Sliding into the WeekendHello Rock Stars. I hope you’re enjoying your Friday and sliding into the weekend with a smile on your dial. I was chatting with someone yesterday who had an amazing ability to complicate the simple and make the easy, hard. What an exhausting (and unnecessary) existence that is. And what an exhausting (and unnecessary) ten-minute encounter that was for me. Make sure you’re not that person won’t you? No post (as such) today, just a little housekeeping, a few things to fill you in on and a thought-provoking question.
Renovate Your LifeNext weekend (May 29 – 31) is our two-day, live-in RYL program here in Victoria. We still have a few places available, so if you’re in need of a little motivation, inspiration, education and transformation, get on board! If you’ve been “about to change your life” for far too long, then this is the program for you. Learn more about RYL here. Hope to see you there. To my U.S. readers who keep asking me when I’m coming to the States to run a program, we’re working on it. I would love to come but there are a few challenges in putting together such an event from a squillion miles away. Having zero profile in your country also makes things a little… tricky. We are considering partnering with someone from the U.S. (individual or organisation) to help make the idea a reality, so (1) if you like what I do here on the site (2) if you have a gift for the entrepreneurial and organisational and (3) if you’d like to explore the possibility of a business partnership (of sorts) with the ex-fat kid, drop me a line via email. It’s okay if I stay on your couch right?
Blogging Workshop?Lately it seems that every man and his dog wants to create their own blog. And why not; it’s a great medium for connecting with the masses, it’s practical, immediate, fun and free(ish). Every week Johnny and I receive a bunch of emails from people who want help, direction and advice about creating a successful blog. So the Bald Man and I thought that we might combine our collective skills and experience to conduct a three-hour (ish) “Introduction to Blogging” (or something along those lines) workshop. While we will conduct the workshop face-to-face here in Melbourne, we thought we might also run it as a webinar (on-line seminar) so that anyone, anywhere in the world can get involved and sit in our cyber-classroom. It’s just an idea at the minute but if there’s enough interest, we’ll run with it. If you’re vaguely interested, email us or let us know via the comments link.
New SiteSpeaking of website development… I know it’s a long time coming but our new website will be up soon. I’ve seen the working prototype and it looks freakin’ amazing. Not being the tech guy on the team (okay, massive understatement), I didn’t really comprehend the magnitude of the task. Apparently transferring nearly a thousand articles, a bunch of videos and several million words from this site to the new one is not a five-minute process. Who’da thunk? Stay tuned.
Question of the Day?
Periodically I will ask a question of the day. This will be an opportunity for some of you to share a little of your own life philosophy (experience, thoughts, ideas) with a large audience (panic not) and to inspire, motivate, educate and possibly enlighten the rest of us. Last Friday we opened the door on the “what gems did your parents teach you as you were growing up” conversation and we got a bunch of great feedback. So off the back of that, today’s question is…
Q. What are the three most important (valuable, non-negotiable) lessons that you (as a parent) will teach your children?
Even if you’re not a parent, I’m sure you have an opinion. While it’s certainly not a competition, I will be sending out a book or three for the contributions that push my buttons. The most.
Have a great weekend guys and share your thoughts on all the above by clicking on the comments link below…
Ciao x
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey there Craig!
1. Pay it forward
2. Take responsibility for your action or lack of action.
3. And at the end – pull the plug!
Enjoy Mares
I love your approach and what you talk about. The site has become my starting point of every day. Keep it up!
The three lessons I want my children to learn are:
1- Have integrity.
2- Life is what you make it – have fun!
3- Work hard, play hard.
Hi Craig,
sorry again for the absence, I did read the last 2 posts but have been busy so didn’t respond…great post btw!
As a parent, I have tried to teach my kids
1/ respect….for their elders, their belongings,themselves and each other.
2/ trust…that telling the truth keeps my trust and breaking my trust means they will have to earn it back again.
