Today’s Spotlight: Jack Canfield
(Acknowledgment to Shawn Kim from Stunning Motivation)
Somewhere along your life journey, you must have come across a fellow by the name of Jack Canfield. Trying to place that name? You would have seen that name on the little book you picked up in a bookstore or even when you used your friend’s bathroom on an overnight visit. Perhaps this title rings a bell: Chicken Soup for the Soul, and the numerous titles that followed: The Grieving Soul; Pet Lovers Soul; Preteen Soul etc.
One small idea, many great successes. Why?
One small idea, many great successes. Why? Those books featured a collection of short, inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers, Jack Canfield, and Mark Victor Hansen. It is a great dopamine release when your soul is touched with honesty and authenticity. It is people like Jack Canfield, and many others, who inspired me to test out approaches, strategies and organizational systems that work within a regular school day. Many failed or just were not a good fit for me, but 40 years later, I have many a good story, many successes and lots of tricks that I want to share with you. I am happy to hand them over freely and with love. Teachers supporting teachers.
In these difficult COVID months, a teacher’s job has become even more convoluted and deeply rooted in healthy habits that must be adhered to keep those beautiful children, all masked up, and risk free, as best you can. That goes for you, too. In stressful times, self-care goes out the window. The ‘ah ha’ moment, the inspirational story or motivational speech or podcast that makes you shed a tear, become motivated or energizes you, just when you need it most, can change your world. I love formulas. Why? Because I can remember a formula. That is why I loved Jack Canfield’s new book The Success Principles. Do not get me wrong. I am not selling anything. I do not even know Jack Canfield, nor do I get a commission at promoting his book. I am mentioning him because he has a formula I fell in love with and now apply it to my life.
Often, new ideas take shape just by tweaking the way you work. Do not settle for the same old, same old, just because it is what you have always done. Landing here, right now, whether by chance or through a deliberate search, has put you on a new path if you are ready to consider some of the ideas, and suggestions that will be introduced. Help your fellow teachers too by spreading the ‘best practices’ of creative, innovative, risk taking masterminds I will celebrate here at this “Best in Ed’ site. They will not all be teachers, but they will have touched my soul in some way, and I invite you to let them inspire you.
Of course, you could go online and dig and search for the best educators or innovative authours, or speakers, but finding time to do so is never easy. You will mean to, you might try it for a while but, with the heavy load you are carrying now as an educator, you do not need something else to do. Consider me your private researcher. I promise you I am forever searching for the best online life skills that bring about change: even transformation. Making life in school easier and more fulfilling is my main goal for you and your students.
Embracing healthy habits is the path to wellbeing. Taking wrong turns on that path, stumbling over uneven terrain is no fun. Wasting time researching for what you need to improve is no longer a problem! We have you covered. You just need to arrive here every Friday, sit back with your favourite beverage (Did someone mention wine?) and let new ideas ease your burden, give you hope, challenge your thinking, and make your personal and professional life less stressful. Dare I say more fulfilling or getting revved up to become empowered to change?
Now, about that formula. In Success Principles, Jack states that you will know that the first and the most important key to changing your life; to living the successful life you want and to taking control of your life, is to take full responsibility for whatever that is happening in your life right now. If you refuse to take responsibility for your life, nothing will ever change. You see, we have been trained and programmed since when we were young that someone, certainly not us, is responsible for what we experience in our lives.
- When we do not get the result we want, it is because of our silly colleagues who do not want to cooperate with us.
- When we do not excel in schools, it is because our teachers or leaders don’t know how to teach, or the exam is too difficult.
- When we fail in business, it is because our spouses are holding us back or the economy is not doing well.
You must understand that whenever you blame or you give excuses, you are giving away the power to change. For something to change, YOU must first change. And Sir Jack Canfield shared a very, powerful formula in the book…
Drum roll please…
You may say that things just happen to you and you cannot change the event. You are right, you cannot change the event, but you can change your response. Event + Response = Outcome. It is your choice.
- You can choose to eat junk food or push it away.
- You can choose to workout in the gym or you can choose to sleep.
- You can choose to read a personal development book or collection of articles or play computer games.
- You can choose to invest a portion of your salary or to spend it all.
- You can choose to spend time with your family or friends or waste your time on social media.
Please understand that whatever you choose to do, it is your choice, and you are the one who is responsible for it. Accept and acknowledge that fact and life will reward you for your honesty by finding the right formula for you to take your power back. COVID is here and things have changed, worldwide. You have no control over that. But you do have control over your response. Meaning, you are where you are right now in your life because you have made the decision and chose to be where you are right now.
Therefore, if you want to change your life, achieve greater success, and live better, you must start by changing yourself. One step you have taken in the right direction is to arrive here where together we can learn from those who have gone before us. Do you know that you can be active and take charge of your life, or you can choose to allow life to happen to you? Read this article and forget about it or start planning to apply the principles for success. Bookmark this site and return to it every week for inspiration and motivation. Dare to dive deeper and really take stock.
It is time for you to take control of the ship and become the captain. You can steer the ship where you want it to go. Yes, you cannot change the direction of the wind, but you can always change your sail to reach your destination. The same goes for life. You cannot control what is happening to you, but you can control your responses to get what you want out of life.
As Jim Rohn said: “You can’t hire someone to do your push ups for you.” Damn! One, of the most important keys to taking responsibility for your life is to stop playing the blame game. When you put the blame on someone or something, you are giving away the power to control. When you say that it is your Principal’s fault, there is nothing much you can do because it is not you, it is your Principal that is in control. Notice how you talk to yourself and others. Whenever you find yourself blaming others or something else, acknowledge it and then take charge of the event.
So how do you know if you are taking full responsibility for your life? Do a reality check. Look at your life right now. Look at each area such as your finances, your relationship, your health, etc. Your results do not lie. You must accept reality and stop blaming or giving excuses right now. Do a reality check. You are where you are right now because of your past decisions and actions. Success is a long-term marathon: not a short-term sprint. You need to do it consistently each day, to get the results you want. Most people do not have the determination and the commitment to follow through. They procrastinate, they blame, they give excuses, they quit, and they give up.
Always remember this; it is what you do right now that will determine your future.
Whatever you do, you will feel the impact in the future. Likewise, you can choose to read this article and then do nothing, or you can choose to read this article and try to implement and live the success principle shared here.
Therefore, learn as much as possible. Master yourself, develop your skills, and improve your knowledge. The better you become, the more successful you will be. And best yet, share this success formula with your students. Bring them along on this personal self improvement journey with you. The content in this article could easily become a weekly challenge that you and your class share together. Providing this life skill, openly sharing difficulties and successes can bring your class closer together. This topic integrates well into a Health/Mental Wellness lesson; Literacy or when journaling; Character Ed or Religion. This week’s theme is “Take Control of Your Life.”
Make sure to subscribe to stay in the loop, as we dive into new themes here on the blog. It will always be inspiring, learning life skills you can use with your students too!! As we hear, often these days, “We are all in this together! So, let’s get our control back with some fun, fast and healthy habits, one week at a time!”
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