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Green School Bali Leading The Way!

April 3rd, 2013

Imagine a school with a natural, holistic, student-centred learning environment that empowers and inspires their young people to be creative, innovative, green leaders?

There are many schools that aspire to a vision such as this, but very few achieve it! In fact, in all the years that I’ve been a teacher I know of only one such school that has been gaining the genuine attention of educators and parents from all around the world. This unique school is located in a forest on the island of Bali in Indonesia, and it is constructed entirely of bamboo.

Green School Bali is an innovative school that is different in just about every aspect to regular Australian schools. It is different in its construction, the way it is run, its philosophy on raising and teaching children and with its curriculum.

Cathy, myself and our kids recently had the opportunity to attend an excellent presentation in Perth on Green School Bali. The Principal, Mr Alan Wagstaff, show-cased his school and shared their philosophy on education. He spoke with passion and with tremendous pride.

Rightly so… as Green School Bali is turning many heads! The founders of the school think ‘way out of the box’ and have created a harmonious learning environment that kids excel in. They, and a growing group of others, believe that this school is the way of the future with education. Perhaps the policy makers, politicians and leaders of our outdated education system should take a serious look at Green School Bali.

In previous articles we have challenged the pedogogical practices of our current schooling system here in Australia. We have the view that it provides a good literacy education. However, the design of our system is to condition young people to be obedient, hard working and compliant. Now that doesn’t actually sound so bad does it, but what I mean is that our world needs workers to fill jobs and that is what schools do. They train kids to be loyal workers and aspire to have a life long JOB. Now, that is perfect for those who want to do that, but what happens if you want to become an Entrepreneur? Many of our schools don’t really foster true leadership, innovation or enterprise. Our schools certainly don’t provide a financial education, nor do they teach kids to develop the habits and thinking of an entrepreneur.

Disengaged Students

Alan Wagstaff was also very apologetic about his very strong views on our archaic education system currently running in Australia (and other western Societies). He pointed out many issues that should not be dismissed, and he backed his views with facts, figures and research conducted by qualified experts in education. He cited the work of well regarded intellectuals and authors such as Michael Shorts, Alfie Kohn and Steven Covey.

So what does green School have that is so uniquely special?

This quote by Michael Franti begins to paint a picture…

Check out a Green School classroom

“For anybody that’s considering sending your kid to school here, it’s different than other schools where your kid’s going to be assigned a number and a desk and you show up and you do exactly what you’re told. Here if you have an idea to do something that’s outside of the box, that idea is going to be fostered and nurtured rather than pushed down. I highly recommend coming here as a visitor, if you’re just visiting Bali; and if you’re a student, it’s a great place to be.” – Michael Franti, poet, musician, and activist.

Alan Wagstaff shared an interesting statistic about students in our regular schools. Studies show that two thirds of students over 11 years old in Australian schools are not engaged in their learning and don’t really like school! These same students feel that they are learning irrelevant things that won’t be of any use to them when they leave school. Funny he happens to point this out, as we hear this at times from our teenage children. In fact I think back to much of the mundane content that I had to master, and be tested on, as a student in High School and then again as a student at Teachers College. Content that was of no use to me in what I do today.

Alan says we need to change the structuring of timetabling. We need to go from subject based teaching to student-centred. If you look at what children do at school, their timetable will typically revolve around Literacy and Numeracy with subjects such as The Arts being of lesser importance by shoving them into the afternoon gaps on the timetable. We push the students with Literacy and Numeracy in order to uphold the education ‘brand’ and to satisfy National Testing (NAPLAN). Our curriculum is all prescribed with little room for being flexible. Whatever the subject, the emphasis is always Literacy and Numeracy. With the introduction of the new Australian Curriculum we are in for an even more inflexible schooling system.

With all the emphasis on Literacy and Numeracy, why do we have so many kids not meeting the grade?

What is it about schooling that creates life success? … the short answer is simply having kids turn up at school and be fully engaged and you’ll get there!

