Teaching perseverance to kids is one of the most important parts of helping them develop a mindset for success, because every child will face setbacks, rejection and moments when things feel too hard.
A baby learns to walk by falling over many times. An entrepreneur learns to succeed after stumbling along the way. In this third part of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps series, we look at her fourth P: Perseverance — perseverance on our children’s part, and perseverance on ours as parents too.
Perseverance grows when children work through challenges, solve problems together and keep going when learning gets difficult.
Teaching Perseverance to Kids Through Real-Life Setbacks
One of the best ways to teach children perseverance is to let them see adults handle setbacks in a healthy way.
For example, Cathy and I have learned that in the business of referring people to an opportunity, many people will simply not be interested. With enterprising teens watching, how do parents set an example to persevere when people say “No”?
The mindset for success is to celebrate the “No.”
After enough “No” responses, a “Yes” will inevitably follow. One of my mentors, David Wood, says to do the Happy Dance whenever you get a “No,” because the rejection has only moved you one step closer to the “Yes.”
Perseverance for Kids Means Learning to Handle Rejection
Your kids, whether entrepreneurial or not, are going to like seeing that Happy Dance.
It becomes a practical, memorable way to help seal the behavioural pattern of success in their mindsets. Being able to overcome rejection in business, rejection from friends and even rejection from family is paramount when teaching perseverance to kids.
The lesson is simple but powerful: rejection is not the end of the road. It is part of the road.
For entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens, this matters. A child who can hear “No” and still keep going has a much stronger foundation than a child who believes every “No” means they have failed.
Changing the Language Children Use About Perseverance
Our vocabulary also plays a huge part in our ability to persevere.
In our family, “Can’t” is a swear word and is not allowed to be used at any time. “Can” is encouraged.
Many people, including kids, are quick to give up when the going gets tough. They say, “I can’t,” rather than “I can.” The little kids in my family actually believe “can’t” is a swear word, right up there with the other big four-letter words!
This might sound funny, but it is also a powerful family rule.
When children repeatedly say “I can’t,” they begin training themselves to stop. When they learn to say “I can try,” “I can learn,” or “I can have another go,” they begin building the internal language of perseverance.
Teaching Perseverance to Kids With “That Was Easy”
Another phrase to abandon is, “It’s too hard.”
Natalie Cook showed us a little trick she used to change her perception of what is hard. She bought a toy button that calls out, “That was easy!” when you press it. Natalie would strap this toy button to her volleyball net pole.
Whenever she did something very well that was also very difficult, she would run up to press the button:
“That was easy!”
Try it for yourself. Press the button below.
Being the best in the world at your sport certainly has its challenges, and my kids would love to try out one of those buttons.
But whether or not you have the button, the point is not to keep telling yourself, “That was hard.”
A child’s brain listens carefully to repeated language. If the phrase is always “too hard,” the child begins to expect defeat. If the phrase becomes “I can try,” “I can learn,” or even “that was easy,” the child begins to rehearse a different identity.
Natalie Cook’s Example of Perseverance
Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey is a strong example of perseverance in action. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, which makes her a powerful role model when teaching children about commitment, setbacks and long-term success. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.
Children often see the medal, the success or the final moment of victory.
What they do not always see are the early mornings, the missed shots, the injuries, the disappointments, the training sessions and the moments when an athlete has to choose whether to keep going.
That is why perseverance is such an important lesson for kids. It teaches them that success is not just about talent. It is also about what they do after things become difficult.
Why Perseverance Belongs in the Mindset for Success
These tactics — celebrating the “No,” changing our language, and reframing hard things as achievable — can all increase the level of perseverance in kids and help keep them on a successful track.
But perseverance becomes easier when children also have direction.
That is where the next P comes in: Plan.
A plan gives perseverance somewhere to go. It helps children understand the next step, not just the final dream. Without a plan, perseverance can feel like pushing in the dark. With a plan, children can see that each effort is moving them forward.
Make sure you have a look at the short video above that we made of Natalie Cook giving a special message to our kids. Can you spot the blooper?
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series
This article is Part 3 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.
Entrepreneurship activities for students do not always look like business plans and market stalls. Sometimes they look like leadership camps, team challenges, goal setting, confidence building and learning how to step out of your comfort zone.
Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how real-world learning experiences can help children grow in confidence, courage, communication and initiative.
Amber and new friends.
Entrepreneurship Activities for Students at Green SuperCamp
For our readers who were expecting Part 3 to our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series of articles, I’d like to let you know that will be up very soon and it will be well worth the read.
Flynn and Amber Howitt have just returned from a Young Leaders Camp in Bali. As it is so fresh and exciting, I thought we would interrupt our five-part series and share some snippets of Amber’s experience whilst on camp.
