I won't deal in cut-throat business environments. There's nothing I want bad enough to tolerate that type of back-stabbing behavior. I can't imagine any good would come of it anyway even if I got what I thought I wanted... seems like it would come back at me with some price far in excess of any joy I felt.
That's not to say I haven't been double-crossed before. In business. In love. Not nearly as bad as it could have been. Sort of like the way I feel about my car accidents - just enough to rattle me and hopefully drive home the lesson.
Robert Ringer says there are three types of ways people will screw you:
1.) Tell you right to your face they're gonna grab all your chips
2.) Tell you they wouldn't dream of taking all your chips then doing it anyway
3.) Tell you they wouldn't dream of taking all your chips then, when it happens anyway, really telling you how bad they feel it worked out that way.
I guess the reason this is on my mind is because I'm contemplating some Joint Ventures (JVs) for my new business with people I have only met on Facebook.
As I approach the possibility of working with people who could easily swipe my idea and run with it, I steel myself with the conviction that the Enlightened Child mentoring component of the new business will make it immune to being ripped off 100 times by marketing sharks. What I aim for instead is a collaborative platform that brings social media experts together and creates a dynamic learning environment between them, their clients, and the mentees.
The mentees are learning marketing through implementing the social media profiles for the clients of my various Social Media Experts.
This way, the Social Media Experts can all offer a personally branded Done-For-You package and the mentees can get a world-class education that is relevant, and actually pays them to learn and achieve according to their interests.
That's the concept for the business that I'm creating to help me transition from a 9-5'er and free up time to write my Enlightened Child book and teach kids all about the wonders of the universe at concerts and other places I travel to.
Maybe there are still people out there who will habitually screw me over. Maybe I still have a lot naivete to get burned out of me. Whatever happens, I feel the Enlightened Child mission will keep marching my feet, keep creating with my hands, keep speaking with my tongue.
Looking at everything in life as a learning experience, I feel very little fear anymore.
What's the worst that can happen?
I'll learn.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Montessori is NOT Self-Help...
Back in college I read a lot of Spiritual and Self-Help type books. I was interested in growing and becoming a better person... or stopping the gnawing existential pain I kicked up in the process.
When I got into Sales I was pleased to discover a culture of personal and professional development. Guys like Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn were instrumental in helping me ground my mind in this worldly reality and get a grip on who I am becoming as a man. Mentors and friends helped as well. But ultimately it all comes down to experience.
Since I never took a marketing or finance class... EVER... I had to teach myself these things through experience (aka repeated failure). I started businesses and made sales calls and did all the things the gurus said. And I've gotten much better. But something still nags at me... about the potential I have within me that I fear may never see the light of day.
Reading some Maria Montessori this morning (founder of the Montessori schools - AMI) I thought back to my two years as a Montessori kid. They made sense. I grew and understood how I was growing. I engaged in playful mastery of the material and I was recognized as a young, developing soul. It was joyous times.
The chapter I read this morning talked about how to really mess up a child for life. Luckily I spent the rest of my schooling in institutions that read THAT manual and my jaw dropped in astonishment at the aftermath and how it has played out in my life.
When I say Montessori is NOT Self-Help, what I mean is that as I read the chapter and thought about the impact these negative schooling experiences have had on my life, I realized that the next page would not be some treatise or meditation exercise designed to free my soul from the bondage of psychological anguish these naughty naughty institutions have inflicted upon me.
No. There would be no Self-Help epiphany today.
What I see very clearly, though, is a need to assist parents and teachers in honoring the soul of the child and not foisting the habituated traumas we acquired in our own schooling and socialization on our children, but truly "Following the Child" and learning something of our own humanity in their innocence and joy.
Montessori is a recipe for a child who will not need much, if any, self-help work. There will always been an edge to grow to, but the negative feelings that we were saddled with in childhood need not hinder that growth or create mind-boggling challenges that make us say things like, "I'm afraid of success." Something is wrong with a culture that instills fear of completion and the joy of accomplishment in its populous.
What can we do to help our children grow up free from the weeds of the antiquated schooling and socialization process?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
When I got into Sales I was pleased to discover a culture of personal and professional development. Guys like Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn were instrumental in helping me ground my mind in this worldly reality and get a grip on who I am becoming as a man. Mentors and friends helped as well. But ultimately it all comes down to experience.
Since I never took a marketing or finance class... EVER... I had to teach myself these things through experience (aka repeated failure). I started businesses and made sales calls and did all the things the gurus said. And I've gotten much better. But something still nags at me... about the potential I have within me that I fear may never see the light of day.
Reading some Maria Montessori this morning (founder of the Montessori schools - AMI) I thought back to my two years as a Montessori kid. They made sense. I grew and understood how I was growing. I engaged in playful mastery of the material and I was recognized as a young, developing soul. It was joyous times.
The chapter I read this morning talked about how to really mess up a child for life. Luckily I spent the rest of my schooling in institutions that read THAT manual and my jaw dropped in astonishment at the aftermath and how it has played out in my life.
When I say Montessori is NOT Self-Help, what I mean is that as I read the chapter and thought about the impact these negative schooling experiences have had on my life, I realized that the next page would not be some treatise or meditation exercise designed to free my soul from the bondage of psychological anguish these naughty naughty institutions have inflicted upon me.
No. There would be no Self-Help epiphany today.
What I see very clearly, though, is a need to assist parents and teachers in honoring the soul of the child and not foisting the habituated traumas we acquired in our own schooling and socialization on our children, but truly "Following the Child" and learning something of our own humanity in their innocence and joy.
Montessori is a recipe for a child who will not need much, if any, self-help work. There will always been an edge to grow to, but the negative feelings that we were saddled with in childhood need not hinder that growth or create mind-boggling challenges that make us say things like, "I'm afraid of success." Something is wrong with a culture that instills fear of completion and the joy of accomplishment in its populous.
What can we do to help our children grow up free from the weeds of the antiquated schooling and socialization process?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
The New Puppy Downstairs Keeps Howling!!!
The guy downstairs got an adorable new puppy. Half doberman, half husky. It's howling all the time when he's not around, and I just started working from home!
Here's the thing about dogs. They are born into one social matrix that is very comfortable and familiar to them. Then they are transplanted to a completely foreign situation that they must adapt to in order to thrive as an organism.
If you've been around trained dogs, you know that the master/dog relationship enhances their lives greatly. When a dog is well-trained and it understands how to behave and receive praise from its master it is infinitely happier than a dog who is constantly given shifting expectations and intermittent punishments.
How does this relate to education and children? Well, to a certain degree, I believe raising young children is a lot like training a new puppy. The child has little if any higher reasoning and consistency is the key to all trust in the relationship.
Once we get older, however, we venture into the world. In the world, expectations and rewards are constantly shifting. It's hard to adapt ourselves to that social matrix without latching on to a sub-culture within it that is easier to navigate. Church tells us how to live. Being cool means dressing like this... Like a small harbor where our boats are safe... but that's not what boats were built for.
Listen, I don't know how to get to the point elegantly, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
If the world is full of shifting expectations, and it's our responsibility as parents to give our children a quality experience of life - where expectations are not shifting. Where they are safe and they know they can consistently receive love and compassion and sustenance...
How do we prepare them internally to have the fortitude to thrive out there?
Principles.
Teach Principles.
Don't teach them 2+2=4
Teach them what numbers are, how they work, what plus and equals means, drill them on it and let them go about their lives doing math. The principle of numbers, arithmetic don't change just because the world shifts its expectations. Cling fast to principles and teach your children to do the same. Chaos is all about, so be certain the light-houses of truth that you use to guide you are steady and grounded in reality. Teach your children to do the same.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Here's the thing about dogs. They are born into one social matrix that is very comfortable and familiar to them. Then they are transplanted to a completely foreign situation that they must adapt to in order to thrive as an organism.
If you've been around trained dogs, you know that the master/dog relationship enhances their lives greatly. When a dog is well-trained and it understands how to behave and receive praise from its master it is infinitely happier than a dog who is constantly given shifting expectations and intermittent punishments.
How does this relate to education and children? Well, to a certain degree, I believe raising young children is a lot like training a new puppy. The child has little if any higher reasoning and consistency is the key to all trust in the relationship.
Once we get older, however, we venture into the world. In the world, expectations and rewards are constantly shifting. It's hard to adapt ourselves to that social matrix without latching on to a sub-culture within it that is easier to navigate. Church tells us how to live. Being cool means dressing like this... Like a small harbor where our boats are safe... but that's not what boats were built for.
Listen, I don't know how to get to the point elegantly, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
If the world is full of shifting expectations, and it's our responsibility as parents to give our children a quality experience of life - where expectations are not shifting. Where they are safe and they know they can consistently receive love and compassion and sustenance...
How do we prepare them internally to have the fortitude to thrive out there?
Principles.
Teach Principles.
Don't teach them 2+2=4
Teach them what numbers are, how they work, what plus and equals means, drill them on it and let them go about their lives doing math. The principle of numbers, arithmetic don't change just because the world shifts its expectations. Cling fast to principles and teach your children to do the same. Chaos is all about, so be certain the light-houses of truth that you use to guide you are steady and grounded in reality. Teach your children to do the same.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What Can You Teach with Two Rocks?
Today was a long day. I just got back from hiking in Letchworth State Park here in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate NY. It was gorgeous.
We hiked down in the river bed, and up to the top of the waterfalls. There's even a train trestle that I refused to walk across, because I neither bungee jump for pleasure, nor did I have a bungee cable on hand to keep me from plummeting to my death. So I just stayed near terra firma.
The gorges in Upstate NY (think: Ithaca is Gorges) are some sort of shale or slate stone that chips off easily into thin, jagged fragments too sharp to skip - sharp enough to skin a hide with when freshly broken off. I selected a stone from the river bank to represent the freshly broken off masculine energy that is cutting its way through the world.
On the other hand, in the river bed, there are rocks that have broken off many many years ago, and have been washed downstream for miles. They are not nearly as jagged and many of them are worn smooth from their interactions with other rocks, and nature in general. I selected one of these rocks to represent the feminine energy that is gently softening all the other rocks around it.
These two rocks are a simple example of a natural process that occurs in a mind pre-disposed to see patterns in the world. It could have been anything.
Today, it was two rocks and the energies they represented on opposite poles of the masculine-feminine energy continuum.
Are you more jagged or smoothed over?
