Still trying to figure this all out. Issue 2

Corey L. Stokes

I am often in amazement at how fast my children are growing up on me. My son, now 9, went on his first camping trip without his parents.  While I, concerned for his well-being, I was more concerned of his readiness to succeed without us.  Although this trip is supervised and he is not solely on his own, I know he is ready to go and experience the world (or at least a campground not too far away).  Getting out of the car once we got to the camp grounds, he asked me, “Daddy, can you help me carry my bags and put up my tent?”; then he was gone.  He showed up about ten minutes later with a friend ready to help get the bags out of the car and then off to set up the tent.  By the time I arrived at the site the  He had much of his things unpacked and was ready to put up the tent.

We, and I do include myself, treat our dreams like we treat our children;  We hold them close by keeping them safe.  For some Fear of your child getting hurt will keep you from letting them go off on their own.  But by letting our fears dictate what we allow our children or our dreams to do , will only hinder their growth.  In his book, “Start, Punch fear in the face” Jon Acuff goes further into detail about how to deal with this phenomenon. For starters, letting your “Baby” (both dream and children) grow and not stifling them before has a chance to breathe, is vital part of its success.

Two of the most common reasons that many endeavors don’t get off the ground is the fear of success and the fear of failure. The number one reason in all cases that dreams will fail,  is not giving it a chance at all.

This weekend my son, showed me that with some guidance and molding, he was ready to grow and flourish.   It was time for me to give him a little room so he can show me that he can!  I’d like to share some advice I received, that I use in my personal life as well as in any endeavor I take on.  This continues to work with everything I apply it to.

Work from a position of strength – I have often heard that you should work toward making your weaknesses your strengths.  In doing that however, you set yourself up for less success.  Instead, work from your strengths.  You stand a greater chance of succeeding if you are working on something you know. This also, as you complete tasks, builds your confidence as you move through your accomplishing.

Set goals –  I often  recite the quote ” If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time”.  This reminds me to set goals and to ask myself, “Where am I going”?.  Setting goals will help keep you on track to seeing your dreams come true.  For more on Goal Setting See my blog post titled “Plan our 2013”.

Give your endeavors a chance to breathe   If you are like me, when you start something, you want to see results. Looking at many of the pioneers in your field and seeing their success was frustrating to me because I wasn’t getting there.  What I had to remember was, I could not judge my beginning off of the endings of others.  I had to give my projects time to take its first breath.    Do expect immediate success, it will take time to develop.   If you keep that in mind your chances of quitting before you get started , lessen dramatically.

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Science with Nalah and Nolan

Will Paper get wet if you put it in water? If you missed it, check it out  on You tube

Something to think about

What is a dollar?

Answer – The “dollar of our fathers” is a silver coin weighing almost one ounce. It was never to be debased; it was never to be any weight less than 371.25 grains of pure silver.

What am I building?

I was asked to build 2 challenge coin holder’s.

The first one is a Pyramid coin holder this is my template I am using.

The second one however, I’m still trying to find a design.

 

What am I reading?

 

I am currently re-reading Decisive: How to make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath 

 

 

 

 

 

(c) Corey L. Stokes LLC 2014

Notice: Although I strive for perfection I know I am not perfect.  If you find mistakes in my work, simple inbox me to let me know! Thanks.