3/ You get out of life what you put in….the world does not owe you a living, you have to work for what you want…one that my 16yo son seems to find hard to come to terms with.
I have an incredible respect for my parents (always did) moreso now that I am a parent myself…and being a sole parent is so much harder. I can only do my best and hope that they come out the other end as fine upstanding happy people.
7 sleeps now (from Friday lol)
Have an awesome weekend
Hugs
Chelle xxx
LOL It’s still Thursday here!
My lessons to my kids are these:
1) Be Honest. (Whatever you’ve done, you’ve done — don’t lie about it)
2) Rightly or wrongly, people will judge you on appearances. Don’t miss an opportunity because you are “expressing your personal style”. It’s OK to conform sometimes.
3) Believe in yourself and in your inner voice. It’s talking to you for a reason.
Thanks Craig, you’re my first read everyday
Hello Craig,
I’ve never given too much thought about what I could give my children except uncoditional love, but if I were to give them a piece of wisdom, it could be :
1- Have no fear to live your life
2- Respect yourself and the others
3- Be as loving as possible for this is the only wealth nobody can steal away from you, and never drys out unless you allow it to..
And though we are still on thursday over here and have more than 24 hours to go before friday evening, I wish all a nice week end!!!
Cheers from sunny Casablanca
1. Take Responsibility for your life, don’t be a victim and as you said a few days ago, don’t let other people define you.
2. Find a purpose in life and when you do – Live fearlessly.
3. Love others and invest most of your time and energy into people, not things.
Thanks for the ongoing posts which always make me think and give me good thoughts each day to continue to renew my brain. My brain needs it!
Cheers!
- Steve in California
Being a parent is such a wonderful roller coaster, and this is a great question. I have an 11 year old daughter and 3 stepkids 12,15 and 18. The three most important lessons I want my kids to learn is:
1) First and foremost, you are the beloved of God.
2) No matter the circumstances, you are not a victim because you always have choices.
3) The right thing is usually the hard thing, but you still have to do it.
I can only hope I am doing what I can to teach them these things. I wish my parents had taught them to me.
Thanks for all of your wonderful insights-
Tracy
Hi Craig,
One of the most important things I thought would be very benificial in my daughter’s and my foster son’s life was to think before you speak or act, about the consequenses of what you say or do. There are consequenses to everything we say and do, be it good or bad. That is why it is important to think about it first. Honesty and Integrety were the other 2 I worked hard on trying to instill in them.
I anxiously await your posting everyday. I don’t get them untill around 3:00 in the afternoon here in South Carolina…..But at least I get them. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next posting. Take care!
I’ve taught my children:
1)Pick your friends carefully…they define your reputation.
2)Don’t become credit card dependant…if you can’t pay cash…you can’t afford it.
3)Take responsibility for all your actions and words.
1. God is in control – but you are one awesome co-pilot.
2. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it. (thanks Mel – Braveheart)
3. Don’t die wondering.
Also – clung on to this for many years now – similar approach, comprehensive, good entrepreneur focus…from popular investing periodical:
http://www.hoffman.com/inthenews/articles/ibd_feb2609.htm
carpe diem compadre -
Matt Dancik
Long Beach, California
As the mother of 3 teenage daughters I have a lot of lessons I want to teach my kids. 3 biggies are –
Ask questions, just because someone tells you thats the way it is doesnt necessarily make it so.
Have respect, for yourself first and then others.
Life is not fair, you wont always get what you want when you want it but if it is really worth fighting for then go for it.
1. Be as honest as you possibly can then you don’t have to remember which lie you told to which people.
2. Live and love life to the fullest every minute of every day.
3. Take responsibility for your world, afterall, you are the one who created it.
I wish that someone had taught me this as a child. I had to learn it later in life. Have a glorious day unless you choose to do otherwise.
I teach my kids:
1. Be true to yourself. Some people won’t like you no matter what you do, so just do what you know is right.
2. Always tell the truth. You never get into trouble for telling the truth at our house.
3. Take responsiblity for yourself. Most interactions at our house start with “I”….rather than “she/he”
Have a great day!
