by Bernard Percy
“When shall we teach them what they are? We should say to each of them ‘Do you know what you are?’ You are a marvel. You are unique. In the entire world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.” Pablo Casals
Who are the individuals who make a real difference in the world? It is the innovative thinkers who say there is a better way and dare to dream that they can make a difference. It is the “restless” and “brilliant” children who do not want to adapt or conform to the world around them, when that world has limited expectations of what they believe a child, an individual, can do or achieve, at even very young ages.
It is Ann who was in my fourth grade class, and at nine years of age said, “It is about time adults listened to children about how to raise children, not just other adults”, and helped write a nationally distributed book. How To Grow A Child… A Child’s Advice to Parents.
It is the teacher who strives to challenge students to think differently and not merely adjust to their environment.
It is the individual who is comfortable in an environment where there is motion, and action, and innovative thinking.
It is the parent who helps her children find their true purposes and helps them develop their unique and special talents, ensuring their children develop a belief, a certainty, in their brilliance and ability to achieve their dreams.
Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Beethoven were true individuals of brilliance, as was Pablo Casals. How many of our children (and adults) are losing the opportunity to fulfill their true and powerful destiny because they are not permitted to believe in themselves, their true potential, and their brilliance.
Siobhan Gamble Roberson who was in my fifth grade class wrote the following poem when she was 15 years old:
Afternoon in Virgo
The music comes sweet to me,
Like my lover’s breath
Enchanted, I absorb
Its delicate vapor
Floating all through my mind
Swirling and merging
Like liquid smoke
In rainbow hues
I close my eyes
And dance all around inside
Lets help create a world and environment where all our children dance around inside and understand they have the potential to reach greatness, by developing their Foundations of Brilliance.
The Foundations of Brilliance
We deliver workshops, seminars, and consultations internationally. We have found (not surprisingly) a common ideal and goal “voiced” by individuals from all over the world is to find their areas of desired brilliance to become successful and inspired individuals, pursuing their dreams with passion.
Van Goethe wrote, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being“. It is a known fact that if you place a goldfish in a small bowl and give it the proper feeding and environment it will stay small. If you place that same fish in a large pond, and ensure it is fed properly and lives in a healthy environment, it will grow much larger than when in a small bowl.
John was the 6th grade class’ misfit, least respected for his academic and creative abilities. I was teaching creative writing to his class and he had written something that amazed me. I read his creation to the class without identifying the writer, and asked them who they thought wrote it; the names most mentioned were the three top students in the class. I glanced at John as his creative work was being so highly praised; it was hard for him to contain his smile of personal satisfaction.
I asked, “Would the writer of this story please stand, if you want to (I would never embarrass a person by having him/her identified as the writer of a piece unless they were willing to be identified).” The attention of the class went to the three top students sitting in the front of the room. When they did not stand the class looked around the room and saw John, the class “misfit”, standing – they spontaneously began to applaud him.The next week John’s mother asked me, “What did you do to my son? He puts a table in his walk-in closet, closes the door with a do not disturb sign and writes and writes.” John was treated as a writer of brilliance, and was working to become a brilliant writer.
In our experience, very few are truly creating their lives in a way that fully aligns with their three key success factors. Our vision is to help individuals truly align their three key success factors with their goals and raise their expectation level, and help their dreams come true!
Posted by lee
