…with Gary Moss

Archive for September, 2010

There are some scrabble experts out there who fashion themselves as teachers of the game, simply because they are among the top ranks of the players.

Believe me when I tell you that they are not in the top ranks when it comes to teaching. If you’ve encountered one of these types I sincerely hope that it hasn’t turned you off to the magnificent game that is SCRABBLE.

But if you have lived any amount of life at all, you know that ‘bad teachers’ are the reason for many dropouts and quitters. Mr. Schechter put a damper on my efforts, as a student, when he wrote on my report card, “A nice boy who doesn’t know too much.” My high school counselor wasn’t much better. Years later when I had earned my M.A. in Education, and founded a private school, I went back to visit Mrs. Caplan and rub it in her face. She of course wanted to take credit for my success. Be clear, she had nothing at all to do with motivating me.

Too many people with great potential have been squandered, turned off by, and thrown away by the system and some misguided teachers. My own daughter Stacy struggled at a Public School and then a Montessori School where they highlighted and reported her deficits, doing nothing to help her. After watching Charles Karalt or ‘SUNDAY MORNING’ and seeing a report about The Gow School in Rochester, New York, that serviced children with dyslexia, I recognized Stacy’s problem and I was on their door step the next school day. I observed and figured out how to help Stacy and other children in my own community. That is why I founded The Moss School. That’s how Stacy and others were saved and went on to graduate from college.

Other parents have done the same to meet the needs of their children. But too many parents sit idly by and permit precious time in their children’s lives to be waste by BAD school districts and BAD programs. The number of minds being destroyed daily is far greater than the tragic number deaths due to the daily shootings, that occur and draw our attention in our major cities.

Begin to make a change at you most basic level. Find the things that people are doing right. Praise the good in others.

Be active in identifying the things that are being done sub-standard. Speak out and follow through to push for change and improvement. Make a difference.

If not you, who? If not now, when?

Our Scrabble Store – CLICK

Get into the game. What’s the worst that could happen? You might lose a game? But what about all the things you might learn? You are not the type who has to be the best from the very start or its a deal breaker, are you?

My observations tell me that most people who proclaim their love of the game of scrabble are those people who happen to be the best player in their own family or among a certain group of friends.

Many of these same people find their way to a scrabble club, like CLUB #350, meet some serious scrabble players who know more than the usual 5% of the dictionary, and the Newbies freak and go away, never to be heard from again. That’s too bad.

I know that I’m cut from a different bolt of cloth. I like LaCrosse and hate Tuna Fish, But way back in the late 1980s when I discovered competitive scrabble and was beat up game after game, week after week, by superior word mavens, my instinct was to dig in. My instinct was to figure out how I could become as good as them. My instinct was to learn every little trick. My instinct was to become good enough to compete at the Nation Tournament.

The truth for scrabble and all other endeavors is that to do anything well, one must learn and then practice the skills in order to achieve notable success.

The other day I played the word ‘broom’ as my opening play, placing the ‘B” on D8 and extending to H8. From the instant I placed the word on the board I wondered if my opponent could play a 3-Letter extension in front of ‘broom’, to the TWS: ???broom.
That never occurred. After the game was over I borrowed someone’s Franklin to see if there was an extension. Sure enough, there was: ‘CLU’. Making ‘broom’ into ‘clubroom’. Wouldn’t that have been a great find.

That’s how competitive scrabble players think. The most that the average joe or sally with ‘broom’ is add an ‘s’.

Let me help you expand your vision and your thinking process. Enroll yourself into ‘SCRABBLE 101’

I imagine that everyone enjoys being and feeling like a winner. And there are times when the pendulum swings and each of us, in our own way, feels loss and deprivation.

Does the billionaire who loses a few million feel bad? I bet she does.

Did Nigel Richards, 2010-11 National Scrabble Champion take it lightly when he lost one of the 7.5 of 32 games in Dallas last month? I bet he did.

I live in Laguna Woods, California. That’s about mid-way between two fine scrabble clubs that play on Saturday mornings, each about 50 miles away: West L.A. and Escondido. When I plan my weekend I ask myself the question: “Do I want a super challenge to my scrabble abilities?” Don’t get me wrong, there is no automatic win in scrabble. But, the number of experts in the LA club outnumber the expert rated players in Escondido. If I opt for LA I consider that I did well when I win 2 of the 4 games. When I play in Escondido I feel that I should win 4 of 4 games. And the pressure that I feel in Escondido is often greater than the pressure that I feel when playing in LA.

A few months ago I developed a winning streak while playing in Escondido. As the winning streak grew longer the pressure that I applied to myself heightened. I won more than 35 games in a row over 9 sessions before Club Director, Jamie Covell beat me. The loss was bittersweet. I hated the losing but I was happy to give up the self-imposed pressure to win again.