Janice
I’m not a parent, so I can’t offer any gems from that noble perspective. And most of the core values that I deem to be vital have already been mentioned .. (what a great bunch of people on this site!). So I’m going to go a little more left-field and offer some things that would have (in hindsight) made my life a little easier.
1. A knowledge of nutrition and the skills to cook (may have alleviated my weight issues that occurred when I moved out of home and had NO CLUE about food or how to cook it).
2. Affirmation of beauty and worth (inside and out). The affirmation I received about my intelligence and abilities put me in good stead to have total belief in what I could (intellectually and professionally) achieve. But the ridicule and lack of affirmation about my appearance (which in part translated to my worth at such a young age) resulted in self-esteem issues.
3. To know that being different is actually a GOOD thing .. and something to be proud of; to not try to hide and conform.
Hope y’all have a great weekend. RYL next weekend .. very excited here!
Suz (Sydney)
I’m not a parent either (yet) but definitely have the desire to be one day.
1. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you want to do when you ‘grow up’ – doing something is better than nothing in the mean time. *Craig, what are you going to do when you grow up?
oops, that’s the cheeky Jules showing her face again. Been a while ( )
2. SAVE money from an early age. ie. as soon as you leave school, if not before.
3. a) Life is about give and take. Give more than you take, gracefully.
3. b) Life is not about what job you do, what you accomplish – but about who you are as a person: your core values, your beliefs… (that was c/- Uncle Craig). Climb Everest, get a PhD, be the fastest 100m sprinter – who cares?
I’m ready for RYL. Ready to build my best life. No more restarts. No more cop outs. No more excuses. No more “I cant’s.” I can’t is a belief just as much as I can is.
Jules
(Melbourne)
My little ones teach me more everyday than I could ever hope to impart to them but here goes:
1. treasure the people in your life, not your possessions. (the fires taught us this one the hard way)
2. tell the people in your life that you love them today, because they might not be here tomorrow (also learnt the hard way)
3. never judge others because you don’t know what their journey has been.
Good one Mr H xx Hellen (still couch surfing but rebuilding Woo Hoo!)
Hey Craig,
I would like to be a part of the cyber classroom for the Introduction to Blogging! Great idea.
On with the question of the day…
1. Talk and behave the same way you would like people to talk and behave with you. (therefore, if you don’t like people to yell at you, don’t do it to others)
2. Listen before you speak. (Understand before being understood)
3. Work to live, don’t live to work. (I have never seen a company’s name on someone’s tombstone. I guess they’re not that important after all…)
Have a good week-end!
Jc
Qc, Canada
Hi Craig
As a parent of 3 great kids, my lessons are:
1. Respect people for who and what they are or in other words ‘if you treat people like crap get ready for it to be thrown straight back at you’.
2. If you want to achieve something, YOU are the one that has to do it. Put the hard work in and the dream can become reality.
3. Make mistakes, cos’ that is how we learn.
See you next week Craig and have a great day.
Kevin
I am the parent of & 7 1/2 year old twins. Boy and Girl. Every day is a challenge but one worth waking up for. My three are.
1. Have respect for yourself.
2. Have respect for others.
3. When you are wrong, accept that you are wrong, apologise if the situation asks for it and move on.
The last one pertains particularly to my son who I think would be able to stand down an entire debating team with the way he argues and debates a situation. Even when he is in the wrong, he won't give up. Scarily I can see a politician in him. Heaven help us all…LOL!
Always do YOUR best. (no-one else’s)
Have fun.
Move daily.
C
Hi Guys – no individual replies from me today but I’ve read all your comments so far and you guys are pretty clever… keep ‘em comin’.
Enjoy your Friday x
3 most important lessons I hope to teach my children are:
1 – Respect. For self and others.
