God the Father, the author of the Holy Bible, and Zig Ziglar. As you read this blog you will hear a lot from both.
My hobbies include golf, fine dining, wine, and Scotch Whisky. You will note the lack of an e, my nod to Scotland, which is my ancestral home, with some of my ancestors, back in the late 1700s, coming to the US. My wife also holds a Doctor of Executive Leadership so when you put the two of us together, we are a “pair o’ docs”. This project / blog is a labor of love (forgive me Ian Fleming and Colonel Kleb). For transparency, from time to time you will find what are called affiliate links to vendors whose products I believe in. If you click one of those links and make a purchase, I will receive a small payment. Better Than Good and Improving™ is my mantra and when asked how I am doing, people exclaim “what’s wrong” if I give any other answer. I have to give a nod to Zig Ziglar once more, as years of listening to his recordings and reading many of his books, put the words Better Than Good and Improving™ into my head. Thanks Zig!
Now that you know who I am, I am hopeful that you will join me on the journey, as opposed to the destination, of success. Zig taught that “… you can get everything you want out of life if you just help enough other people get what they want …”. So, I raise a glass to toast your journey and to my hope that I, in some infinitesimally small way, contribute to you being Better Than Good and Improving™.
MY STORY
A bit of earlier history, I grew up as a PK, preacher’s kid. I am the eldest of three PK sons. Do you know why preacher’s kids are always so bad? Because they play with the deacon’s kids. OK, it’s corny, and it’s me. Just a part of my charm 😊. I grew up all over the lower half of South Carolina, mostly in small towns. I headed off to college, left, got an associates degree, went to work, got married the first time, went back to college while working, had a kid. You know, typical life for millions of US Citizens. After several jobs, a move to Charlotte, NC, a divorce, a new wife (best thing that ever happened to me), and a move to Gaston County, and here I am.
Just in case at some point you come to the conclusion that I am always happy, let me say that is not the case. I have found that for me the journey requires me to claim what I want at all times and that is to be Better Than Good and Improving™. Now I arrive at a decision point. Am I going to keep procrastinating or am I going to take the next step on the journey to Better Than Good and Improving™ ?
Perhaps you are now asking what is it that I am selling. You may be expecting me to say that if I can do it, you can do it. Well please relax. I am not selling anything that you can pay for. I am selling the idea that we can live in a positive space. We can see the wonders of God’s creations, including ourselves, if we just stay on the journey to Better Than Good and Improving™. And so, who I am is one of God’s creations who wants to give back because of everything I have been given. In addition to God Himself, I have been given to and helped by more people than I can count.
In conclusion, I am a Christian who is not perfect, and yet I know my eternal life is secure. Paraphrasing Zig Ziglar, I have read the final chapter and I know how the story ends. I am hoping to give you something. That something is to believe and practice on your own journey to success that you can be, and in fact already are, Better Than Good and Improving™.
Affiliate Links
Through-out this blog, you will find several affiliate links. You are under no obligation to follow the links, and if you do follow them, you are under no obligation to buy what you find at the link. If you do follow a link or links and make a purchase, then and only then will I receive a small payment. I only use these affiliate links with individuals and companies that I personally believe in. No one has asked me to add any of the affiliate links you will find here. Instead, I reached out to these merchants and asked if they would be willing to allow me to place the links on this blog. Rest assured, that I have many others that I gain information from that I choose to not link to for many reasons. As said elsewhere, Better Than Good and Improving™ has no sponsors nor is there a paywall. At some time in the future, we will be offering products that we believe enhance your experience with the blog. Charging for “membership” in the blog is not the model that we choose to use.
CONTACT