The Right Person for the Job???

Jan 182013
 

Help Wanted:  Passionate adult to commit to vital mission.  Successful candidate will embrace the mission in 120-hour workweek with no financial compensation.  Must be committed to creating better future for children and care enough to do the hard stuff.  Parents, grandparents, foster parents, babysitters, teachers and coaches may apply.  Preference given to those who apply as a team and are able to remember that “you’re not raising children – you’re raising future adults!”

 Want the job?  Already have it?  Congratulations.  You’re in good company.  The ‘right candidate’ is hardworking, disciplined, giving and refuses to quit – that’s you, isn’t it? And you’re here – looking for ideas and support for the most important job you’ll ever have.

 Most of our material is not based on scientific study – it’s simply a look at vibrant, successful people who are achieving their goals and living their dreams.  More importantly, it’s a look at the ways that they have used some tough lessons from their early years to move closer and closer to their dreams.

 What is it that you want for your kids?  Financial wealth and the freedom it can buy?  Optimism and the ability to get back up one more time?  Physical fitness and healthy dietary habits?  How about a great work ethic?  Passion?  Vision?  Goal setting?

 Negotiating the delicate balance between a strong foundation and lofty ideals isn’t easy…. but that’s part of what sets you apart – the example that you set by backing up your caring with a commitment to learning.

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The Best Job

Jun 272012
 

Ad for Why Be Good?

Ad for Why Be Good? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve heard parenting described as “the toughest job you’ll ever love” and “the most important job in the world.”  As younger parents we sort through the variety of ideas, experiences and practices with which we were raised keeping some and discarding others. Watching some of the wonderful new Moms and Dads in my life right now, I am impressed by the intelligence and energy they bring to parenthood.

And I wonder, if they were to describe this sacred “work” with a job description, what would it say? Here’s a “want ad” I wrote for workshop participants a while  ago.

Help Wanted:  Passionate adult to commit to vital mission.  Successful candidate will embrace the mission in 120-hour workweek with no financial compensation.  Must be committed to creating better future for children and care enough to do the hard stuff.  Preference given to those who apply as a team and are able to remember that “you’re not raising children – you’re raising future adults!”

I suppose, like any good job description, the qualities outlined would depend on the outcome an individual or couple wants for their children. And that’s related to values.  Your values.

So what, in your mind, constitutes successful parenting?  What do you want for your kids?

Of course to be safe and cared for and to know they are loved.  Of course.  But what else do you want for them? A top-notch education?  Resilience? Secure employment?  Good health?  How about a great work ethic, common sense or the ability to set goals?

And what skills, qualities and experience do you need to have in order to help that happen?

Samoas, Trefoils and ThinMints – Oh, My!

Feb 012011
 

Confession:  I was more than a little surprised the other day when my assistant asked me about the “nature of my issue with Girl Scout cookies.”  I didn’t think I had one.  So she reminded me that in the past week or so I had:

  • been quick to add a comment to parent coach Keyuri Joshi’s blog post on the topic
  • sparked a minor controversy in my VolunteerSpot post on effective fundraising
  • and perhaps may have even forwarded said posts to some of the direct selling friends and clients in my life who just may have gotten just a hair carried away “helping” their daughters and granddaughters sell cookies.

Hmm.  Yep – I did all of that.  But my “issue” is not with Samoas, Trefoils or Thin Mints… or girls in scouting.

If my primary job as a parent is to prepare my child for adult life then I need to resist the temptation to make a habit of doing FOR them the things they need to do for themselves.  (I didn’t build my son’s Pinewood Derby car either – does that make me a Tiger Mom?)

That’s why I don’t like buying Girl Scout cookies from adults.  And, as I said in the fundraising post, I’m not a fan of stopping to chat outside the grocery store while the frozen food items are still frozen.

So, to be clear: I’m a big fan of Girl Scouts and of effective fundraisers – especially the kind that help kids to learn and grow in the process.  Have you read about Kirsten? I did.  And it was because of a remarkable achievement: last year she sold one thousand three hundred one (1,301) boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

To begin to put this in perspective, I’ve learned that the sale of 300 boxes is considered exceptional.  In addition, her parents work from home and didn’t provide that “order sheet in the break room shortcut” (ugh – don’t get me started again).

However the most impressive part of the story is that when Kirsten was diagnosed with autism at age four, it was so severe that she didn’t speak.  This is the girl who, at age 15, sold almost twice as many boxes of cookies as the next highest seller in her area – that vast majority through door-to-door face-to-face direct sales.

And that, my friends, is why I think selling Girl Scout cookies is important.

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