Before I hand you over to Amber, I would like to give our readers a little background about Green SuperCamp, which was held at Green School Bali.
In 2012, three of our children — Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn — attended the camp and returned full of experience and wisdom. The camp is designed to create young leaders who care for our future world.
It does this by building their confidence, encouraging them to think big, and giving them the skills to learn, interact and step out of their comfort zones. In this way, it becomes one of those powerful entrepreneurship activities for students that teaches far more than a normal classroom lesson.
Leadership and learning activities:
Amber participating in a team performance.Flynn learning to trust.
This year Amber was old enough to go along too. She was very excited because she had heard all the awesome stories and learning from her siblings’ camp experiences the year before.
Also, a bunch of friends from Western Australia were coming along as well — Maddi Barrett, Macy Hobson, Georgia Dewar and Lachlan McRoberts.
So enough from me… here is Amber Howitt’s Green SuperCamp reflection.
Green SuperCamp, for me, was an amazing experience! Everyone there is treated evenly and kindly. No one is excluded or mistreated, so everyone is happy.
Your phones and valuables are given in, but you can reunite with your valuables almost every night to contact your parents.
Learning through real activities:
Grinding grain.Flynn and his SuperCamp team.
The Green SuperCamp itself is built mainly out of bamboo. It is nurtured and cared for by the people within it.
They use water from their lake and purify it. People from the world outside Green School can come and collect the water for free and use it in their homes.
Green School is meant so people around the community can be involved with the school. They make their own power using solar energy and grow their own food in food gardens.
Goal Setting as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students
The camp has inspired me to do more with my life, rather than just sit around and be… normal.
It has inspired me to take challenges, adventures and think of the things I could be doing. Writing books and travelling around the world are two of my crazy ideas. Those things might be a little hard for someone at the age of eleven though, but I can try to work up to that goal.
The steps for goal making are:
Design it
Outline it
In your face — tackle barriers
Take action!
Because of this, goal setting is one of the most practical entrepreneurship activities for students. It helps children imagine a future, break it into steps and take responsibility for moving forward.
Facing challenges and building trust:
High ropes course. Facing fears!Flynn floating on hands.
Learning Strategies and Student Confidence
We were taught Quantum Reading and Writing. I improved my reading speed with the same comprehension by over 100%.
I concentrated by using the Alpha State. Alpha State is a technique to relax and concentrate better.
The steps to Alpha State are:
Sit up
Breathe in and out
Close eyes
Think of a peaceful place
Roll eyes up and down
Open eyes
Concentrate
These strategies are useful because they help students understand how they learn. For entrepreneurial kids, focus, confidence and self-awareness are just as important as having a business idea.
Camp life and friendships:
Maddi preparing the home grown food.Macy and Georgia
Communication as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students
The friendships you can make at Green SuperCamp are really special. I made friends with both team leaders and kids from all over the world.
It is really easy to do so because everyone wants to make friends. Sometimes your relationships can last forever.
Green SuperCamp teaches you how to have the courage to become friends. No one is alone at Green School or Green SuperCamp.
I also learnt techniques to help me learn. These help me improve my relationship with my teachers. We call this “SLANT”.
Here are the “Tips for Learning” or “SLANT”:
Sit up
Lean forward
Ask questions
Nod your head
Talk to your teacher
Communication skills are an important part of entrepreneurship activities for students. Students need to ask questions, listen well, speak clearly and build trust with people around them.
Thanking and Apologising
Flynn saying goodbye to new friends!
We also learnt the importance of thanking people and apologising. We were taught how to do this properly.
We call the steps to thanking “OTFD” or “Open The Front Door”.
Observation, Think, Feel, Desire
We call the steps to apologise “AAMR”, pronounced “A Mr!”
Acknowledge, Apologise, Make it Right, Recommit
Eight Keys of Success
Lastly, we were taught the “Eight Keys of Success”. These are the keys that keep you on course for success.
For each of these keys, we learn a different hand movement. This helps us remember them.
Here they are:
Integrity
Failure Leads to Success
Speak With Good Purpose
This Is It
Commitment
Ownership
Flexibility
Balance
Altogether, these keys are another example of entrepreneurship activities for students because they build the habits children need for leadership, responsibility and future enterprise.
Why These Experiences Matter
If you read this and think, “Nah… my child wouldn’t want to go to that camp!” think again.
Any child, from any place, no matter what, will want to go to GreenSuperCamp.
Thank you to my parents and camp sponsors for making it possible for me to attend Green SuperCamp. Thank you to my friends and new friends that supported me on camp.
Also, thank you to all the team leaders and facilitators who taught me all the tools I need for life. Lastly, thank you my team. GO TEAM H!
Thanks Amber for your reflection.