As you may know, I recently married. I had been single for 28 years. During that time I had accumulated a lot of inexpensive ‘stuff’ that may have looked silly to others, but were simple mementos for me. When it came time for me to empty shelves and closets to make room for my bride’s things, I found it both difficult and very upsetting to let go of some of the simplest things. (Most of the ‘stuff’ had only been taking up room on the shelf. But it was mine.) After I let it go and it was out of sight I no longer missed it at all.

In the 1970′s, when I was in my late 20′s and 30′s I was caught up in the rat race with the Joneses. I owned my own business, had two homes (one on a lake), several cars, a boat, season tickets to all the local concerts and sporting events. I had to work hard to maintain all of that and give up family time. I ran a private school which I had founded. As every business owner knows, when you own it you are in charge 24/7.

After an ugly divorce that destroyed my school in the process, I lost my business, my identity as Headmaster, the routines of family life, a huge chunk of change to attorneys, child support, and my ex’s half of things. Initially the losses were huge and the readjustments for me were challenging. However, I must admit that the pressures diminished and I reinvented myself, in a way which I could have never imagined. I walked away from the rat race and never looked back.

Find joy in the life itself. Enjoy the simple pleasures. Build your skills in things like scrabble, something that no one can ever take away from you.

SCRABBLE 101

What is the significance of 5771?

No, it is not the highest scrabble score ever
played in a scrabble tournament.

No, it is not a combined score either.

No, it is not the next prime number after 5749.

No, it is not the number of grains of sand held in
the average children’s beach shovel.

No, it is not the number of calories that I consumed
on my 6 day road trip from Michigan to California.

5771 is the number of the Jewish New Year that will arrive at sundown this evening. I’d like to wish all of my Jewish friends a La Shana Tova, a Happy New Year, filled with health, prosperity, and fulfillment. (But if you are coming to club #350 do not try to play La Shana Tova or you can expect me to challenge it right off the board.)

New beginnings can be times of excitement and opportunity. New years can be time of reflection and planning. Many people use milestones like the new year to establish benchmarks and set goals for the future. Common goals include things like ‘weight loss’, stopping old bag habits like ‘smoking’ and ‘excessive drinking’, and doing whatever is necessary to improve ones’ life style.

Scrabble players have the opportunity at times like this to set some personal scrabble goals: learn just one more ‘stem’; learn a dozen more anagrams; play at a local club on a weekly basis.

You don’t have to be Jewish to set some personal goals today.

It doesn’t have to be the Jewish New Year or the secular New Year or your Birthday in order to establish a benchmark. Anyone can choose to use today, any day as a benchmark, and set some goals. (Back on Sunday, April 4, 2010 I drew a line for myself in the soap suds on my bathroom counter. I decided that it was time for me to lose some weight and proclaimed a public CHALLENGE to myself. I have been making steady progress toward my goal because I am cognizant every day about my personal mission. I knew when I began that it would not be easy.

NOTHING IS EASY! ~ Gary Moss

Become a better scrabble player. Create a scrabble challenge for yourself. Let me assist you. Sign up for my class ‘SCRABBLE 101′. Do it NOW! There is no time like the present.

Today is Labor Day.

Living in the USA in 2010 is a blessing, in spite of all the problems that exist.

When parents tell their children that they can grow up to be anything that they choose to be, there is a lot of truth to the statement. It is not always easy, but it is true.

We excel at the things that we love. Just look around at people who have achieved success; listen to the words of advice that they share with others. Find something that you love to do and pursue it.

What is your definition of ‘success’? If you equate ‘success’ with ‘money’ then this equation may fall short for you. If you equate ‘success’ with fulfillment and enjoyment then you will most likely experience prosperity. And when you are doing something that you love to do and master that certain something, often some income stream follows.

The people who have provided their labor have made this country strong and productive. I would hope that many of them have found pride and love of their labors in the jobs that they do.

I loved working with youth groups in my teens.
I loved teaching in my early twenties.
I loved founding and directing a private school from 28 – 46.
I loved producing motivational seminars.
I thoroughly love all my work with scrabble.

I am a very lucky guy.

The toughest thing for people to discover when they attend any personal growth seminar is that ‘special something’ that they love to do. Most people initially show up because they are wanting to earn ‘more money’. MORE MONEY alone will not lead most people to success. The ‘special something’ that people choose is much more valuable and the key that leads people to their individual success.

I have helped people probe and discover their ‘unique factor’. I learned the technique from Dr. Bill McGrane at the Self-Esteem Institute. Call me; Let’s talk: (949) 510-1673

If you are looking for an entertaining afternoon or evening for a small group of friends who share an interest in scrabble, have I got a deal for you.

I have done the speaker thing for medium to large size groups at libraries, in book stores, and at community centers. And I have sat down with individual scrabble enthusiasts to do some coaching and teaching related to the piece of the game that are important to win at scrabble. But last month, out of the clear blue, I was invited Nancy and Duke Vukovich to do my ‘song and dance’ for a small group in their home.

