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Good morning and happy weekend. I hope that you had a fabulous week, I know I did. I have been thinking about a conversation I overheard in the hallway a few weeks ago. I overheard one kid talk to another kid about the Acalympics Leaderboard. He said that the Loggerhead team was lucky, because they scored so many points. I had to kind of giggle at that, because I bet luck had nothing to do with it. But then it dawned on me, maybe people don’t know the secret of how to be lucky. So, WARNING, if you want to believe that luck happens randomly to random people, quit reading this post now! However, if you want to discover the secret to being lucky, and are up for a challenge, keep reading. 😉

I have to be honest with you, I used to agree with Obi Wan Kenobi. Remember when he said “In my experience there is no such thing as luck?

Geralt. (2018). iPad. [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.jimijjemel.com/2016/11/in-my-experience-theres-no-such-thing.html#.Wn7wz_9Omf1 . CC 0

I always thought that, what people perceived as luck, was in all honesty, the effort of work that had been done just in case an opportunity came up. So, that is why I giggled when that kid said the Loggerhead Team was lucky to score so many points. Luck had nothing to do with it, they just worked hard! A personal experience with this is, people told me that I was lucky to have a website. I can not begin to tell you how many hours, I have worked on putting it together. I will tell you I worked on it for over a year, before I got it running. I ran into all kinds of problems, and felt like quitting several times.

However, I came across a quote from our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson. He said “I am a great believer in luck. I find the harder I work, the luckier I am”. I realized, I just discovered the secret to being lucky!

Geralt. (2018). iPad. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/get/e830b20a2efc1c22d2524518a33219c8b66ae3d018b913479df4c27a/thomas-jefferson-153568_1280.png?attachment . CC 0

The harder you work to be prepared, the luckier you are! I don’t want you just believe me though, I want you to prove this to yourself. Remember when I asked you if you were up for a challenge? Here it is.

Think of goal that you want to accomplish. It can be something small like reading Treasure Island or mastering 5 scales on the clarinet 🙄. Or you can go big, with a big goal. Write down where you are starting and where you want to go with the goal. Talk about your goals (talking about your goals seem to make them more real), and set aside time every day to work towards your goals. Even if it is only 10 minutes, do something everyday to get closer to it. At the end of 1 month, write about how much progress you have made towards your goal. I bet you will surprise yourself. Even a series of small steps get you further to succeeding than no steps at all. I bet when you tell people how much progress you made, they might say that you are lucky. 😉

Okay, I have to run. I have a concert today. Wish me luck (hahaha I couldn’t resist that.) 😂 I am ready for this concert, I have practiced a lot for it.

Have a great day! Go play http://acalympics.com/

Guys, I think you are going to need to sit down for what I am about to tell you. The Sea Stars team has done something no other team has ever done in the history of the Acalympics! The Sea Stars broke the 100,000 point threshold! Way to go guys! As the designer of this game, I never would have thought that a team could surpass 100,000 points in a single week. Also, it was done primarily by second graders. If this can’t show you how limitless human potential can be, I do not know what can! I am so proud of this team! Keep up the great work! And guess what? The Oysters team is right behind, I am betting they surpass 100,000 points next.

(Full Disclosure- I am not inappropriately using my device in school. I typed this up this message, last night before bed, and had it on standby to be sent out, by one of my unpaid employees, as soon as the moment hit. 😉).

Good morning and happy weekend! I hope you had an amazing week. I know I did! Earlier this week, I started planning out a blog post on the secret to being lucky. But then 2 incredible things happened and I decided to blog about those instead. I will write about how to be lucky next week (if you are lucky 😂).

I had the opportunity to present my ideas and website to two different teams this week. Both times, I was completely shocked by what happened afterwards. There is a huge lesson to be learned from each experience, and I wanted to share those with you. It is funny how you think you are going to teach somebody something, and then you end up being the person that learns something.

geralt. (2018). iPad. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/blue-orange-colors-animal-beach-2309309/ . CC 0

When I first encountered the Sea Star Team, I was struck by what a good fit their name was for them. Sea Stars are kind of little, and really fun to watch. Sea Stars are certainly not the strongest, fastest, or most powerful creature in the ocean. That held true for this team too. They were not the fastest, most powerful team at the school. However they seemed excited about earning points for their team, and that made me happy. I never would have ever predicted what the Sea Stars could accomplish! By the end of the day, the Sea Stars earned over 50,000 points for their team, which made them the top scorers ever! I guess no one them they were too little to make a difference (and BIG KUDOS to their teachers and parents for that). They had a goal and set out to accomplish it.

geralt. (2018). iPad. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/shell-pearl-valuable-light-sand-1972980/ . CC 0

By, the time I presented my website to the Oyster Team, the Sea Stars were so far ahead that I thought nobody could them. However, the Oysters had different plans. They got right to work, and almost caught up to the Sea Stars. The weekly challenge ended with the Sea Stars on top, but the Oyster Team did not get discouraged. The Oyster Team immediately starting working again towards their goal of being the top team.

