When I first started working with small business owners, I was a little intimidated.

I had been a music major in college, after all, and I’d spent the larger part of my career working with kids. I wasn’t sure how valuable my contributions would really be.

Well, imagine my delight when I discovered that the needs of adults aren’t actually that different from the needs of twelve-year-olds. The fart jokes are fewer and farther between, more’s the pity. But what we require to stay on track, feel good, and succeed is pretty much the same no matter how old we are.

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You may remember study hall as social hour—I know I do.

With minimal supervision, my friends and I wrote notes to each other, passed around headphones to listen to music, chatted, and flirted.

But that was in high school, when our study habits (or lack thereof) were firmly established and socializing was our priority. When we went home, some of us did the work and some of us did not. Where did we learn these habits? In middle school. And that’s where educators have a unique opportunity to teach students not only the material under study, but how to study, setting them up for successful careers in high school and beyond.

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One of the things I enjoy about life in 2020 is how easy it is to travel light.

I can run multiple businesses from a laptop and smartphone. I’ve got a camera, calculator, address book, and anything else I might need, right in my pocket.

Under such circumstances, I might be able to get away with the illusion that I’m independent — self-sufficient. But nothing could be further from the truth.

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It’s the time of year when resolutions and self-improvement are in the air.

Unfortunately, most of us will have abandoned our goals within weeks. Why is it so hard to follow through?

Here’s what I see as a teacher and a coach: We beat ourselves up for struggling with difficult things, and then the discomfort is so intolerable that we take the easy way out. It’s all pain, no gain.

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Teachers and coaches have an advantage when it comes to personal and professional growth.

When you spend hours every day contributing to the growth of others, it leaves echoes. A useful residue.

You will hear your own voice in your head when you attempt to accomplish something similar to what you’re students have been working on. You’ll have no choice but to practice what you preach.

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