Sometimes my students manage to find me online by accident, and sometimes they go digging through Google like they are detectives on a mission. I don’t lie to them when it comes to my passion, but I am often surprised when the realization of what I tell them in my beginning of the year spiel finally sinks in midway through the year.
Each year, at the beginning of the year, I share with my students that I write. I have written numerous books. I have a website online that some will eventually find that has links to my books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I even have copies of my books in my classroom.
This year, a handful of my homeroom students became infatuated with trying to read all of my books. They also provided me with the encouragement I needed to finish a book that I’d been struggling to finish for almost three years. I was stuck. I shared with them an idea I was toying with, and they said, “Do it!” So I did. I changed up my point of view, and the book practically finished itself easily. I even dedicated the book to them.
I have fallen into a vicious cycle of devouring every genre of book I can get my hands on through Kindle Unlimited and writing. Reading and writing have taken over my life. I keep a notebook handy for jotting down important things I have to do and scribbling inspiration when it strikes. My students have asked about the notebook, and I tell them that when you have something that you believe in, you should find a way to achieve it. Hence, my notebook.
If I am in the middle of my day and inspiration strikes, I write it down. Everything goes in that notebook.
- To do lists
- Conversation ideas
- Book ideas
- Blog post ideas
- Things that I need to learn to improve
- Research
- Chapters I’ve written to type up when I get home (written during my lunch)
I started a Goal book this year that has, currently, 68 things that I want to accomplish this year with room to write down up to 140. If something strikes me as I want to do this, it goes in my goal list. I can transfer my goal list to next year. So far, I have accomplished quite a few of my yearly goals. It’s a win for me. I’ve also read nearly 47 books this year. When I tell my students, they look at me in awe.
We should all have goals and passions that we are working toward. At the beginning of the year, I had my students write down their goals. Some will find that they have strayed far away from their goals. Some will find that they are on track to accomplish their goals. Staying passionate about who you are and what you want to do is the key to success.
