Education seems to be getting a bad rap in some circles and to a certain extent, it is well deserved.  Our public schools only offer one curriculum, only one type of degree. 

But what if you can’t do well in school the way it works today?  What are you supposed to do?  

The only option many of our kids see is to drop out and that leads to lots more problems with unemployment, gangs, drugs – wasted lives and wasted potentials.

We’ve lost track of our real purpose in education: to provide the skills and understandings needed for our children to become productive and satisfied members of our society, living ‘the good life’ with their family and friends.  

In addition to offering only one degree we don’t provide an understanding of their Purpose in Life to guide them in making good decisions in their life. 

All of our programs are designed to help the kids achieve some ‘passing grade’ level of achievement to entitle them to that ONE degree.  Never mind that our DNA proves that every one of us is completely unique.  Never mind that in some areas 50% or more of the kids drop out and never get that degree and end up with a criminal record that further reduces their chances to achieve that good life. 

Let’s start with Step 1; becoming fluent in basic reading. 

Fluency comes from repetition.  Great coaches have their players practice the same plays over and over, week after week for the whole season to get better and stay sharp.  Reading simple sentences is the first ‘play’ you have to learn to get along well in our society.  

Reading the same simple words in different types of simple sentences over and over, day after day, week after week until that level of reading requires no thinking at all leads to fluency.  Then you can move to the next level of simple words and sentences and then on to other subjects. 

They must have the ability to learn at the next level which they can’t do if they don’t have the ability to read well.

A clear sign of fluency is to pronounce every word exactly as it should be pronounced and read every sentence just the way it should be read.  We recognize the lack of a good education immediately when people don’t speak and read fluently. 

We should have degrees at each level of attainment.  This isn’t about taking a test and getting a ‘passing grade’.  The ability to read and speak fluently is WAY too important to accept anything less than absolute fluency!  This is step one in our goal of ‘No Child Left Behind’.  Every child should be taught to the highest level at which they are capable.

What those new degrees would show is that this person has achieved a certain level of fluency.  But more importantly, it will show that they will stick with it to do their absolute best. That is what we want to know.  They are clearly able to perform most jobs and our government and employers should change their standards for hiring to recognize the level of education that they have achieved and what that means about the types of jobs they can perform.

How can we as a society think that a teacher is not good because a kid can only learn up to a certain level?

How can we think that a kid can’t learn a subject when they haven’t yet become fluent in reading the material?

How can we insist that all kids must be able to do this exact curriculum that we keep cramming more and more into or it is the fault of our teachers and school administrators?

That is the amazing level of thinking in the standards we are now giving our schools.  Amazingly BAD! 

Kids that appear unable to handle school now will be able to do much more when they are first fluent in reading.  Kids that are taught and rewarded for their successes with degrees will be much more likely to stay in school. 

Businesses will be happier to have more good employees to choose from and to help support our public education system and our nation. 

Teachers will be much happier when parents understand what they are doing and when they aren’t being criticized no matter how dedicated they are. 

Parents will be happier when their kids are given the respect they deserve for doing their best and when they stay in school because they can achieve successes and get the understandings they need to live a good life. 

Politicians will be happier when changes they make in our educational standards and systems produce better results. 

This is simple and it is a win-win.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have both lived the dream life of many young people.  They are good-looking, talented young women and they have achieved fame and fortune.  Wow!  Those are the dreams and goals of many, not only young people. But both of them apparently went over the boundary of normal young people out exploring and enjoying life.   Both violated laws and deeply worried many of the most important people in their lives, the people who love them the most and want only the best things in life for them.  I know, they are young and most of us make mistakes when we are young.  But what possibilities can we develop from the problems they had?   If you are a parent, you want very much for your children to be successful in everything in their lives.  You want them to be proud of themselves and to be a source of pride for their children and for you.   The bottom line is that you want them to find what it takes to make them truly happy and that will make you happy. If you are a young person you want to be attractive and have great friends and great experiences and find a great love in your life.  You want to experience the best things in life.  You want to have a career you love and live a life that you love.  You too are searching for things that will make you truly happy. But in our society we have so much information and so many goods and services and so many options that we don’t know how to relate it all together well.  The most important things get lost; the best things in life are buried in a pile of other things and we don’t know how to sort them out.  We are like a compass in an area surrounded by magnetic fields.  Where is north?  Which way is true north? 

What kind of direction could these young women and others like them find?   They can find that they have many new and exciting potentials in their lives, much higher possibilities than they have seen so far.   

Look at the example shown by Oprah Winfrey.  Obviously she doesn’t need to work to make money but she continues so that she can help others.  Look at the platform she has because of her fame that allows her to highlight important issues in this world and get others to follow her lead to make them better.    Those are possibilities for each of us.  We can use our situation to right some wrongs, to make a positive difference in this world.  And they are possibilities for the rich and famous like Britney and Lindsay.  They can use their platform of fame and wealth to make the world a better place, to find the things that need improvement and need to be fixed.  And they may find, like Oprah, that being in service to others will give them much more satisfaction and meaning in their lives than they have already experienced.   

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.

Love,

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

We all feel disappointments in our lives from time to time.  The reaction we get from others about things that are important to us is disappointing, sometimes even when it is very positive.  But because it did not fulfill our expectations it resulted in disappointment or we lose our enthusiasm for a bit.

This kind of thing happens when we are thinking in terms of expectations instead of possibilities.  So what if someone didn’t react the way you were expecting and hoping?  Things like that are going to happen in your life over and over.  But if your goals are understood to be only a possibility for another higher purpose then you can easily bounce back and get back on track. 