Therefore we need kids to be satisfied. Schools need to link students into life! Their learning needs to be realistic and of relevance to each of them individually. Everyday we should be academically up-skilling kids, but not comparing them with other kids.

Parents should ask, not how do they compare with other kids, but what is it they are learning.

Alan explained how they educate children at Green School Bali. Here is what he said.

The programs are structured around themes. These are collaboratively planned by the teacher team leaders. Teachers then run proficiency lessons within these short term themes. Students are shown the continuum of what they need to learn in the different areas of the curriculum and then the students set about working towards learning what they need to learn at their own levels. The students take the responsibility for their own learning.

Within the broader themes, students follow their own individual interests. They develop their own ideas and these ideas are fostered and expanded. They themselves identify what they need to learn and then conduct their own investigations and study groups in order to learn, understand and practice skills.

Every day the children are engaged in practical lessons that challenge the Big Four… Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Interpersonal.

For example, if the general theme was ‘Waves’, then the Big 4 may run as follows…
Physical- Go experience the waves by surfing.
Emotional- Paint a wave or sing a wave melody
Intellectual- Study wave formations.
Interpersonal- Sit by the waves and meditate.

At Green School there are no rigid timetables. This allows themes to develop through dynamic chaos. Specialist teachers decide what will be done and teachers research the theme and subject areas. Students are then engaged in proficiency lessons.

Alan said that in order for students to learn something they must ‘hit it three times in three different ways during the week’. Thus mini themes develop within the bigger themes. Teachers teach children to self manage their way through learning. Therefore the kids are fully engaged and it leads to lifelong learning.

Opportunities are seized as they arise to provide practical real life lessons in the following areas… connect to the real world; environmental education; health and wellbeing; performance arts; enterprise education; and visual arts.

These lessons are timed (have end date), sustainable, are flexible and must be authentic. They do this by venturing beyond the school and accessing adults and resources in the ‘enterprising world’.

Green School’s aim is for kids to want to go to school and for them to be fully engaged. Thus the emphasis is on relevance to learning and valuing students, and not on testing and comparing students as we do in our current schooling system. This simply puts unnecessary pressure on them.

Green School Bali is an architectural masterpiece. A masterwork built of bamboo and mud brick. There are no classroom walls and very little impact on the environment. The school is self sustainable with power sourced from a large bank of solar panels and hydro power from the river. Students all assist with growing food in the large permaculture garden where animals are also kept for use.

Surrounding the school are bamboo homes built by local and international people who choose to live in Bali so that their children can attend the school. Under construction are numerous studios that are to be leased cheaply to entrepreneurs under the proviso that the students are involved with these businesses, allowing them to develop enterprise skills and ultimately they will learn to be entrepreneurs.

This is truly a real live example of an exemplary school. Students attending this school are achieving outstanding results in all aspects of their development, including academics. They are learning faster and going further than their peers on mainland Australia. Although the school has only been running for a short time, they have their first graduates graduating and, those choosing to do so, are being accepted into universities around the world.

Alan Waggstaff and the founders of the school have a vision to create change in how all schools educate. They know that they will be challenged if they target the top of the education hierarchy in Australia. So they are working to make change from the bottom up. They are doing this by being an exemplary school and by being noticed! They are also training teachers on mainland Australia with Green School ideologies with the purpose of these teachers making gradual change in their own schools.

If you are inspired by what this school stands for and would like to impact change in our current schooling system, then get in contact with Alan Waggstaff to organise for him and his team to train your people (parents and teachers done at very low cost). This is his email alan@greenschool.org .

There are currently places available in the school for students. The school charges $6000 year for primary aged students and $12000 year for secondary. It is a non profit school and offers places to many disadvantaged students through privately funded scholarships.

Another way to have your kids experience Green School Bali, is to send them along to the Green SuperCamp. There is one coming up mid year. Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn attended last year and came back transformed! We are working towards them attending the camp again this year along with our eleven year old daughter Amber. If you would like to know more about the Green SuperCamp give us a call or email.

Here is a blog post we wrote a year ago about Green SuperCamp sharing our kids’ experiences there.

