MRVED Update - January 26, 2022

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

Thursday, February 3, 2022 - Teachers' Advisory Council

Friday, February 4, 2022 - Principals' Advisory Council (Postponed)

Friday, February 11, 2022 - Title III Teachers

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 - MRVED Board Meeting

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - Superintendents' Council

MELT Feedback & Reflection

MELT 2022 is in the books! The weather was great & it was fun to see everyone collaborating together in-person again. A huge shoutout to all our presenters and facilitators for sharing your talents and expertise with us. Without these willing people, MELT simply cannot happen. Once again, LqPV was a gracious and welcoming host. A special thank you to the janitorial staff for getting the parking lot and sidewalks cleaned after a dumping of snow the Friday prior.

Our Teacher Advisory Council(TAC) and Principal Advisory Council(PAC) will be reviewing the feedback from the evaluations and be making recommendations for future common inservice days. Thanks to all that participated. It was a great day of learning!

Resources

Don't Forget About Google Drawings

I was helping a teacher last week brainstorm ideas about activities for an upcoming lesson. We were looking for a type of digital whiteboard. While there are many options out there, we really didn't find one we liked. Then it hit me...Google Drawings! We often times forget about this long lost app from Google. You can do some awesome things with Drawings. Shake Up Learning has a great article on 20 Ways to Use Google Drawings. She has some really neat ideas on how to use Google Drawings in your classroom.

Teaching With the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics start next week. This is a great opportunity to bring current events into your classroom. Pretty much all content areas can work the Olympics into their classrooms in some way. The students can really get connected to the Olympics as there is so much variety and it is covered widely on television. Here are some resources for teaching the Olympics.

We Are Teachers

The Teachers' Corner

Home School Olympic Resources

Professional Learning

FETC Conference

The Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) is currently being held in Orlando, Florida. If you, like me, weren't one of the lucky ones to get out of negative temperatures to enjoy this great conference, you can still follow along on Twitter. Follow the hashtag #FETC for all the great behind the scenes chatter and resource sharing. FETC is a great conference and one of my favorites to follow along with on Twitter. The cool thing about Twitter, is you can scroll back through previous tweets to see everything that was talked about in days prior.

Book Study

Row the Boat

If you haven't purchased the book Row the Boat by P.J. Fleck and Jon Gordon, you still have time. This week we will get through chapter 3. Please know that my analysis and thoughts about the chapters is by no means a replacement for buying the book and reading it. When you read it for yourself, you always can grab a few nuggets for yourself.

Chapter 2 is Jon Gordon talking about how the book is set up, basically a Q & A with P.J. Fleck. His first question for Coach Fleck was how he came up with Row the Boat.

Most times, if you look hard enough, you can see some sort of silver-lining through tragedy and adversity. Row the Boat was built out of the tragic loss of Coach Fleck's first son minutes after birth. Through the grieving process he needed something to help him through the process. He liked water, he like boats, he was an elementary teacher at heart and Row, Row, Row, Your Boat came to mind. Row the Boat.

The interesting part about Row the Boat, was that his first head coaching job was in Western Michigan. Western Michigan is in Kalamazoo, Michigan and their nickname is the Broncos, nothing to do with boats or water. It takes a really big leap of faith to put out a slogan that would need a lot of PR to get people to understand. The line that struck me from this chapter was, "I learned that if you are going to brand and make public something so personal, you had better be confident enough and ready for the critics to attack it and not take it personally" (Fleck, 26).

This quote made me think about projects we are part of in our own lives. Sometimes we get really caught up in our projects, so much so that we fully understand them, but sometimes forget that others are not as invested as you and may criticize what you are doing. 

As a school district, we know what we are doing. We know our mission and vision statement? But does the community? Does the community care? If not, how do we make them care? If you were to stop a member of your community, or even a parent in your district, and asked them what the mission statement is of your school, could they tell you?

