Influencing Young Minds

When you are working on a project and it brings you so much excitement and energy that you are ready to tell anybody about it at any time, you are on to something. I have a project that I am working on and I am passionate about it. I also need your help.

I have a strong belief that people should work very hard to find what they do in life that really gives them energy and then find a way to pursue that activity in their career aspirations. For example, if you are passionate about colors and how they work together, then you should work really hard to find a way to incorporate that into your career aspirations. Get involved in textile design, photography, painting, stage lighting, interior design, graphic arts, cosmetic sales – anything that lets you get your energy from the things you love.  So how has that turned into a project?

I am creating a series of children’s books. Right now the concepts are coming together, but the project is still in its infancy. I want three types of books. I want to open up the minds of young children for careers they may want to pursue beyond the traditional athlete, policeman or nurse that they already get exposure to daily. Those are worthy and critical careers, but what if you really love building things? I want to open their eyes to all kinds of things that they could build, depending on the type of building they love. I later want to move to a more structured series of books for middle school students that starts to more clearly illustrate their future and find their passions. Lastly a system for high school students to help them find college programs and careers that will lead them to a fulfilled life.  There are brilliant people that have never been matched to the right programs, because they were simply unaware of the fields of study available.  That is a shame.

How can you help me? I want to collect stories from people that have volunteer or career activities that they absolutely love. Then, find the ties back to childhood that showed they likely loved it back then. I had an uncle that encouraged me to make up stories in the genre of native Indian folk lore. I LOVED telling stories and it taught me the power of a great analogy to grab the imagination. I was about 35 years old when I realized the impact of Virgil’s early prompting on my love for selling my ideas.

Also, if any of you want to steal any of my ideas and create any of these projects, you are welcome. I simply want them created. I will either join you or add to the material in the market place. We need to work hard to bring information to our kids about how to contribute at their full potential. I firmly believe it best if you can contribute by being in the zone while you do your job. Wouldn’t it be great if huge numbers of people were working at their peak performance because they love what they do? Maybe along the way of teaching kids, we will get a few of their parents to think about the passions they have and how to incorporate them into their work.

So please post your stories here, or send me an email. If you have ideas about this project, please let me know. I am seeking ideas. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Cheers!

Photo credit iStockPhoto