Check out what Flynn had to say about the Green SuperCamp

As always, we appreciate comments. Do you think our schools are up for the challenge of preparing our children for our modern world?

John Hardy, founder of Green School Bali speaks at TED.

Enterprising Kids Succeed at the Burekup Fair!

January 29th, 2013

The day started with a mad rush!

Seven enterprising kids needed to be ready and set up down at the Burekup Country Club grounds by 8.30am. It required four trips with a trailer carrying tables, pram, signs, eskies, TV, banners and all the products that we planned on selling.

Amber and her succulents.

… and making a sale.

On arriving we discovered that someone else had set up in our designated spot. We milled around waiting until the problem was sorted and then once a new space was allocated we busied ourselves with setting up. A very strong easterly wind challenged us with erecting banners and keeping the table clothes on the tables. It obviously was going to be a hot day. Thankfully the Red Gum Trees overhead would keep us in shade all day.

Bargain hunters were quick to do the rounds of the stalls… well before we were ready! Trying to set things up, they would be there asking questions and making purchases (we’ll have to be better prepared for this next time round!)

All set ready for the customers!

The kids’ anticipation and the joyful growing crowd created an air of excitement. It was a real country fair without all the commercial jazz that you see at many fairs today.

Firstly visitors and locals joined in with the Australia Day BBQ breakfast. Following the brekky the crowd moved onto all the stalls and activities. There were old machinery displays, free bouncy castle and water slide, a dunk tank, fairy floss, pat the animals, thong throwing contests (flip flops for all you USA readers!), face painting, as well as people selling their wares from home made fudge, plants and toys to live pigs, chickens and crafts. Other enterprising kids were also selling their toys, bikes, clothes and things that they had made.

Amber and Flynn with their “Fish in a Bottle”

Products waiting to be sold.

Having a novelty product is the key to drawing interest… and we had the perfect product that really did create a lot of interest! Flynn and Amber’s “Fish in a Bottle” were an absolute hit! Kids came from everywhere dragging their parents to look at the fish. Once at our stall we were able to market our other items to them.

Chayse soon got the hang of it. Whenever a customer wandered past he would hold up a lolly bag and ask people if they would like to buy one. Many people would buy lollies from him simply because he had asked (how can you refuse a little five year old eh!). There was another little boy walking around selling his Mum’s home made fudge. He too wasn’t shy in coming forward asking customers if they would like to make a purchase. Talking to his Dad later in the day, he said that his son had sold more fudge walking around than they did at their stall! I guess there is a lesson in that!

Kaitlin’s EYE heART on display.

…customers admiring her work!

It wasn’t long before we had customers coming in their droves. Talking with customers, handling money and recording on a pad what was sold, all kept the kids on their toes!

Taking it in turns to man the stall allowed each of us time to catch up with friends and also spend some of the takings at the fair.

Our enterprising kids were very happy with their result! Each was able to sell their products and make a profit. Flynn’s “Howitt Honey” was very popular and sold very well. Kit and Chayse sold about half their lolly bags and due to the hot day, Jai’s Icy-poles also sold well. Jai made a profitable sale with his exercise equipment, Amber sold some succulents, Kaitlin received some commissions for her “Eye heART”… and of course the “Fish in a Bottle” sold well!

Jai manning the stall with his exercise equipment.

Flynn selling his unpasteurized honey.

Cath and I also had a terrific result! There was lots of interest in Isagenix with a number of people requesting a follow-up to learn more about how Isagenix can help them. This was the first time we had put ourselves out there with our new business and running an Isagenix stall allowed us to develop our own self efficacy, as well as build our Isagenix profile in this community. We spoke with many very interesting people and learned a lot about their lives and interests.

By the end of the day we were exhausted!

Akaisha enjoying one of Jai’s Icy-poles (mittens to stop her hands from getting cold!).

Cathy explaining the health benefits of Isagenix.

