So when was the last time you looked at your resume?  Even though you may not be looking for a new job you should update it at least once per year just to keep it current.  You never know when you may need to have it ready to send out to potential employers.  If you don't spend the time updating it on a regular basis it may be hard to remember all of the things you have accomplished.  Having seen a couple of hundred resumes in my career I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a resume and thought...what were they thinking sending this to me.

Remember this:  Updating your resume at least once a year is the best way to stay current with your career because you never know when that dream job opens up or if you lose your job and you had no idea it was coming.

So how long does it take to update?  It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes but if you haven't done anything to it in a while it might take a couple of hours.  Pencil in a little time on a weeknight or on the weekend and it should be ready to go.

So what do you need to do and where do you start?

Get your materials ready

When you are at school you are expected to learn, study and to stay focused on your schoolwork.  So, why is it when you are in school you don't get anything done?

What's the problem?  Are there too many distractions at school?  Between talking to and texting your friends, checking all of your different social media accounts, and checking your phone every ten minutes it is tough to stay focused.

Here are some tips for getting your focus back:

Be on time

First of all you have to be on time to school and to your classes.  Get up earlier if you find yourself always running late.  Do some tasks the night before instead of waiting until the next morning.  Don't think you can wake up a half hour before you need to leave foro school and get everything done.  Know that being on time allows you to be more productive and it reduces the stress of always being late.  Take a look at the student leaders who are on time and those who successfully complete their projects.

Are you struggling at standing out in school, on a team, or in a job?

There are many ways you can stand out from the crowd.

Have a purpose that makes a difference.

A lot of kids are the first ones to arrive each day for school and for practice.  That's great, but what do you do with that time when you get there early?  Do you hang out with the others in the locker room or do you jump right in and begin warming up without being told?  Do you help set up for the day or do you sit around and listen to your iPod or play on your phone?

Instead of taking care of your stuff, do something visibly worthwhile for the team or the teacher.  You can be a leader by helping set up for the day.  Then it is easier to hit the ground running when everyone else arrives.

Here is a question for everyone coming to 4 Star Camps this summer.  What type of student leader are you?

I know that in today's academic world this is an important question because of all the kids trying to get into college and the competition to get into the top universities such as UVA.  The top student leaders in your school are the ones who are on student council, sports teams, and in musical organizations.  They are also the ones doing volunteer work at the local hospital and church organizations.  It's crazy to think that you have to get your college "resume" started in middle school but unfortunately that is beginning to happen.  I think that is what makes 4 Star Camps the perfect place to spend your summer.  By doing both academic classes and also doing other activities it allows you to have a fun summer and add to your future college resume.

So what are the characteristics of a student leader?  A great leader needs to be a good listener, enthusiastic, passionate, appreciative, a visionary, a role model, trusting, have integrity, organized, knowledgeable, credible, persuasive, charismatic, a team builder, have clarity of purpose, problem solver, have attitude of service, a leader by example, have patience, willing to act without complete knowledge, understand followers, consistent, empower other people, and adapt to change.

Take a look and notice what the list contains.  All of these characteristics relate to the human side of leadership.  That is interesting because I often hear people minimize this side of leadership with terms like "soft" or "touchy feely".  Actually, applying these characteristics requires more strength than not.

Now take a look and notice what the list excludes.  Not on this list are characteristics such as stern, mean, serious, short-tempered, vindictive, tough, angry, harsh, punitive, controlling, violent, or ruthless.  It is interesting because many popular representations of leadership emphasize at least one of these "hard" characteristics.  In fact, these characteristics are for those who lack the strength (or the skills) to apply the human side of leadership.

Welcome to 4 Star Camps!!

So who are the Kearns family?  My wife Patti and I along with my daughters Lauren and Hannah are the new owners.  I grew up in a small town in Owosso, Michigan and my wife Patti grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I grew up playing basketball, football, and tennis and Patti grew up skiing and playing softball.  We met in Greenwich, CT while I was an assistant pro at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich and Patti was working at Greenwich Hospital in the Cancer Department.  Even though we loved living in Greenwich we both knew that was not where we were going to live the rest of our lives.  The opportunity to move to Charlottesville and become the Head Tennis Professional at Farmington Country Club came in 1995 and we moved in March of that year and have been here ever since.

Moving to Charlottesville was hard at first because there are no big lakes or ocean near us.  With Patti and I both growing up going to lakes and oceans it was hard to get accustomed to living here.  Living near the mountains is great but living near water was something that the both of us were used to so it took us awhile to fall in with love Charlottesville.  Now that we have lived here since 1995 I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.  The school systems are great and having access to the University of Virginia gives you so many opportunities.