MRVED Update - January 12, 2022

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

Wednesday, January 19, 2022- Superintendents' Council

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022 - Teachers' Advisory Council

Friday, February 4, 2022 - Principals' Advisory Council 

Friday, February 11, 2022 - Title III Teachers

MELT Information

MELT 2022 is fast approaching!  If you have not registered yet, please contact Katie (kraymo@mrved.net) at the MRVED office to do so immediately.

MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together)  will be held at Lac qui Parle Valley High School.  The conference has over 600 individuals registered with around 100 sessions throughout the day.

Please look over these important points regarding the conference:

• You will enter through "Door #5" (follow the walkway to the left of the eagle statue).  

• Please make sure you stop at the registration table in the commons area to pick up your registration packet (personalized agenda with session selections, room numbers, clock hours, and lunch ticket, if applicable).  It will be in the alcove (by the pop machines) to the right of the doors as you enter. 

• Please note that we will be spreading out the registration tables throughout the Commons Area.  Alphabetical signs will be posted.  Please respect the personal space of others when picking up your registration packet and during lunch.  

• Breakfast will be available when you arrive.  

• The first session will start promptly at 8:40 a.m.

• You are NOT able to switch sessions the day of the conference as the sessions become overcrowded and there may not be enough seating availability. 

• Please dress in layers; some rooms may be warm, while others may be cool.

• If you are not eating the school lunch, please bring a bag lunch.  

• This year, to help with social distancing, participants will be able to eat lunch in the classrooms.  Please be respectful to LqPV and make sure there is no food dropped on the floor and all garbage is placed in the garbage can.

• There will be rooms available for nursing moms; please see Pam Weber in the high school principal's office for availability.

• Please be aware that there is poor cell phone reception inside of LqPV school.  

• There will be press at the conference taking photographs or video.  Presenters may be taking photographs or videos as well.  Please let Katie, Brandon, Karen, Pam, or the presenter in your session know if you do not want your picture/video taken.

• Face coverings/masks are strongly encouraged, but are not required at this time.  If you feel unwell or have any COVID symptoms, please stay home.  Please note that we will not be providing masks.

• We ask for your patience and understanding in the case that a presenter(s) becomes ill at the last minute.

If the weather is inclement, any cancellation or delay relating to MELT will be posted by 6:00 a.m. on the WCCO website under "Quicklinks/School Closings".  We will be listed under MRVED (just the initials).  This will also be posted on WCCO's TV channel (CBS) and our MRVED website (www.mrved.com) under "Latest News".

All registrants should have received an email with detailed information regarding the conference.

We are looking forward to a great MELT!

#WeAreMRVED

Resources

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego

I used to love watching this TV show and can remember playing this game on the computer in school. It's a great way to have kids explore the world, learning some geography and history, all while having fun. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego utilizes Google Earth to play the game. You and your students will enjoy tracking her down and exploring the world. Check it out today.

https://blog.tcea.org/catch-carmen-sandiego-using-google-earth/

Professional Learning

The Truth About Being the "Stupidest" in the Room

I watched this 2 minute video by Simon Sinek, not necessarily because I was looking to learn something, but because the title was interesting. When I watched it, I was both entertained and perplexed. It really made me reflect on my own interactions as well as make me think about how students feel in the classroom. Questions I asked after watching this short video.

When I don't understand something, am I really the only person who doesn't understand? Probably not?

How do we create a culture where asking questions is accepted?

Is the environment I create in my workshops conducive to allowing people to feel safe to ask questions?

"Better to be an idiot for a minute than an idiot for a lifetime"

Book Study

Row the Boat - Introduction & Chapter 1

Row the Boat by P.J. Fleck and Jon Gordon was selected as the book this winter/spring because P.J. Fleck will be our keynote speaker during our April 14 MRVED common inservice. We are excited to host coach Fleck in Benson's new Performing Arts Center.

