Finding Independence

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Happy Independence Day!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend with your family and friends, celebrating the founding of our country.  Yesterday I was in a total of four airports trying to get from Cleveland, Ohio, to Austin, Texas.  It definitely was NOT a direct flight!  But getting to family and my final destination was worth the wait.

I started out a month-long vacation last week in LAX at 3:30 am.  I flew with a friend to an amazing five-day spiritual retreat.  I’m so grateful for the time away to be rejuvenated and inspired.

It was in the airport that I got my first “aha” of the trip.  We got to LAX before the TSA or ticket lines had opened, so there were tons of people standing around waiting.  I know how these things work, so I asked someone if they were in line, and then when they said yes, we got in line behind them.  

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Seasons in Life

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I’ve talked to a few people recently who wonder how to do it all.  Educate their kids (and often others), keep a marriage healthy, keep their home and family taken care of, AND realize their own genius.  

It can be a challenge!

I’m not advocating that YOU do it all.  Creating a support system is critical for your emotional, mental, and physical health.

It also helps to understand that life has different seasons.

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A Vision Quest

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And a new phone

You know that feeling when you understand that you HAVE to do something but you really don’t want to?  You put it off.  You don’t want to face the changes it will create.  You like the old way. 

There comes a time when change has to happen.

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Honoring the Fallen

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The Soldiers and the Children

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend but I don’t feel comfortable saying “happy” Memorial Day.  It is a day of remembering men and women who gave their all. Literally.

No matter how horrific or mundane, their deaths have meaning.  As do their lives.  

They fought for the principles our country stands for.  Things like freedom, equality, and the rule of law.  They did this by signing up for the military.  With this act, they chose meaningful lives. And sadly, deaths.

We need to help our children find meaning.

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What is Most Important?

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It Might Not be What You Think…

This week I spoke to several people about the most important things to cover when educating children.

What do you think is most important?

Do you think of the standards that the government has given us?  Or maybe the lists you can find on a website or in a book?

Most of those center on certain types of knowledge.

I don’t think knowledge even makes the top 10.

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“Your Child is No Genius!”

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Don’t Accept the World’s Opinion

In Angela Duckworth’s book GRIT, she shares how her father would tell her how she was “no genius” on a regular basis. (She went on to win what is nicknamed the “genius” grant.) Her father wasn’t being cruel.  He was just repeating what the world says about our kids.  And about us.

But it isn’t true.

You are a genius and your child is a genius.  I like to turn it around as Elizabeth Gilbert does in her book Big Magic.  She says that you HAVE genius.  It is there for the taking.

You HAVE genius.

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Soul-Sucking Machines

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How to LImit Some of the Damage

I took drastic measures this week.

Nothing could be accomplished.  Every minute there were distractions. 

A beep here.  A ding there.  Emails, texts, messages, videos, reels, stories, posts.  

I had to take a stand. So much time was being lost.  Stolen.  It was horrible.

I deleted Facebook and Instagram from my phone.

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Allow Them to Play

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This week I took a class to visit a pre-school.  It was a field trip for an entrepreneur class I’m teaching this semester.  One of our students is interested in child development and has dreams of opening up a pre-school one day.

It was a wonderful school.  Colorful classrooms.  Student artwork hanging on the wall.  The kids were all well behaved and engaged in what they were supposed to be doing.

I asked the director a question about free play.

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Preparing our Kids for the Future

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Are you worried about how to prepare your kids for the future?

I am.  

What skills will they need to be successful?  What should we cover to help them the most?  Are the standards the government has for education taking any of this into consideration?  

Lots to think about.

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