2 – Compasion. Our feelings are important, but so are others.
3 – Responsibility. Be aware of the choices you make, take ownership of them all, the good and the not so good.
And, don’t forget to show the one’s we love just how special they are. Everyone needs to be not only told but shown.
Treat others as you wish to be treated with Respect & Honesty.
Never give up, your journey is an enormous adventure!
Blogging workshop? Yes,..I am interested!! I would have to go the webiner option, but that would be great – I have my hand up!! Looking forward to hearing more!
3 most important lessons: (do I have to make it only 3? okay, yes…3, here goes)
1)Find, follow and keep your dreams alive. Understand that your achievements will require faith/vision/hardwork/dedication and determination. All things are possible for those who believe.
2)Know that you are loved, valued, special & unique. You can do anything. Always value yourself.
3) If you think you can do a thing or you think you can't, you're right.
Cheers Craig – have a great weekend,
Mon ( )
3 most important lessons I hope to teach my children are:
1. respect for self & others
2. to remember what is important in your life – life's too short so enjoy it along the way
3. keep it simple
Craig, I’m glad you have touched on the subject of parenthood. It’s the MOST important role you will play in your life. Even if you don’t have kids yourself, you can still play a key role in a child’s life through being an uncle, aunty, coach etc.
These aren’t “lessons” as such, but values that I, as a parent, try to instil in my three children (credit must go to the very good book ‘The One Minute Father’);
1. Self Esteem – you have been placed on this Earth for a purpose
2. Self Discipline – knowing the difference between right and wrong and hence avoiding the need for constant supervision
3. Unconditional love – us, as your parents, will love you no matter what, and our home is a sanctuary for you and a forum for open communication.
Imagine a society where children grow up with high self esteem, high self discipline and always feel loved. Idealistic I know, but I'm willing to bet there wouldn't be drug & alcohol problems and crime would be very low.
I implore you to watch an episode of Australian Story on Heath Drucker titled
“Room at the Top” a young man who grew up with a terrible childhood.
He hits the nail on the head when he states that, “society is rotting from the bottom up” – a reference to the continuing disintegration of the family unit.
In Australia we are now entering fourth or fifth generations of families that don’t have any sense of these values (through no fault of their own).
As soon as governments understand this, resources can be devoted to tackling the root cause of society’s woes, unloved kids with no self esteem nor self discipline. They grow up to be parents and the cycle continues…
As a mother of four I’ve said many things but these 3 are the golden rules;
1) Treat others how you would like to be treated.
2)Always remember; If you have more money,cars,houses or friends then other people….it does not mean that you are a better person. Being a good kind hearted person to others makes you a better person.
3)Just try your best and I will be happy and there for you always, no matter what.
Hi there Craig –
I hope to teach my children to give everything a real good, hard and honest go, how to eat all their vegies with the rest of their meal in a fun way and how to play for as long as they can!
Kathryn
Hey Craig,I’m not a parent yet,but at 34 have many people saying “WELL better get ya skates on!” gotta lurrrve that,lol.So no tips from me,but thanks other readers,I’m learning lots of fantastic and important lessons! Karen-Melbourne
1. That they are in control of the way other people make them feel. (Something I seriously struggled with as a child, and if I’m completely honest still struggle with now.)
2. That there is no correlation between the amount of money you have and how happy you are.
3. That a little bit of respect, honesty and kindness go a long way.
To my two year old I would teach..
1. Respect / “Never look down on somebody unless you are helping them up” and that includes yourself
2. Determination / “Success nor failure is ever final……and if you do fail, it’s only an opportunity to try again only more intelligently
3.Courage / “the best way out is always through”. no matter what the situation presents.
That was fun!!
Peta
oh, yeah… 4. Love your mum!!
Hi Craig,
1. Treat others how you expect to be treated.
2. Love yourself
3. Look after your Mum
Just thought I would let you know that I had tears in my eyes when I read yesterdays article. My husband has always thought that you have a spy cam following me but after the relevance of yesterdays article to my current situation he is now sure of it!