Row the Boat is a book about coach Fleck and how to lead, build a team, and improve culture. It is a quick 2 to 3 hour read and well worth the time. This book is not about football or football strategy. It uses the life of coach Fleck, which happens to be through football, and show how to build a winning culture.

Chapter 1 is completely about Coach Fleck and how he came into being a coach. If you are familiar with P.J. Fleck, he's not a big guy. He's not your typical NFL player, especially wide receiver. Fleck talks about growing up having to be tough with a never-give-up attitude. He talks about how he was able to impress coaches in NFL training camp, which gave him his opportunity in the NFL. Fleck also mentions the adversity of being injured and how an injury lead to him getting the opportunity to coach. He also lays the ground work for some of the influential people in his life.

P.J. Fleck has an elementary teaching degree and has the energy of 3 kindergarten teachers! When you read Row the Boat, you can really hear his voice come through. The whole Row the Boat culture is build upon reacting to adversity. Rowing the boat through high seas and calm days. Building a culture where we all are working toward the same goals and ambitions. Even if you don't like football, there is so much to learn from this quick read. Join me this Spring as we Row the Boat together. We will look at Chapters 2 & 3 next week.

MRVED Update - December 15, 2021

MRVED Business

MELT Registration

MELT Registration opened on Monday. Over 3/4 of MRVED teachers have already registered! We have already had to close sessions, so if you haven't registered yet, be sure to do it now! Registration closes December 22nd at 4:00.

MELT Brochure

MELT Registration Link

Resources

Bias Based Bullying Resources

The University of Minnesota conducted a study on bias-based bullying, using both the Minnesota Student Survey and qualitative interviews and focus groups of Minnesota students, parents, and school staff. The study was seeking to understand both the scope of BBB in Minnesota's schools and the related individual and structural protective factors. They have produced a number of factsheets for school administrators and for teachers and staff. Please share this information with your school colleagues. For more information on bullying prevention and intervention, see the Minnesota Department Of Education’s Ensuring Safe and Supportive Schools resources.

Book Study

The Power of Positive Leadership - Chapter 11&12 & Wrap-Up

First off, thank you for reading along with my reflections of The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon. My hope is that you have learned as much, if not more than I have while reading this book.

Chapter 11 talks about positive leaders having grit. If you are familiar with Angela Duckworth's research on grit, you will fully understand this chapter. If not, and you need a refresher, here is a short TED talk she did about grit. Bottom line is, positive leaders find a way to get it done, no matter what! They battle through adversity, critics, failure, and self-doubt.

I'm not going to expound on some of these quotes from the chapter, but just leave them here for you to ponder.

"If you don't love it, you'll never be great at it." (Gordon, 172)

"Fear is draining, but love is sustaining." (Gordon, 172)

"It (failure) doesn't define you; it refines you." (Gordon, 173)

"Don't let praise go to your head and don't let critics into your head." (Gordon, 176)

One part of this chapter that really hit home for me, was the part Gordon talks about not letting the results get in your way. Even if the numbers, wins, etc... don't show it, he says "keep doing things the right way...Trust the process." (Gordon, 175) Again, this is something I preach to my baseball teams. I coach JV baseball, and I fully believe that my job is to get my players ready to play varsity baseball. This may mean playing players in positions they aren't comfortable with. Stealing a player that might get thrown out. We are putting them in multiple different situations to see how they react. We may lose some games because of it, but I preach to my players, "trust the process". We need to do things the right way and good will come to us.

Chapter 12 is the finale to the book. It basically sums up all the other chapters with stories of positive leaders. You can read it on your own :-)

Conclusion

I hope this book was life-changing for some of you. Jon Gordon provides so many useful strategies to help make you a positive leader. Throughout the book, I was blown away by the mind-blowing quotes that made me stop and reflect on my own leadership qualities. My hope is that by reading this book I can become better at everything I do. From being a coach, teacher, teammate, father, and husband. This book will stick with me for a really long time! If I ever feel like I am becoming an energy vampire, I'm pulling this book out and reviewing my highlights in it. If you didn't buy this book, I HIGHLY recommend getting it and reading it over winter break. Better yet, buy 2 books, keep one for yourself and give one to a friend! If you liked this book study, you are going to LOVE the next one.

