I,Too,Have A Dream

Forty-nine years ago, a great man with an audacious dream boldly declared his sentiments: He spoke for unity and not division; peace, not war; love, not hate; content of character, not color of skin. He spoke of brotherhood of men, not destruction of fools.

Forty-nine years later, I speak of my own dream. It, too, is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. I have a dream that one day, students will be tested not on the information they memorized, but on the relationships they built, the projects they made. I have a dream that students will be educated holistically, not segmentally. I have a dream that teachers will be paid what they are worth, and not with the leftovers of the state. I have a dream that education will be a “discovery process,” not an “employment process.” I have a dream that students will no longer graduate with a question over their heads, but with an exclamation over their hearts; that every student will clearly know Who they are, How they are, Why they are, and What they are to do, upon graduation.

Every human being was created with a purpose, and every human being is significant. I have a dream that one day, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestant and Catholics will know that purpose, and discover the great joy of education - of drawing out – that purpose instilled in childbirth.

NTLP 2012: "The Best Day Ever"

In my last post, I mentioned about the importance of leadership camps. I just returned from staffing at National Teen Leadership Program in Sacramento, California, and my life was made more rich! I met more people, learned more skills, challenged myself, stepped out of my comfort zone, expanded my mind, and re-opened my eyes. I met old friends and made new ones. I re-explored a once familiar environment and familiarized myself with it once again. 150 young adults were awakened, educated, and completely transformed over the course of three days, and I was greatly honored and privileged to be a part of that transformation. This post is a brief synopsis of what I personally got from the weekend.

What constitutes having a great experience? This past weekend, I heard a young man tell his father, “This has been the greatest experience of my life.” I heard another young man say, “This was this best day ever.” A young lady in my group wrote me a note saying, “You… have taught me skills I will use everyday of my life. Thank you so much for giving your time to be here.” 

One definition of the word “experience” is “a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something; knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone.” What these young adults had over these past three days was a true experience. For me, when I think of an experience, it implies a wide gamut of emotions: happy, sad, thrilled, exhilarated, nervous, joyful, amazed, inspired, etc. It is possible to have an experience with just one or two emotions, but when a full spectrum of emotions are turned on from one extreme to another in short amount of time, that definitely creates a memorable experience. In three days, 150 lives were impacted through the efforts of a group of devoted leaders. This is just a taste:

Day 1 – True Leadership. There is a quotation in the I-Ching that states, “The leader is not the one with the most followers; the leaders is the one who duplicates the most leaders.” Right off the bat this was made true for me when I took pride in the fact that two young ladies from the first group I led in 2007 have now become staff leaders four consecutive years in a row. Wow.  This day was about meeting new people with similar interests and reconnecting with seasoned friends. I met people who shared my same faith (Jesus), my same calling (education reform), and my same passion (motivational speaking, societal revolution). Of course, many others did not share all my interests, but I am still able to walk with them hand in hand despite not seeing eye to eye. This day I was introduced to the 11 young men and women that my co-leader and I would teach (there were originally 12, but one did not make it). My fear was that I would have a group of rowdy kids I could not control, but that was far from the case. I was so grateful to have been given the opportunity to invest in the lives of these teens, alongside my co-leader. I told them from the beginning, “You guys are not just teenagers, you’re the future; You are the future businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, accountants, athletes, movie stars, etc. Someone told me that if you want to know the future, spend time with a 15-year old. I’m here because I want to make sure our future is bright.” 

Day 2 – Diversity. When I asked these young men and women about the best part of their weekend, most of them mentioned Day 2. This was “Diversity” day. This was a day in which they were able, just for a moment, to be vulnerable and share what they usually don’t share with anyone. Sharing secrets creates trust, and trust forms bonds. How valuable is it to create a safe environment for people to release their inner fears, struggles, and stories? How much is such a cathartic experience worth? To these young men and women, it was the world. Needless to say, I myself walked away with a renewed sense of gratitude, privilege, and respect for life, and for my parents who nurtured me in it. 

Day 3 – The Beginnings. Al Pacino, in the movie “Scent of a Woman” said, “A minute? Some people live a whole lifetime in a minute.” How about three days? By this time, 150 youth have bonded, laughed, cried, and learned together, as one. This was the final day of camp, but the beginning of something great. This was the beginning of a great future that is ahead of 150 young people, with the world in the palm of their hands. It seemed that most, if not every person had their lives changed this weekend. Mark Twain and I share a same sentiment: “I could live a whole month off a compliment.” Before the camp ended, a young lady from my group handed me a note, her face filled with gratitude. The note summed up all the reasons why I did what I did last week:

Robin,

I’m so glad you were my leader for NTLP my first year. I am so inspired by your job and how you have a big dream that you are working hard to accomplish. You [and our co-leader] taught me skills I will use everyday of my life. Thank you so much for giving your time to be here. I hope to see you next year!

Gary Chapman wrote a book entitled, The 5 Love Languages. One of the 5 languages is Words of Affirmation. These words solidified my role and purpose at NTLP. It was the only note I received, but this note has made all the difference for me. I am writing this entry to inspire and encourage you, my reader, to go and spend time with a 15-year old this weekend. If you are already making the future bright living your own life, imagine how much brighter it will be if you invest in the lives of the future.

"It's Still America..."