Just one other thing, you mentioned a WEBINAR for your Blogging Workshop, have you thought of doing a mini RYL via WEBINAR for those of us who will probably never have the opportunity to attend one in real life. Some food for thought!!
Take Care
Janelle
My OH would most definitely be interested in ‘Intro to blogging’ in some form, except that he wants me to do it, so maybe make that 2…
Hi, lurker here, but love your posts, today’s one is really dear to my heart so thought I’d share whats really important for my kids to grow up knowing:
1) When someone’s having a bad day think what could I do to make it a wee bit better for that person?
2) Choose your friends by how they treat others.
3) Follow your own dreams, encourage your friends and never tread on someone else’s toes for your own success.
These comments really made me sit back and think about what I want my two and a half year old to learn.
1. Don’t always take the easy option in life – Often the hard road leads to a much better place than the easy road.
2. The only real thing throughout life is love, family and friends. It doesn’t matter where you live, or what you own – love is all you have left at the end of your life. (Having been to my 87 yr old neighbours funeral this morning, this really hit home for me. All that you have left once you leave this world is the love you have left with family and friends).
3. Give people a break! You never know what they have been through in their life.
Naomi (Brisbane)
1. With hard work you can do anything.
2. If you do anything wrong you have to own up to it and learn from it.
3. Forgive with all your heart because life is too short.
Wow – that’s some seriously good advice; thanks guys. I appreciate you all sharing a little of yourselves x
enjoying all the comments and have a few to add:
1.you learn more from listening than talking.
2.there are 2 sides of a pancake..look at the whole story, not just one person’s side.
3. tell the truth, always, and by doing that, you will be true to yourself.
Life Lessons I Teach My Kids:
1. EVERYONE is entitled to respect. Regardless of age, gender, background, education, beliefs or opinions, EVERYBODY is entitled to respect. If you can’t respect someone’s ideas, at least respect their right to have them. Treat others with respect, and expect the same in return.
2. Be yourself. It’s better to be hated for who you are, than loved for who you’re not. People you’d like to impress will come and go. But since you are stuck with you forever, you might as well be somebody you like!
3. Help people help themselves. Rather than taking care of their needs, help them obtain the resources to take care of their own needs. Instead of helping them once, you’ve helped them for the rest of their lives.
And yes, Dad, success is still the best revenge! I taught them that, too!
Great question, Craig! Very thought provoking!
Sandra in Virginia, US
1. Its not where you are its who your with!!
2. You have two ears for listening but only one mouth for talking, so less talk and listen up … you might learn something!
3. Be good to your Mum!!
It’s not so much the lessons I’ve taught my children, but the lessons I’ve learnt from them.
* Everyone has a special quality or strength – look for it in others and appreciate it
* Pursue your passions
* Live your life with integrity
and
* Be kind to your mother!
1. To always love, respect and be true to yourself.
2. To treat other people with respect and to not judge a book by its cover.
3. Life is a work in progress.
Great advice from everyone. Hard to keep it to 3 isn’t it.
( )
Jacqui
Keep it in the legs
look after yourself
follow your heat
Hi I have been a lurker here for a good 6 months now and after reading today's topic decided I should lose my "virginity" so to speak. I have 2 kids 5 & 2 years.
1. Aspire not to have more but to be more.
2. People always have enough money to get by, but could always do with some more love. Love unconditionally.
3. Something my parents instilled in me, ALWAYS mean what you say especially when you say I LOVE YOU.
Hi Craig
I leave comments for the first time. Today at work I was asked what would I do if I found $8,000,000 in my bank account (as per the recent New Zealand couple) and thought about what I would have to give up if I chose to keep the money. Family, friends, identity, job, home, community and possibly country and much more. All very valuable in my eyes. Giving up all of this, not for me.