I know I'm mellowing with age, but I certainly still have an edge or two to smooth over.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
We hiked down in the river bed, and up to the top of the waterfalls. There's even a train trestle that I refused to walk across, because I neither bungee jump for pleasure, nor did I have a bungee cable on hand to keep me from plummeting to my death. So I just stayed near terra firma.
The gorges in Upstate NY (think: Ithaca is Gorges) are some sort of shale or slate stone that chips off easily into thin, jagged fragments too sharp to skip - sharp enough to skin a hide with when freshly broken off. I selected a stone from the river bank to represent the freshly broken off masculine energy that is cutting its way through the world.
On the other hand, in the river bed, there are rocks that have broken off many many years ago, and have been washed downstream for miles. They are not nearly as jagged and many of them are worn smooth from their interactions with other rocks, and nature in general. I selected one of these rocks to represent the feminine energy that is gently softening all the other rocks around it.
These two rocks are a simple example of a natural process that occurs in a mind pre-disposed to see patterns in the world. It could have been anything.
Today, it was two rocks and the energies they represented on opposite poles of the masculine-feminine energy continuum.
Are you more jagged or smoothed over?
I know I'm mellowing with age, but I certainly still have an edge or two to smooth over.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Why is Social Media SOOOO Important for Your Child?
I'm not gonna lie to ya - I'm a social media addict. Ever since I got on Facebook last summer I haven't been able to get away from it. It's my preferred mode of communication. If someone needs to get me more rapidly, text is best. Otherwise, Fbook me... if it's too big or you need to attach something like a word.doc... I'll consent to receive an email, but it doesn't get checked as regularly, and neither do voicemails.
In my newly discovered passion, I've done a fair amount of scouting on the horizons of social media. I just read today that social media sites are moving in the direction of becoming total communication hubs - taking over email functions and even communicating across sites.
What this means is that your child will use some form of aggregated and highly personalized social media as the primary mode of communication beyond personal, face-to-face (and even that is a guess at this point).
So, get your kids on Social Media sites. Go through and adjust the security settings so they are safe from creepers, and get their feet wet with this stuff the same way you would with a pen and paper... and don't be frightened when they get sucked in. It's natural.
The trick is to keep their minds engaged and help them join networks of friends who are doing worthwhile things on and off social media, to connect offline whenever possible, and to contribute something meaningful and of value.
Getting them on this curve early will help your child really thrive in the 21 Century.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
In my newly discovered passion, I've done a fair amount of scouting on the horizons of social media. I just read today that social media sites are moving in the direction of becoming total communication hubs - taking over email functions and even communicating across sites.
What this means is that your child will use some form of aggregated and highly personalized social media as the primary mode of communication beyond personal, face-to-face (and even that is a guess at this point).
So, get your kids on Social Media sites. Go through and adjust the security settings so they are safe from creepers, and get their feet wet with this stuff the same way you would with a pen and paper... and don't be frightened when they get sucked in. It's natural.
The trick is to keep their minds engaged and help them join networks of friends who are doing worthwhile things on and off social media, to connect offline whenever possible, and to contribute something meaningful and of value.
Getting them on this curve early will help your child really thrive in the 21 Century.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
How to Get a Mentor?
It seems counter-intuitive... "Take a Millionaire to Lunch! but HE'S the one with all the money and I'm broke!"
What about the offering of gifts is so irresistible to Mentors?
Narcissism. The Mentoring relationship is more than merely training or teaching. It's probably got roots in some Freudian complex, which none-the-less means there's great power in the relationship.
Mentors are on a path. They have conquered the mountain, or are well on their way to it. They don't have time for nambi-pambi bologna. They want results because the results they are known for is what qualifies them as a potential mentor for you (or your child) in the first place.
WARNING: It's a common fallacy, and a sure set up for disappointment, to project guru status on someone who is expert in their field. This shows up most often in the way they are seen as expert in an omni-potent sense - they know it all... about everything - when really they may be woefully unqualified to mentor you(r child) in any other area. Think starving artist or pervert guru. They have one field of competence nailed - clearly to the detriment of other areas like sustenance and morality. So, just be careful of this.
So, mentors see themselves in the mentee. They won't work with someone in a TRUE mentoring capacity unless they can see the inner nature of the protege as clearly as they see their own hand. Everything else is just passing advice and well-wishing one another on your way. True mentoring is a durable, ongoing relationship that can last decades or lifetimes.
How do you find these potential mentors and then get them to mentor you(r child)?
Good question - because Mentors save you so much time and heartache it's not even funny. Taking a millionaire to lunch could change your life. So, don't hesitate when you see an opportunity to obtain even passing advice. And when you find someone you really feel is right for you - I mean, you've checked each other out in person, learned about what you each want in life, where you're going and how your mentor can help you get there... then you can follow these steps:
The steps for obtaining a mentor, as given to me by a mentor I'm courting:
1.) Identify a burning desire in your heart.
2.) Learn as much as you can about this on your own.
3.) Identify individuals who have gone and done what you envision going and doing.
4.) Approach them and interview them. It's always a mutual interview.
5.) Suggest a mentoring relationship - they may be experienced in this or not.
6.) Tell them you'd like to make a formal offering for them to consider.
7.) Prepare and deliver a package of some sort the represents something meaningful to the atmosphere or relationship dynamic that you are entering in to. Something that the Mentor can consider in the gestalt of his life and how much he is willing and able to commit to this process.
8.) Be on time for meetings, be professional with communications, keep all commitments in a timely fashion, and be generally grateful for all instruction and reflection.
9.) Watch for pathologies that may disrupt or interfere with a True Mentoring Relationship - never abdicate responsibility for your mental and emotional safety to ANYONE. You are your own best protector. Keep your eyes open.
10. Continually obtain new mentors on your journey of life. This will provide a blend of perspectives, and give you a roundtable of reference points to call on when advancing through life's choppy waters. Collect Mentors and keep in touch with them. They truly care about you and want to share your journey. The more you keep in touch, the easier you will find it to call on them even years down the road.
So, this is my run-down on Getting Mentors.
I'm sending a wooden box of natural tobacco to my chosen mentor. If he accepts, I will be heading to Vermont, near Burlington, to be Mentored as a Water Pourer for sweat lodges several times a year - Solstice and Equinox sweats.
Today I found the box I will send. So, this was on my mind.
Hope you find it helpful and certainly hope you're share it with your teens and their friends!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What about the offering of gifts is so irresistible to Mentors?
Narcissism. The Mentoring relationship is more than merely training or teaching. It's probably got roots in some Freudian complex, which none-the-less means there's great power in the relationship.
Mentors are on a path. They have conquered the mountain, or are well on their way to it. They don't have time for nambi-pambi bologna. They want results because the results they are known for is what qualifies them as a potential mentor for you (or your child) in the first place.
WARNING: It's a common fallacy, and a sure set up for disappointment, to project guru status on someone who is expert in their field. This shows up most often in the way they are seen as expert in an omni-potent sense - they know it all... about everything - when really they may be woefully unqualified to mentor you(r child) in any other area. Think starving artist or pervert guru. They have one field of competence nailed - clearly to the detriment of other areas like sustenance and morality. So, just be careful of this.
So, mentors see themselves in the mentee. They won't work with someone in a TRUE mentoring capacity unless they can see the inner nature of the protege as clearly as they see their own hand. Everything else is just passing advice and well-wishing one another on your way. True mentoring is a durable, ongoing relationship that can last decades or lifetimes.
How do you find these potential mentors and then get them to mentor you(r child)?
Good question - because Mentors save you so much time and heartache it's not even funny. Taking a millionaire to lunch could change your life. So, don't hesitate when you see an opportunity to obtain even passing advice. And when you find someone you really feel is right for you - I mean, you've checked each other out in person, learned about what you each want in life, where you're going and how your mentor can help you get there... then you can follow these steps:
The steps for obtaining a mentor, as given to me by a mentor I'm courting:
1.) Identify a burning desire in your heart.
2.) Learn as much as you can about this on your own.
3.) Identify individuals who have gone and done what you envision going and doing.
4.) Approach them and interview them. It's always a mutual interview.
5.) Suggest a mentoring relationship - they may be experienced in this or not.
6.) Tell them you'd like to make a formal offering for them to consider.
7.) Prepare and deliver a package of some sort the represents something meaningful to the atmosphere or relationship dynamic that you are entering in to. Something that the Mentor can consider in the gestalt of his life and how much he is willing and able to commit to this process.
8.) Be on time for meetings, be professional with communications, keep all commitments in a timely fashion, and be generally grateful for all instruction and reflection.
9.) Watch for pathologies that may disrupt or interfere with a True Mentoring Relationship - never abdicate responsibility for your mental and emotional safety to ANYONE. You are your own best protector. Keep your eyes open.
10. Continually obtain new mentors on your journey of life. This will provide a blend of perspectives, and give you a roundtable of reference points to call on when advancing through life's choppy waters. Collect Mentors and keep in touch with them. They truly care about you and want to share your journey. The more you keep in touch, the easier you will find it to call on them even years down the road.
So, this is my run-down on Getting Mentors.
I'm sending a wooden box of natural tobacco to my chosen mentor. If he accepts, I will be heading to Vermont, near Burlington, to be Mentored as a Water Pourer for sweat lodges several times a year - Solstice and Equinox sweats.
Today I found the box I will send. So, this was on my mind.
Hope you find it helpful and certainly hope you're share it with your teens and their friends!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
SHOULD Your Child Be Working From a Checklist?
Making the "checklist" process conscious has a lot of value. It's a life-skill that is never really taught, unless by a mentor who either discovered it or learned it from his own mentor. Most people are not proficient at it, and it's like playing an instrument, learning a language - you have to practice for years.
So, here's this insight:
Teach your child to consciously develop mental checklists so they know how to make and improve checklists in their minds. (Hint: put the steps on paper and run through them while revising, then memorize/habituate the new routine.)
I like to use my hand as a counting tool. I think 3 things are manageable for a young child, so I'll put up my fist and stick out my pinky and call that the step where we do what Corrina wants to do. Then I'll stick out my thumb and have that be the next step I want her to take. Usually it's something simple just to get her on track and feeling accomplished. So, when she was 4-5 it was taking our shoes off when we get in the house and putting them away properly. Something consistent that she could rely on. Something familiar to reduce anxiety and build good habits around the house or whatever teaching environment. (Which I learned from Montessori Primary - Practical Life skills.)
So the conversation would go something like this:
Corrina: Dad can we wrestle when we get home?
Dad: Absolutely. What has to happen before we can wrestle?
