If you are anything like me, you may have left your house to go to work thinking, “What am I going to do first?”

If you are anything like me, you may have left your house to go to work on automatic mode, and everything works its way into a routine (Until you get to work where you wonder, “Was my hand break up the whole time?”).

But rarely, if you are anything like me, do I think about how can I change somebody’s day today?

And you know what, that’s okay. When I come to think about it, the times when something changes for the positive on my account, it wasn’t on purpose!

It was more like a reaction…

“Ms. Nierras, I still don’t understand how to figure out the fingering for the trumpet.”

“I can help you with that.”

“Ms. Nierras, I love the Beatles!”

“I was thinking about you, so here’s the sheet music for ‘Yesterday’”.

“Ms. Nierras, there’s no way I can remember all the Presidents of the United States!”

“Give it some time, I believe in you.”

That would be a typical day of teaching for me, but within a year, change happens:  My trumpet student would have played two concerts, my Ukulele student played Yesterday, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and I Want to Hold Your Hand, and my U.S. History student can state how the Presidents contributed during their term years!

The three things that I said: I can help you, I was thinking of you, and I believe in you, were things I needed to say and do at that moment. I did not say them consciously thinking it will change their lives! I merely said and did them, because that was what I was called to do.

I will turn the table around now to illustrate how it was when the three things were said to me:

I CAN HELP YOU. My friend and I booked tickets months in advance to go to the U.S. Mainland for a state-hopping trip during the summer. Everything was set and I even got confirmation for our seats. On the night of our departure, we were told that we needed to rebook our flight. The booking caused us to fly a foreign airline consecutively after coming from a U.S. Territory, and that was against FAA regulations. We asked the agent if there was anything we can do to be able to leave that night. His answer was no. They called their supervisor in, his answer was no. I called a bunch of 800 numbers for the airlines that booked us, and all I received were machines, except one.  Meet our hero Dave. He was the one person that said, “I can help you.” He managed to keep our first flight out and rebooked us on the spot that got us to our destination a day earlier.

Dave might have just been doing his job, but he changed our fate that night. And for that, I thank him. I also resolved that if there were one thing that I would like to teach my students, it would be for them to become problem-solvers like Dave.

I WAS THINKING OF YOU. This idea came from reading Igniting A Passion for Reading by Dr. Steven Layne. In fact, I will quote it:

“Of course, Danny was interested in something: motorcycles. And when I showed up with magazines about motorcycles, nonfiction books about motorcycles, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, I was extending an olive branch to a boy who’d spent an entire year of school thinking there was nothing he would like to read. ‘Daniel, sir’, I said in my best official voice, ‘when I saw all these motorcycle books and magazines, I thought of you. Would you like to look at them?’ With wide-eyed wonder, Danny took the whole stack, found himself a cozy spot, and went to work. Danny checked out two books from the library and ‘borrowed’ my magazines for many weeks; moreover, a relationship was cemented between us that day. When I said, ‘I thought of you’ and handed him those books and magazines, there was no denying that I had indeed spent time just on him. He knew it, and it was a tremendously important first step. One that we both needed to take.”

(Note to Dr. Layne: If I read this out verbally, that would be my chance to do a read-aloud!)

I bet many of us had someone thinking about us and it led to making our lives better. Personally, mine came from one of my university professors. I apparently had an unknown audition for membership to an exclusive orchestra, because the coordinator was invited to one of the concerts that I was playing at. My performance in that concert proved worthy and I was accepted! A short while later, I received news that the Rotary Club decided to sponsor me, and all the fees for my trip and membership were paid for! Who invited the orchestra coordinator? Who proposed the Rotary Club to sponsor me? That would be my university professor. Because of his thoughtfulness, I got accepted in a program that included 3 weeks of extensive musical training and 5 weeks of touring Southeast Asia with a 110-piece orchestra that included auditioned members from all over the region!

To this day, I can honestly say that the time my professor invested in initiating my membership to that group cemented a relationship between us, and I continually credit my professor for developing my passion and interest for music.

I BELIEVE IN YOU. I love these four words. It shows me that even though I can come to a point of giving up, there is one that has not given up on me yet.

I remember being a substitute teacher being called in to sub for an Art Class. The lesson plan looked fun to do until I realized that it was written four days ago! The teacher extended her absence and other subs have used up the same lesson plan and all materials for the class craft, leaving me with nothing to use. I panicked and I was too anxious to improvise! The class came in aware of my nervous state, took advantage of my unpreparedness, and soon the students became difficult to handle! I literally broke down and just cried.

