School and education are changing. Even the way people make money is changing and the world we grew up in is not the same world our children are growing up in. School only teaches you so much and how can school actually teach everything our kids need when they don't even know what the world will look like when our kids are older??
But you know what? We will set our kids up for success, teaching them to adapt, create what they want and go after what they want and to follow their passion and most importantly, learn how to succeed through real world experience. As a mom who owns multiple businesses, I have been exposed to so many situations that have taught me more than I ever learned in school and don't get me wrong…I'm grateful for having my bachelor's in business and marketing but I never learned how to handle an angry customer or give great customer service or grow my social media quickly!
It came from that real-world experience. You can't learn to ride a bike by reading a book, you can only learn from actually riding a bike and here is what most people miss…my business doesn't slow me down or cause me to spend less time with my kids. My kids get to learn from these experiences too, they get to see their mom follow their passion, create the life she wants and most importantly, my kids get to learn from these real world experiences too and so do yours!
The lessons that I've learned from owning my own businesses I'm sharing with my kids. Our lessons of leadership, perseverance, integrity, hard work, being flexible, delegation, you can do anything you set your mind to, the importance of making connections and developing relationships, the importance of having fun while making a living and pursuing what you feel you are created to be. Let me ask you, what kinds of examples are you showing your kids when you don't follow your passions and dreams? What role model do you want to be?
I was reading the book Miracle Morning for Parents and Families and I had this huge realization. It talked about not having to be perfect for your children or only sharing the wins from your business. They see a lot!! Not everything, but a lot going on behind the scenes. Stop thinking it’s a bad thing because it's not serving you or your children. These life lessons aren't just yours, it's theirs and is stuff they won’t learn in school. These real-world things that will set them up for success only come from you so let them be in on it!
I remember one of my mentors told me that he started to let his kids sit in and listen to interviews. They didn't ask questions, they just sat and listened. After the interview was over, dad said to the kids, which applicant would you choose? His kids started to understand what makes a good interview and what doesn't. That's an invaluable skill that they will have whether they become an entrepreneur or not. They can't learn that anywhere else.
At the end of the day, us working moms get judged a lot, like how are the kids when you travel so much? I bet they miss their mom or I don't know how you have any time to be with the kids when you're running all these businesses and so on. We live in a different generation and I want my kids to know, especially having two girls, that they can do whatever they want when they grow up. If they want to be a stay-at-home mom, they can. If they want to get a 9-5 go for it! If they want to be an entrepreneur, that's another option.
I want them to see it all and know that anything is possible. My girls see the sacrifice but they also see the big rewards. We talk about courage and how sometimes mom has to do something new and scary but I'm going to go for it anyway and then I come home and I tell them that I spoke in front of my biggest audience ever! When they hear stories like this I hope it inspires them to step outside their comfort zone and use their courage to do big things.