Row the Boat - Preview

Since I enjoyed reading Jon Gordon's book The Power of Positive Leadership so much, I decided to dive into another of his books that he co-wrote with PJ Fleck, Row the Boat. Much like The Power of Positive Leadership, this will be my 2nd journey through this book. Row the Boat is such a quick and easy read, however, my plan is to take my time through it and do a lot of reflection. PJ Fleck will also be our keynote speaker in April! I hope you can join me on the journey as we start the next book study on January 12th, 2022. Let's Row the Boat together!!

MRVED Update - December 1, 2021

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

December 8, 2021 - MRVED Board Meeting

December 16, 2021 - Teachers' Advisory Meeting

December 17, 2021 - Principals' Council Meeting

December 22, 2021 - Superintendents' Council Meeting

MELT Registration Information

Be looking for MELT Registration from your principal next week. MELT Registration will open at 7:30 AM on Monday, December 13th. With over 650 teachers in the MRVED and limited classroom space, sessions will fill quickly. Once sessions are full, they are taken off the registration. So if something you want to take is not listed, it is likely full. There is no wait list, so please do not contact the MRVED asking to get into closed sessions. Two years ago, we had over 400 teachers register by 10:00 AM on the first day!

IMPORTANT: MELT Registration information will come from your principal the week prior to registration. Please READ through the descriptions carefully. The session information is sent to you prior to registration so you can read through the information and choose sessions that are pertinent to you.

Resource

Wordwall

Someone had asked for some ELL resources and I came across this neat website called Wordwall. With Wordwall you can create fun interactive games for your students to play. There is also a database of user-created games for you to search through. The games in the community range from letter sounds to identifying states. Some of these games would be fun on an interactive board. There is a free and paid version. Check it out today!

Professional Learning

5 Ways to Practice Thanksgiving Every Day

With Thanksgiving a week behind us, we shouldn't just be "thankful" on a Thursday in November, we should find ways to be thankful every day. I remembered something that Jon Gordon said that made me think, he said that "research shows that grateful people are heathier people". Not only physically healthier, but mentally healthier as well. Here is a blog post written by Jon Gordon about 5 Ways to Practice Thanksgiving Every Day. Give it a read today, and put one or two of the practices into your routine tonight!

Book Study

The Power of Positive Leadership - Chapters 9 & 10

Chapters 9 & 10 talk about pursuing excellence and leading with a purpose. Again, both chapters are jam-packed with quotes I could list for days! However, here is my reflection on the two chapters.

To sum up chapter 9 one could say that positive leaders are never content, they continually strive to get better every day. They pursue excellence, and not just as a catchphrase. They live it, breathe it, practice it. Positive leaders need to model the pursuit of excellence to show those that follow them the path of excellence. Gordon talks about the "one percent rule". "The rule says to give one percent more time, energy, effort, focus, and care today than you gave yesterday." (Gordon 146) This quote resonated with me as this past spring my mantra to my baseball team was, "be better than we were yesterday". It reaffirmed my message to my team.