Corrina: Ummmm...
Dad: Okay when we get home what's the first thing we always do?
Corrina: Put away shoes!??
Dad: okay and what has to happen after we put away our shoes, before we can wrestle?
Corrina: eat dinner!
Dad: What else?
Corrina: what else?
Dad: Do the dishes...
Corrina: Brush Teeth!
Dad: Bingo!
So, then whenever she gets off track, I just hold up my hand and reiterate the process. Oftentimes, simply holding up the fingers of the items we've completed will jar her memory of the next thing we gotta check off the checklist.
As she got older and was excited to learn how to write we would make checklists on notecards. Now, I was experimenting with notecards in my business, and she saw me using them on a daily basis. It intrigued her, so we made lists for ourselves during Daddy-Daughter time.
She now knows how to use them. Even though we've gone back to the ever-convenient hand for tracking what we gotta do, she has worked with the process on paper and it is like the rings of a tree as she develops that patterning will resonate out and shape her future experience. When she is older, I expect we will revisit this, and it will not be totally foreign. Something inside her will resonate with the principles, and respond to another lesson around upgrading her checklists - both mentally and on paper.
Making checklists is something we all do anyway. They are powerful scripts running in our lives that we would do well to master. Helping our children master these scripts by teaching them how to write and improve them in their own minds feels almost like a moral obligation to me.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
So, here's this insight:
Teach your child to consciously develop mental checklists so they know how to make and improve checklists in their minds. (Hint: put the steps on paper and run through them while revising, then memorize/habituate the new routine.)
I like to use my hand as a counting tool. I think 3 things are manageable for a young child, so I'll put up my fist and stick out my pinky and call that the step where we do what Corrina wants to do. Then I'll stick out my thumb and have that be the next step I want her to take. Usually it's something simple just to get her on track and feeling accomplished. So, when she was 4-5 it was taking our shoes off when we get in the house and putting them away properly. Something consistent that she could rely on. Something familiar to reduce anxiety and build good habits around the house or whatever teaching environment. (Which I learned from Montessori Primary - Practical Life skills.)
So the conversation would go something like this:
Corrina: Dad can we wrestle when we get home?
Dad: Absolutely. What has to happen before we can wrestle?
Corrina: Ummmm...
Dad: Okay when we get home what's the first thing we always do?
Corrina: Put away shoes!??
Dad: okay and what has to happen after we put away our shoes, before we can wrestle?
Corrina: eat dinner!
Dad: What else?
Corrina: what else?
Dad: Do the dishes...
Corrina: Brush Teeth!
Dad: Bingo!
So, then whenever she gets off track, I just hold up my hand and reiterate the process. Oftentimes, simply holding up the fingers of the items we've completed will jar her memory of the next thing we gotta check off the checklist.
As she got older and was excited to learn how to write we would make checklists on notecards. Now, I was experimenting with notecards in my business, and she saw me using them on a daily basis. It intrigued her, so we made lists for ourselves during Daddy-Daughter time.
She now knows how to use them. Even though we've gone back to the ever-convenient hand for tracking what we gotta do, she has worked with the process on paper and it is like the rings of a tree as she develops that patterning will resonate out and shape her future experience. When she is older, I expect we will revisit this, and it will not be totally foreign. Something inside her will resonate with the principles, and respond to another lesson around upgrading her checklists - both mentally and on paper.
Making checklists is something we all do anyway. They are powerful scripts running in our lives that we would do well to master. Helping our children master these scripts by teaching them how to write and improve them in their own minds feels almost like a moral obligation to me.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Does Your Child Work From a Checklist?
Pilots work from a checklist. There's a LOT to remember. Any one thing forgotten could cost lives and fortunes. Firemen, doctors, attorneys, great salesmen, even artists and dancers if you look closely enough... they all use checklists. True, some of them aren't on paper, in binders called Operating Manuals. Precisely my point...
We all do it, actually. We get up in the morning and we run our routine. When we go to take our shower we have a little routine that we run. Firs this, then this, then this... oh I better trim these... we are running through a mental checklist.
When I got up to leave the park yesterday my mind did a quick scan: keys, cash, cell phone and anything... anything... oh, yeah - sunglasses that I left in the grass!!! (That's actually what prompted today's post.)
What I was suddenly conscious of (though I've studied this application in personal and professional development for years) was the UN-consciuos process, or "checklist," that my mind went through to take care of me. I can think of LOTS of times in my life when I haven't had good checklists, and I forgot things... like deodorant ;-p
So, here's the insight:
If your child is developing checklists unconsciously, help make them conscious. I like to ask Corrina after she enthusiastically asks me to move on to the next activity, "What's gotta get done before we can do that?"
This puts her in a helpful, receptive state and she begins to seek answers to the question in her mind. She knows she can't proceed until certain things are complete, and she's apt to lay a shoulder in if she can help speed things along. This is a great parenting device, and it gets her thinking in checklists.
So, the next step is to make that checklist process conscious. I'll discuss that in my next post.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
We all do it, actually. We get up in the morning and we run our routine. When we go to take our shower we have a little routine that we run. Firs this, then this, then this... oh I better trim these... we are running through a mental checklist.
When I got up to leave the park yesterday my mind did a quick scan: keys, cash, cell phone and anything... anything... oh, yeah - sunglasses that I left in the grass!!! (That's actually what prompted today's post.)
What I was suddenly conscious of (though I've studied this application in personal and professional development for years) was the UN-consciuos process, or "checklist," that my mind went through to take care of me. I can think of LOTS of times in my life when I haven't had good checklists, and I forgot things... like deodorant ;-p
So, here's the insight:
If your child is developing checklists unconsciously, help make them conscious. I like to ask Corrina after she enthusiastically asks me to move on to the next activity, "What's gotta get done before we can do that?"
This puts her in a helpful, receptive state and she begins to seek answers to the question in her mind. She knows she can't proceed until certain things are complete, and she's apt to lay a shoulder in if she can help speed things along. This is a great parenting device, and it gets her thinking in checklists.
So, the next step is to make that checklist process conscious. I'll discuss that in my next post.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What is Friendship?
Normally, I'd go straight to Dictionary.com and settle this straight away. Whatever prompted me to write about this is also prompting me to come up with my own definitions first. I think that's a sound plan, so let's proceed ;-]
Friendship is one of those maleable terms. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and tends to mean different things at different times.
The simplest definition I can come up with is simply: affinity, liking
Friendship is mutual liking. It's feeling connected on some level and desiring good relations with another.
Certainly things only get more complex from there, but as a basic definition, that satisfies me.
What sort of complex manipulations we pull on ourselves and one another. The other day I saw two three-year-olds playing and getting acquainted. Maybe it was their astrology, or mutual cute-ness, or proximity and gender, or maybe that's just 3-year olds for ya... but they engaged in mutual liking of the purest form.
What happens to us as we get older that causes us to ply our friendships with emotional and psychological posturing in order to get our way? Is communication that difficult?
Being in touch with my heart and speaking congruently with its purity is one of my highest life aspirations.
In this regard, I'm pray that I end up learning more from my daughter than she from me.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Friendship is one of those maleable terms. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and tends to mean different things at different times.
The simplest definition I can come up with is simply: affinity, liking
Friendship is mutual liking. It's feeling connected on some level and desiring good relations with another.
Certainly things only get more complex from there, but as a basic definition, that satisfies me.
What sort of complex manipulations we pull on ourselves and one another. The other day I saw two three-year-olds playing and getting acquainted. Maybe it was their astrology, or mutual cute-ness, or proximity and gender, or maybe that's just 3-year olds for ya... but they engaged in mutual liking of the purest form.
What happens to us as we get older that causes us to ply our friendships with emotional and psychological posturing in order to get our way? Is communication that difficult?
Being in touch with my heart and speaking congruently with its purity is one of my highest life aspirations.
In this regard, I'm pray that I end up learning more from my daughter than she from me.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Oh Baby, That's the Ticket!
You can't ride without ticket... You can't see the show without a ticket... You can't get where you're goin without a ticket!
So, what's your ticket?
Maybe you're a teacher or a CPA or sales person. Whatever it is, the thing you do well, that gets you paid, gets you through doors that others can't pass through... that's your ticket.
Everyone needs at least one ticket. Life is about taking yourself where you wanna go. It's about having a compass and a direction. It's about overcoming obstacles and challenges to realizing your true nature. It's about exploring and experiencing and expressing all that life has to offer within, without and through you.
So, what's your ticket?
I didn't have a ticket for a long time. I had pieces of a ticket. I had a little of this and little of that... but I didn't have a TICKET. I didn't have something I could use to get me around in this world.
With a Philosophy Degree, minor in Art and another in Religion... that didn't really open a lot of doors, or get me where I was doing. I had no interest in the corporate world, or college for that matter. So, to the best of my ability I set myself up to NOT be admitted into the long, grey line of American manhood.
After Corrina was born, I realized I needed a ticket. I needed something to give me access to the world where people make money and take care of themselves and their families. I was substitute teaching - I was hanging around, but I didn't have a ticket. Teaching is my thing, but institutionalized schooling is not. So I bailed on that path.
Sales welcomed me with open arms. The world can always use another hack salesman. After a while of monkeying with that I realized it wasn't a ticket unless I could ACTUALLY sell something. Starting a business seemed like a ticket, but it took so long to figure it out. Finally, after moving to Chicago and getting involved in the Real Estate boom, I found my ticket.
I'm a serial entrepreneur with a sales and marketing bent. If there's a market, and I can live with the product, I can sell it.
That's my ticket.
It gets me the money I need to get where and what I want in my life. It gets me backstage into some pretty cool meetings and businesses that I would never have access to otherwise. It takes me to cool seminars and conferences where I meet incredibly powerful and intelligent people who also have a Sales/Marketing ticket... I couldn't be happier.
Here's the moral... it took me nearly 30 years to find my ticket. That's a long time. That's a long time being a scared, naive kid with no ticket. That's a lot of missed shows, a lot of missed trains... not the way I want my kid to grow up.
Most of what I've learned about sales and marketing could be taught to a 3rd or a 6th grader fairly easily. Especially when we get talking about information marketing and online businesses. Teens could acquire a lifetime ticket to ride by simply laying off the XBox 360 a few hours per day and learning the principles of marketing and internet sales.
Getting that ticket means your child will be able to go see shows, take rides, meet cool people, get an education, travel and explore... Whether it's sales or anything else, make sure your child knows that they will need a ticket, and help them start figuring out what that may be for them. It takes years to get a handle on it - no point in waiting to figure it out until after school and all the pressure that brings.