1. Honesty is definately the best policy ( Disonesty will always come back to bite you).
2.Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
3. To thine ownself be true (very difficult when you are are a teenager trying to find yourself, however as time goes on this can become a double edged sword as one can become rigid, sticking one’s own view of the world) remember to retain flexibilty and spontaneity.
Sorry, two more, can’t help my self.
4. Keep learning – every day seek knowledge – a language, a new way of doing something, listen and learn from young people (they can often present a way of doing something you might not have considered).
5. Love your family and friends – and tell them that you love them and what you love about them at every opportunity.
Three lessons I hope to impart on my children:
1. The word ‘can’t’ DOES NOT exist!
2. Let NOTHING get in the way of your dreams.
3. ALWAYS treat others as you wish to be treated.
Cheers Craig, really enjoy the daily inspiration and motivation as well as your Tuesday sessions on SEN.
Double Wowzer!! You guys rock!! Such great information and inspiration – a big hi and thanks to all our first time commentors – well done.
Group Hug (( ))
To my 2 little boys & baby bump on the way
1) LIVE everyday with purpose
2) SMILES will bring you happiness & feed those around you
3) PRAY to … & thank God for your life everyday
xxxx
Webinar (on-line seminar)- Yes! I’m vaguely interested.
Please sign me up for the blogging workshop webinar – it sounds great.
Three things I’d like to teach my boys:
1. Do you best at everything you do.
2. Life is a journey not a destination.
3. You get back as much as you put into something.
Hey Craig,
The three most important lessons I hope to pass on to my children (if they are listening and observing) are:
1. Who cares if I am proud of you? Are you proud of you? Don’t spend your life pleasing me, spend your life living your life and I will spend my life loving you for fulfilling your own dreams and goals.
2. You can never love someone too much.
3. It’s not my (or anyone else’s) job to make you happy. Being happy is your responsibility… so just be happy – smile until you feel happy.
Enjoy.
1. Listen. Really listen, so you actually hear. Just because someone is older than you doesn’t mean they haven’t a clue (they have been there too)
2. Integrity. I cannot stress how important this is. Be honest to and about yourself, and towards others. It does matter.
3. Appreciate your friends and loved ones. We all know how fast accidents can happen and take away those we care for. Enjoy them while you can.
Andie…Melbourne.
I have a teenage daughter and I wish for her to understand that it is important to:
love herself – have good self image, independent of what others think
be kind to others, especially those in need
be happy! we only get one go at life, might as well enjoy it!
Have a great day, everyone!
Three things I would teach my children…
Don’t let fear stand in the way of doing what you want. You’ll end up wondering what happened to all that time!
You ALWAYS have a choice of how to act in ANY given circumstance. That is your greatest power. Use it well- if you don’t, someone else will use it for you.
It is okay to ask for help and support from others in achieving your goals. Sometimes you can’t unlock the door from the inside.
…but not before I teach them how to play cricket!
A bit behind in reading posts, but really felt the need to comment. I am a mum of two children aged 10 and 12, my son has Austism and daughter Aspergers Syndrome,
the greatest gift I could teach/show my children is that of gratitude.
I have learnt some very big lessons in my life that I would not have done if I did not have to deal with their conditions, even though tough I would not change a thing.
I have learnt unconditional love, patience, tolerenace, not to stress over the small stuff, unpredictablity, to be non-judgemental, building relationships are of utmost importance,
to stand in my integrity for what I value and to to never give up on anyone. This is an endless journey of learning.
They are my teachers.
test comment two
1) Don’t complain that life happens to you. You have a choice in every situation – really every situation – if only it is a choice between dying screaming or dying silent.
2) Think things through. Anything is possible if you just create a strategy. Someone has to win Academy awards one day. Someone has to become a college professor one day. Why not get a step ahead by actually acting?
3) There’s no use in buying flowers for a grave. Buy flowers as long as your friends and family members can enjoy them – death happens far too soon anyway. Don’t save special words or deeds for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion.