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What are you doing & what were the turning points in your life that led you there?
Over the last 2 years I have been developing a website - Thanknest.com
During that time I was also working on a longitudinal study looking at why students want to leave high school early, & what makes them to change their mind. This got me to thinking about the pivotal moments in my life that have led me to develop my wesbite. For me, there were four turning points that led me to develop Thanknest:
(1) a life changing experience - I am a Mum of two & we almost lost our first child during childbirth (thankfully we had a happy ending). This experience made me realise the importance of being thankful & giving thanks. I wanted to say thank you in a unique way & I wanted to share my thank you with the world;
(2) to motivate myself - there have been times in my life when someone has helped me, supported me, inspired me, or touched my life... but I had never sat down to thank them. I came to realise that if I never made the time to say thank you, they would never know they had touched my life;
(3) the Australian $5 note - when I was about 9 years old we had a school lesson on Caroline Chisholm who had assisted women & children immigrating to Australia. I don't remember the details, but according to Wiki!, she helped with the settlement of 14 000 people. Her contribution to Australian society was honoured with her image being placed on the Australian $5 note between 1967 and 1992. During that lesson I distinctly remember that I too wanted to do something positive in my life;
(4) feeling compelled to spread something positive - during my teenage years & beyond I often watched Oprah. She was always an ambassador for spreading the positives of the world. Whenever I watched her programs, I felt strongly compelled to be one of those people who would give something positive and unique back to the world.
These four moments in time led me to develop Thanknest. What are you doing & what were the turning points in your life that brought you there?
http://thanknest.com/
昀專 區
Linda Hamilton
昀專 區
My children propels me to do more each day, they inspire me to be the best, to fight for what is right and I know this to be true , that they saved my life . Everytime I feel weak and lonely and sad, they spur me on. I sometimes feel so weak, so lost and so misguided. I sometimes feel like such a coward, and then I look at them and realized that I need to be the role model here and I find my voice . I was timid and shy and now I try , I try hard to stand up for what is right because they look to me for guidance and I can't fail them.
Before I die, I want to be able to make sure that my children grow up strong , grow up wise and grow up knowing that they were my salvation . Then I can rest in peace knowing that I tried my best
Linda Hamilton
Sallyann Phillips
I have spent my life linking both Art and Education and have been able to work with disaffected young people in a pupil referral unit.These are the youngsters who are kicked out of school for many reasons and who are so busy kicking out at the system that they fail to see just how goo they can be and where they can make a valid contribution in their own way.The people who work with such youngsters are often very similar and have their own needs and demands and this is often missed because of the calm outer layer they have to put on.
My enlightenment happened when as Head of Centre going through the Ofsted experience and coupled with my dad being diagnosed with MND I hit the wall and had a breakdown.It was through the help of a very special Lady my mentor and Life Coach that I was able to come out the other side and turn things around.That last sentence doesn't begin to tell the tale ,b ut suffice to say it gave my the inspiration and motivation to re-direct myself and I now continue to teach Art but mainly spend time Coaching and supporting all the staff across the Counties Centres.
I am particularly interested in women in the menopause and how their circumstances can be re wired to enable them to find themselves again. I am planning a to build a Retreat centre on Kos and offer workshops and holidays for them and use Art as a medium.
Linda Hamilton
Thank you for sharing your personal story, journey, & those important turning points in your life. You have shared with us some very important lessons.
Teachers & mentors are amazing - such important work spending time to help... yet they do not get the full recognition they deserve. Your story reminds me of an article I read recently about an organisation 'Hands On Learning' helping students to believe in themselves - I think you may like this - http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/how-this-student-proved-a-teacher-wrong-20120907-25k28.html
I commend you for taking a journey that has and will continue to benefit many others. Your work is very important & your future retreat sounds like a wonderful project. I wish you much success :)
Sallyann Phillips
thankyou for your kind words of support and the lead for me to follow.I am always searching for new ways to develop and work with both pupils and their teachers/mentors and coaches.
Carolyn Morrison
On the first day, as I took Johnny out to wait for his Head Start bus (I had no idea what Head Start was at the time), he threw his little body on the ground in front of the garbage truck!! When I grabbed him out of the way and asked him why on earth he did such a thing, he told me "cuz I'm no good and I want to be runned over." Still gives me chills when I think of that day, 33 years ago.
So that was a turning point in my life. I learned about the system of child care, social services for low income families, public policy and how to effect change at the federal level. I developed a private non profit company that builds and monitors child care facilities. We teach nutrition, child development, health and safety, both in workshop settings and online.
Our work is important - teaching children and their caregivers how to establish healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
I sincerely believe that you will be successful in your pursuits if you have a passion and believe in what you do. When hiring people, you need to let them know the culture of your organzation is one of excellence - mediocrity is not good enough. Perhaps that is why our organization was named the #1 Best non profit to work for in 2011 by Oregon Business Magazine.
Linda Hamilton
Sometimes it is those hard hitting moments that become our turning points for giving our life direction & implementing change for social good.
I applaud you for building (& maintaining) your strong & valuable company. I agree, your work is important. I imagine your company has made a positive impact in the lives of so many more children than you alone could have reached if you did not start it. For the important work that you do - thank YOU.
What you said about being an organization of excellence is also significant. This line was an 'ah-ha' moment for me that I will keep in my mind for my own line of work.
Well done to you Carolyn on leading your organisation to be the '#1 Best non profit to work for in 2011 by Oregon Business Magazine' & for the important work that you do. It is truly inspiring :)
Carolyn Morrison
Linda Hamilton
All the best :)
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Linda Hamilton
And it may not even be the moment you remember the most, but the feeling you had when it happened. These feelings tend to stick in the mind very clearly.
Feyisayo Anjorin 50+
I went to a boarding school in my high school days; and I shared a room with four other boys who were equally crazy about films and novels.
We would write plays and songs; then we would invite our friends to what we call 'social night' on Saturdays, where we would perform and sing. Soon we had people from other rooms who wanted to feature in our performances, and our rehearsals became more demanding.
Those were fun times. From then on, I knew that I would be in the film/entertainment industry.
Linda Hamilton
Feyisayo Anjorin 50+
The guys decided that we should go ahead with the idea and we composed a comedic song. THere was so much applause when we performed it, we heard the loudest cheers. Later we found out that we were not the only ones that would sneak out after lights out.
Linda Hamilton
Robert Winner 50+
I got old ...... I retired
I have no monitary growth potential ..... I will meet the Obama death panel
Bummer