Better to get it handled early, so that the 20's are a time of radical self-exploration with a base of financial freedom that affords educational experiences impossible to obtain through school.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
So, what's your ticket?
Maybe you're a teacher or a CPA or sales person. Whatever it is, the thing you do well, that gets you paid, gets you through doors that others can't pass through... that's your ticket.
Everyone needs at least one ticket. Life is about taking yourself where you wanna go. It's about having a compass and a direction. It's about overcoming obstacles and challenges to realizing your true nature. It's about exploring and experiencing and expressing all that life has to offer within, without and through you.
So, what's your ticket?
I didn't have a ticket for a long time. I had pieces of a ticket. I had a little of this and little of that... but I didn't have a TICKET. I didn't have something I could use to get me around in this world.
With a Philosophy Degree, minor in Art and another in Religion... that didn't really open a lot of doors, or get me where I was doing. I had no interest in the corporate world, or college for that matter. So, to the best of my ability I set myself up to NOT be admitted into the long, grey line of American manhood.
After Corrina was born, I realized I needed a ticket. I needed something to give me access to the world where people make money and take care of themselves and their families. I was substitute teaching - I was hanging around, but I didn't have a ticket. Teaching is my thing, but institutionalized schooling is not. So I bailed on that path.
Sales welcomed me with open arms. The world can always use another hack salesman. After a while of monkeying with that I realized it wasn't a ticket unless I could ACTUALLY sell something. Starting a business seemed like a ticket, but it took so long to figure it out. Finally, after moving to Chicago and getting involved in the Real Estate boom, I found my ticket.
I'm a serial entrepreneur with a sales and marketing bent. If there's a market, and I can live with the product, I can sell it.
That's my ticket.
It gets me the money I need to get where and what I want in my life. It gets me backstage into some pretty cool meetings and businesses that I would never have access to otherwise. It takes me to cool seminars and conferences where I meet incredibly powerful and intelligent people who also have a Sales/Marketing ticket... I couldn't be happier.
Here's the moral... it took me nearly 30 years to find my ticket. That's a long time. That's a long time being a scared, naive kid with no ticket. That's a lot of missed shows, a lot of missed trains... not the way I want my kid to grow up.
Most of what I've learned about sales and marketing could be taught to a 3rd or a 6th grader fairly easily. Especially when we get talking about information marketing and online businesses. Teens could acquire a lifetime ticket to ride by simply laying off the XBox 360 a few hours per day and learning the principles of marketing and internet sales.
Getting that ticket means your child will be able to go see shows, take rides, meet cool people, get an education, travel and explore... Whether it's sales or anything else, make sure your child knows that they will need a ticket, and help them start figuring out what that may be for them. It takes years to get a handle on it - no point in waiting to figure it out until after school and all the pressure that brings.
Better to get it handled early, so that the 20's are a time of radical self-exploration with a base of financial freedom that affords educational experiences impossible to obtain through school.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
How To Get Your Child Thinking Entrepreneurially...
I think a lot of parents, especially those who had it rough growing up, tend to try to make life easier on their kids.
To a certain degree this makes sense. On the other side of the scale, what's wrong with teaching kids about the 1st Noble Truth: Life is Suffering. We can't always get what we want, and if we are conditioned as children (as we almost all are) to become attached to the outcome we desire, it's only going to set us up for frustration and failure in the end. Teaching kids that they can always get what they want - crying or otherwise - is a recipe for disaster as they grow up. Better to suffer and understand the nature of suffering by adulthood than to grow up sheltered and then be hit by reality after school.
What about teaching kids a work ethic? I mean, I know there's a lot of advice about allowance and I admit I haven't read all the research. I've been told kids should get a certain amount of money regardless of chores. The thinking goes: Kids need to learn how to spend money... or something to that effect.
I take a very different approach. To me, money has to be a reflection of what my child has done to consciously go out and obtain money. Washing the dishes, sweeping the floor... these are just part of being on the team. Corrina likes to eat, she likes a roof over her head... there's nothing wrong with chipping in a little with the mealtime chores, and making her bed. I don't get paid to feed myself and take care of my kid. Maybe people on welfare do. Maybe that's a welfare mentality - that someone should provide for me simply because I'm breathing and taking up space. Not my kid.
She used to blog every week - she would listen to something by Jim Rohn or Brian Tracy and then blog about the simple idea or Principle and translate it into kid-speak (www.markiding.com). When she felt like stopping I agreed because, as far as I know, every labor contract in America is "at will" so there's no use in forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do. It's not realistic - it's not preparing her for life in capitalist America.
(Whether the state becomes fascist in her life-time remains to be seen - so we'll prepare her for the best...)
Of course, she does not earn her allowance either. Her mom wants to waffle. She wants me to just give her the money anyway. I refuse. She may give Corrina money - and I feel that would be a mistake, but I also intuit that Corrina will start to se the contrast in philosophies and eventually make the right choice.
As for working kids too hard and not letting them play and be kids... well, for thousands and thousands of years kids grew up milking cows and tilling soil and getting eggs from the hen house before the crack of dawn. There was no Sponge-Bob, there was no Cartoon Network or Doritos or Pop-Tarts.
To me, it's red flag when parents are losing the Humanity of their children for the convenience of television and snack foods. Our bodies are wired up the same way they were for millenia before these recent products became available.
So, toss out the kiddie-crack and give your kid a broom and then when they come begging for a quarter tell them it's part of being on the team, and they'll lend a hand if they want to be fed tonight (feed them vegetables and whole foods)... then kick them outside to play in the sun and tell them not to ask for money until they come up with something over and above the basic chores they should be doing anyway. Reading a book is good - if it's a challenging book and maybe if they write a book report. Washing the car, completing some additional math or grammar equations... anything more than they are expected to do. Anything to get them thinking entrepreneurially - looking for opportunities to serve and contribute more than they are asked.
As Zig Ziglar says - there are no traffic jams on the extra mile.
As always - love to hear your feedback!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
To a certain degree this makes sense. On the other side of the scale, what's wrong with teaching kids about the 1st Noble Truth: Life is Suffering. We can't always get what we want, and if we are conditioned as children (as we almost all are) to become attached to the outcome we desire, it's only going to set us up for frustration and failure in the end. Teaching kids that they can always get what they want - crying or otherwise - is a recipe for disaster as they grow up. Better to suffer and understand the nature of suffering by adulthood than to grow up sheltered and then be hit by reality after school.
What about teaching kids a work ethic? I mean, I know there's a lot of advice about allowance and I admit I haven't read all the research. I've been told kids should get a certain amount of money regardless of chores. The thinking goes: Kids need to learn how to spend money... or something to that effect.
I take a very different approach. To me, money has to be a reflection of what my child has done to consciously go out and obtain money. Washing the dishes, sweeping the floor... these are just part of being on the team. Corrina likes to eat, she likes a roof over her head... there's nothing wrong with chipping in a little with the mealtime chores, and making her bed. I don't get paid to feed myself and take care of my kid. Maybe people on welfare do. Maybe that's a welfare mentality - that someone should provide for me simply because I'm breathing and taking up space. Not my kid.
She used to blog every week - she would listen to something by Jim Rohn or Brian Tracy and then blog about the simple idea or Principle and translate it into kid-speak (www.markiding.com). When she felt like stopping I agreed because, as far as I know, every labor contract in America is "at will" so there's no use in forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do. It's not realistic - it's not preparing her for life in capitalist America.
(Whether the state becomes fascist in her life-time remains to be seen - so we'll prepare her for the best...)
Of course, she does not earn her allowance either. Her mom wants to waffle. She wants me to just give her the money anyway. I refuse. She may give Corrina money - and I feel that would be a mistake, but I also intuit that Corrina will start to se the contrast in philosophies and eventually make the right choice.
As for working kids too hard and not letting them play and be kids... well, for thousands and thousands of years kids grew up milking cows and tilling soil and getting eggs from the hen house before the crack of dawn. There was no Sponge-Bob, there was no Cartoon Network or Doritos or Pop-Tarts.
To me, it's red flag when parents are losing the Humanity of their children for the convenience of television and snack foods. Our bodies are wired up the same way they were for millenia before these recent products became available.
So, toss out the kiddie-crack and give your kid a broom and then when they come begging for a quarter tell them it's part of being on the team, and they'll lend a hand if they want to be fed tonight (feed them vegetables and whole foods)... then kick them outside to play in the sun and tell them not to ask for money until they come up with something over and above the basic chores they should be doing anyway. Reading a book is good - if it's a challenging book and maybe if they write a book report. Washing the car, completing some additional math or grammar equations... anything more than they are expected to do. Anything to get them thinking entrepreneurially - looking for opportunities to serve and contribute more than they are asked.
As Zig Ziglar says - there are no traffic jams on the extra mile.
As always - love to hear your feedback!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Hey Baby... What's Your Enneagram Number?
It's a lot like Astrology, or what we'd call a Type system where you can lookup all the aspects of your personality according to some cookbook recipe correlated with your birthday or name or something...
Except the Enneagram is more than that. The Enneagram is a total mystery. I've never heard the straight story on where it comes from, though I heard a rumor it's Sufi, another that it came out of Chile in the last 50-60 years or so, and the one I like to retell - Jesuits were using it to secretly decode the temperaments of their parishoners in things like marriage counseling sessions.
Since the Enneagram also tells you what your path of growth is, as well as healthy and unhealthy manifestations, you can pretty much pinpoint how you're doing on a soul level.
My men's group is currently running their profiles. Here are some of the resources they've posted on our forum. I'm revisiting mine and teetering on a 4 with a 3 wing or a 3 with a 4 wing.
If you don't know what that means, here's the standard rundown on the Enneagram: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality
Here are some tests:
$10 - http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp
$0 - http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php
Facebook even has an app! Just search Enneagram on Facebook and click on the Applications tab.
But ultimately, your best resource will be this book: The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types
Coincidentally, I just completed the Enneagram on the new Enlightened Child Mandala.
I gotta go back and review my notes from years ago. I wonder if you can change types! Maybe I'm just coming to know my true self...
Take the Enneagram test - - let me know what you think!
And try to complete one for your child. It will do wonders for your communication and understanding to put words on what you already intuit. Let me know!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Except the Enneagram is more than that. The Enneagram is a total mystery. I've never heard the straight story on where it comes from, though I heard a rumor it's Sufi, another that it came out of Chile in the last 50-60 years or so, and the one I like to retell - Jesuits were using it to secretly decode the temperaments of their parishoners in things like marriage counseling sessions.