I can only describe the experience as magical. Small groups can create an electric energy that enhances the exchange of information. The interest of the participants is another key factor that made that afternoon so special. There were introductions and story. There was laughter and serious contemplation. There were aha’s and groans. There were examples of Do’s and Don’ts. There was an openness to see the game differently than seen before. And all went home fulfilled, the wiser, and satisfied.

I can recreate that experience for you, your friends and your family members if you so choose.

The best scenario would be if you lived somewhere nearby so I could just come on over.

Another scenario would be that you were rich enough to provide tickets and lodging for me and my honey to meet your party at some swank resort property.

Or maybe we could possibly do it on our computers via iChat or SKIPE.

Let’s talk soon. (949) 510-1673

P.S. I am also open to showing up at your party as a shill and pitted (secretly) against your local scrabble champ.

There’s always one more thing.

You’re a scrabble player and you finally mastered all the 2-Letter-Words in the year 2002. Along comes the NSA word committee and Merriam Webster who wanted to add a few sheqels to their coffers and POOF, another 5 2-Letter-Words were added to the OWL, along with some 4,000+ other words. To make things even more interesting . . . they deleted some words from the old list too.

Life is an ever changing drama. There is always one more thing to do. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it gets in the way of vegging out in an easy chair.

Casual players don’t really seem to care much about the official word list, except when they have a word challenged off the board by some scrabble purist. Then some of them become very huffy and ask why this is a word and that is not a word.

All games have rules. Without rules, there is only chaos. The rules define the game and how it is to be played. The rules of playing scrabble include a list of acceptable words (OWL2). Home players often make up ‘house rules’ and use any old dictionary that is handy as the word source. ‘House Rules’ and ‘Any Old Dictionary’ won’t fly at sanctioned clubs and tournaments.

There is just one more thing to do . . . . . LEARN THE WORDS IN THE OWL2. There are only a little more than 155,000 words in the OWL2. The average person on the street know about 5% of the words in the dictionary. Persons who play regularly at scrabble clubs will amass greater word power simply by playing and being exposed to what other opponents are playing. But even playing regularly is not enough to get you to the ranks of the scrabble mavins. The champions devise study regimens that they adhere to religiously. It is not uncommon for a scrabble champion to devote 20 – 40 hours a week to study (not just playing). But that is true about anything that you want to master.

What’s the ‘One More Thing’ that you have to do today? What are you putting off doing?

If learning more words is your ‘One Thing’ a great tool for learning high-probability bingos is my BOOKMARKS. Buy one or buy the ‘Starter Set of 10′. CLICK HERE.

It is the beginning of a new month, but a lot of Septembers and rolled their 30 days ’round before.

For students it is the new beginning of another academic year; same old systems of students and teachers with brand new opportunities for discovery, learning, and inspiration.

My personal space on Punta Alta is undergoing a transformation of its own. Many of my familiar things on shelves, on the walls, in the closets have moved out; some of them remain, shifted to new locations; some have moved on to new owners via GOODWILL and The Salvation Army. Movers are about to arrive with an infusion of stuff which will change ‘my place’ into ‘our place’. Somethings ‘old’ will be ‘brand new’ to me.

We all go through this life encountering many new beginnings. And yet there usually is a common familiarity with new experiences. We each assign qualities to the way we deal with ‘newness’ and ‘transitions’. Some people feel fear of the unknown; some people delight in surprises around each bend; some people dread the adjustments that must occur to have change; other people resist the changes that they have opted to undertake.

You have control of the way we meet and deal with the changes in our lives.

For those who have difficulty dealing with change, it answer may be hard to understand, but it is very simplistic: when you seek to change you are still bringing yourself along. You are bringing along all of your ‘past’ hopes, and dreams, and fears, and likes, and resentments, and preferences, and beliefs, and more . . . .

If you find yourself saying, “Back home we always did it this way . . . “, then you are stuck in your past and resisting new opportunities to see things differently.

If you are attending a lecture or class with an expectation related to some past instructor, you may be sitting in judgement and miss out on all the good stuff being offer by this new teacher and program.

Scrabble players who say, “I can never remember a word unless I know what the word means”, may be right, but the statement indicates to me that they are not open to the other possibilities that will allow them to achieve greatness in the scrabble ranks.

You set your own limits on our own greatness. You are your own stopper.

‘TODAY’ is always the best time to begin a new regimen for change and improvement.

You may be well aware of my love dedication to helping people achieve expertise as scrabble player. I will always continue to offer that coaching and tutoring service. What you may not know is that I am also an educator and personal coach who is trained to help people achieve their personal goals. Let’s Talk: (949) 510-1673 I can help you make an incredible difference in you life in ’21 Days’.