I have to be completely honest. I was blown away by the persistence, positive attitude, and power at what these teams could accomplish. They did not let being little or not “winning” stop them. Instead they focused on what they could do and ran towards their goal with all of their might!

So, let’s make a deal. This week, when you are faced with a challenge that seems bigger than you, remember the persistence of the Oysters and the power of the Sea Stars and just set out to overcome it. I will do the same.

Have a great week! Go play Acalympics 😊

Hello and happy weekend! I had a busy, but amazing week. I hope you did too. I got the best compliment this week, which got me thinking about a blog post. A kid, that is a year older than me in school, asked me how I managed to stay on top of everything, that I am involved in. I answered him with a very intelligent comment. I said, “I don’t know”.

At the time, that was the truth. I couldn’t come up with an easy explanation of how I get things done. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about my schedule, or how I make calendars. It wasn’t until I thought about it for awhile, that I realized I could have answered him with one word, Mindfulness.

Mindfulness can be defined as the state or quality of being aware. I like to just think of mindfulness as staying on top of things. I try to look at my schedule every weekend and plan for what is coming up. I highlight the days I know I will not have a lot of time to work on homework, or music, or my website, because I have activities going on. Then, I try to plan my week schedule around my schedule. Hah! Let me give you an example, of what I mean. I have the privilege of playing saxophone for a local Wind Ensemble. This Wind Ensemble practices every Tuesday evening in a neighboring city. My mom picks me up from school on Tuesdays and we head straight over to the city where practice is, grab a quick bite to eat, then go to practice. I know that on Tuesdays, I do not get home until pretty late. I know that I am not going to be able to get a whole lot of homework done, so I try to get as much homework done as I can, on the weekend and on Monday.

You may be wondering where I learned such an advanced skill from. I will tell you the secret source of this wisdom. I learned to stay on top of things that are important, from my cat.

Source: Bock, K. (2018). Chena On Top of Homework. [digital image] CC BY-VB

This is my cat Chena. In this picture, she is sitting on my brother’s AP European History short answer essay paper. Chena always sits on anything she thinks, we think, is important. It is kind of a joke in my house, if my mom asks if we have our homework done, we tell her not to worry, Chena is on top of it. 😊

Honestly though, Aristotle said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit”. From experience, I can tell you that is not always easy to practice mindfulness, but when you do, your life becomes a lot easier. So, this week I give you this challenge. See if you can be like Chena, and stay on top of what is important!

Have a great week! Go play acalympics.com 😉

This morning I am reflecting on just how important practice is. The most exciting thing happened to me. I got to bring home my 4th instrument. If you know me, you know I LOVE music. I play the piano in many festivals and events throughout the year. I play the alto saxophone for my school band and a local Wind Ensemble. I play the soprano saxophone. I have been trying to perfect the soprano, so I can audition for my school’s jazz band with soprano, instead of the alto. However, lately I have found myself very interested in the clarinet. Clarinets always seem to get the really neat parts , in big band pieces of music.  I decided I wanted to learn how to play the clarinet too.

I got to bring one home yesterday, and I could not wait to start playing some incredible pieces of music, on it. I got it all put together, put my mouth on this new mouthpiece and blew with all of my might. Guess what happened? The most horrible squeaky sound you have have ever heard came out. Honestly! So, I tried again, and again it was terrible! I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting to pick up on this new instrument where I left off on my current ones. Did I have a misguided expectation? Yes! It has been awhile since I learned a brand new instrument and I forgot the amount of work you have to put into learning anything. I forgot one of my most trusted quotes “practice makes anything easier”. I expected just to be a pro at it.

I think sometimes our expectations make us quit something new before we give ourselves a chance to learn it. I think we assume that we will instinctively know how to do something that we have never tried. I think we get really frustrated when it doesn’t go as well as we think it will. I think we just give up and quit chasing our dreams too soon. However, life teaches us differently. Life teaches us sometimes success comes from a series of small steps.  I mean, look at babies. They have to crawl before they walk. When they first learn to walk, they fall down. A LOT! The thing about babies is, they don’t give! When they fall down, they get back up. I think sometimes we forgot that part. We forget to get back up.

With that in mind, and after petting my sweet doggie, and telling her I really am not trying to torture her audibly, I went back to the clarinet. Guess what? I have been able to master three scales! My mouth hurts and my thumb is killing me (all new muscles I need to build up). On my alto saxophone I can easily play all major scales and most of the minors, but you know what? I decided that I am going to play this clarinet just as proficiently, as I do my alto. I know I can do it, because practice makes anything easier.

I got to see the The Piano Guys  in concert once. The chelloist Steve, said something I have never forgotten. He told the kids in the audience to keep practicing their instruments, because some day all of their theory and practice would just click, and it would feel like they were flying when they were playing their instrument. I can confidently assure you, that has not happened to me, YET. But I am confident I am just one practice away from it . I decided I am going to keep chasing my dreams and I hope you will chase yours too!

Have a great day! Go play acalympics. 😉