In the pursuit of excellence, leaders must love their teams, but also hold them accountable through what Gordon calls "love tough". Gordon says, "you have to love your people, but you have to make sure you hold your team accountable to the plan, the process, the principles, and the values of the culture" (Gordon, 140). Notice he doesn't say you need to hold them accountable to the results, he says "of the culture". Holding people accountable to the plan, process, principles, and values is key to creating an awesome, high-functioning team. If  you have communicated well with people, there should be no excuse for violating the culture, thus holding people accountable becomes a little more easy. Jon uses the phrase "love tough" to show that you must first love your people before you can be tough on them. "If your team knows you love them, they will allow you to challenge and push them." (Gordon, 143)

In chapter 10, Gordon talks about leading with a purpose. The biggest takeaway for me was when he talks about people burning out. He says, "we don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forgot why we do it." (Gordon, 152) We need to always center ourselves around, what Simon Sinek, calls our "why". Why do we do what we do? When times get tough and stressful, stop and remember why you are a teacher, paraprofessional, cook, janitor, in the first place. Everyone has a "why", we just need to stop and reflect on it.

He also gives the example of a purpose-driven goals. Gordon was working with an NFL team and had the players write goals on a piece of paper. He then had them rip up the goals. Players and coaches were upset at him for doing this. Then he asked, how many of you had goals to win the Superbowl? Throw for x amount of yards? Have x amount of tackles? Win x amount of games? And all the hands went up. Every team/player in the NFL has those goals. Why not write down why you play football in the first place and then share with others?

Think About:

1. What is your why? Write it down.

2. Gordon talks about his one word strategy on page 159. What is your one word for the year? What is your life word?

3. What legacy will you leave?

MRVED Update - November 10, 2021

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

November 12, 2021 - Title III Teachers (Virtual)

November 18, 2021 - Teachers' Advisory Council and Principals' Council

November 19, 2021 - Title III Paraprofessionals

November 24, 2021 - Superintendents' Council

MELT Networking Facilitator Sign-Up

The MRVED is looking for people to be facilitators of networking sessions for MELT 2022. As a facilitator, you are not expected to be the expert or present on anything. Your job is to facilitate the meeting. Start and end the session on time and keep people positive. You will also have the ability to email the group prior to MELT to gather ideas and plan for the hour. Sign-up link is listed below.

NEW THIS YEAR: Networking facilitators will be paid a $100 stipend. Facilitators will also get priority registration for the MELT to ensure they get into the sessions they need and want.

Please sign-up by the end of the day November 19, 2021.

**Please note: Any networking group that does not have a facilitator, will NOT be held.**

MELT 2022 Networking Facilitator Sign-up

Resources

PBS Learning Media

PBS Learning Media is a great resource when looking for lessons & videos on a variety of topics. You can search by subject, grade level, or standard. Teachers have access to 1,000's of lessons and videos ranging from PreK to 12th grade. From Sid the Science kid to a Ken Burns documentary. From science, to reading to physical education. There is something here for everyone. There is so much in this database, you could get lost for hours searching. Everything PBS does is of high quality. Check it out today!

Professional Learning

2021 Learning Forward Annual Conference

One positive aspect to living in a COVID world is the ability to tap into high quality workshops virtually. The 2021 Learning Forward Annual Conference will be virtual this year December 5-7, 2021. Learning Forward has keynote and breakout sessions from some of the best & top minds in education. Breakout sessions from people like Thomas Guskey, Michael Fullan, and Jim Knight are just some of the few you can have access to. Registration is roughly $200 per day. Considering it would cost a district around $2000 per person to send someone to a National conference, $200 is a great deal. Registration for the conference can be found on the conference homepage linked above. If you don't feel you can make the conference, but want to see what people are saying about it, follow along on Twitter with #LearnFwd21.

Book Study

The Power of Positive Leadership - Chapters 7 & 8

I don't know about you, but reading this book a 2nd time has given me the ability to see so many things I didn't catch the first time. If this is your first time through the book, I highly suggest reading it a 2nd time with a pencil and highlighter in hand and marking up the book. If you don't have The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon yet, you won't be disappointed! It's a quick read, and you will have plenty of time to get caught up to where we are.