It was important to celebrate our success as this is vital in fostering self efficacy around being entrepreneurial kids. The kids counted the takings and divided it up. They then paid any debts to realize their profits. Each received a congratulations and a hug for being successful enterprising kids!

Many great lessons around getting a “Financial Education” were learnt on this day. It is our hope that our kids continue to develop their self efficacy around being entrepreneurial, as we believe this will give them greater opportunities when they become adults.

Cathy talking with an interested customer.

Kit and Chayse selling lolly bags>

Finally we would like to thank the Burekup Country Club, and in particular Sally and Jason Barnden and their team, for co-ordinating the fair.

Our next blog will be a lesson in Money Mastery as we review our year with mentor/teacher Paul Counsel. Once again we appreciate subscribers encouragements, views and comments.

Chayse selling lolly bags to a customer.

Just as an added note… the day after the fair five more “Fish in a Bottle” sold!!

An Entrepreneur’s Conscience!

September 10th, 2012

Is Having a Money Mindset Charitable?

Yay! Enterprise For Kids Rock!

I was talking with a dear friend and asked what she thought of our Enterprise for Kids blog. She thought that it was very well done and that her kids were very inspired by our kids’ enterprise experiences. Her children had read every blog post and watched every video, then her nine year old daughter sat down and planned an enterprise following all the lessons we talk about in our blog.

Wow!

That is exactly the sort of inspiration we hope to develop, especially with kids.

What happened next was a real surprise to me!

What! I have to give it all away!

My friend explained that she didn’t mind the idea of enterprise, but she wasn’t OK with her kids having an enterprise where they make money for themselves.

I was a little taken back when my friend said this. I really had never thought that there would be people with the view that kids shouldn’t be making money for self interest. I was also grateful that my friend was frank in sharing her beliefs as it helps me better understand mine.

Firstly there is no right or wrong in what people believe or do. Everyone is entitled to their views and I respect my friend’s view.

After this enlightening conversation, I came to realize how far our mindset around money has changed since we started out on our journey in search for economic and personal freedom. It also had me thinking about the entrepreneur’s conscience!

Wealthy entrepreneurs think very differently to the rest of us.

Generally I would also say that they are not selfish; although I’m sure there are some who are, like there are selfish poor people as well!

Wealthy people would have persisted with their goals and taken certain risks to get to where they are now. Many of the wealthiest entrepreneurial people in the world are also very charitable and give millions away supporting causes they believe in. It is much easier to be charitable when you are rich! Many who are struggling to make ends meet do not have the time, energy or money to make larger contributions to the world.

Bill Gates

Warren Buffett

John Templeton

Bill Gates, for example, employs many people to spend his money on charitable causes! Warren Buffett, who has lived in a very modest house all his life, gives away billions to charity! And Sir John Templeton (1912 – 2008) contributes $70 million each year through his foundation providing research grants and programs relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality (very interesting if you have the time to delve!).

Only last week I was speaking with a new entrepreneur friend who lives in Perth. He has recently created tremendous wealth developing property mostly in the Western Australian mining town, Port Hedland. He explained to me that he no longer needs to work and he now channels his energy into his passion. He is planning to take his young family to America where he has enrolled in a Theology university course. From there he plans to do mission work in Africa. Being a successful entrepreneur is allowing him to follow his charitable dream!

It could be argued that entrepreneurs, as opposed to the rest of us “workers”, have more free time, are less stressed, enjoy better health, eat better, travel more and their families are given more opportunities in life.

Do the rich have an entrepreneur’s conscience?

Probably more so than the rest of us!

The difference being is that they are in a much better position to make a real difference in our world than those of us who are tied to a “job” and to “debt”.

I’d like to thank my friend who allowed me to consider my views of an “entrepreneur’s conscience”. I certainly value the importance of teaching kids enterprise, and I do support the view that enterprising kids should also be taught to be charitable.

Our view also is that a child has to walk before they can run…..meaning that for us, it’s OK for our kids to have a “selfish” goal because that is what motivates them at the time to take action and learn the entrepreneurial skills necessary to succeed. Then, when they have mastered that skill, they are taught to have a goal, but think about where they may like some of the money they earn to go. That is exactly the process we taught our Chayse (who’s 4) and Kit (who’s now 7) when they reset their goals. See this in action in an upcoming blog.