I’m a seminar junkie. I love going to places to hear successful people talk, because they always have a slight edge over those who don’t pursue their dreams. A couple weeks ago I was invited to a 3-day real estate investing seminar, and I was floored. The last time I attended one of these was 8 years ago, in 2004. I was just a kid back then, and it was the first time I was introduced to terms like, “lease options,” “wrap around mortgage,” “tax lien certificates,” etc. I remember fervently taking down every word the lady said, even though I didn’t understand a lick of what she was saying. Now, 8 years later, I was able to understand a little better of what the concepts and strategies were, and get a clearer understanding of the direction being taught. Needless to say, I have a stronger hope towards a brighter future, after catching a glimpse of what my future could be, if I choose to implement the concepts and strategies that was taught that weekend.

The speaker was in his mid-50’s, a retired US Marine. At the time he said that his only skill was “to eliminate people in 5 different ways, silently, under 5 seconds, so they made me a sniper. Thank God I’ve learned more skills than that.” He began investing early in life, and eventually retired a multi-millionaire at 31, before the birth of his first child. “I have 3 children, and I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday of their lives, because I didn’t have to work a job. I have been to 69 countries, and all of the continents, showing my family all of what God has made.” Wow. I have met a lot of successful people in life, but not one that has been as successful as this guy. “It’s still America outside your cubicle, folks. You can still do it. You can’t do it in Croatia; being rich is not allowed.” He really opened my eyes to see what was possible and probable, if you just take courage and believe that you can truly change your future if you decide to.            

31 Flavors

I have been 31 for almost a month now, and the days have been coming faster than ever. I'm further along many people in some areas, while many people are further along than me in other areas. A lot of times we tend to compare ourselves with other people and where they're at in life. Amidst it all, I have to tell myself to remain in my lane in this "race of life," otherwise I'll run someone over, or just get run over myself.

Ten Things I Learned In My 20's

When I was 20, my future was right in front of me - a vast ocean with an unending horizon. So many possibilities, so many roads to take. My whole life until then has been so systematic, so predictable. In my 20’s, I wanted to “go off the beaten path” and take time to explore. Now that that time is coming to an end, this is what I have learned:

1.      4 Years happens faster than you think. Stay in school! The idea of junior college as a sort of “purgatory” always compelled me. I was seduced by the idea of exploring different avenues, trying different things, taking different classes. I took the idea of staying in junior college for 10 years too literally, that it actually happened. 10 years later, and I’m finally transferring.

2.       15/15/70. Give 15% of your income to God (if you don’t believe in God, give it to charity), 15% to yourself, and pay your bills with the remaining 70%. It’s very uncomfortable at first, and I still haven’t mastered it, but applying it has already made a tremendous difference in my life. I have more money now (as little as it is) than when I did before I started applying this principle.

3.       Start eating right, and keep eating right. I’m 31 years old, and I woke up the other day with a bad foot =/. My eating habits could be a lot better.

4.       Start working out, and keep working out. The last time I was consistent in my workouts was in 2003-2004. I worked out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week from 9-11am. I went to school from 1-4pm, then work from 5-9pm. I remembered going up in weight almost every week! I had a rhythm going, and I was consistent. One day I got sick and didn’t come in. I missed one workout. Then one workout turned into two. Then three, then four. Before I knew it, I was back to my old ways. =/

5.       It’s not about “get rich quick,” – it’s about stewarding what you already have. Man. I’ve spent a good amount of my 20’s chasing money in these “get rich quick” schemes. I’ll save more of the details about this in a later post, but in short, one of the many lessons I’ve learned during this period was not about money, but about stewardship. This ties into the 15/15/70 plan mentioned in #2 above. You could have the best product, service, compensation, etc, but if the money is not properly stewarded at the end of the day, what good did it serve in the first place?

6.       The value of leadership camps. I went to my first leadership camp when I was voted Student Body President in elementary school. I loved it. Since then, I have been to several camps, and each one taught me more and more about people, motivation, aspiration, but more importantly, about myself.  In fact, the better you are at leading people, the more money you can potentially make.

7.       Don’t stay in the “friend-zone” too long, or it’s too late. Yeah. Better to make the move sooner. More on this later. =)

8.       It’s not about your accomplishments, it’s about how you treated other people. Many people build their lives on how many awards they can achieve, or how many trophies they can rack up, in their quest for significance. Awards and trophies are nice, but eventually someone else will come along and challenge that recognition. Sometimes people even lie, cheat, and steal to get recognized. Something that lasts longer than a title is the way you treat other people. That is the most lasting impact you will ever leave on earth.

9.       It’s not about you. This lesson ties into #8. I am definitely going to expound on this in a later entry, because there is a lot of unveiling required here.

10.   Jesus is Lord. Once this is revelation becomes reality, life makes perfect sense.

ONWARD.

"If people relate to the company they work for, if they form an emotional tie to it and buy into its dreams, they will pour their heart into making it better." Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO

25 Days Later

Wow. What a month! 25 days ago, I posted about the next ten years of my life: go back to school, get a full-time job, get my BA, MA, start a charter school, network, pursue the Department of Education. 25 days later, after applying to jobs every day, updating my resume, knocking on doors, asking everyone I knew, networking, driving, asking and asking again, I finally landed a job! This was TRULY an answer to prayer. February 29^th was the night I asked to be sent out to pursue my destiny in the marketplace. I was asked when would be a good timeframe for me to fully transition out of my current position and onto my next one, and I said, “the 31^st.” I left my current job BELIEVING that a company was going to hire me by March 31^st, and lo and behold, after pounding the concrete and applying to different places everyday, I land an interview and get hired on the very same day, one day short of what I expected! A lot of people have been praying for me, and I want to thank all of those who have. Here's to my next transition! =)