Chapter 7 is on uniting people and chapter 8 is all about relationships. I've had one thing stick with me throughout the reading of these two chapters. Jon Gordon says, "You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you fail to connect with others you will fail as a leader" (Gordon, 89). You can own all the businesses you want, but if you don't make connections & build relationships with the people, eventually you will have nothing. Many of the leaders that fail to connect with people are also the same people that put themselves before the team. Gordon calls it the "disease of me" (Gordon, 90) and it infects everyone in the organization. These type of "leaders" are easy to spot. They gloat about what they have, they are more concerned about money and fame, others in the organization don't like to be around them, & they often see themselves as great leaders.

Connection is so important, Jon Gordon says, "The more connected you are, the more committed you become" (Gordon, 91). If you, as a leader are connected to your people, they feel connected to the organization, and therefore will be committed to the mission and vision of the organization. Bottom line is that people are committed and loyal to other people. I'm not committed and loyal to a brand or organization...I'm loyal to my leader. We see this in action when a leader moves on in an organization and is replaced by someone that might have a different vision. Often times we see other people choose to leave the organization when the leader goes.

Chapter 8 is about relationships. As educators we know full-well the importance of relationships. Jon Gordon's first couple sentences of this chapter really resonated with me, "The first step in uniting people and being a leader is not saying, "Follow me." It's being someone your team wants to follow" (Gordon, 101). He then goes on to say, "...if you are not someone people want to follow, they are not getting on your bus. People follow the leader first and their vision second" (Gordon, 101). Reflecting back on my own life, I have had leaders in my life say "follow me", and I've thought to myself, "absolutely not!". Why is that? I don't trust you? I don't see your vision? You don't care if I'm there or not?

What does that tell us? A leader is someone that has earned the trust of the people they lead. They truly care for people. And they can clearly articulate their vision. To earn the trust of people, they truly need to feel you care for their well-being. So often I hear the phrase, "everyone is replaceable". Yes, this statement is true. However, why would I say that if I truly cared for you and valued you as an employee and individual. If people can feel you care for them, trust can be built. The feelings need to be genuine and real.

The last part of this chapter that really sunk in for me was the section on service. Gordon says, "A team feels a leader's commitment when the leader takes the time to serve them" (Gordon, 119). This is so true! I had a conversation with someone recently and the comment was, "He needs to become the president of the company so people can start serving him." I was appalled by this comment, even before reading this chapter. Getting a promotion shouldn't mean less work and less service, it should actually be more! It's the disease of me versus we. I'm curious to see how long this person either stays in power, or the company survives.

Think About:

1. Have you ever had a leader with the "disease of me"? How did that make you feel?

2. Can you name an example of a leader that really values relationships?

MRVED Update - October 27, 2021

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

October 29, 2021 - Principals' Council

November 12, 2021 - Title III Teachers (Virtual)

November 18, 2021 - Teachers' Advisory Council and Principals' Council

November 19, 2021 - Title III Paraprofessionals

November 24, 2021 - Superintendents' Council

October 20 Recap and Evaluation

The MRVED hopes that Jon Gordon's message resonated with each of you. There certainly was something there for everyone!

If you haven't already filled out the evaluation on the day, please be sure to complete that by the end of the week. The MRVED takes all feedback seriously. Our Teacher Advisory Committee combs through the survey results and makes suggestions for future professional development. Our Principals and Superintendents also review the evaluations and make suggestions and decisions based upon the feedback.

Deadline Extended for MELT 2022 Call for Presentations

The MRVED is excited to announce the return of the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) Conference on January 17, 2022 to be held in-person at LqPV High School. It has been 2 years since we were last able to get together as a MRVED and we are so excited to have this opportunity to learn and grow together. There are so many talented people in the MRVED and this is your opportunity to share those talents with others. We have learned so much since the 2020 MELT that I am hoping to have a record number of local teachers presenting this year. Presenters will receive a small stipend and be able to register for sessions early to ensure they get to attend the sessions they want to attend. Please consider presenting by filling out the form linked below. The deadline has been extended to the end of the day November 3rd.