I talked to the principal of the school that day, and I vividly remember her saying, “I know things were rough for you today, but I think there is no other profession you would rather do other than teaching. Keep at it, I believe in you.” I don’t know if that was her strategic speech to subs that had a rough day, because schools that time were in desperate need for substitute teachers. But regardless of that, what she said did the trick. Thirteen years later, I am still teaching and loving it.

When these three things were said to me, they had a profound effect. In order for me to make it a habit to say these three things to others, I need to often reflect and remember that they were said to me first.

If you are anything like me, you need someone to say, “I can help you”, at times of distress.

If you are anything like me, you need someone to say, “I was thinking of you”, to feel special.

If you are anything like me, you need someone to say, “I believe in you”, at times you feel like giving up.

Turn the table around and reflect.

1. Citizenship – The student must be regarded as dependable, and demonstrate respect for people, property, and school rules.
2. Attitude – The student is courteous, helpful and caring in his or her relationships with other students and adults.
3. Academics – The student continually strives to the limits of his or her abilities, both in the classroom and in the home, to achieve those personal, academic goals which his or her teachers believe are within reach of the student.
4. Service – The student readily and unselfishly helps others at home, at school, and in the community to a degree that is judged exceptional.
5. Leadership – The student demonstrates an ability to work with and motivate others, has sound values, good judgment, a sense of fairness, and has earned the respect of his or her peers.
6. Sportsmanship – The student demonstrates an earnest attempt to do his or her best ability during athletic competitions, shows a respect for the rules of that competition, and in terms of priorities, places the success of the team above a need for personal advancement.

If the Valedictorian or the Citizenship Award recipients were open for employment, which one would you hire?

Striving for the Valedictorian Award takes serious commitment. It tells me three things about the student:

1. The student sets his/her goal early.
2. The student is mindful about his/her goal on each endeavor.
3. The student puts an effort in being consistent in all academic and non-academic activities.

Now, the Citizenship Award recipient for our school is chosen by an agreement between all the teachers and is kept secret until the day of the graduation. For the nine years I have been working for our school, I observed that all the Citizenship Award recipients have the following in common:

SAME AS THE ABOVE 3!

I noticed that the Valedictorian and the Citizenship Award recipient qualities were the same. But, when I looked into it deeper, I saw two major differences:

1. The Valedictorian knows he/she could get the award by keeping a high GPA, whereas the Citizenship Award recipient doesn’t know he/she will get it, but has a built in character that fit the 6 criteria above.
2. The Valedictorian can receive the highest GPA by working on it as an individual, whereas the Citizenship Award recipient can only be regarded for the award by interacting with others.

As a parent, a teacher, a mentor, a guardian, or a coach, which goal would you want your child or student to foster?

Being a Valedictorian or a Citizenship recipient are both worthy goals, but when it comes to SERVING A COMMUNITY, having the innate character to interact well with others have the upper hand.

When I plan my year, I make sure that my lessons cater to developing the following characteristics within each of my students:

1. A leader.
2. A good speaker.
3. A team player.
4. A server.
5. A worker.

Notice that none of these characteristics require developing a high GPA, instead they all require developing good social skills that are community friendly.

At the end of the year, when they present the class during graduation, I want to see, not only successful students, but walking and willing servers of the community.

Here’s a glimpse of what I see at the end of the year:

• A musician that would continue to join a band, become a section leader, a teacher, or a conductor to pass on his/her love for music.
• An athlete that would continue to train and start coaching younger kids or their peers on their choice of sport.
• A math or science wiz innovating systems and organizing a team to build new visions.
• A speaker that can motivate their listeners to do their part and never give up in making things better.
• An initiator that starts any club or group that leads others to follow their passion in life.

These are what I consider a 4.0 GPA in my book.

I really want my students to be successful in school, and that means that when they leave my guidance, they will be doing things that MATTER.

And for me, the only way their endeavor in life would matter is when they choose to give or serve.

Albert Schweitzer (a doctor, philosopher, theologian, and musicologist), who won the Noble Peace Price for his work to raise money and build hospitals in Lambarene, Africa, said it best with this quote from his acceptance speech:

“I don’t know what any of you are going to do with your lives, but this I do know, the only ones amongst you who will be truly happy will be those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

To my students, to those working the 9 to 5 grind, to the teachers who continue to foster learning, and to any of us who are willing to do anything that matters…JUST GIVE BACK.

