The Dean of Travel

Saturday night reading

Warm greetings from Nebraska.

It's Saturday night and while most normal people are out socializing, I am sitting at my desk reading notes written to me from 4th-grade students from Masters Elementary of Omaha Nebraska.

Selfie moment immortalized of me with the Masters Elementary students.

I'm not sure how others might judge it.  It doesn't really matter.  It's hard to imagine anything more rewarding than to read the words written by a 10-year-old student declaring how she is not going to let fear stop her from following her dreams. Or how a young man is determined to find his way to make the world better. 

I do enjoy socializing with my friends, laughing, creating new experiences that lead to new stories.  And there will be more of that in my future, just as I hope there will be more letters to read from young people inspired to follow their dreams.

We get small windows to drop in the wisdom to nurture young people to dream. With so many competing distractions, I am blessed to have developed the skills that allow me to do this noble work.

You don't have to be special, just determined to touch hearts in a good way.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to acknowledge and honor the effort it takes to be successful.  When we do this, it can inspire and educate our kids that success is a journey of actions that can support us to learn and grow.

Learning and growing into the best version possible we can be. What an awesome way to invest my Saturday night. Thank you Masters Elementary students for making my day special. 

Find a young person creating something positive and honor the effort it takes! 

Cheers,  Dean

A pile of joy.

   

Determination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shout out to Santee Community School

Hola from Ecuador!

This is a special shout out to the students at Santee Community School in Santee NE.   At the end of the video is a question, I look forward to reading your comments below this blog entry!

 

Stay committed to Living a Life of Wonder!

Cheers,

Dean

Shout out to Masters Elementary in Omaha NE.

Hola from Ecuador!

This is a special shout out to the students at Masters Elementary in Omaha NE.   At the end of the video is a question, I look forward to reading your comments below this blog entry!

Stay committed to Living a Life of Wonder!

Cheers,

Dean

 

 

What's the future look like?

Often I am asked how do you set your goals or how do you even know what goals to set?

These are great questions, that generally come from a lack of clarity of what's important to us or what gives us meaning.  I remember a young high school student once shared with me how she was struggling and frustrated to figure out what her goals were.

I believe we get trapped into a concept of what these should be. In elementary schools, I have noticed students responding to this question with answers they think will make the adult happy.  Or give an easy answer so they don't have to really look and find what's right for them.

What about a goal or dream to hike in a cloud forest?

My reply to the high school student was first to support her and acknowledge her for the true desire to find answers. It's painful when students have decided to give up and check out and she wasn't in that spot.  Plus, sometimes we make it easy for students to give up. I challenged her to search for answers, it's a lifetime journey, not something you check off in a box.  What has value for a person now, will change as we grow and change as a human being. 

You can "not know" what you are going to do for the rest of your life and still have goals.   What? You say!

How about your being goals?  

Who do you want to "be" this day, week, month or year?   Someone who is kind, caring, healthy, responsible, respectful?   You can have goals in all the areas you wish to list. It's best to widdle it down to a few and break them up over time, otherwise, it can feel overwhelming.

So, what's your goal for this week in regards to who you want to be?  What kind of person do you enjoy being around? Make it a goal to work on that quality within yourself and see what happens.  I do know as we gain clarity in one area, it spills into others and it just might create a huge insight into what you want to grow up and be!

In the meantime, I challenge you to have as one of your goals to Live a life of Wonder!  Why not?!   There's a whole world waiting to be explored.

Cheers,

Dean

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a New Year - 2019!

 

It's a new year, which offers a new chance.  Actually, I see every day as a new chance to bring something good into the world.  Why wait for January to begin something new?  

Each day we are provided opportunities to bring in some light to dark places.  It could be in our homes, at school or at the local grocery store. To bring in some light means to bring in some kindness, something that brightens a world that tends to get distracted by stuff that doesn't really matter.

I'm always challenging the students I work with to not wait for how they want the world to be, that they be that way and let the world catch up.  This is what it means to be a leader, a change maker, a light bearer. 

May your 2019 offer you several opportunities to bring the light, the joy, the caring to make the world better. Your light will make a difference.

Cheers,

Dean

A young boy lights a candle in the Cathedral of Cuenca, Ecuador.