2022 MELT Call for Presentation Proposals

**Please Note: You are not committing to presenting by filling out the form. You are providing your name and idea to be considered to present.**

Resources

Empathy Maps

Empathy maps are a great way for teachers to get to know their students personally and academically. In education, an empathy map is a simple visual that captures knowledge about the behaviors, attitudes, needs, strengths, struggles, emotional states, and other key attributes of a particular student or group of students. The template and more information can be found in this Edutopia article or video by Jorge Valenzuela.

Professional Learning

101st National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference

The Centennial Celebration continues with the 101st NCSS Annual Conference. The conference, which was slated to be held in Minneapolis this year was recently moved to a virtual conference. Even though the conference was moved to a virtual one, participants can still access 100's of great sessions from some of the greatest social studies minds in the country.

You can register for the conference HERE.

Book Study

The Power of Positive Leadership - Chapters 5 & 6

Chapters 5 & 6 in The Power of Positive Leadership go hand in hand. Chapter 5 is about leading with optimism and chapter 6 is about confronting, transforming, and removing negativity. In a nutshell, its about leading with optimism and not allowing pessimism and negativity to thrive in your culture.

Jon talks about building a team that optimistic and has the same set of beliefs as the leader. He provides the example of Donna Orender, who was once the commissioner of the WNBA. Her job was to grow the WNBA. When talking about putting her team together, she says this, "You have to give people excuses to say yes. Some will be all in based on what you say. Some you need to show. For those who still didn't believe, she had to help them leave, letting them know they weren't in the right place." (Gordon 49) Think of a time in your life when you were trying to get people to follow you. You had some people with you from the start, they needed no convincing. Once you got started, you would gather a few more, because they could now see your vision. And you also had some people that didn't want to join you. In an organization, especially when trying to establish a culture, the same thing is going to happen. It's how you work with those that don't get on board that will make or break things for you.

Sometimes we have little voices in our head that tell us something can't be done, or we should quit. Dr. James Gills, a famed triathlete when talking about how he learned to complete 2 triathlons in less than 24 hours says, "I learned to talk to myself instead of listen to myself." (Gordon, 52). This is a very powerful quote. We have the power to feed ourselves positive thoughts instead of listening to the negative voices in our head. Learn to talk to yourself, not listen. Control the conversation with yourself! Jon Gordon says, "The story we tell ourselves determines the life we live" (Gordon, 55). Then, "when you see that the world has no power over you, you will lead more powerfully in the world" (Gordon, 60).

Chapter 6 talks about the "energy vampires". These are the people in the organization that suck the energy & life out of an organization. Jon Gordon says, "You must address the negativity. Confront it, transform it, or remove it." (Gordon, 71) Energy vampires and negativity can be like a cancer in your organization/classroom. Once you see it, address it before it spreads. Give the energy vampires an opportunity to change or transform before fully removing them. After all, nobody really wants to be an energy vampire. Jon Gordon also talks about his no complaining rule. It's simple, if you want to complain, provide 2 solutions as well, otherwise don't bring it up.

It also should be noted that, as a leader, you shouldn't just be getting rid of all the people that don't believe in your mission and vision. Sometimes it takes time for people to see your vision as a leader. Your job as a leader is to help these people grow & learn. Remember, some people will willingly hop on your bus needing no explanation or picture of where you are going, these people trust you as a leader fully. Some people are going to need to see the flyer or postcard explaining where you are going. They may need to ask some questions, but eventually they will get on the bus. Some people need to hear from others on the bus before they grab their seat. Some people need help making the big first step to get on the bus. Some will refuse to get on the bus. Just remember, it takes a whole team to build up a culture, but only one person to bring it down. How will you handle the few that won't get on the bus?

Think about:

1. Are you an energy vampire? Do you know an energy vampire?

2. Has there been a time where you let the energy vampires roam freely for too long?

3. A time when you overcame the voices in your head with positive speak.