Since the Enneagram also tells you what your path of growth is, as well as healthy and unhealthy manifestations, you can pretty much pinpoint how you're doing on a soul level.
My men's group is currently running their profiles. Here are some of the resources they've posted on our forum. I'm revisiting mine and teetering on a 4 with a 3 wing or a 3 with a 4 wing.
If you don't know what that means, here's the standard rundown on the Enneagram: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality
Here are some tests:
$10 - http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp
$0 - http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php
Facebook even has an app! Just search Enneagram on Facebook and click on the Applications tab.
But ultimately, your best resource will be this book: The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types
Coincidentally, I just completed the Enneagram on the new Enlightened Child Mandala.
I gotta go back and review my notes from years ago. I wonder if you can change types! Maybe I'm just coming to know my true self...
Take the Enneagram test - - let me know what you think!
And try to complete one for your child. It will do wonders for your communication and understanding to put words on what you already intuit. Let me know!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What is Your Kid Ever Gonna Do Without an AUTO-RESPONDER?!!
What the heck is an Auto-responder, anyway?
It's when you enter your name and email address in the little purple form that pops up on a website and then immediately get an email message with your name in it.
There are all sorts of these things. I've had them as part of a text-messaging service I subscribed to (http://www.trumpia.com) that helped me promote social events at bars and clubs. You can have cool services like http://www.youmail.com set up customized voicemail messsages for every number you receive calls from.
The one I set up today is from a service called Aweber. And if I was smart I'd be putting in an Affiliate link right about now. But I'm getting tired of this computer business, so I'm letting it go.
You can test this new system out by entering your name and email in the purple box that pops up. If you closed it just refresh the page and wait 5 seconds.
When you get the email, please reply back to me with suggestions on how to improve the experience and the message I send. Your feedback really helps - so thanks in advance.
If you're reading this on facebook, click here to read the original blog and enter your email.
And start thinking about how to introduce your child to the idea of autoresponders. It's a tool they will use like a farmer uses tractors and ploughs. Give them the tools earlier while they have time to simply play with them, before it's a matter bankruptcy and starvation if they fail.
Maybe that's a little obscure for some readers, but marketers get it.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
It's when you enter your name and email address in the little purple form that pops up on a website and then immediately get an email message with your name in it.
There are all sorts of these things. I've had them as part of a text-messaging service I subscribed to (http://www.trumpia.com) that helped me promote social events at bars and clubs. You can have cool services like http://www.youmail.com set up customized voicemail messsages for every number you receive calls from.
The one I set up today is from a service called Aweber. And if I was smart I'd be putting in an Affiliate link right about now. But I'm getting tired of this computer business, so I'm letting it go.
You can test this new system out by entering your name and email in the purple box that pops up. If you closed it just refresh the page and wait 5 seconds.
When you get the email, please reply back to me with suggestions on how to improve the experience and the message I send. Your feedback really helps - so thanks in advance.
If you're reading this on facebook, click here to read the original blog and enter your email.
And start thinking about how to introduce your child to the idea of autoresponders. It's a tool they will use like a farmer uses tractors and ploughs. Give them the tools earlier while they have time to simply play with them, before it's a matter bankruptcy and starvation if they fail.
Maybe that's a little obscure for some readers, but marketers get it.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What Do 21st Century Knowledge Workers Need To Know if They Are Only 13 Still...
First of all, MOST of the fundamentals still apply. Gravity will get ya, and so will a lot of other truisms about life. so stay keen for them and collect them like jewels.
Secondly, a lot of what you hear floating around that passes for advice or common sense is DEAD NUTS WRONG. You gotta be prepared to make up your own mind on EVERY SINGLE ITEM of Information or Emotion that crosses your radar field. That means you have to have a well-tuned mind and an ability to recognize patterns.
Pattern recognition is huge. The sooner you learn to generalize with pattern recognition, the more time you save yourself figuring out that if you keep doing what you have always done you will keep getting what you've been getting all along.
So learn to recognize patterns and think in constructs. You have to actively build your philosophy of life, and that's why I recommend starting with the fundamentals - Jim Rohn is a good place to start.
Then finally, make sure you are in touch with your genius. Know the answer to or be asking these three questions at all times until you have a lock on the place they all overlap. Then DIG DEEP! Life is short and you gotta take your chances when you see them line up in your sites!
Here are the 3 questions:
1.) What can I be the best in the world at (hint: there's Riches in Niches)
2.) What do I LOVE doing so much I'd do it for no pay at all. (or, if you had a $100MM inheritance...)
3.) How can I monetize what I know and deliver it in a way that supports my purpose and lifestyle?
When you have an answer to those questions, then you'll be free like Neo in the Matrix!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Secondly, a lot of what you hear floating around that passes for advice or common sense is DEAD NUTS WRONG. You gotta be prepared to make up your own mind on EVERY SINGLE ITEM of Information or Emotion that crosses your radar field. That means you have to have a well-tuned mind and an ability to recognize patterns.
Pattern recognition is huge. The sooner you learn to generalize with pattern recognition, the more time you save yourself figuring out that if you keep doing what you have always done you will keep getting what you've been getting all along.
So learn to recognize patterns and think in constructs. You have to actively build your philosophy of life, and that's why I recommend starting with the fundamentals - Jim Rohn is a good place to start.
Then finally, make sure you are in touch with your genius. Know the answer to or be asking these three questions at all times until you have a lock on the place they all overlap. Then DIG DEEP! Life is short and you gotta take your chances when you see them line up in your sites!
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
~Goethe
Here are the 3 questions:
1.) What can I be the best in the world at (hint: there's Riches in Niches)
2.) What do I LOVE doing so much I'd do it for no pay at all. (or, if you had a $100MM inheritance...)
3.) How can I monetize what I know and deliver it in a way that supports my purpose and lifestyle?
When you have an answer to those questions, then you'll be free like Neo in the Matrix!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Why I'm Stoked For My Young Friend!
Or "How to Cure Depression in Teenagers" This is a good read for anyone with a bitchy teenager hoggin up the couch all summer and aggravating you with their pent up teenage energy that just gets stuffed and strung out into a passive-aggressive depression.
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Have You Seen the Enlightened Child Mandala?
When Corrina was born Jen's uncle gave us a family ToyBox, which I promptly turned into a canvas, adding the elements of astrology, the yin-yang and other esoteric symbols. Four years later, it looked like this:
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Why Follow Through On Committments is Important...
When we were kids, a lot of times we got roped into doing things we didn't want to do. As we got older, more and more choice became our own.
In my late teens I started to notice a pattern. I learned most when I followed through on commitments. If and especially when I didn't feel like doing something, that's when I learned the most.
Learning how to only make commitments that I know I will follow through on has been a big part of the learning. Renegotiating agreements works under certain circumstances, but for the most part, I do my best to keep my word and do what I said I would. Somewhere along the way, objectives can be tweaked and course corrected... the original intent is always to see the path through.
One of the things that bums me out the most is when someone else does not keep a commitment with me. It's never the end of the world, but it really leaves a wound when someone no-shows or falls short.
I do it to. And to the best of my ability I am aware of when I miss my commitments. At that point I do whatever is necessary to be accountable for the commitment and any make-up needed to get back into harmony with those I let down.
It's not a perfect science, but it's kept me from amassing and carrying around massive amounts of guilt and shame. It's also something I practice with my daughter. She's a very sensitive human being. When I mess up I feel privileged that she's willing and able to forgive me and trust me again. Lord knows how many relationships are marred for life by parents who have yet to learn the skills of accountability and make-up.
What do you do when you break a commitment?
What do you do when you break a commitment with your child?
Have you forgiven your parents, et al, for any shortcomings they have demonstrated here?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
In my late teens I started to notice a pattern. I learned most when I followed through on commitments. If and especially when I didn't feel like doing something, that's when I learned the most.
Learning how to only make commitments that I know I will follow through on has been a big part of the learning. Renegotiating agreements works under certain circumstances, but for the most part, I do my best to keep my word and do what I said I would. Somewhere along the way, objectives can be tweaked and course corrected... the original intent is always to see the path through.
One of the things that bums me out the most is when someone else does not keep a commitment with me. It's never the end of the world, but it really leaves a wound when someone no-shows or falls short.
I do it to. And to the best of my ability I am aware of when I miss my commitments. At that point I do whatever is necessary to be accountable for the commitment and any make-up needed to get back into harmony with those I let down.
It's not a perfect science, but it's kept me from amassing and carrying around massive amounts of guilt and shame. It's also something I practice with my daughter. She's a very sensitive human being. When I mess up I feel privileged that she's willing and able to forgive me and trust me again. Lord knows how many relationships are marred for life by parents who have yet to learn the skills of accountability and make-up.
What do you do when you break a commitment?
What do you do when you break a commitment with your child?
Have you forgiven your parents, et al, for any shortcomings they have demonstrated here?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Are You a Government-Issue Parent?
What are the attributes of an exceptional parent?
A few big obvious areas to begin our exploration would be:
1.) Moral and heart-connected relations.
2.) Insightful about the child's development needs.
3.) Grounded in the present socio-economic realities affecting freedom and success.
Most parents, the standard, government-issue type, will abdicate the majority of these functions to the State and Schooling system, the Church, or the kids on the corner and whoever they are influenced by.
The State is so far out of touch with your child's individual developmental needs that to trust the schooling system with the soul of your child is like trusting your lamb to a pack of hyenas. That's not to say lessons can't be learned in schooling systems. Just relative to what your child is capable of, it seems a tragedy to allow a brilliant mind to be dumbed down by an insidious process of socialization that itself is no longer grounded in present socio-economic reality.
In the 21st Century, assembly line work is no longer the primary occupation of school graduates. The modern schooling system is a muddled adaptation of an outmoded industrial revolution era system that taught reading, writing, 'rithmetic. What our kids need is a way to clearly translate ideas and connections into profits.
An exceptional parent is going to do what it takes to get their child the true education required to thrive in the world ahead.
So how do we give our kids a 21st Century Education?
Or are you one of those "government-issue parents" too?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
A few big obvious areas to begin our exploration would be:
1.) Moral and heart-connected relations.
2.) Insightful about the child's development needs.
3.) Grounded in the present socio-economic realities affecting freedom and success.