To my surprise, one of my students (we’ll call him Paul) raised his hand and said, “Richard can! He takes lessons and he’s been doing it for two years!” Paul said it with so much enthusiasm, pointing at Richard, looking at me in the eye, turning and looking at his classmates, nodding his head. Right there and then the whole class nodded with him and exclaimed, “Yeah, Richard can do it!”

3 Traits Inherited by Social Movers

1. They are problem solvers.
2. They know their people and their talents.
3. They’re infectious in gathering support.

Who was the most talented student in my class? Undoubtedly, it’s Richard. But this article is not about the one who knows the most or who has the most talent (there will be a place for them in later articles). This article is about the Social Movers. The ones, like Paul, who was able to solve my problem, who knows his classmates, and who got everyone to agree and root for what he knows and believes in.

The following are 3 Makers Women that inspire me, not only by the talents they have, but also by the purpose and message they profess from their example.

Underlined are the secrets I learned, italicized are quotes from their interviews, and their bolded names are links that lead you to their makers.com sites.

Only you can dictate your passion. “I guess I was just kind of gender oblivious.” ~Marissa Mayer

I loved hearing that from her, because it shows that it was all about her passion. It never dawned on her that a girl being good at Math and Science would be odd. So, naturally she just pursued what she loved to do.  You get a feel for this during her interview, especially when she said, “I’m not a woman at Google, I’m a GEEK at Google.”

How many of us have this type of “zeroed-in” focus? When we go for what we love to do and ignore the status quo, the stereotype, and the expected road map. How many of us would take the path that has no formula, no recipe, and no room for memorization? Not even just take it, but to PREFER it. When you find yourself in a place where there is no step-by-step guidance, no space for bias, and no society distinguishing who you are, ONLY YOU CAN DICTATE YOUR PASSION.

Marissa Mayer encourages us to “push through the feeling of being scared, that feeling of taking a risk”, because real amazing things will happen. In other words, DEFY BEING HACKNEYED! Don’t know what that means? Well, GOOGLE IT.

Look beyond numbers.  “Once you start thinking about the way the world works today, it becomes pretty clear that it can be designed better.” ~Robyn Beavers

Robyn Beavers got the POWER. Literally! She was responsible for installing 10,000 solar panels on the Google Headquarters (“at the time that it was weird and no one understood why we’re doing it”).

When it comes to sustainability design, the first thing that comes to mind is concrete measurement: “The amount of kilowatt hours produced or the amount of clean kilowatt hours added to the grid.” But through the course of her projects, she realized that hard metric measurement wasn’t enough.  How to design better lives took precedence. When communicating takes more precedence than the number of likes on your Facebook page, or when making other people happier becomes the source of your happiness instead of the followers you produce…you did it. YOU LOOKED BEYOND NUMBERS.

Robyn Beaver’s example prompts us to look at the true clean energy that supplies the projects we take: The energy that provides oxygen through our brain to be innovative, the energy that provides the blood coursing through our veins to pump muscle, and the energy that keeps our heart beating for our passion to make lives better.

As things collapse, YOU RISE. “You either accept the future and where it’s going, or you resist it and stay behind.” ~Kara Swisher

You hear her saying this with utter confidence, because not only did she accept the future, she went ahead of it. She covered story after story of once accessible no names that became powerhouses of digital innovation today. She said that they were accessible, since “no one was interested in them.” Names like Steve Jobs, Steve Case, and Bill Gates, ring a bell?

She started out writing stories for the business section for the Washington Post. She approached it differently by ignoring the numbers and wrote about people instead.  She mentioned that she treated business like a novel, but my take is that she treated it like an organism. Just look at what is involved in it: “Emotion, money (need), failure, success, attempts, and innovation.” It’s a living thing. And this approach distinguishes her from other journalists. She sees something out of what others consider nothing and writes about it. She used the same approach with technology in “All Things Digital”. In the digital world, it is ill advice to underestimate anything. It grows, it thrives, and it also dies. How many of us still carry the first prototype of an iPod? How many of us still carry a Blackberry?

Kara Swisher reminds us that the world of technology doesn’t stand still. “As things collapse, things rise…and that’s really exciting, constant destruction and creation is sort of an exciting way to make your living.” Since the world of technology doesn’t stand still, neither should we. You’re an organism. When you face destruction, choose to create. When you find yourself back in the beginning, choose to grow…YOU RISE.