The more entrepreneurs we create the better our world will be!

As we revisit our own kids entrepreneurial journeys in this blog, we will share the lessons around their entrepreneur’s consciences and how we are teaching them to be charitable.

Next time we will talk a little more about the conditioning we have around money and how the wealthy do think differently.

Keep this discussion going by sharing your view in the comment box below.

Lastly, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you about the Gold and Silver Seminar that we are holding in Bunbury this Sunday. It will be an informative presentation that will open your eyes to some excellent investment opportunities. The discussion after the seminar is a great way to meet and network with other investors and business people. Bring along your teens to kick start their financial education. Click Here to view our flyer and please pass it around to others who you think may be interested.

Youth Enterprise…. Kaitlin and Jai

September 6th, 2012

So far we have seen Flynn building a great Honey enterprise and actually achieve his goal. Kit had a go at “dog walking”, but quickly cottoned onto the fact that Chayse was making more money than him selling lollies or candy at the local Soccer fields, so has been pursuing that with his brother. They have made quite a team, and we will revisit them in an upcoming blog post. Amber has actually reached her goal with her “New from Old” endeavours and we will celebrate her achievement in another post also.

So that leaves our creative Artist, Kaitlin, and our budding App Developer Jai.

It has been interesting to note on the kids’ journeys, that it is actually easier to introduce a different mindset around money to children who are younger than it is to teenagers or older children. Why would teaching youth enterprise be so challenging? Well, the answer is simple really. In our case, Kaitlin and Jai have been a lot more conditioned around money than the younger siblings. They have been around longer with us as their major source of education. Our thoughts/objections/subconscious beliefs have been ingrained into these two and it is now quite a process to change those beliefs.

Kaitlin and Jai

Luckily for us, Kaitlin and Jai are both quick learners and understand the concepts we have been trying to teach. The main obstacle has been providing the “time” to put this newfound knowledge into action. Being teenagers, their lives are full of homework/study, sporting commitments, social life and social media. All of these are things we want to encourage in our children, so our challenge has been finding the time to also include a Financial Education.

But in the end, as with everything, “life” has been the best teacher of all.

Jai hasn’t had an urgency to pursue his App Developing as there was no time line on when his goal needed to be reached. But since then, his goal has changed. Jai has been accepted into the Country Week Soccer team and will be competing in Perth during the holidays. He has to pay for a good portion of this trip. He suddenly has a renewed vision and goal to aim for, and he has spent countless hours researching a variety of ways to make the money in a short amount of time, kicking his youth enterprise into action!

Jai's focus or goal has changed.....

Jai loves being active and he now has a new goal.

He has come up with different ways to make the money, some of them he wasn’t interested in before. The sorts of opportunities Jai has been looking at are mowing lawns in our neighborhood, finding items to sell and hiring out exercise equipment. Together, he and Trevor worked out he needed to find $10 a day to be able to afford his portion. He has been negotiating with us over particular jobs that need doing around the house (above and beyond household chores) and been getting on and doing them. He has gone through many of his good quality items that were a “must have” when he bought them, then realised that perhaps he didn’t need them as much as he first thought. These, he has posted on Facebook to sell.

So, whilst Jai’s App developing has taken a backseat, it hasn’t been forgotten, it is just something he has recognised as a longer term project and pursuing it now wouldn’t give him the instant money needed to go on this trip. We are proud of his efforts and are sure he will reach his goal in time.

Jai reflected on his Entrepreneurial Journey a few weeks back. Click here to view!

Kaitlin doing what she loves!

Kaitlin, our artist in residence, is finally learning to manage her energy around study, social life, sport and her youth enterprise ventures. She has put a time line in place and is having more requests for art, so has to now take the time to start each piece so it can be finished in time for Christmas (for some) and earlier for others. Having a boyfriend has actually increased her self effacy as she needs to complete certain things before socialising.