Most parents, the standard, government-issue type, will abdicate the majority of these functions to the State and Schooling system, the Church, or the kids on the corner and whoever they are influenced by.
The State is so far out of touch with your child's individual developmental needs that to trust the schooling system with the soul of your child is like trusting your lamb to a pack of hyenas. That's not to say lessons can't be learned in schooling systems. Just relative to what your child is capable of, it seems a tragedy to allow a brilliant mind to be dumbed down by an insidious process of socialization that itself is no longer grounded in present socio-economic reality.
In the 21st Century, assembly line work is no longer the primary occupation of school graduates. The modern schooling system is a muddled adaptation of an outmoded industrial revolution era system that taught reading, writing, 'rithmetic. What our kids need is a way to clearly translate ideas and connections into profits.
An exceptional parent is going to do what it takes to get their child the true education required to thrive in the world ahead.
"...your old road is rapidly aging. Get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a changing."
So how do we give our kids a 21st Century Education?
Or are you one of those "government-issue parents" too?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Who's Responsibility Is It Anyway?
Yesterday I posted about the before and after of modern schooling systems. Before schooling, we are all growing at a staggering rate. After schooling, most humans are stuck in their identity of who they are, what they know, how they get by, who they'll be friends with, etc...
Is it nature or nurture? Do our neurons stop developing through the school-age period, and we're simply DONE at age 18 o3 22? Or does the schooling system take it out of us and leave us a shell of the curious, creative soul we were born to be?
I'm sure there's studies and arguments on both sides. This is a fun, light-hearted blog, so I'm not going to get into it.
What I want to consider tho, is what an educational system might be like that fully embraced curiosity, creativity, questions and exploration.
Do you think an adult who was socialized to see failure as growth, change as life and questions as the keys to the kingdom would allow him or herself to be locked into a frustrating job with a mountain of debt and a cocktail of mood altering prescriptions to numb the soul and tolerate the madness of our modern social systems?
I hope not.
Even a slightly inquisitive mind with enough experiences playing sports or music will know that practice is the key to mastery. What if that inquisitive mind turned itself on solving the problems we really face, not just the problems posed to us by big media and a morally absurd social norm that allows us to jet around sipping our collective lattes in our sweat-shop clothes and disposable lifestyles like we're more important than the 200-300,000 starving and impoverished laborers (per each of us) that have been shafted into making this possible?
What if we simply raised our kids to ask bigger, more important questions?
What if we gave them tools and introduced them to teachers or mentors who could help them answer those questions?
What if a generation of young adults emerged like a force of nature and swiftly implemented new solutions to problems that, as Einstein warned us, could not be solved at the level we were at when we created them?
Because we can't solve war with bombs.
And we can't solve the schooling system problems with teachers and administrators who are a product of that schooling system.
I'd love to hear what you're personally doing to take your child's education into your own hands.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Is it nature or nurture? Do our neurons stop developing through the school-age period, and we're simply DONE at age 18 o3 22? Or does the schooling system take it out of us and leave us a shell of the curious, creative soul we were born to be?
I'm sure there's studies and arguments on both sides. This is a fun, light-hearted blog, so I'm not going to get into it.
What I want to consider tho, is what an educational system might be like that fully embraced curiosity, creativity, questions and exploration.
Do you think an adult who was socialized to see failure as growth, change as life and questions as the keys to the kingdom would allow him or herself to be locked into a frustrating job with a mountain of debt and a cocktail of mood altering prescriptions to numb the soul and tolerate the madness of our modern social systems?
I hope not.
Even a slightly inquisitive mind with enough experiences playing sports or music will know that practice is the key to mastery. What if that inquisitive mind turned itself on solving the problems we really face, not just the problems posed to us by big media and a morally absurd social norm that allows us to jet around sipping our collective lattes in our sweat-shop clothes and disposable lifestyles like we're more important than the 200-300,000 starving and impoverished laborers (per each of us) that have been shafted into making this possible?
What if we simply raised our kids to ask bigger, more important questions?
What if we gave them tools and introduced them to teachers or mentors who could help them answer those questions?
What if a generation of young adults emerged like a force of nature and swiftly implemented new solutions to problems that, as Einstein warned us, could not be solved at the level we were at when we created them?
Because we can't solve war with bombs.
And we can't solve the schooling system problems with teachers and administrators who are a product of that schooling system.
I'd love to hear what you're personally doing to take your child's education into your own hands.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
When It's All Said and Done...
At the end of the day, who do you become?
Are you the same person who woke up that morning?
Have you seen anything, met anyone, learned anything, had some "a-ha!"?
Or are you pretty much the same as this morning, same as yesterday, same as last year or 10 years ago?
Your child is not.
Your child is learning and growing at a staggering rate.
Modern schooling systems are (intentionally or unintentionally) retarding your child's growth in many dimensions. True, the social and emotional intelligences are developing, but the bulk of your child's true potential is slipping away moment by moment as they waste away in schooling facilities around the country.
Perhaps in emerging nations this type of wrote memorization system works. Not for the future 21st Century Knowledge Worker.
We used to work with our food and sustenance directly. We farmed and herded.
In the 21st Century, your child is 99.9% likely to work for food and sustenance indirectly. This means that simple reading, writing, 'rithmatic ain't cuttin it. Not to mention the archaic model of transferring this knowledge to the children.
Can you imagine if, at your age, you continued to grow and learn and stay present with your experience - full of wonder and awe - as though still a child?
Seems simple enough...
Zen, really.
Stay in the flow of the moment and you'll never walk through the same river twice.
Who said that?
Heraclitus?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Are you the same person who woke up that morning?
Have you seen anything, met anyone, learned anything, had some "a-ha!"?
Or are you pretty much the same as this morning, same as yesterday, same as last year or 10 years ago?
Your child is not.
Your child is learning and growing at a staggering rate.
Modern schooling systems are (intentionally or unintentionally) retarding your child's growth in many dimensions. True, the social and emotional intelligences are developing, but the bulk of your child's true potential is slipping away moment by moment as they waste away in schooling facilities around the country.
Perhaps in emerging nations this type of wrote memorization system works. Not for the future 21st Century Knowledge Worker.
We used to work with our food and sustenance directly. We farmed and herded.
In the 21st Century, your child is 99.9% likely to work for food and sustenance indirectly. This means that simple reading, writing, 'rithmatic ain't cuttin it. Not to mention the archaic model of transferring this knowledge to the children.
Can you imagine if, at your age, you continued to grow and learn and stay present with your experience - full of wonder and awe - as though still a child?
Matthew 18:3 Verily I say unto you, Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Seems simple enough...
Zen, really.
Stay in the flow of the moment and you'll never walk through the same river twice.
Who said that?
Heraclitus?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
How To Give Your Teenager the Best Secondary Education for FREE!
We all want our kids to have better than we did.
My parents grew up financially strained. They were the first to go to college. They wanted me to have the best education I could get because, in their world, that was the key to a fulfilling life.
In the 21st Century, technology is accelerating so rapidly that information and communication technology is burgeoning on "psychic" (just think of Google) and the iPhone.
Social Media sites are not some novelty or a past-time any more. I rarely email anymore. The bulk of my communication is managed on Facebook and Text Messaging (SMS).
If Markets Are Conversations, then social media is bringing authenticity back to the marketplace. Companies and Professionals will thrive as they reveal their inner workings. How will they do this?
The clients and markets they serve will call B.S. on their social media profiles and they will lose business. Children have terrific B.S. detectors and access to social media as they enter the marketplace will give them a decided advantage when it comes to making major life choices.
For instance: Should I buy this product? Should I work with this business? Should I trust this person? What does my tribe suggest when it comes to...?
These questions are about authenticity and how we represent ourselves in the marketplace. No more anonymous companies, no more faceless internet marketers. The 21st Century market will require an entirely different set of skills for your children to thrive.
In fact, embracing and demonstrating authenticity on social media will be crucial for any professional who wants to thrive in the 21st Century. That includes Boomers and even reluctant or non-marketing oriented Gen-x'ers who have a vision for a business and could really use the inexpensive exposure for their business that social media provides.
To that end, a subset of the Enlightened Child Curriculum is a teen module I coined the Entrepreneurial Academy. It's a program designed to mentor teens with a vision. If they have a vision, they have a sense of what they wanna do, and a reason why they want to do it. This, combined with dependability and competence, is a model student for this program.
What a mentee will learn is:
1.) Timeless Principles of marketing and entrepreneurship
2.) 21st Century knowledge-work systems for getting thing done
3.) Social Media development and cutting edge techniques for improving sales
4.) How to schmooze with clients (who are Experts in their fields) and build a network
5.) How to absorb as much wisdom from each client while helping share the Expertise with the world in a way that is mutually lucrative
6.) Lifestyle Design strategies that create time and financial freedom (to do Good)
7.) The Basic Moral Intuition - Giving Back by Leveraging Freedom to Do Good & Marketing talent to create a Social Media Buzz around real issues and real solutions that ARE working
Basically, the Internship (as my Facebook pal Kevin Munro called it) would consist of me training the mentee how to set up various social media sites and then integrate them together to create a marketing funnel. This frees up my time to do more R&D on the Enlightened Child Philosophy, write, travel, teach... We all earn a handsome salary, and design our lifestyles to help us life our Purpose in life.
Beats hanging around playing xBox all day.
Once a child reaches late teens they should be financially liberated to the point where any educational experience they desire - from college semesters with specific teachers to $5,000 seminars, workshops or coaching periods they don't need to worry about money to live on or invest in the education. They should be flush from relatively passive cashflow.
By that age, they will have Internet businesses, promoted via social media very inexpensively, based on the training and experience they got interning with me at Social Media Maverick.
To read more about the Social Media Maverick Marketing Philosophy and how you can get your teen involved go to my Blog, or enter your name and email on the right of this blog.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
My parents grew up financially strained. They were the first to go to college. They wanted me to have the best education I could get because, in their world, that was the key to a fulfilling life.
In the 21st Century, technology is accelerating so rapidly that information and communication technology is burgeoning on "psychic" (just think of Google) and the iPhone.
Social Media sites are not some novelty or a past-time any more. I rarely email anymore. The bulk of my communication is managed on Facebook and Text Messaging (SMS).
If Markets Are Conversations, then social media is bringing authenticity back to the marketplace. Companies and Professionals will thrive as they reveal their inner workings. How will they do this?
