Children love cake decorating
I started teaching myself cake decorating when I was 14 years old. I started because I believed I could do it. I was excited about the possibility of being able to make a beautiful cake so I was able to motivate myself to study and practice. I did really well too, but as I went along I began to hit roadblocks.
About 10 years later I remember one day standing by a large wedding cake and crying. I was trying to do a certain kind of flower drape. It looked easy enough in the magazine but it just wasn’t working. I was feeling desperate.
A woman I didn’t know well, who was a professional cake decorator, just happened to stop by, to drop something off. She asked about the tears and then showed me what to do. I just needed a few tips and lot more practice.
Now 47 years later I am on the simple side of that complexity. Cake decorating is easy for me. I can figure out just about anything .
Amber's cake
Right now I am working on understanding the technology needed to run an online business and to get my message out to more people. I love what I teach and I know from the responses that I get that it really makes a difference for families. So I want to do a better job of spreading the word.
I sat in on a class yesterday that was just great. There was much good information and I was so excited. I understood all the concepts and thought to myself, “This is just what I need and want; how fantastic.” When I left class I thought about all I had learned. As I drove along I felt the overwhelm begin to settle in.
I mean, I can intellectually understand what was taught. I am sure that it is right for me, just what I need. I realize that if I implement even a portion of what I heard it will really make a difference in my ability to spread my message. It is the doing that has me stumped.
How do I actually lay it out for my business? What are the steps I need to take? There seemed to be so many roadblocks that it was hard to see how I could make it work for my personal situation. By the time I arrived at my daughters I was a mess!
I shared my enthusiasm and fears. She commented that it will be really nice when I am on the simple side of this complexity. I got what she was saying! I have experienced this shift.
It takes time to become an expert at anything
You parents who are learning about and working to implement leadership education can find yourself in the same boat. I have gotten emails from parents who have been at it 10 years and still find that they aren’t doing it all correctly or well, in their opinion. They feel discouraged and sometimes they feel like quitting.
I want to encourage you to not quit. It takes time to become an expert at anything. In the meantime some of our efforts are going to be stellar and some will be failures and many will be mediocre. That is the process to becoming really good at anything.
I want you to learn to motivate yourself by believing that you can get better and better at leadership education. It may take all your parenting years to become an expert but that is OK. As I learned to do cake decorating I got better and better. It took 40 years to become an expert and the fact is, there are still things that I could learn.
One of these days you will find yourself on the simple side of the complexity of leadership education and then you will be helping other parents stay on that path when they feel discouraged and they feel like quitting. It will be a special pay back day for you to help someone else with something that at one time seemed so daunting. You will find yourself on the simple side of the complexity of leadership education.
Don't become overwhelmed - study and hang in there!
Rachell DeMille recieved a letter from a parent which said, “I read a TJ Education and was impressed but overwhelmed…and am still there. Where to start…?”
Her response was excellent. Rachel is an expert on leadership education and this wonderful article will move you along your path to becoming one too.
Want to just plain have some fun on your leadership education journey? Try out some Solar system project ideas.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Self Care for Better Parenting – Part 2
- Self Care for Better Parenting – Part 1
- Got Kids 24/7 – 2 Tips to make life easier
- The Screen Free Experiment
- 5 Tips to Put Family first
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