Our children’s Green SuperCamp experience also connected with the wider philosophy of Green School Bali, where learning is designed to be practical, creative, sustainable and connected to real life.
Our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series will continue with Part 3. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2.
Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship activities for students can include leadership camps, goal setting, teamwork, confidence building, communication skills and real-world challenges. Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how these experiences help children grow.
Where to Next?
If you enjoyed Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection, you may also like:
Raise Entrepreneurial Kids — practical ideas for building confidence, initiative and real-world thinking.
Entrepreneurial kids need more than a good idea or a burst of enthusiasm — they need a strong sense of purpose that helps them keep going when the path becomes difficult.
This lesson became very clear to me after hearing Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook speak in Perth. Natalie is a five-time Olympian and one of Australia’s most inspiring beach volleyball champions. Her message about success, purpose and the mindset of high achievers was powerful not only for athletes, but also for parents raising entrepreneurial kids.
Natalie Cook, Olympic gold medallist, shared powerful lessons about purpose and success.
Why Entrepreneurial Kids Need a Strong Purpose
Natalie Cook is a wonderful example of the connection between sport, business and personal success. She won Olympic gold with Kerri Pottharst at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and went on to become a respected speaker, leader and businesswoman. You can read more about her Olympic journey on the Australian Olympic Committee’s Natalie Cook profile.
When Natalie spoke in Perth, she explained that professional athletes and successful business owners have many things in common. Both need discipline, courage, focus and the ability to keep moving towards a goal, even when the obstacles are real.
Her message was captivating, humorous and very useful for cultivating a mindset for success in entrepreneurial kids — and, just as importantly, in their adult counterparts.
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for Success
Natalie built her talk around what she called the Five Ps. These were principles that could apply to children, athletes, families and business owners alike.
Over a series of posts, I wanted to share these Five Ps and connect them to the way we raise enterprising, confident and purpose-driven children. I will also be adding one extra “P” of my own at the end. After hearing Natalie’s five, I wonder if you can guess what mine might be.
For this first part, we begin with one of the most important foundations of all.
Entrepreneurial Kids and the Power of Purpose
A person who truly reaches for success has a mindset that carries with it a very strong “Why,” or purpose.
Your “Why” must be stronger than your “Why not?”
If it is not, you may not have enough purpose to muster up the will to make your goals happen when barriers appear. A strong purpose gives children something deeper to hold onto. It turns a vague wish into a reason to keep trying.
Your “Why” has to be specific and close to the heart. It does not need to be complicated.
A friend of mine is driven to succeed because she desperately wants her mum to be happy and not have to work anymore. Another wants to buy a villa in Tuscany so that she can reconnect with her Italian family roots and create a sense of belonging.
These “Whys” are very different from saying, “Why not?” They are clear purposes, not poor explanations.
Teaching Purpose to Kids Through Real Conversations
Your “Why” will often come from one of two emotions: pain or pleasure. Usually, pain is the stronger of the two.
Think about the rags-to-riches stories we often hear about well-known success mentors and creators such as JK Rowling, Colonel Sanders, Sylvester Stallone, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Susan Boyle and Richard Branson. Their difficult experiences helped shape a strong “Why,” and that purpose became part of what carried them forward.
For entrepreneurial kids, this does not mean they need to experience hardship before they can succeed. It means they need to understand what matters to them. They need to begin asking deeper questions about contribution, growth, family, freedom, creativity and the kind of life they want to build.
Amy, Cathy, Natalie, Tracey, Kym and Trevor after Natalie Cook’s inspiring talk.
I recently carried out a “Why” exercise with my son, Jai.
We had just returned from a career pathway meeting for his upcoming senior class. Every pathway the school presented seemed to end in landing a j-o-b — just-over-broke. Whether the route was through university, technical school or straight into the average 40-year career, the end result sounded much the same.
Worse still, because the students were nearing the end of high school, the pressure was on to make a choice. It felt like a limited choice, based on hastily presented ideas rather than a deeply considered purpose.
The result was confusion. Jai seemed torn between going to university with his mates because it sounded like fun, or leaving school with his cousin and going to make money in the mines.
This inconsistency told me that Jai’s “Whys” for both of these career paths were too vague.
Questions That Help Entrepreneurial Kids Find Their Why
So, we got to work.
We discussed why these two ideas sounded interesting to him. We talked about the difference between a strong “Why” and a casual “Why not?” We also explored why “Why not?” is unlikely to carry a person through the hard parts of either choice.
Then I asked Jai to ponder three questions:
How do you want to contribute to this world?
How do you want to grow as a person?
How do you want to be remembered when you pass?
These are big questions for a teenager. In fact, they are big questions for adults too.
But they matter.
