As parents, you want nothing more than the BEST for your child and to see them follow their dreams and goals in life.
And, with you being their first and last teacher, they will always lean on you for encouragement. Matter of fact, they will probably share thousands of ideas, thoughts, and dreams with you that they want to do.
Today, it might be a race car driver, chef, sports star, doctor, fire fighter, game designer…next week it might be an artist of some sort…and the list might change as the days change. Because we hear these thoughts or dreams so many times with different professions being described we tend to be a little critical or just brush it off.
We kind of figure tomorrow they will forget about it and move on to something entirely different. We don’t want to promote the habit of simply trying something once and then quitting. But, we want them to find their path, passion, and purpose. How do you balance this without losing your mind? How do you do this and build them confidently to see them find what they are meant to do?
I found this balance with two master keys that unlock their potential to find their path, follow their passion, and fuel their purpose to be who they are meant to be. Then I created a whole proven formula around building them to keep moving forward and upward toward this dream for themselves.
- Their voice
- The effort they put toward that idea, thought, or dream
The first one is the most challenging one of them all. Why? Because you have to find a vehicle that promotes them to use their voice in a commanding and outwardly way that doesn’t make them feel weird, awkward, or foolish. Like what we do in our Building Powerful Kids Family Live Workshops and in our online programs.
To do so, it must have a purpose, or why, behind the reason they are building their voice. Just like right now, you are probably wondering WHY do they need to build their voice to unlock their potential? Great question…
Without them knowing their inner power, that inner force, that lies within them they don’t truly know the magic that they possess. When you unlock it, it is like releasing a dragon from its dungeon. But…a good one!
You see, most of the time we FEAR our own voice. We are told to use our inside voice all the time, not to yell, and don’t blurt out things. Now, I agree with this! We need to have control over ourselves; however, we also need to learn how to use our voice in a way that builds our confidence.
Building our confidence helps us gain the courage to conquer our fears. When we conquer our fears, we become certain in life about doing what we are meant to do.
Have you ever seen that movie “How To Train A Dragon”? If not, you should…
The Dragon that they metaphorically use in the movie is really the dragon that is inside of us all. It takes training to teach this “dragon” how to be powerful and how to use its power so it can fly.
It takes time to train that dragon to believe it is powerful and as powerful as any other “dragon”.
It is the same for your child and the first step in training is teaching them how to use their voice.
If you have never used your voice, it might be a little challenging to teach them how to use theirs.
When you teach them that their voice is strong and can be used to unlock their magic that they already have within, they begin to build their confidence and believe they can do anything.
Their fears, doubts, and anxieties begin to wash away and simply become a background of what used to be. They learn their own power and magic and discover that they are as powerful and as strong as anyone else.
Now, that leads us to the second master key…the effort they put toward what they are doing.
Here’s where the huge WARNING is to be put on the package. We want the best for them and we want them to be able to do more than we ever did…or just at least be brave enough to find what they want to like or do.
So, we begin to push and drive them toward many different directions. There is nothing wrong with this and it builds desire; however, we have to be careful that it doesn’t begin to build resentment or anxiety.
How is that? If we tend to push them too much toward what we think they should be. Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves in different times in life. Our children are no different.
How do you help them build drive and yet avoid them becoming resentful or anxious?
You allow them to learn how to give their best effort without EXPECTATIONS on your part as a parent, teacher, coach, or mentor. And, if you are a parent you are all of those wrapped into one.
They have to find their way, their own drive, and their own heart. This is the one factor in life that can NEVER be taught. You can show them what it looks like, but everyone must find it within themselves on their own terms and in their own time.
I struggled through grade school, middle school, and high school. I began to dislike education and had very little passion for studying or reading. If you were to ask my parents, they would tell you that I didn’t give very much effort toward it.
There are many factors why, but truthfully I didn’t care very much.
Then, I graduated high school and found my passion for learning and educating myself. This came because of a switch in my desire to want to be something more. For me, school didn’t fuel my desire. However, when I found that “thing” I could use to help me understand how to build desire I was able to use it everywhere in my life. Today, I still have the same drive and desire fueled with the passion to learn and grow.
Just teaching your child to DO their best and challenge themselves to push past their comfort zone without being critical of their effort will encourage them to develop their own desire to be used toward everything they do in life.
Let me end with this…the passions, dreams, and goals we have in life will always change. Their dream today might be different next year, but teaching them how to believe in their voice and doing their best at anything they do will continue to fuel the fire that is within them. This fire will lead them to what they are meant to do.
From there, you will see true joy, happiness, and certainty in their life and in their decisions.
If you want to see them build their voice and effort, check out our Live Family Workshops.
Happy building everyone!