You’re in control…you have a 550 horsepower engine in your reign, so you do the obvious…pump the gas, and as expected, you thunder through the freeway…boasting 0-60 miles in 4.2 seconds, you felt like you just broke mach 1.

Sleek, elegant, and silky smooth…you ride through the wind knowing it just slips off the glossy surface…you give yourself a smirk thinking, “Active differential for improved steering capabilities at very high speeds”…you rip through the road with finger-slight turns on your heated steering wheel…yeah, one zigzag at a time with ease.

You left the freeway, pulled into an exit, and you smiled…I just commanded the road, hmm…now time to command some attention…

You drive slower than usual and there they are…eyes.  From car enthusiasts to anybody in particular…they know a 6-figure luxury sports car when they see one. You pretend to look ahead, but you’re completely aware that their eyes are glued on the Spectrum Blue exterior, seamless curves from front to back, and the gleaming embossed logo…so, taking your eyes off the road, you gave the onlookers that long awaited glance…yes, everyone, I’m driving MY Jaguar XJ.

You seductively inhale your own parade…and then you heard the inevitable…

A DULL THUD

You forced the brakes, knowing that the brake assist provides that “short-stop” distance so you can quickly spot your culprit. You got out of your prized possession fuming…picking up the brick that caused the huge dent on the passenger door, you’re READY TO SHOVE IT DOWN the kid’s throat. There he is…big-eyed, full of guilt…

“What do you think you’re doing? Are you going to pay for that?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do. I threw the brick, because I didn’t think you would stop.”

“It’s my brother (and he pointed to a spot about 3 feet from where your car stopped). He rolled off the curb and he fell off his wheelchair, and I can’t lift him up.”

You swallowed hard and deep, but the lump that swelled down your throat was stubbornly sticking to its place. So, you did the next action that came to mind that made sense…

You went over to the boy’s brother, lifted him up, and helped him into his wheelchair. They both said their thanks and went on their way.

You made your way back to your cutting-edge, sumptuous, piece of art vehicle and stared at the little change on the passenger door. With the realization that you changed too, you smile at yourself and you thought, “I’ll keep it”.

Why would you keep a dent in a 6-figure luxury sports car?

It reminds you to slow down and pay attention. Many of us are accustomed to living life in the fast lane, and the only bouts of slowness come from being fixated on ourselves.  For example, when you wake up, you would go through your morning routine. It doesn’t have to be rushed, but it is fast-paced. What stops you: The zit that suddenly popped on your forehead, or the nick on the tip of your chin while shaving? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with this, but the dent doesn’t reminds us of slowing down and paying attention to ourselves…it points its fingers to others. How would your life be different if you transfer that same attention you gave to that zit or nick to other people?

It reminds you that sometimes what makes something perfect are its imperfections. I bet onlookers still stare in awe at the 6-figure Jaguar XJ, but when their eyes come to the noticeable dent on the passenger door, they’d ask, “What is that all about?” This is the time when the dent turns attention away from others back to you. You choose to ignore the image-bending grimaces, because you know the story behind it. Same way with me, when I go for a walk along the beach and passersby would take swift glances at my foot that only has one toe on it. I cringe a little, letting self-consciousness seep in, but I regain my composure and tell myself, “I know the story behind it.” Same way with you, probably, you would take a look at your spouse, your closest friends, or your family and you could pinpoint every bit of imperfection, but you love them to death. Imperfections take us back to wonderful stories: “We are all wonderful, beautiful wrecks. That’s what connects us–that we’re all broken, all beautifully imperfect.” ~Emilio Esteves

It reminds you that you can change. “People change for two reasons: Either they learn enough that they want to or they’ve been hurt enough that they have to.” ~unknown.

As nature takes its course it is often left unnoticed. Until years passed by and you noticed a wrinkle or you turn 30 and you developed a belly. Negative change can sneak up on you, but positive change is a different story. You think about it. You act on it. How do you turn that belly to a lean one? You think about what motivates you to do so. You start on a nutrition and exercise program. You learn enough. How do you turn a dented Jaguar XJ into a positive memorial? You think of what would have happened if you didn’t force the brakes. You acted on it by helping the boy’s brother settle on his wheelchair. You reflected on your ego and then the boy who did what he had to do. You hurt enough.

CHANGE IS THE MONUMENT OF THOUGHTFUL EXPERIENCE

Slow down and pay attention to others, notice their imperfections and love them for it, and finally, always change for the better.