When things like that happen get away from it all maybe by just taking a comfortable drive alone in your car.  Go back to your dream of the legacy of your life.  How does this disappointment affect that legacy? 

Actually it does it no harm at all!  In fact it is an opportunity to enhance that legacy by your example to your loved ones of how you handled disappointments and turned them around into positive possibilities.

Then review the situation objectively without any of the disappointment thinking.  What are the cold hard facts and realities?  Did you do something with the wrong intentions or did you have unrealistic expectations?  What are all the positive results that came from that unexpected reaction and situation? 

Make a list of all the positive possibilities of how you could turn this situation into something powerful for yourself and your loved ones.  What are all of the positive ways that you can think of that will enhance the big possibility of the legacy of your life and help your loved ones and others?

Now begin to select the best ones of these and focus on what you can start doing right now to make that possibility come to life, to be exciting and powerful and fun.  That is an example of how to use the ideas toward the life of your dreams in everyday life when you feel disappointments. Visit this site regularly for more blogs about how these ideas can be used in your life. 

And, go to the following link, fill in your name and email address and click the submit button and you’ll receive a link to download our free e-workbook immediately. It will help you start thinking in terms of exciting new possibilities for your life, which is the first step in believing you “can” do and have what you want out of life.  

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.

Love,

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

To live the life of your dreams you have to first believe achieving this way of life is possible. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”He also said, “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.”

I have a brother-in-law I love. He has a wonderful sense of humor and a very strong interest in the political issues of our country. He obviously has a lot of time on his hands because he is retired. But what does he do? He works like mad to send out humor about political issues of the day to his family and friends. I’ll bet he is just like me in that he ‘works’ longer hours now than when he had a job, yet he loves every minute of it. Life is good when you are doing what you love!

One of the key ideas in my new book is that it is part of everyone’s Purpose in Life to help their loved ones and others in the world realize their potential. So I have suggested to my brother-in-law the possibility of setting up a website/blogsite/newsletter like mine, where he can share his great humor and political ideas and love with many more people. And I will do my best to help him every step of the way.

Now think about the implications if he were to follow through and bring these possibilities into being.

He would:

1. Find great energy and excitement in being able to share his ideas with more people.

2. See new possibilities open up. For example, later he might write a book to share his ideas with even more people.

3. Have the possibility of making a lot of money while doing what he loves and does for free right now.

4. Develop new ways (possibilities) to impact our country by his influence – making a positive and powerful difference for his loved ones and others!

5. Possibly help all of his loved ones realize their potential by his example and by sharing with them some of the money he made.

6. Be living the life of his dreams!

That’s what these ideas offer as a possibility to all of us.

To learn more about possibility thinking and how it is just one step in building a life and career around the things you love most, receive our new free e-workbook, Starting the Journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.

Many people want to change their lives, yet they just don’t know how. Here’s a reader who wants to make a BIG life change:

I need to change my life! Currently I work as a restaurant supervisor at a large hotel here in California. I have this dream to work in London. I don’t have any savings at this point. How can I make this dream a reality? I am 52 years young. Thanks!

Wow! It’s good to see that you know what you want, and you are fairly specific about this. You want to live and work in London. If you work as a restaurant supervisor at a large hotel in California, it should be “doable” to find a similar job in London, if that is what you want. However, you need to start doing your homework right now.

You don’t mention whether or not you have ever been to London. If you haven’t actually traveled there, you might first start saving for a trip to London to see if it really is the place you’ve been dreaming about. Then, once you’re there, you can do some investigating. Find out what you need to do in order to move to England and work there. If you travel there, it will be easier to find out this information.

No doubt, you will need some sort of work permit and you might need to actually have a job set up in England first in order to get this permit. But you might be able to get a permit once you get there and start searching for a job. Either way, you need to know this before you can make other plans. So, either make plans to travel there to get more information or use the Internet to find out as much as you can about what is required to live and work in London.

Next, do you work for a chain of hotels? If so, could you be transferred to their London hotel and work in the restaurant there? Find out.

You don’t say whether you want to stay in the same line of work that you’re in now. So maybe you would like to do other work in London. Figure out what type of work you really, really want to do in London. Then, start searching for that type of work on the internet. There are all sorts of job boards. Just scout around on them to see what types of positions are available.

You might also find an online forum with members who live in London. Is there a forum where people talk about the best restaurants, hotels, etc. in London? If so, join it and just “listen” to the conversations there for a few weeks. Eventually, introduce yourself and tell people about your plan to move to London without giving them too much personal information. You might be surprised at how helpful people can and will be.

Any kind of move will require money. Figure out what it will cost to move to London. You don’t say whether you will have household items and furniture to take with you or whether you’d be happy renting a room in someone’s home or you hope to find a furnished apartment. Consider all the possibilities, then see which is the most “doable” option for you at this point. It might not be the ideal housing arrangement at first. But if it will allow you to live in London (which is your dream), once you have worked there for a few months and have accumulated some cash, you can find other options.

You might also look for other online forums related to relocating, then you can find out how other people decided to make a big life change by moving to another country.

Everyone has dreams. But to make those dreams come true you have to start taking action. But taking action can be fun! And, once you start to take action to make your dreams come true, you’ll be suprised at all the assistance that seems to start coming your way.

In my new book, The Life of Your Dreams - Building Your Life and Career Around the Things You Love Most - you’ll find out how realizing your life’s purpose can help you attain the life of your dreams - whether that life is in California or England. The book will be available in 2008, so we hope you’ll read it.

Good Luck!

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.