Planning for your next Semester & Next Fall ?
Are you considering new ways to set up YOUR students for success—in school and beyond?
Increasingly, employers and universities are encouraging greater development of the “soft skills” necessary for success in college, career, and life, such as:
- Sense of purpose/strategic perspective
- Character, integrity, and work ethic
- Successful relationship-building, communication, and teamwork
- Personal productivity/discipline
- An attitude of empowerment, not entitlement
This is why schools across the nation are choosing our innovative and comprehensive What I Wish I Knew at 18 Leadership and Life Skills curriculum to help their students build a personal leadership foundation. Here’s what they’re saying:
Micah Arneberg—Business Teacher/Learning Coordinator:
“The (WIWIK@18) book and student guide have had a great impact on my students. … (helping) them to look ahead and have a vision of success. …They truly are becoming more successful socially and academically. I would highly recommend this curriculum to other teachers.”
Patty Rogers—Family and Consumer Science/Personal Finance Teacher:
“While teaching Personal Finance this year, I was able to use this great resource to enrich the content of this course. Every Family and Consumer Sciences teacher should have a classroom set. Students enjoy this book and their comments are always positive!”
Pam Wickman—Family & Consumer Science Teacher:
“I have made great use of What I Wish I Knew at 18 in my classroom, including it in a variety of classes, such as Parents and Children, Individual and Family Relationships, and Life on your Own. My students respond well to the teen-friendly language of the text, and the accompanying workbook includes questions and writing topics that inspire useful discussion and written reflection. Trittin’s book has become a valued resource, and one I turn to often.”
Bea McCleod—School Counselor; Former President Virginia Association of School Counselors:
I am so impressed with this curriculum. The information is timeless and so “down to earth.” I like how you can pick up the book, and go to the chapter you need. You don’t have to read the book in any order—just take what you need to share these life lessons with students. For a limited time
We are offering bulk pricing discounts now for our book and curriculum so you can plan and order for next semester’s – and next year’s – classes.
We invite you to visit our website and contact us at 920-319 3169 with your questions.
We’re honored to serve you in preparing your students for real world success.
All the best,
The LifeSmart Team
parenting
Making the Right Call in Risky Situations!
Are there young adults in your life who have recently left home and entered college or the career field? Or, high schoolers about to graduate into independent life? Here’s a special message for them you’ll want to share!
Once you leave your parents’ home to travel, study, or work, you’ll experience a newfound freedom and sense of independence. And, you’ll no doubt encounter potentially risky situations that require quick decisions in the moment. Unfortunately there will be no time to call mom and dad, phone a friend, or ask the audience. How will you handle it?
These scenarios often involve alcohol, drugs, sex, and cheating, and especially arise when you feel pressure to fit in with others. They can compromise your value system and derail your plans, dreams, and even your physical, emotional, and spiritual health if you’re not careful. During these situations, it’s wise to pause and ask how your conscience will feel tomorrow if you answer “yes” or “no.” Will you feel guilt or shame, or be proud of your actions? Let that answer guide your decision.
It’s also helpful to quickly ask yourself these following questions:
-What are the potential consequences to your well being and reputation?
– What answer aligns with your value system?
– How will your decision impact the people you love and care about?
Succumbing to high-risk behavior and situations leads down a path from which it’s very difficult to recover. Your best bet is to avoid these situations altogether before they occur and test you (if not, at least decide in advance how you will react if and when your values are challenged). I’ve heard far too many stories of young people who didn’t heed this advice and whose college careers ended prematurely due to unwise decisions. Often, they lose years of momentum and wander aimlessly in the aftermath. But, you have a purpose and a destiny that is worth guarding and respecting at all times. By following your conscience and your value system, you’ll be well positioned to handle life’s risky situations.
Have you ever been in a situation like this? Did you have the courage to go with your values over the pressure you received from others? If not, how can you better prepare yourself the next time? After all, life is about learning and recovering from our mistakes, isn’t it?
How YOU Can Change the World
Note: This post was writting by Noel Meador, Executive Director for Stronger Families in the greater Seattle area (www.strongerfamilies.org).
“Before you criticize the younger generation,
remember who raised them.”
-Unknown Author
We live in a culture that sees more screen time than family dinner times, that talks more through text and Facebook than eye to eye, and that praises performance and “beauty” over the heart and soul of a person. We have some big problems on our hands.
