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Gary Muller, head of business programs and the Small Business Center at Catawba Valley Community College, recently added another distinction to his resume. He’s one of the first fellows selected by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship for a yearlong research program designed to improve the way schools teach future business leaders.
“I am very fortunate to have a job which I love,” Muller said via email. “Whether I am in the classroom or in a counseling session with an entrepreneur I use the concepts I have learned in books, movies and speeches.”
Those sources of inspiration include the late Jim Valvano’s inspirational “Don’t Ever Give Up” speech at the first-ever ESPY awards in 1993. The head basketball coach at North Carolina State University died of cancer less than two months later. “It is a speech I show to my students every semester because it puts life in perspective,” Muller said.
Other sources for positive thinking are books and lectures by television minister and author Joel Osteen; particularly his book “Become a Better You.” There’s also “Psycho-Cybernetics,” a self-help book by Maxwell Maltz.
“The art of positive thinking and visualizing a positive event can assist us in our day to day lives as well as business,” Muller said. “I refer to the concepts of the book on a regular basis, particularly when I have a challenging issue to address.” Celeste Smith
