Building successful children to change the world

Greed is good – not so. But we all live with desire, want and the "pursuit of happiness".

Yes, you are correct, money doesn’t make you happy. Yes money can cause more problems and money has a way of affecting people in strange ways. But I like what Oprah Winfrey said “What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people's lives.”

I wrote a book in order to motivate, inspire and yes to entice my children to learn, to seek knowledge, to strive for excellence and success. The title throws people off – they think that the book is about money, about greed and about creating little CEO’s. When in fact it’s about instilling in their minds the tools they need to achieve success – success in whatever form they choose.

The book was written for children, not mom and dad. It was written in a simple format and straight to the point – what child wants to read a 300 page book about success? You might be able to get a ten year old to read a 300 page harry potter book, but this is not fantasy – this is reality. Children normally view things in two ways: anything that is entertaining, I can do for hours. Anything that is intended to teach me something; that requires me to learn, well I’ll see what I can do.

The goal of the book is directed towards trying to pique the interest of the child, to motivate them to awaken a desire for success – a difficult task in a straight forward simple way. A success they may believe is off in the distant future.

Greed, it’s not good – no one said it is. But desire, want, a need – it can be confused with greed. A desire for excellence, a desire to achieve, to strive to be better: to make something better for yourself or for others. That is what the book is about. To try and teach a child that your age is not a hindrance for success because if a nine year old girl can convert and idea into a million dollar business – so can you.

How to you get a child to understand that failure is not a loss, to keep the faith, to struggle and to never give up? You tell them about Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken, who failed and was rejected 1009 times before he was able to sell his “secret recipe” that made him a success.

Why is it important to teach children to desire success? You teach them to desire success in order to motivate them to learn. What parent doesn’t want their child to do well in school, to be successful in life? But the foundation of that success is built today, now while they are still young. We want them to succeed, and to succeed they need some basic understandings. They need these tools: Knowledge, the desire to seek knowledge, to work as a team, to learn from mistakes, how to avoid mistakes through planning and strategy. The fortitude to continue forward even when everything is inside of you is telling you to give up. To understand that they have worth and are so much more capable than what people give them credit for.

Why teach a child all these tools: so they can create change. They can create change in their lives, the lives of their families, to change the world if need be.

Can a child change the world? Why not ask Ryan Hreljac who at seven years old decided he was going to do just that. Ryan learned of the great need for clean and safe water in developing countries in his 1st grade class. With the support of friends, family and the community, Ryan raised enough money to build a well in Africa. In 1999, at age seven, Ryan's first well was built at Angolo Primary School in northern Uganda. Although Ryan started raising money for water projects in 1998, the Foundation was not formed until 2001. Since then, Ryan’s Well has helped build over 740 water projects and 990 latrines bringing safe water and improved sanitation to over 789,900 people.

So what is success, or the reason why we need to teach our children to desire more, to achieve more, to seek to do more? So they can act, so they do, so they can affect change that’s why. Ryan is not the only young child who changed the world; there is also the story of a 10 yr old girl who achieved great success.

In November, 1995, 10-year-old Aubyn Burnside learned the average child in foster care moves three to four times and traditionally carries his/her personal belongings from home to home in black garbage bags. She thought it was horrible that the children had nothing to carry their things in as they moved from place to place. Aubyn founded Suitcases For Kids in an effort to provide all 300 Catawba County foster children with suitcases. She asked 4-Hers and Boy and Girl Scouts to help her. A member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church, she asked her own congregation as well as other churches to publish notices in their bulletins. She spoke to numerous Sunday School classes and put up posters at libraries, grocery stores and community buildings.

The initial delivery of suitcases was 175 to Catawba County Department of Social Services in March, 1996. Suitcases for kids is now in all 50 states and in Canada, this one little girl with the desire to affect changed, achieved success because she had a drive, an understanding that things do not happen overnight. She knew that she couldn’t do it alone and she would not take no for answer.

My book: for Children how to become Rich Successful & do well in school – read it, read it to your child. You will see that it is more than just about money; it’s about motivating your child to excel in life.

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