But take heart: tonight you will have the opportunity to change the world.
You can invest in the stock market, have the best house and car, and know great success, but when you die, it will all die with you. All that hard work and dedication, good stewardship, understanding of investment will be gone.
Sure, you can pass on your monetary inheritance but, if it is to a generation that hasn’t been taught responsibility, it will be squandered.
If it is to a generation that hasn’t been taught the value of family and investment in others–a heritage will fade.
If it is to a generation that is self-focused and distracted–your generosity and kindness will end.
So, how can we ensure our heritage will live on?
If we want to invest in something that will live beyond our time and have the ability to change the world, let’s sit down at our table tonight and look at the faces of our children. Take time to talk, listen and teach.
They are it! They are the change we hope to see in the world! The future of this country and our families. I hope and pray I’m investing wisely.
Noel Meador is the Executive Director for Stronger Families in Bothell, Washington and the author and creator of the Oxygen for Your Relationships seminar. Noel has a passion to see families and relationships revitalized and strengthened. He resides in Woodinville, Washington with his wife Karissa and their two sons.
Practical Ways Your Family Can Serve Others This Christmas
“I will honor Christmas in my heart,
and try to keep it all the year.”
~Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
and try to keep it all the year.”
~Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
One of my annual highlights is watching the film classic, A Christmas Carol. I love watching the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge when the self-centered miser develops a servant’s heart. Granted, it takes a dramatic, catalytic experience late in life to get him there, but he becomes a changed man all the same. Every time I watch this film, I reflect on what more I could have done in the past year to help others. It’s a time of accountability, complete with a promise to do better in the year ahead.
I have special admiration for people who commit their lives to serving others.They’re not motivated by fame or fortune, but rather by joyful service.
I’m convinced our daughter Lauren was born with a servant’s heart. I first noticed this when she was four during a visit to a McDonald’s playground. She befriended a devastated little girl who had been deliberately abandoned by her big sister (Ronald would not have been happy!). The girl’s tears were soon replaced with joy for those ten brief minutes. While this example may seem ordinary, it is illustrative of the many times that Lauren has nurtured people who were socially excluded. Her empathetic heart has often been a blessing to others. Not surprisingly, she is considering a career in child psychology and counseling. I think she’ll be a natural.
The holiday season is a time when our thoughts often turn to practical ways we can serve those less fortunate. At a time when we are counting our own blessings, what are the ways we can include, encourage, or assist people in need?
This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some of our family’s ideas:
– take a shift ringing a bell for the Salvation Army (we just did this last week; it’s a hoot, you meet great people, and it’s such a worthy cause)
– volunteer at a local food bank
– gather a group to sing carols at a retirement home
– go out of your way to compliment those who are in service positions (including the Military)
– send a note to a teacher expressing your gratitude
– donate money to a local ministry that pays electric bills for the needy
– adopt a family for gift giving
– send a personal note to someone who lost a loved one in the past year
What do you and your family do to serve and bless others during the holiday season? Please share your ideas and stories with us; we’d love to hear your experiences!
Building a Rock-Solid Foundation for Our Teens: One Community’s Response
How do we set our teens on a pathway to their destiny—to help them fulfill their dreams and purpose?
It’s a fundamental question for their future—and our future—and the answer is multi-faceted. But, for now, I’d like to focus on one of the most vitally important prerequisites—a healthy and solid support system.
Research experts such as Dr. Chap Clark conclude that every adolescent needs at least five loving, trusted adults in his/her life to develop the emotional health, stability, and self confidence to succeed in adulthood. While other factors such as education, skills, and opportunities also matter, relationships with adult role models are key.
The reasons are many. Adults who have strong relationships with teens can offer love, friendship, support, affirmation, life wisdom, advice, and essential network connections. They’re tremendous assets to our children and invaluable third party voices for parents. Speaking personally, it’s been a major parenting priority for us, and our children have benefitted immeasurably from their relationships with many adult friends.