Kaitlin and Lachlan

Luckily, lachlan encourages Kaitlin to do that, because he actually wants to have a social life too!

Kaitlin and her friend Georgia are also realising the power of leveraging their time. They have come up with some great ideas around Enterprise and have put steps in place to pursue these ideas. They are longer term goals, but in the end will reap more rewards than working a job. However, they still see the need to pursue their “job” in the meantime, to give them the money to put towards their enterprise when it is up and running. We will keep you posted with their endeavours.

Kaitlin & Georgia

So the journey towards Financial freedom is always a rocky one, but one worth following regardless of what else is going on in your life. Our kids are teaching us so much along the way, and whilst all of their efforts aren’t successful, they are learning from that and moving forward……..and we couldn’t be prouder.

A Financial Education for Kids… Asset or Liability?

September 3rd, 2012

Robert Kiyosaki, famously known for his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” points out that kids need to be given a financial education and that they are unlikely to get a financial education from school!

Kiyosaki emphasises that by teaching kids to understand balance sheets, you are giving them the basis of a financial education. Balance sheets have two columns, Assets and Liabilities. Kids need to know the difference between Assets and Liabilities.

Kiyosaki’s simple definition of an asset is something that puts cash into your pocket and a liability is something that takes cash out of your pocket! Examples of assets are stocks, investment property, bonds, gold, businesses and valuable antiques. Examples of liabilities are cars, boats, houses, clothes, holidays, TVs and if you are a kid, toys.

Rich people start out by taking the money they earn from salary to buy assets. These assets put cash into their pockets. They take some of that cash to then buy liabilities. They also use some of the cash to buy more assets. Eventually their assets provide enough cash flow that they no longer need a “job”.

On the other hand, the poor and middle-class earn a salary, which they spend on liabilities with little or nothing left over to buy assets. As they go through life they buy more and more liabilities and have to work harder to earn more money to pay for them. Many will borrow money to buy more things.

When kids understand a balance sheet, they can then be encouraged to develop the habit of putting some of the money they get into buying assets before spending it all on liabilities. This habit will be the basis to them creating wealth as they grow up.

I had a good conversation with Flynn a while back. He has made a large sum of money from his Honey Enterprise and has already spent some of it on his goal, which was to buy an iPod.

Flynn has some mates who are mad keen on riding motorbikes and Flynn now has his sights set on buying one.

I explained that he could buy one, but first he must understand that a motorbike is a liability and will take money from his pocket (devalue, repairs, fuel, safety equipment etc). I then explained what Robert Kiyosaki teaches about balance sheets. Flynn took what I explained on board and as a result of our chat he now keeps three jars of money. One for gifting, one for his liability (the motorbike) and one for buying assets!

So what assets can a kid buy?

Chart showing Silver's value over the past 5 years

Well cash could be considered an asset (however, over time currencies generally devalue, so maybe it isn’t a true asset unless it is gaining a good interest from the bank!). Kids can buy collectables or small amounts of gold and silver. With their parents help they could also buy shares in companies, or put their cash into building their enterprise… as in Flynn’s case, more wholesale honey or even a bee hive of his own!

Flynn decided that he wants to buy silver. Currently its market value is about $30 an ounce and can be bought from the Perth Mint. Five years ago silver was only $9 an ounce. That’s a pretty good gain considering that the GFC was during this time! In fact, at one stage silver reached as high as $47 early last year!

Flynn is getting a Financial Education.

This conversation about silver is very relevant to my next guest I am about to introduce to you. Andrew Smith is an expert in Silver and Gold. He is a qualified mining engineer, who is involved with a company (www.orica-miningchemicals.com) selling chemicals to gold mines. He has been involved with Gold and Silver mining for many years and has an in depth knowledge of the fundamentals of gold and silver and investing in these precious metals. If you are interested in capitalizing on the precious metals’ opportunities and seeing Andrew present live in Bunbury, WA, click this link.

Money… We All want it, but at what Cost?

