Awesome motivational speakers visit Michiana

Well Michiana, if you were one of the lucky ones sitting in the Century Center this morning listening to the speakers at the Lead Michiana conference, you are probably thinking about work and life a little differently this afternoon.

I consider myself very lucky to have been able to attend the conference this morning, because I got to hear several great speakers including Darren Hardy and Les Brown.  These are motivational speakers who travel all over inspiring professionals to be great and they were right here speaking in Michiana. How exciting is that!?!?

Justin Maust, host and founder of Lead Michiana, is an inspirational speaker and trainer, team-builder and coach in the area. Many of you may be familiar with his company, Leader Legacy, or his involvement with 5Star.  I believe one of his goals today was to get across the message that, “Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown.” And I think there was a lot of growth within the approximately 1,000+ attendees.

Several years ago, I read the book, “The Compound Effect,” by Darren Hardy.  It was a great book that made me think about how making small changes over time can have a great impact.  It was shortly before that or shortly after that I began subscribing to the magazine, “Success.”  It’s a monthly magazine that was brought back to life by Hardy, with inspiring messages about entrepreneurs and tidbits and reminders of how we can improve ourselves.   I highly recommend it. 

He was one of the speakers today.  His words and messages did a great job of keeping my interest for the time that he was up on stage, encouraging listeners to become, “stunningly successful SuperAchievers.” This can be done by finding the kryptonite that threatens our productive futures. Basically, what hinders our productivity? These are mainly distractions including friends stopping by, emails chiming in, phones ringing, etc.

He encouraged us to be world-class at a few things instead of mediocre at many and gave us some suggestions on how to accomplish that task. Did you know that for every distraction we have, it takes us about 23 minutes to get refocused? For those of you who attended, I’m sure you have come to appreciate the new thought of sprint/ recovery!

Les Brown’s message came with moments of contagious laughter; and I couldn’t help but smile when he laughed! He’s one of a kind. His style of mentoring comes in the form of stories, some with a bit of mixed in religion. His message can be wrapped in to two words that when I hear the name Les Brown, I’ll automatically think, “It’s possible.”  After all, born in an abandoned building in Miami and growing up in poverty, he’s decided to create his success instead of blaming his circumstances.

But one of the things that will probably always stick in mind and one that I will probably share with students I work with from now on, is this phrase, “someone’s opinion of you does not have to be your reality.” Wow, what powerful words.  How often do we give others the power to allow their opinions to become our beliefs?

It’s possible to live your dream. It’s a simple message from a man who touched many today.

If you didn’t get the chance to attend the 2^nd Lead Michiana event, you won’t want to miss it next year. After all, how many leaders in Michiana like Justin Maust have the vision to bring these great influential people to the area?

April is Financial Literacy Month...where did you learn to be financially savvy?

Have you ever made a poor financial decision? Do you wish that at some times in your life you had more guidance on the fundamentals of financial literacy?

Well, I can say yes to both of those questions, but for the most part, I’d say overall I’ve been rather lucky as far as my financial upbringing.

As a child, my parents gave me an allowance for completing assigned chores.  My brother and I were taught to save up for items that we wanted, but we were also given the occasional toy if we were out shopping with our parents. 

When I was in high school, I worked several nights a week at LaPorte Hospital in the kitchen, delivering trays to patients and scrubbing pots and pans, along with patient trays.  Glamourous work? I’d say not… but it did teach me great work ethic, teamwork and probably most importantly, how to manage money.

My parents were very generous and paid for my car insurance and gas as long as the car was used to get to work and to school.  My part of the bargain was that I agreed to save at least 60% of each paycheck and I could spend 40% for going out with friends, etc. It seemed very fair and by the time I was ready to start college, I had a pretty good amount saved up.  I was proud of the money I had saved.

Not all kids have parents who teach their children about saving money and budgeting for needs and wants. Not all parents were ever taught how to succeed at this, themselves!

The month of April is Financial Literacy month and it really got me thinking about what that means, especially since I accepted the position as Program Manager at Junior Achievement.  My goal will always be to help students learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship and job readiness.  I feel as though we owe that to each student in the area.

As the JA Program Manager for St. Joseph and Marshall Counties, I recruit volunteers to enter the classrooms in these counties and teach curriculum that has been developed to help students learn how to save money, how to determine the different between wants and needs, how to start a business and how to know which career is something he or she might be interested, among other things.

It’s been an eye opening experience for me and a very rewarding one, as well. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts and please consider how you can impact someone else’s life as far as financial literacy is concerned. A little bit of your time volunteering or a few dollars donated for classes in this area can mean a lot to students who might not otherwise be introduced to this type of learning.

If nothing else, think about your own financial well-being and how you can make well informed decisions! Happy Financial Literacy month… for a few more days J Let's make sure that students today learn how to become financially savvy tomorrow!