It’s great to see that some visionaries and communities are taking a proactive stance to connect our youth to caring, adult mentors. One such community is nearby University Place, Washington where community leaders of Project 5:1 recently brought speakers and resources to area parents, educators, mentors, service organizations, and the faith community at a weekend conference. Illustrating the broad-based support for this initiative, the conference was sponsored by numerous businesses; service, parent, mentor, and school organizations; non-profits; and churches. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
Local media supported the event as well, an indication of the compelling need for supporting our youth. As shown in the following news segment at King 5 TV in Seattle, I was honored to serve as a workshop leader on my topic, “Relationship Building Strategies to Help Teens Soar.” http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2014/11/15/project-51-event-helps-parents-connect-with-teens/19110123/
In my talk, I shared four relationship keys with teens: 1) valuing their uniqueness, 2) affirming their worth, value, and potential, 3) communicating to build relationship capital, and 4) recruiting positive third party voices (the 5:1 concept being a perfect example). It was encouraging to see how many people are committed to building strong relationships with teens!
If you would like more information about the event, the movement, or my talk, please contact me via www.dennistrittin.com or check out www.projectfiveone.com.
In this season of gift giving, it’s hard to think of a more meaningful gift than an investment in the lives our children.
Celebrate the Season! Annual LifeSmart Book Sale!
It’s been a great year at LifeSmart! We are filled with gratitude as What I Wish I Knew at 18 continues to impact the lives of young adults globally, and our newest book, Parenting for the Launch: Raising Teens to Succeed in the Real World, receives rave reviews for encouraging and equipping parents (click here for more information).
We think it’s time to CELEBRATE!
Our 4th annual Cybersale is offering Parenting for the Launch and ourWhat I Wish I Knew at 18 book and guides at substantial savings, just in time for holiday gift-giving and classroom orders for the New Year:
What I Wish I Knew at 18 BOOK – $14.99
What I Wish I Knew at 18 STANDARD STUDENT GUIDE – $14.99
What I Wish I Knew at 18 CHRISTIAN STUDENT GUIDE – $14.99
Parenting for the Launch – $14.99
(further bulk discounts available!)
now through Christmas
Order at AtlasBooks.com or 1-800-BOOKLOG
and use the Promo Code: CHEER
Parenting for the Launch serves as a wonderful gift for parents while What I Wish I Knew at 18 is a special keepsake gift or stocking stuffer for:
·teens and young adults
·parents and caregivers
·mentors and coaches
·teachers and faith leaders
·clients who are raising families
It’s our way of saying “Thanks!” for your support—and to wish you a joy-filled holiday season!
Blessings,
The LifeSmart Team.
How to Be an MVP Employee — A Lifesmart DVD
Positioning Students for Workplace Success
Are the young people under your supervision—children, students, or employees—prepared to soar in their eventual career? Not just to land the job, but to be a workplace MVP?
With high youth unemployment and all-consuming scholastics and activities driving their schedules and priorities, many of today’s young adults are entering the work force sorely lacking the skills and maturity they need to thrive in the real world. We hear from employers all the time: “They may be book smart, but they’re certainly not life smart,” or, “They can write a resume and complete an application, but they lack the intrinsic qualities and life skills we need in our employees.” Many students understand how to succeed in the “front end” (resume and interview skills), but aren’t trained to succeed once they land the job.
At LifeSmart, we’re excited to announce our newest resource designed to help create future workplace superstars! Our new DVD, How to Be an MVP Employee. offers invaluable perspectives from employers and four road-tested strategies for succeeding in any career:
- Selecting a career that plays to their natural strengths and interests
- Modeling the qualities employers value
- Delivering on-the-job excellence
- Contributing to their employer’s success
This 45-minute live presentation at Appleton West High School includes illustrations, skits, training, and strategic insights to promote career readiness and workplace excellence. Viewers will gain practical wisdom about what separates those who soar from those who stagnate in their careers.
For $79, you can bring this valuable training into your own classroom or group. How to Be an MVP Employee will help prepare the young people in your life to reach their career heights and to succeed in the increasingly competitive landscape of today’s workplace.
For more information or to order, call (920) 319-3169 or email at dtrittin@dennistrittin.com.
Financial Literacy: Keep It Simple!
As a nation, we have been witnessing a tragedy of epic proportions. Debt, deficit spending, and credit card use have taken control of the lives of millions. The result has been skyrocketing bankruptcies and enormous stress on individuals and their families. How can we avoid this situation? One way is to AVOID the credit card trap altogether!