If we want to raise entrepreneurial kids who can think for themselves, create opportunities and build meaningful lives, we need to help them move beyond surface-level choices. We need to help them understand what drives them.
Purpose Comes Before the Plan
Many children are asked what job they want before they are asked what kind of life they want.
They are asked what subjects they will choose before they are asked what they care about.
They are asked which pathway they will follow before they have had time to discover the purpose behind the pathway.
This is why purpose matters so much. A plan without purpose can become a list of tasks. Purpose gives the plan energy, direction and meaning.
For entrepreneurial kids, purpose is not just about making money. It is about knowing why they want to create, serve, solve, build, lead or contribute in the first place.
Next, we continue the journey in Part 2: People and Passion, where we explore how the right people and passions can help shape entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens.
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series
This article is Part 1 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.
We are always looking for feedback on our entrepreneurial kids articles. What is your “Why”? Leave a comment and share the purpose that keeps you moving forward.
Enterprising teens need more than a career pathway or a good business idea — they need the right people around them and a passion strong enough to keep them moving forward.
After my son Jai and I discussed the first of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps, Purpose, I asked him to make a timeline of his life. I wanted him to focus on his surroundings, but more importantly, on the people who would be with him.
Jai thinking about the people and passions that could help shape his enterprising teen journey.
Why Enterprising Teens Need the Right People
Natalie Cook’s second P is People.
Attracting the right people in life is key to building a successful young entrepreneur. But whether Jai chose to be an enterprising teen or follow a different path, what mattered most to me was his mindset for success in whatever direction he chose.
So, I asked him to imagine where he would like to be sitting five years from now — and with whom.
Then ten years from now.
Then forty years from now.
I asked him to picture what was around him, who his associates were, and what made those people so valuable to him that their presence would still be visible in his future decades later.
What Natalie Cook Taught About People and Success
Natalie Cook’s career is a powerful example of what the right people, passion and support can help create. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, making her a strong real-world role model for enterprising teens. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.
Natalie discussed the value of surrounding herself with the right people while training to become an Olympic gold medallist. Around her were coaches, mindset mentors, professionals and peers whose encouragement lifted her up rather than criticism that tore her down.
This is a powerful lesson for enterprising teens.
The people around our children influence how they think, what they believe is possible, and the standards they quietly begin to accept for themselves. Friends, mentors, coaches, teachers, family members and business role models can all shape a child’s confidence and direction.
As parents, we cannot choose every influence our children will meet. But we can help them become more conscious of the people they allow close to them.
It is important for enterprising teens to spend time with the sort of people they would like to learn from, grow with and, in some ways, emulate.
This goes beyond simple peer pressure. Children and teenagers absorb attitudes, habits, language, confidence and expectations from the people around them. If they are constantly surrounded by people who complain, criticise or limit possibility, that can become their normal.
But if they are surrounded by people who encourage, create, question, build, serve and keep learning, that can also become their normal.
This does not mean they need to abandon old friends or judge others harshly. It simply means they can learn to ask better questions:
Who encourages me to become better?
Who helps me believe more is possible?
Who lives with values I respect?
Who makes me feel more confident, creative and capable?
Who would I love to learn from?
These are not just business questions. They are life questions.
Enterprising Teens Learn Success by Helping People
One of the things I love about business and enterprise is that, at its heart, it is about people.
It does not matter whether the enterprise is large or small. It could be a child’s first market stall, a family business, a service project, a creative idea, or a future company. When young people learn to be genuinely helpful to others, their chances of success increase.
Helping people gives enterprising teens and adults an energy that attracts the right people into their lives. It teaches them that business is not only about making money. It is also about solving problems, creating value and building relationships.
This is a lesson children can begin learning very early.
Why Passion Matters for Enterprising Teens
Natalie Cook’s third P is Passion.
People are naturally attracted to those who have passion for what they do. Passion gives energy to an idea. It helps a young person keep going when the excitement wears off and the work begins.
Natalie has spoken about the importance of loving the process, not just the outcome. That is a valuable message for enterprising teens, because the process is where most of the growth happens.
Success is not only found in the final result. It is found in the practice, the learning, the mistakes, the conversations, the courage and the small daily decisions that eventually become a life.
Jai wanted something he could stick with for the long term.
Having him visualise himself, his surroundings and his companions far into the future helped him reach a place that felt more connected to his own passion. It was something apart from what others were expecting of him. It was a desire that felt less likely to fade with time.
His spirit was guiding him, rather than the social conditioning of school, friends and family.
People and Passion Come Before the Pathway
This is one of the problems I see with the way many teenagers are asked to make career decisions.
They are often asked to choose a pathway before they have deeply considered the people they want around them, the kind of contribution they want to make, and the passions that might sustain them over time.
For enterprising teens, this matters.
A pathway without people can feel lonely.
A pathway without passion can become heavy.
But when a young person begins to understand who inspires them, who strengthens them, and what lights them up from the inside, their decisions become clearer.
That does not mean every choice becomes easy. It means the choices begin to come from a deeper place.
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series
This article is Part 2 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.
If you could enlist three people in the world to personally be your friend and mentor, who would they be? Mine would be Richard Branson, Robert Kiyosaki and Michael Clouse. Leave us a comment and share who would be on your list.
Justin Herald has the kind of entrepreneur story that can really capture kids’ attention. It is bold, unusual, funny and full of lessons about attitude, confidence, persistence and giving an idea a crack.
This story impressed our kids because it shows that success does not always come from perfect school results or following the expected path. Sometimes, the spark is attitude, action and the courage to try something different.
Justin Herald with his toys!
Editor’s note: This article was originally written after Trevor attended the Entrepreneur X Factor event in Fremantle in 2013. It has been lightly refreshed while preserving the original story and reflections.
Justin Herald: A Story That Will Impress Your Kids
This story will impress your kids. It certainly impressed ours.
There is also a little lesson in it for them.
It demonstrates that it is not necessarily only what children learn at school that brings future success. Sometimes, attitude, initiative, confidence and the willingness to take action can become powerful ingredients in a person’s life.
That is why stories like this are useful when we are trying to raise entrepreneurial kids. They help children see that business is not just about money. It is also about ideas, people, problem-solving and courage.
The Entrepreneur X Factor Event
When this article was first written, my friend Gary and I had recently attended an unusual business event in Fremantle called Entrepreneur X Factor. We really did not know what to expect.
On arriving, it was immediately apparent that there was tremendous energy in the room. People were friendly, engaging and full of ideas. Successful entrepreneurs Mike Handcock and Dave Rogers ran the show, along with multimillionaire guest speakers.
People from the event:
Mike HandcockDave RogersDr Joe
Why the Event Was So Unusual
There were two parts to the event.
The first sessions were all about Quantum Business, which was definitely not your normal run-of-the-mill business focus. After lunch, there was an exciting competition where participants stood up in front of the audience and publicly presented their business idea or concept.
The audience judged the event. Budding entrepreneurs seeking big business support were scored on their one-minute presentations. The competition was similar to the TV show The Lion’s Den. Investors were in the room looking to partner with the winner and help them grow their idea.
It was exciting and a little tense. The winner was a guy called Dr Joe.
I could share more about the Entrepreneur X Factor competition and the insights around Quantum Business, but the main purpose of this post is to share a story that will impress your kids.
The First Impression of Justin Herald
So here goes.
There was this tattooed guy in the room dressed in a checked shirt and jeans. He had a goatee and shaven head, wore a black choker necklace and earrings, and described himself as a self-proclaimed bogan who loved hotted-up cars.
This unusual character was introduced as Justin Herald. I had heard the name before, but could not quite remember where I had heard it.
Justin was one of the guest speakers. He came to the front to share his experience and offer some valued advice to us all. At the event, he told us the story of how he built a multimillion-dollar business from a very small beginning.
There were no airs or graces about Justin Herald. He was an everyday bloke who really did not care too much about what people thought of him. He spoke his mind, he had charisma, and he certainly had attitude.
How Justin Herald Started with an Attitude
Justin Herald’s dad was a church minister, and Justin grew up within a church community. It was in a church that his first business idea evolved.
During one particular church service, an elderly lady spoke to Justin and pointed out that he had an attitude problem and should mind his manners.
Justin did not take well to being told off about his attitude, especially at 25 years old. However, that moment ignited an idea.
As Justin told the story that day, he had only $1.25 in the bank and needed some cash to put his idea into action. He asked his brother for $50, bought some cheap shirts, took them to a printer, and had “Attitude” slogans printed on them.
He enlisted the support of his brother and mates. Each of them put on one of the freshly printed shirts and attended the Sunday service, making sure they all stood in full view of the opinionated lady.
She was not happy when she saw the blatant prank Justin had pulled. The shirts had served their purpose very well, and Justin was delighted.
However, something unexpected happened after the service. A number of people took an interest in the “Attitude” shirts. In fact, some people asked if they could buy one from Justin.
That was the beginning of something much bigger.
The Attitude Brand Begins
Justin Herald thought it might be worth a few dollars, so he used the money from selling the first six shirts to his mates and organised for more shirts to be printed with “Attitude” slogans.
Word got out, and his little business began to emerge.
He decided to try selling his shirts at the Sydney Markets. He had never done this before and had no idea how it would go. So he asked one of his mates if he would lend a hand.
His mate said, “No.”
So Justin asked if he would lend a hand for one hundred bucks, and his mate said, “I’d love to help!”
They arrived at the markets and were allocated a table. Justin tipped his box of shirts onto the table all jumbled up. The shirts were a novelty, and people were interested.
Justin Herald Sold Out in Two Hours
According to the story Justin shared with us, he sold out in the first two hours.
Justin and I.
His excitement and business grew from there. Justin told us that he printed more shirts and was soon selling as much as $10,000 worth of clothing during a weekend at the markets.
Next, he tried retail stores. The owners moved him on because they had never heard of “Attitude” branded shirts. They also said their customers were not asking for “Attitude” shirts.
Justin had an idea. He asked his mates to call retail stores in the area and ask if they had “Attitude” shirts in stock.
He gave it a few weeks and then paid a visit to these same stores with a sample of his shirts. This time, they were pleased to see him and could not wait to get his shirts up on display.
“You wouldn’t believe the number of calls we’ve had with people inquiring about Attitude shirts.”
Justin’s response was simple:
“Oh really?!”
Business Lessons Kids Can Learn from Justin Herald
Todd Hutchison, known as the Corporate Mechanic.
Justin Herald’s business continued to grow with the introduction of other lines of clothing. During his presentation, he spoke about being interviewed on television and sharing his story with a much wider audience.
Justin told us that within thirty minutes of one interview, the phone began ringing with retail stores placing orders for his shirts.
He said he had rarely needed to use traditional advertising because his unusual story regularly attracted attention from television programs, business magazines and newspapers. He made for an interesting story because he did not look or behave like the stereotypical businessman.
Justin Herald has a real sense of humour and loves to rib the people around him. He admitted that he had plenty of attitude himself and believed that this was part of why his brand worked.
He was also very easy to talk to and said that one of the secrets to a successful business is connecting with people.
That is a valuable lesson for children. Business is not just about selling a product. It is about understanding people, solving a problem, creating interest and building relationships. These same skills are often developed through simple family enterprise stories and real-world projects.
The Deal That Changed Everything
In the story Justin shared at the event, this chapter of the Attitude business drew to an end when a very large company approached him about a deal.
He was called to a board meeting. Justin rocked up in his jeans and checked shirt to confront a line of suited lawyers and business leaders. First came the formalities, and eventually they passed over the official offer for him to read.
Justin read the dollar number on the page in disbelief. He asked the lawyers if the comma was actually a comma or whether it was a dot.
They said it was a comma.
He then said, “Do I get a TV with that?”
They looked at one another and said, “Of course!”
Justin described it as a life-changing deal. He also told us that he took the television from their wall. They offered to get him a new one, but he said he did not want to muck around trying to rip up the box and packaging to fit it into his recycling bin.
From $1.25 to a Multimillion-Dollar Business
Beginning with the small amount of money described in his presentation, Justin Herald grew the Attitude business into a major brand in a relatively short time.
In the years that followed, Justin moved into other business ventures, mentoring, customer-service training and professional speaking.
Justin Herald’s Four Business Lessons
At the event, Justin left us with four excellent “Aha!” moments.
You need a switch. You need something that gives you the purpose, focus and drive required to start a business. His was the opinionated lady at church. Justin said he was very grateful for her.
Say “Next!” Justin explained that you will face barriers, setbacks and naysayers as you try to move ahead with your business. He says “Next!” and moves on. Many people fall back into their comfort zone and give up, but Justin encouraged us to keep going.
Networking matters. He said business is about the way you relate to your customers. Word of mouth and genuine relationships can help a business grow.
Give it a crack. This was his biggest tip. Stop waiting for everything to be perfect and take action.
After the presentation, Gary and I had the privilege of chatting to Justin Herald one-on-one. We found him to be a genuinely nice bloke.
He told us that the mates he still spent time with were the same bunch of blokes he had known when he was twenty. He said he had never made the grades at school, and his attitude had landed him in trouble many times during those years. However, it was also his attitude that helped shape the person and entrepreneur he became.
Let’s hope that Justin Herald’s success story inspires your kids like it did mine. Children do not have to fit every expected credential to become successful. They need confidence, courage, persistence and the willingness to learn through real-world action.
The original version of this article included a short biography from Justin Herald’s website at the time. His official website continues to share the story behind Attitude Inc and the business journey that followed.
According to Justin Herald’s official website, he was 25 years old and had only $50 to his name when he began changing the direction of his life. He created Attitude Inc, which became an international licensing success with annual turnover reported by his website as exceeding $20 million.
Justin’s success was widely recognised. His website lists him as International Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 and a recipient of the Future Leaders Award, which recognised influential leaders of the next generation in Australia.
His website also describes him as a business mentor and conference speaker, as well as Managing Director of Customer Culture, a customer-service training company.
Justin’s official shop lists eight books, including Would You Like Attitude with That?, How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Single Cent and several other books about motivation, ideas and business.
Key takeaway: Justin Herald’s story is a powerful reminder for kids that success can begin with a simple idea, a bit of attitude and the courage to take action. It is not enough to just think about an idea. At some point, you have to give it a crack.
Where to Next?
If you enjoyed this entrepreneur story, you may also like:
Raise Entrepreneurial Kids — ideas for helping children build initiative, confidence and real-world skills.
Green School Bali is an inspiring example of what education can look like when children are surrounded by nature, creativity, real-world learning and a strong sense of purpose.
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Built from bamboo in the forest of Bali, this remarkable school challenges traditional thinking about education and invites us to ask an important question: are our schools truly preparing children for the modern world?
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Green School Bali is built from bamboo in a natural learning environment.
Editor’s note: This article was originally written during our early Enterprise for Kids journey and has been refreshed with updated formatting, links and reflections to make it more useful for families today.
Green School Bali: A Different Vision for Education
Imagine a school with a natural, holistic, student-centred learning environment that empowers and inspires young people to be creative, innovative, environmentally aware and connected to the real world.
Many schools aspire to this kind of vision, but very few capture the imagination of parents and educators around the world in quite the same way.
Green School Bali is located in a forest on the island of Bali in Indonesia, and it is constructed largely from bamboo. You can learn more through the official Green School Bali website.
The school is different in its construction, its philosophy, its curriculum, its connection to nature and the way it encourages children to think, question, create and engage with the world around them.
A Presentation That Challenged Our Thinking
Alan Wagstaff shared the Green School Bali philosophy.
Cathy, myself and our kids had the opportunity to attend an excellent presentation in Perth on Green School Bali. The principal, Mr Alan Wagstaff, showcased the school and shared its philosophy on education. He spoke with passion and with tremendous pride.
Rightly so. Green School Bali was turning many heads.
The founders of the school were thinking outside the box. They had created a harmonious learning environment designed to help children become more engaged, creative and connected. For families and educators interested in innovation, sustainability and real-world learning, the school offered a powerful glimpse of what education could become.
It also challenged us to think more deeply about the purpose of schooling. Is education mainly about compliance, testing and content delivery, or should it also help children develop initiative, creativity, confidence, problem-solving and a sense of purpose?
Why Green School Bali Matters for Entrepreneurial Kids
At Enterprise for Kids, we have always been interested in the kind of education that helps children become capable, confident and enterprising. We value literacy and numeracy, but we also believe children need opportunities to create, lead, solve problems, manage money, work with others and connect their learning to real life.
That is why Green School Bali stood out to us.
Many schools do valuable work, but traditional systems can sometimes place more emphasis on obedience, standardisation and testing than on creativity, enterprise and real-world problem-solving. This becomes especially important when a child wants to become an entrepreneur, innovator, creator or change-maker.
Children also need practical life skills, including financial education for kids, confidence, communication, responsibility and initiative.
This connects closely with why we care about raising entrepreneurial kids. Children need space to think, question, experiment, fail safely, solve problems and connect their learning to real life.
Disengaged students
Alan Wagstaff was very direct about the challenges he saw in traditional education systems. He spoke about student engagement, relevance, creativity and the need to rethink how schools prepare children for life beyond the classroom.
He also cited the work of respected thinkers and authors such as Alfie Kohn and Stephen Covey.
What Makes Green School Bali So Special?
A Green School Bali classroom
One of the most powerful ideas behind Green School Bali is that children are not treated as numbers sitting at desks, simply waiting to be told what to do next.
The school’s philosophy encourages ideas to be noticed, explored and developed. Creativity is not treated as something extra. It is part of the learning environment.
That kind of educational philosophy speaks strongly to families who want children to grow as confident, creative and capable young people.
Student Engagement and Real-World Learning
Alan Wagstaff shared his concern that many older students in regular schools are not fully engaged in their learning and do not really like school.
Many students feel they are learning things that will not be useful when they leave school. We have heard similar comments from our own teenage children at times. I can also think back to parts of my own schooling and teacher training where the content felt disconnected from the work and life skills I actually needed later.
Alan said we need to rethink the structure of timetabling. Instead of organising every part of the day around separate subjects, he spoke about more student-centred learning.
In many schools, the timetable revolves heavily around literacy and numeracy, with subjects such as the arts pushed into whatever space remains. Literacy and numeracy matter, but they are not the whole picture of a child’s development.
Children also need creativity, enterprise, emotional intelligence, communication, physical development, curiosity and a strong connection between learning and life.
What Creates Life Success?
What is it about schooling that creates life success? A powerful starting point is this: children need to turn up engaged.
When children are satisfied, curious and engaged, learning becomes more meaningful. Their learning needs to be realistic and relevant to them as individuals.
Every day, we should be helping children grow academically, socially, emotionally and practically. That does not mean simply comparing them with other children.
Parents can ask not only how their child compares with others, but what their child is actually learning, becoming and developing.
How Green School Bali Teaches Children
Alan explained how children were educated at Green School Bali.
The programs were structured around themes, collaboratively planned by teacher team leaders. Teachers then ran proficiency lessons within those short-term themes.
Each student was shown the continuum of what they needed to learn in different areas of the curriculum. From there, they worked towards learning what they needed at their own level. Over time, this helped children take more responsibility for their own learning.
Green School Bali students learning through themes and real-world inquiry.
Within the broader themes, students followed their own interests. They developed ideas, identified what they needed to learn and took part in investigations and study groups to understand and practise skills.
Every day, the children were engaged in practical lessons that challenged the Big Four: physical, emotional, intellectual and interpersonal learning.
For example, if the general theme was “Waves”, the Big Four might look like this:
Physical: Go and experience 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 Bali, learning was designed to be more flexible and responsive than a rigid subject-by-subject timetable. This allowed themes to develop through what Alan described as dynamic chaos. Specialist teachers, classroom teachers and students worked together to explore the theme from different angles.
Authentic Learning Beyond the Classroom
Alan said that in order for students to learn something deeply, they must “hit it three times in three different ways during the week”. Mini themes developed within the bigger themes, and teachers helped children self-manage their way through learning.
This kind of approach encourages engagement and lifelong learning.
Opportunities were seized as they arose to provide practical real-life lessons in areas such as:
connecting to the real world
environmental education
health and wellbeing
performing arts
enterprise education
visual arts
These lessons were timed, sustainable, flexible and authentic. They happened by venturing beyond the school and accessing adults and resources in the enterprising world.
Green School Bali’s aim was for children to want to go to school and to be fully engaged. The emphasis was on relevance, purpose and valuing students, rather than only testing and comparing them.
Comparison can put unnecessary pressure on children. A more meaningful goal is to help children discover what they are capable of and how their learning connects to life.
Green School Bali’s Bamboo Campus
Green School Bali is known for its bamboo architecture and natural campus.
Green School Bali is known for its extraordinary bamboo architecture and natural campus. The school was designed with sustainability in mind, using natural materials and creating a learning environment that feels deeply connected to the land around it.
Students were also involved in practical learning experiences connected to sustainability, food, animals and environmental responsibility.
Gardens and campus fields at Green School Bali.
Surrounding the school were bamboo homes built by local and international families who chose to live in Bali so their children could attend the school.
At the time of this original article, there were also studios under construction to be leased cheaply to entrepreneurs, with the idea that students could be involved with these businesses. This would allow students to develop enterprise skills and learn how entrepreneurship works in the real world.
Green School Bali as an Example for the Future
Green School Bali is a real-life example of a school trying to do things differently. It encourages us to think about what children need if they are going to thrive in a changing world.
Although the school had only been running for a relatively short time when this original post was written, it had already attracted global interest from families, educators and people passionate about sustainability and alternative education.
Green School Bali students learning in a natural environment.
Alan Wagstaff and the founders of the school had a vision to create change in how schools educate. Rather than waiting for change to come from the top of the education system, Green School Bali was working to model a different way from the ground up.
For us, that was the most powerful part of the story. It showed that education can be more creative, practical, sustainable and connected to real life.
Green SuperCamp and Our Family’s Experience
Green SuperCamp Bali gave our children a powerful learning experience.
Another way our children experienced the Green School Bali philosophy was through Green SuperCamp.
Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn attended Green SuperCamp, and they came back transformed. At the time of this original post, we were working towards them attending again, along with our eleven-year-old daughter Amber.
Check out what Flynn had to say about Green SuperCamp:
John Hardy, Founder of Green School Bali
John Hardy, founder of Green School Bali, also spoke about the school at TED:
What Parents Can Take from Green School Bali
Most families will not move to Bali or send their children to Green School Bali. But we can still learn from the philosophy behind it.
Children need more than content. They need connection, challenge, creativity, responsibility, practical skills and opportunities to discover who they are becoming.
At home, this might look like:
giving children real responsibilities
encouraging them to start small projects
letting them solve real problems
helping them manage money and resources
valuing creativity, nature, movement and reflection
connecting learning to real life instead of only school results
Key takeaway:Green School Bali shows what can happen when education becomes connected to nature, creativity, enterprise, sustainability and real-world learning. It challenges us to think more deeply about what children truly need in order to thrive.