THINK CHANGE.

It is the last week of the school year, and believe it or not, the students know the exact time and date I turn in my grades (which was Monday morning of the last week of school). The students are assuming that there is no more work.

I tell them, “When it comes to my class, it’s not about grades, it’s about completing your work and doing your best until the very last day.”

Friday is our party half-day, so here is what we were busy with for the next four days: 8^th Grade US History and 7^th Grade World Geography classes were developing a blog plan, complete with a home page and an about page, that combines their personal voice/interests to what they have learned this year. We researched what blogs looked like, the jargon it entailed, what widgets were available, and we analyzed how they were written. We did not launch these blogs online, instead they printed out their work like it was a display page that I would exactly see on a computer screen.

During the week, the students were focused on their work…they forgot that the project was not going to be part of their grade, they simply wanted to complete it. One of the teachers asked me, “Are you still giving an exam on the last week of school?” I answered no and asked why. He said, “One of your students was really hard at work on study hall yesterday.” When a student is passionate it shows.

So here are 3 observations that let you know you’re doing your job:

1. Students say, “What, class is over? That was fast.” I find it a compliment when my students say this. It means that the class did not drag, it wasn’t boring, and it wasn’t a waste of time. Another way to think of it was that the students forgot about the clock. They were all about getting their work done. This doesn’t have to be inclusive to teaching. Don’t you find that the most productive and focused days you had at work was when you didn’t know where the time went?
2. There’s a buzz or a murmur in the classroom. The only time I expect complete silence is when I am talking or when a student is talking. One of my rules is that when someone talks, everybody listens. When it is a time to do their activities, their drills, or individual work, there’s a buzz or a murmur in the classroom (not the whole time, you’ll hear segments of silence too). I would walk around and hear them share ideas, give clarification on the directions, and give suggestions on how to make the work easier. Don’t get me wrong, there would be some small talk mixed in there, but those never last long. Work wise, I remember spending time in my father’s office, an Engineering and Construction Company. A busy day at the office meant an exchange of ideas coming from one office to another, people huddled in looking at a blueprint pointing at it and discussing about it, and front desks filled with workers receiving directions. There was no room for loud talk or irrelevant conversations at the time. When my goal is to prepare the students for a job in the real world, why not imitate the good things I see about it and infuse it in my classroom?
3. You dismiss the class and the students say, “Noooo…” I love this, it is another compliment for my class when I actually have to shoo them away. I think this says that it’s not only the lessons I deliver that make them want to stay; it’s also the environment that I put them in. When they feel safe, when they are doing what they like, when they are doing something meaningful, when they know they could do it, why would they want to go? This goes with any type of work. Whether they are going for the industrial job track or the online producer guru, or being in the freelance business, it’s not about the job, it’s about the work.

PASSIONATE LEARNING: When an individual is passionate, they get lost in their work.

I thought of this concept when I was conducting our community band. The beautiful thing about working with people who would volunteer their time and their energy is that they are not there for a grade or for a reward. They were there to play their instruments and perform music. And that takes work. So if this works musically, why not academically?

Passionate is not about getting by; it’s pouring everything of us into it.

Here’s a second look at Seth Godin’s question from above: “If you’re not going to put in the effort to be my best possible choice, why bother?”

DON’T SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRE, GO FOR YOUR BEST.

You are well on your way on testing a new habit: You started out your week having a goal to keep yourself calm in anything, to keep things simple, completing each work one step at a time, getting your mantra on, and you are feeling good about yourself for finally keeping things in order…

And then you get this voice message on your phone: “Sorry, but the tickets that you reserved a month ago for your trip have been cancelled due to the airlines cancelling their flight.”

You check your email and you find a message that confirmed the cancellation, plus, the only way to resolve the problem is to go for the full refund and make a new reservation. You check alternate reservations for the destination, and you noticed that all the ticket prices jacked up to $500 more. You make the dreaded call to the ticketing agent, and you got more bad news saying that the refund will not be confirmed until 17-18 days later! Where are you going to get the money for the new reservation? You wouldn’t want to use your credit card that you just cleared your debt from! Moreover, what happened to order, to simplicity, and how about the mantra?

If your heartbeat was rising or your blood boiling from reading this, then you can relate to how I felt when this happened to me. I literally felt intensity building while I held the phone, I heard the tension in my voice creeping in with frustration while I talked to the agent, and I felt anxiety developing since I was sweating hearing one bad news piling up one right after another.