June 25th, 2012

In the last blog we spoke about “who it is that teaches our kids about money”. We’d like to delve a little deeper with this topic in this blog. Our intention is to build an understanding of why most of us have settled into the role of being a “worker” rather than following the “entrepreneurial” path. You will also learn a little more about what we are endeavoring to achieve as a family.

Our kids, like all kids, want to have their own money so that they can have a little independence and buy the things that they want. In our family our children sometimes receive money when it is their birthday and they also get a little pocket money.

Kaitlin, our eldest, has a part time job working at a local Brewery serving lunches and doing the kitchen work. She works hard and it pays pretty well. However, to take on a job, she loses some of her weekends and time to do her school work and have a social life. She also commits time to regular baby sitting work for some of the families in the area.

At present the money mindset of my children is much the same as ours, which is likely to be the same as most other people, and that is to earn money, spend and borrow money!

Generally most of us either have a job where we give time for a salary or we have a business where we give our time for a monetary return. Whatever the case, we are tied down and limited with what money we earn and we sacrifice our time for it. Sound familiar?

The funny thing is, that right from an early age we are conditioned to accept this to be the norm and often our minds are generally closed off to entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities. Our schools train us and prepare us for the workforce. Our parents will do the same by pointing us towards a vocation.

Adding to this, media advertising, TV, politicians, universities and our peers all guide us towards getting a job. It is all around us, well intentioned people and institutions all keeping us on the “straight and narrow” pathway of getting a job (earn!), then spending our money on things (spend!) and then borrowing money to spend on more things (borrow!).

Finance companies advertising loans

Look at the people around you and you will see this pattern repeated everywhere. People with expensive things like houses, TVs, holidays, cars, boats and caravans. Most are servicing mortgages to pay for it all. The more things they acquire during their lives the harder and longer they have to work to pay for the things. Most people can see no way out of their situation and accept that this is what is supposed to happen. The average Australian spends about $1.15 out of every dollar they earn!

The Rat Race!

In fact most of us have been conditioned to accept this money mindset which locks us into the“Rat Race!”

Now you may challenge us by saying, what’s wrong with our kids entering the workforce, what’s wrong with spending what they earn and borrowing some more! Honestly, there is nothing wrong or right about it at all. It is just what it is.

For us though, we’re looking for a new direction where we have the time to follow our passions and to be able to give freely to our family, community and world without worrying how to pay for it. Our goal is to break out of the “worker” mindset.

We seek to know how the relatively few, “financially and time free” people managed to rise above the Rat Race. We want to know what they do that is different. How do they think and what is their conditioning around money mindset!

What’s more, we wish for our kids to grow up with the mindset of an entrepreneur! It is important to us that they get a “financial education”.

A Financial Education won't come from the teacher.

From what we’ve discovered so far, is that kids need to start very early to develop their entrepreneur mindset and the skills needed to manage money and build enterprise. They need role models who can foster a different thinking and parents who encourage and look for opportunities that foster enterprise. Open discussions about money and business will help to develop a financial education for kids.

We desire for our seven children to grow up having choices. We want their pathways to be wide with opportunity! We encourage them to follow their passion and not be conditioned into the “earn, spend and borrow” mindset. We hope that they will think differently, have belief in themselves and develop the habits of people who have achieved personal and financial freedom.

We know we have a challenge ahead of us, as our kids have already been conditioned from an early age. Using Kaitlin as an example; she earns money, spends freely and already has a debt. She is studying hard to go to university with all her friends and then ultimately to get a good paying job. Once again I’ll point out that there is no right or wrong about this, only that we would like her to see that there are other ways.

It is always going to be a challenge whilst we have that same conditioning and mindset. Although striving to change our thinking, we recognise that it will take time and persistence to learn new habits and shift old belief systems. However, we are very confident that this year, is the year that we will have a break through. We have enlisted the help of a Money Mindset personal mentor, who is helping us develop a new thinking. He is there to help us transform in our thinking through our actions…. and as we do so, so will our children.

With our up coming blogs we will share his education with you.