The clients and markets they serve will call B.S. on their social media profiles and they will lose business. Children have terrific B.S. detectors and access to social media as they enter the marketplace will give them a decided advantage when it comes to making major life choices.
For instance: Should I buy this product? Should I work with this business? Should I trust this person? What does my tribe suggest when it comes to...?
These questions are about authenticity and how we represent ourselves in the marketplace. No more anonymous companies, no more faceless internet marketers. The 21st Century market will require an entirely different set of skills for your children to thrive.
In fact, embracing and demonstrating authenticity on social media will be crucial for any professional who wants to thrive in the 21st Century. That includes Boomers and even reluctant or non-marketing oriented Gen-x'ers who have a vision for a business and could really use the inexpensive exposure for their business that social media provides.
To that end, a subset of the Enlightened Child Curriculum is a teen module I coined the Entrepreneurial Academy. It's a program designed to mentor teens with a vision. If they have a vision, they have a sense of what they wanna do, and a reason why they want to do it. This, combined with dependability and competence, is a model student for this program.
What a mentee will learn is:
1.) Timeless Principles of marketing and entrepreneurship
2.) 21st Century knowledge-work systems for getting thing done
3.) Social Media development and cutting edge techniques for improving sales
4.) How to schmooze with clients (who are Experts in their fields) and build a network
5.) How to absorb as much wisdom from each client while helping share the Expertise with the world in a way that is mutually lucrative
6.) Lifestyle Design strategies that create time and financial freedom (to do Good)
7.) The Basic Moral Intuition - Giving Back by Leveraging Freedom to Do Good & Marketing talent to create a Social Media Buzz around real issues and real solutions that ARE working
Basically, the Internship (as my Facebook pal Kevin Munro called it) would consist of me training the mentee how to set up various social media sites and then integrate them together to create a marketing funnel. This frees up my time to do more R&D on the Enlightened Child Philosophy, write, travel, teach... We all earn a handsome salary, and design our lifestyles to help us life our Purpose in life.
Beats hanging around playing xBox all day.
Once a child reaches late teens they should be financially liberated to the point where any educational experience they desire - from college semesters with specific teachers to $5,000 seminars, workshops or coaching periods they don't need to worry about money to live on or invest in the education. They should be flush from relatively passive cashflow.
By that age, they will have Internet businesses, promoted via social media very inexpensively, based on the training and experience they got interning with me at Social Media Maverick.
To read more about the Social Media Maverick Marketing Philosophy and how you can get your teen involved go to my Blog, or enter your name and email on the right of this blog.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Is Astrology Worth Examining or Not?
Ever since college when my friend did my astrological birth chart, I have been totally intrigued by the idea that I could learn about myself and others, and our relationships through this ancient system.
A funny story: Back in college at the UW - Madison, my good friend Adam shot me down when I attempted to learn about his chart. He gave me a false birthday. When I read his sign to him he asked me if I thought that sounded like him. I could see how it fit. Then he told me, with a Scorpionic sneer, that he had lied about his birthday and therefore astrology was a load of garbage. Ironically, he is now a professional astrologer: www.theskyisyou.com
This week I'm staying with him in Denver. Not surprisingly, he will read and explain a whole bunch of astrological jargon and then look me dead in the eye and say something like, "Astrolgy is such BS." And it is... yet it's also eerily true in more cases than not - especially when you get under the covers and really explore the deep intricacies of your chart.
Or your child's chart!
(You can get a free Chart for yourself and your child at Astro.com. I highly recommend it. What you learn will help you understand yourself, your child, and the dynamics of your relationship. It's not hard science, true. But the insights will blow your mind.)
Adam's been studying Uranus quite a bit, and gave me a book that details some of the finer points of how this planet can affect.
What I read fit very much with the experiences I've been having the past week. Especially since my Boulder experiences.
The upshot of the book relative to my chart (I have a Uranus/Moon conjuction - which means they are very close together) helped me understand the "Soul DNA" that inspires me to develop the Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education.
Uranus energy has to do with profound insight, brilliance, talent and enlightenment.
Moon energy is associated with emotions, home, nurturing and childhood.
Uranus = Enlightened
Moon = Child
How could I possible make something like that up? There's no way. It's just uncanny.
How does this help me? Well, not only does it validate my own path, it affirms that by helping parents, teachers and children to understand themselves through deep exploration with systems like Astrology (among others - I believe in a "triangulated verification") they can come to know themselves much more intimately and navigate their lives and relationships much more gracefully than just winging it while flying blind. Learning only through trial and error, with no objective reference for personal typology or tendency.
(Being adopted, this method has been my best means of self-understanding. I sincerely wish my parents had taken an interest in how we can know one another more intimately using this tool.)
Another great book Adam showed me is called An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar. Here's the quote that blew me away today and inspired me to write about what I learned in this post:
I'm gonna stop there because it's already dense enough for this light-hearted blog, but as you can see, the passion I feel for creating a system of educational enlightenment by teaching children the wisdom contained in simple esoteric symbols like the yin-yang and... ironically, astrology, is well founded in my "Soul DNA."
The rest of the passage goes on to talk about how the most characteristic of human natures is to "bind time" or transfer to others yet unborn the hard-won insights and knowledge of those who have come before. It's trans-generational mentoring. It's conscious participation in cosmic evolution.
It's so COOL!
If you've learned anything profound about yourself from a system like Astrology, the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, etc... I'd love to hear your story. Feel free to share in the comments.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
A funny story: Back in college at the UW - Madison, my good friend Adam shot me down when I attempted to learn about his chart. He gave me a false birthday. When I read his sign to him he asked me if I thought that sounded like him. I could see how it fit. Then he told me, with a Scorpionic sneer, that he had lied about his birthday and therefore astrology was a load of garbage. Ironically, he is now a professional astrologer: www.theskyisyou.com
This week I'm staying with him in Denver. Not surprisingly, he will read and explain a whole bunch of astrological jargon and then look me dead in the eye and say something like, "Astrolgy is such BS." And it is... yet it's also eerily true in more cases than not - especially when you get under the covers and really explore the deep intricacies of your chart.
Or your child's chart!
(You can get a free Chart for yourself and your child at Astro.com. I highly recommend it. What you learn will help you understand yourself, your child, and the dynamics of your relationship. It's not hard science, true. But the insights will blow your mind.)
Adam's been studying Uranus quite a bit, and gave me a book that details some of the finer points of how this planet can affect.
What I read fit very much with the experiences I've been having the past week. Especially since my Boulder experiences.
The upshot of the book relative to my chart (I have a Uranus/Moon conjuction - which means they are very close together) helped me understand the "Soul DNA" that inspires me to develop the Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education.
Uranus energy has to do with profound insight, brilliance, talent and enlightenment.
Moon energy is associated with emotions, home, nurturing and childhood.
Uranus = Enlightened
Moon = Child
How could I possible make something like that up? There's no way. It's just uncanny.
How does this help me? Well, not only does it validate my own path, it affirms that by helping parents, teachers and children to understand themselves through deep exploration with systems like Astrology (among others - I believe in a "triangulated verification") they can come to know themselves much more intimately and navigate their lives and relationships much more gracefully than just winging it while flying blind. Learning only through trial and error, with no objective reference for personal typology or tendency.
(Being adopted, this method has been my best means of self-understanding. I sincerely wish my parents had taken an interest in how we can know one another more intimately using this tool.)
Another great book Adam showed me is called An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar. Here's the quote that blew me away today and inspired me to write about what I learned in this post:
Phase 209 - Libra 29 degree (my moon): Mankind's vast and enduring effort to reach for knowledge transferable from generation to generation.
Keynote: A deep sense of participation in, and commitment to, social processes which seek to bring all men Truth and greater Life.
I'm gonna stop there because it's already dense enough for this light-hearted blog, but as you can see, the passion I feel for creating a system of educational enlightenment by teaching children the wisdom contained in simple esoteric symbols like the yin-yang and... ironically, astrology, is well founded in my "Soul DNA."
The rest of the passage goes on to talk about how the most characteristic of human natures is to "bind time" or transfer to others yet unborn the hard-won insights and knowledge of those who have come before. It's trans-generational mentoring. It's conscious participation in cosmic evolution.
It's so COOL!
If you've learned anything profound about yourself from a system like Astrology, the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, etc... I'd love to hear your story. Feel free to share in the comments.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Are You Harming Your body with Yoga?
It's true - Yoga can seriously wreck ya!
I have been practicing on and off for 15 years. My back is not trashed, but it's not as solid as it should be.
In Chicago I practiced with various teachers 3-5 times per week for 18 months.
Now that I'm in Rochester, I'm taking with Francois Raoult at Open Sky and I am realizing how poorly my practice has been affecting my body due to a lack of TRUE understanding about how the body works and what certain poses are intended to stretch.
Doing anything improperly over a period of time is deleterious to our health. Smoking and drinking are a good example. Have a smoke, have a drink... it won't kill ya. Smoke & drink a pack a day and you will see steep declines in health, energy and self-esteem. Eventually, it will rot you out.
While a well-informed yoga practice is one of the best things you can do on a regular basis for health, longevity and well-being, all yoga teachers are NOT the same. In fact, most yoga teachers suck (there, I said it) and you should NOT trust them with your body.
Taking a weekend-long "yoga fit" certification does not a teacher make. Even dedicated practitioners with decades of experience could steer you wrong, or leave you hanging. It's true of any teacher, mentor or professional.
The reason I trust Francois is because he CLEARLY understands anatomy, physiology, energy, meditation and how poses can help or hurt the body depending on minute nuances that most teachers are ignorant of.
He is currently training a batch of students - some of whom have traveled from across the country to spend 6 months with him. We've had several conversations about their shock, awe and excitement about how their understanding is deepening. Who knew???
So, the question is: How do you know when your teachers are truly serving you, or hindering you from true health, wealth and connection?
It's critical. Especially for our children. I know I've had many guitar teachers in my youth that ruined me as a musician. Not because they made me "worse" but because when I was young and unfettered by responsibility and had all the time in the world to practice they failed to challenge me, inform my mind and body with truly worthwhile training and inspiration, and in general just sucked.
Here's the deal:
1.) Interview 5-10 local teachers for yourself or your child.
2.) Ask them about their philosophy, teaching style and experience.
3.) Ask them who THEY would take lessons from.
4.) Call the 1-3 people whose name keeps coming up.
5.) Don't skimp on price or distance.
If you have to, take fewer, higher quality lessons with the best teachers you can find. Teachers who, as Emerson admonishes, "will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
I have been practicing on and off for 15 years. My back is not trashed, but it's not as solid as it should be.
