Blog #526: She Hasn’t Read This…YET

“Dear Mr. Shawn,”
(That’s how her email begins.)

I heard you speak when you came to Bacolod and have read your emails since then. I’ve learned a lot from you and print out your emails and share them with my coworkers.

I would like to ask for your help. I’m a single mom with two boys who are 10 and 12. I want them to have every chance to be successful and wonder what lessons you think they should learn that will help. They study hard in school but is there more I can teach them?

Thank you for your motivation and if you don’t have time to write back I understand. I pray you come back to the Philippines and speak. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Maria
______

Here’s what’s fun to know.
Maria hasn’t read my response yet.

Today she will.

When she opens today’s blog…
she’ll read my answer for the first time.

Wish I could watch that one.

Dear Ms. Maria!

Thank you for reading Extra Mile Thursday for seven years!
It feels REALLY good to know that you appreciate my words.

To show my gratitude for hanging out with me for so long…
I’m doing something extra in answering your email.

Get ready, Maria.
This blog is for YOU.

First…
As for me coming back to speak in the Philippines?

Definitely.

Memories of the extraordinary kindness and generosity I was shown as I toured and spoke in your country are tattooed forever on my heart.

I’ll be back!

And now to your BIG question…
“What to do” to help your boys be successful.

I re-framed the thought to better brainstorm my answers. I asked myself:

“What lessons learned young can catapult success when old?”

As I reflected, I concluded that at different ages my answers would’ve been different. So I asked the question to 59-year-old me (now), and then transported myself back twenty years and asked 39-year-old me.

I found seven answers.

My 39-year-old answers…

#1. Sign them up for public speaking classes.
Enroll them in public speaking, debate or drama. If the opportunities aren’t available in school, look for outside courses. The power to speak with confidence rockets success.

#2. Enroll them in lots of writing classes.
The ability to communicate on paper (or email) is a career game-changer. Encourage them to become strong writers…technically and persuasively.

#3. Encourage them to LIVE outside comfort zones.
Great success does not live in shallow comfort zones. Show them that failure is never the “end of the world”…but always the start of intriguing opportunity.

My 59-year-old answers…

#4. Teach them the power of investing.
Learning how to invest money is different than saving money. Life has fewer limits when we’re older if we limit spending and invest when we’re younger.

#5. Establish the value of exercise.
The privilege of living well when we’re older carries less importance if we’re moaning through our later days with poor health. Encourage the boys to establish successful diet and exercise routines…and to keep them for a lifetime.

#6. Teach them to “Go the extra mile!”
Following through with this single thought every day has consistently triggered my success. I’ve discovered that when I add extra effort to what I DO…extra value often boomerangs back to me.

And ONE more lesson that made both my 39 and 59-year old lists:

#7. Teach kindness.
In my heart, nothing else will contribute more to them being successful as human beings. For me, this is the GRANDDADDY of all success lessons.

So there you have it, Maria.

Seven lessons learned young that catapult success when old.

Somewhere in the seven…may you find one that inches your boys to be their MOST successful. May they live as successfully as they dream…and as you dare dream for them.

I’m rooting hard for the three of you.

With hope and gratitude…

S.