I grew up in a family with a very modest income. However, we were never financially strapped. My parents’ method of managing their finances was a simple one, but it worked. They stuffed with cash for key expenses and lived on what was inside. No credit cards, no loans, no overspending. No more money in the envelopes meant no more spending. Simple. I have adapted my parents’ conservative, simple approach through budgeting and banking and we’ve always lived financially stress-free.
The same is not true for the majority of Americans. The credit crisis is enormous on both a national and an individual level. Bankruptcies are at a record high and most families would say that they are experiencing at least some level of financial stress. How did this happen? A couple of things have caused it:
· The widespread availability of credit cards, coupled with a lack of discipline to use them responsibly (studies show spending via credit cards is substantially greater than cash only)
· Financial literacy is not a priority in many education institutions, despite the importance of budgeting and investing in daily life
· The rise in consumerism and the strong focus on buying “things” in our culture
The long and short of it is that easy access to credit cards and loans has given consumers a false sense of financial security. This lures them into spending more than their income can support. The debt builds and accrues interest, making the monthly payment grow every month. Today’s average family has several credit cards with monthly balances well into the thousands? Eventually, there has to be a day of reckoning and these large balances and interest charges MUST be tackled.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to live debt free. It’s easy—just be disciplined and abide by this basic principle: Use credit wisely and sparingly and resist making purchases if you can’t pay with cash. Keep it simple—avoid the credit trap and you’ll relieve your financial stress.
“Credit buying is much like being drunk.
The buzz happens immediately and gives you a lift. The hangover comes the day after.”
Joyce Brothers
Do you have some good strategies for (or questions about) avoiding or overcoming credit card spending and debt? Do you keep it simple? What’s YOUR method? Jump into the conversation on my website and leave your comments. Then keep the conversation going: please forward this to friends and encourage them to sign up for our weekly email at www.dennistrittin.com/newsletter.aspx..
8 Ways to Communicate You Care
Valentine’s season reminds us of the value of relationships—and not just romantic ones. Not only do sweethearts profess their admiration and affection for each other, but so do parents to their children, children to their teachers, friends to friends, and so on. In a rare creative moment, I once wrote a love letter using strategically placed candy hearts to share my thoughts. Bingo!
At the same time, Valentine’s Day can expose our vulnerability to these conflicting priorities: relationships versus things. While our society has progressed in many respects over the past 50 years, it’s clear that we’ve regressed in terms of relational health and depth. Sadly, with the distractions of technology and busyness, it seems to be getting worse.
Have you thought about what you really value in life? What are you communicating about your priorities to the ones you love—whether intentionally or unintentionally?
Relationships are enduring—things are not. The way we communicate this to our loved ones lies in how we prioritize our time, attention, and money. You can use the following list as either a self-check or a to-do list. Either way, we hope it gives you some inspiration and ideas for communicating your love to others:
1. Be fully in the moment. When you’re with someone, be completely engaged (not on your phone, your Facebook, your Instagram, your Candy Crush game, etc.)
2. Keep family and close friends at the top of your priority list in terms of time, energy, etc. Don’t just give them leftovers. They’ll notice, even if they don’t mention it.
3. Focus on the important, not the urgent. Sometimes maturity and experience are the best teachers on this lesson, but the sooner it’s learned, the better! Our tasks may seem urgent, but our relationships should take priority. This is especially important when our children want or need to talk.
4. Tune in to their uniqueness. Gifts, experiences, and expressions engender different responses from each of us. What uniquely means the most to them? Customize your giving wherever possible and you’ll surely hit the mark.
5. Express appreciation regularly. Be grateful for the people in your life and tell them how much you appreciate them. You don’t always have to communicate with outward displays of affection. Sometimes simple actions, like saying, “I appreciate you,” packing a family member’s favorite lunch (with a note in it), or doing an unasked favor can be just as meaningful.
6. Praise them in front of other people. Say something nice about them when they are in earshot. You will help build their self worth and indirectly communicate how much you value them. (Great parenting pointer!)
7. Set aside time and money for special occasions and gifts. This may be harder for those whose “love” languages are not gift giving or quality time. But for those who really need these things in order to feel loved and appreciated, they mean the world.
8. Forgive offenses quickly and let them go. After all, you’d want your loved ones to do the same for you, right? Related, pick your battles carefully and when arguments do arise, keep your cool.
It pays to examine how we prioritize our time, energy, and finances to build strong relationships with family and friends. Do you the people you love know you care? How so?
Time for Excellence 