In Chicago I practiced with various teachers 3-5 times per week for 18 months.
Now that I'm in Rochester, I'm taking with Francois Raoult at Open Sky and I am realizing how poorly my practice has been affecting my body due to a lack of TRUE understanding about how the body works and what certain poses are intended to stretch.
Doing anything improperly over a period of time is deleterious to our health. Smoking and drinking are a good example. Have a smoke, have a drink... it won't kill ya. Smoke & drink a pack a day and you will see steep declines in health, energy and self-esteem. Eventually, it will rot you out.
While a well-informed yoga practice is one of the best things you can do on a regular basis for health, longevity and well-being, all yoga teachers are NOT the same. In fact, most yoga teachers suck (there, I said it) and you should NOT trust them with your body.
Taking a weekend-long "yoga fit" certification does not a teacher make. Even dedicated practitioners with decades of experience could steer you wrong, or leave you hanging. It's true of any teacher, mentor or professional.
The reason I trust Francois is because he CLEARLY understands anatomy, physiology, energy, meditation and how poses can help or hurt the body depending on minute nuances that most teachers are ignorant of.
He is currently training a batch of students - some of whom have traveled from across the country to spend 6 months with him. We've had several conversations about their shock, awe and excitement about how their understanding is deepening. Who knew???
So, the question is: How do you know when your teachers are truly serving you, or hindering you from true health, wealth and connection?
It's critical. Especially for our children. I know I've had many guitar teachers in my youth that ruined me as a musician. Not because they made me "worse" but because when I was young and unfettered by responsibility and had all the time in the world to practice they failed to challenge me, inform my mind and body with truly worthwhile training and inspiration, and in general just sucked.
Here's the deal:
1.) Interview 5-10 local teachers for yourself or your child.
2.) Ask them about their philosophy, teaching style and experience.
3.) Ask them who THEY would take lessons from.
4.) Call the 1-3 people whose name keeps coming up.
5.) Don't skimp on price or distance.
If you have to, take fewer, higher quality lessons with the best teachers you can find. Teachers who, as Emerson admonishes, "will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Wanna Know What I Got from My Weekend in Boulder?
This weekend I met 9 other men at the Boulder Integral Center for an intense 2 days of men's work.
The biggest thing I got from the other men was feedback about how I show up in the world and how I'm received.
Suffice to say, the second day I laid off the caffeine and was able to really drop into my feeling-sense rather than going a million-miles-a-minute with my mind.
The feedback I got on the second day was so consistent and direct. It was challenging to hear, sure, but better than not hearing it... and through the process of asking each man what he needed from me in order to feel connected with me and to trust me, I heard reverberations of a lot of other feedback I've received in my life, though far less directly than these 9 other men were able to offer it to me.
What I'm faced with now is a life-challenge. How can I live in my authentic, emotionally grounded self?
Living in my mind is so comfortable (as it is for the majority of men I've met over the years I've been involved in men's work). Feeling into my heart, my gut, my 'nads... it's a real challenge and requires a tremendous amount of conscious awareness to not only catch myself escaping into my rationality, but to release the need to "know" something and just be in my fear, my grief, my uncertainty.
While this is a major piece of work that I will continuously revisit over my lifetime, I want to offer a question more related to the Enlightened Child theme of this blog...
How can we raise our boys into powerful, heart-connected men with the courage to step into (and through) fear, grief, anger, shame... even joy (yes, it's easy to avoid or become attached to feeling anything, including joy) so that the world is served by their mature leadership, rather than the tyranny of adolescent manipulations we all develop in our youth to keep our self-sense "safe"?
One such organization I know of that is taking on the work of initiating young men into sacred masculine consciousness is Boys to Men. Here's the trailer of a great movie that relates the power of the modern initiation experience: Journeyman. I hope you'll check it out - and share this with others you know who are raising or responsible for boys (and girls).
If you know of any other resources, please feel free to share them!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
The biggest thing I got from the other men was feedback about how I show up in the world and how I'm received.
Suffice to say, the second day I laid off the caffeine and was able to really drop into my feeling-sense rather than going a million-miles-a-minute with my mind.
The feedback I got on the second day was so consistent and direct. It was challenging to hear, sure, but better than not hearing it... and through the process of asking each man what he needed from me in order to feel connected with me and to trust me, I heard reverberations of a lot of other feedback I've received in my life, though far less directly than these 9 other men were able to offer it to me.
What I'm faced with now is a life-challenge. How can I live in my authentic, emotionally grounded self?
Living in my mind is so comfortable (as it is for the majority of men I've met over the years I've been involved in men's work). Feeling into my heart, my gut, my 'nads... it's a real challenge and requires a tremendous amount of conscious awareness to not only catch myself escaping into my rationality, but to release the need to "know" something and just be in my fear, my grief, my uncertainty.
While this is a major piece of work that I will continuously revisit over my lifetime, I want to offer a question more related to the Enlightened Child theme of this blog...
How can we raise our boys into powerful, heart-connected men with the courage to step into (and through) fear, grief, anger, shame... even joy (yes, it's easy to avoid or become attached to feeling anything, including joy) so that the world is served by their mature leadership, rather than the tyranny of adolescent manipulations we all develop in our youth to keep our self-sense "safe"?
One such organization I know of that is taking on the work of initiating young men into sacred masculine consciousness is Boys to Men. Here's the trailer of a great movie that relates the power of the modern initiation experience: Journeyman. I hope you'll check it out - and share this with others you know who are raising or responsible for boys (and girls).
If you know of any other resources, please feel free to share them!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What I'm Learning in Boulder, CO
This weekend I'm in Boulder, CO for the kickoff of the 108 Day Revolutionary Man's Challenge.
It's a great group - I'm learning a lot about myself and seeing a lot of myself in other men.
Since it's nearly 2am EST and I'm bushed, I'm gonna paste some info about the program from Jayson's website/blog:
One of the biggest things I learned today was how my energy is perceived by others. We did 5 minute presentations and, I swear it's not just the caffeine, I was rambling through my Enlightened Child presentation (100% extemporaneous - which added to the flurry) and not really connecting with the audience.
When they gave me some feedback half-way through I found I was totally able to connect and deliver my content in a way that really moved them.
This alone was worth the price of the program.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and then a week in Denver with my best bro from college - Adam Galblum. He's a great musician and astrologer - check him out: www.myspace.com/adamgalblum and www.theskyisyou.com
Before I sign off for the night... I see in these men a real passion for life and it makes me happy to be around such inspiring individuals who are not willing to settle for what life offers - they want more. What do you do to keep your edge? To push your limits? To grow as a person?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
It's a great group - I'm learning a lot about myself and seeing a lot of myself in other men.
Since it's nearly 2am EST and I'm bushed, I'm gonna paste some info about the program from Jayson's website/blog:
The purpose of this 108-day rite of passage is five-fold:
1. This training will address the 5 Pillars of Being a Revolutionary Man (Chances are within these areas, you are holding back in some way. I will tailor the course to address your strengths and weaknesses. )
* 1. Self Mastery/ Self Knowledge
* 2. Service
* 3. Leadership
* 4. Fun/Play
* 5. Community (relationships)
2. To nudge you to your edge. When a man is at his “edge” he’s alive and growing.
3. To challenge you to step up in your life and take specific action to be bolder, badder and burlier as a leader, father, son, husband, boyfriend and as a man. I am challenging you to change your life in a big way.
4. Having received the training, you will be a Man who will make a massive difference in others lives.
5. Help you find the personal freedom that some of you are looking for.
One of the biggest things I learned today was how my energy is perceived by others. We did 5 minute presentations and, I swear it's not just the caffeine, I was rambling through my Enlightened Child presentation (100% extemporaneous - which added to the flurry) and not really connecting with the audience.
When they gave me some feedback half-way through I found I was totally able to connect and deliver my content in a way that really moved them.
This alone was worth the price of the program.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and then a week in Denver with my best bro from college - Adam Galblum. He's a great musician and astrologer - check him out: www.myspace.com/adamgalblum and www.theskyisyou.com
Before I sign off for the night... I see in these men a real passion for life and it makes me happy to be around such inspiring individuals who are not willing to settle for what life offers - they want more. What do you do to keep your edge? To push your limits? To grow as a person?
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Where I'm Goin Today...
In a half hour I leave for Boulder, CO to kick off a 108 day Men's Challenge that will focus on Health, Consciousness, Income, Relationships and some other cool stuff that I don't even know about yet.
I'm looking forward to having both a coach and a cohort of men to take this journey with. It was originally going to be a year - and I was all in. 108 days is a long time. There's a lot of space to cover in a field of time that large.
Making the process conscious by kicking things off with a weekend intensive, then weekly group calls, and some coaching calls sprinkled in... should be a fantastic learning vehicle and accountability support for taking my life to the next level in all 4 of the above areas.
To me, life would be a lot simpler if we just contextualized our education and socialization process around mastering these 4 areas of life - health, wealth, relationships and vision.
Art, Morals, Science...
Why does it have to be more complicated and fragmented than that?
Having a mentor that can help a child discover the truth, beauty and goodness in each area of life and a cohort of peers to share and feedback the experience with is such a powerful model for learning. Adventure, experience, mind-blowing times for every age and interest...
That's a vision I'd like to see manifested.
That's why I'm going to the Revolutionary Man: 108 Day Challenge. http://www.revolutionaryman.com/contest.html
I'll keep you posted ;-)
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
I'm looking forward to having both a coach and a cohort of men to take this journey with. It was originally going to be a year - and I was all in. 108 days is a long time. There's a lot of space to cover in a field of time that large.
Making the process conscious by kicking things off with a weekend intensive, then weekly group calls, and some coaching calls sprinkled in... should be a fantastic learning vehicle and accountability support for taking my life to the next level in all 4 of the above areas.
To me, life would be a lot simpler if we just contextualized our education and socialization process around mastering these 4 areas of life - health, wealth, relationships and vision.
Art, Morals, Science...
Why does it have to be more complicated and fragmented than that?
Having a mentor that can help a child discover the truth, beauty and goodness in each area of life and a cohort of peers to share and feedback the experience with is such a powerful model for learning. Adventure, experience, mind-blowing times for every age and interest...
That's a vision I'd like to see manifested.
That's why I'm going to the Revolutionary Man: 108 Day Challenge. http://www.revolutionaryman.com/contest.html
I'll keep you posted ;-)
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
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