What was my solution? STOP. I said goodbye to the agent, hung up the phone, and sat down quietly. I realized, “I have just been tested.”

 Right there and then, I told myself that if I am going to win in this situation, I have to think of dealing with it another way.

After a day of giving it space and letting it go, I picked up the phone again…but this time I am armed with 3 steps in mind:

1. STOP and BREATHE. Hence, a day of letting the situation go. The first thing I noticed that I did when I got each of the bad news was that I reacted, and there’s no thinking when it comes to reacting. I was defeated by my problem right away. This time I would tackle it head on by breathing more. What did breathing do? It kept me focused, it kept my heart rate down, and it kept my mouth shut. I did more listening than talking, and that allowed me to think things through. In many ways SILENCE makes all the difference. This time around, there was no reaction, just the ticket agent and I clarifying things and making an effort to understand one another.
2. TAKE IT ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME. As expected, my call was being passed around from one agent to another, I was told to call the airlines or the travel agency in different time zones, and I was put on hold for about 20 minutes, not once, but twice. The old adage saying, “Patience is a virtue”, does not ring as true to me as, “Patience is hard work”. For each agent I was passed on to or for each new call I made, I made sure that I would treat it like it was “CONVERSATION NUMBER 1”. The other phone calls did not matter, what mattered was who I was talking to at that moment at that time. So, I knew I was going to repeat my story again and again, and I was okay with that. Even more so, I was surprised that I was getting better at telling my story the more I repeated it. I actually found satisfaction in that!
3. BE CALM AND LEVEL-HEADED. After breathing and keeping my mouth shut and then repeating my story over and over again, I knew that I have to take it a step further. I chose to be calm and level-headed throughout this whole ordeal. I kept my tone in check and I even joked a little. This changed the atmosphere in our small world of “the reservation problem”. A few minutes after each conversation, the most important thing was thinking about a solution or my next step. I was asking questions like, “What do you think is the best thing to do or should I delay the cancellation now and wait for an airline callback?” By keeping the talk composed and sensible, I discovered that the other party loved to give suggestions and they genuinely wanted to help me.

How did this ordeal end? I managed to make a sensible decision, and I will let you know about it once I completed my trip. The important thing is that I was able to stay in control of the situation rather than allowing the situation to control me.

What does this have to do with critical thinking? Educators would define critical thinking as “ACTIVE THINKING”. Determine for yourself if the following does or does not scream active thinking:

• By stopping and breathing, I was able to keep myself from reacting, I kept myself focused, and it allowed me to think things through by listening, clarifying and understanding.
• By making every talk CONVERSATION 1, I was able to perfect the expression of my story by evaluating how I can tell it better each time I repeat it.
• By being calm and level-headed, I stayed self-composed and sensible in my judgment, and it resulted on two parties assessing the situation and working on a solution to fix it.

When you find yourself facing a situation where things are not going your way, give these three steps a try.

BE ONE OF THE FEW…

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.  ~Henry Ford

For example, the word, education, comes from the verb, educate. Educate comes from the Latin word, educat, which means ‘led out’.  This can be further broken down to the word educe, meaning to bring out or develop.

What is education? It means returning to the true self… digging to the root…and then developing one’s potential.

Potential comes from the Latin word, potentia, which means POWER.

But this site is not about getting the end result. No. It is about enjoying the journey. The true calling of a real2lifeeducator is recognizing the simplest form and developing a meaningful lesson from it. POWER will come naturally.

Think about it for a moment…

1. In History, we recognize that ideas are shaped by principle.
2. In Math, huge numbers can always come down to the greatest common factor.
3. In Geography and Physical Science, we learn that different cultures step on the same ground, powered by the common core under the mantle.
4. In English, we know that statements and great literary works came from organized words, shaped by the phonetic alphabet.
5. In life, we learn many lessons, but they all come from the choices that we make.

Real2lifeeducation is about drawing out the potential from any subject and delivering a real2life lesson:

1. New ideas from basic principles.
2. New solutions to a common problem.
3. Bridging gaps by recognizing what makes us all common.
4. Organizing new words to make bigger statements or create new works.
5. Practicing the never-ending circle of learning from our choices.

What happens when a real2life lesson meets a listener? POWER.

So now it’s up to you… Get into the real2life mindset…

YOUR LESSON. YOUR TURN.