Mindset, Confidence & Leadership

Stories and lessons about confidence, resilience, leadership, personal growth, self-belief, and helping children think differently about life and possibility.

Belief in Yourself: Jay Bennett’s Steps to Success

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Energetic teens showing belief in yourself and confidence for success

Belief in yourself is one of the most important ingredients in success. Skills matter, goals matter and opportunities matter, but if a young person does not believe they are capable of growing, learning and following through, it becomes much harder to take action.

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That was one of the lessons we took from Jay Bennett’s “Steps to Success” talk. His message about dreams, attitude, belief and commitment applies not only to adults in business, but also to students, enterprising kids and young people learning how to build confidence.

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Jay Bennett teaching belief in yourself and steps to success
Jay Bennett’s Steps to Success message focused on dreams, attitude, belief and commitment.

Belief in Yourself: Jay Bennett’s Steps to Success

On our journey, we are finding many opportunities coming our way. Some of these opportunities involve speakers who have achieved enormous success in their chosen fields of endeavour.

What makes many of these speakers so inspiring is that, whatever company they represent or whatever industry they work in, the deeper principles of success are often the same.

One such speaker was an inspiring Californian man named Jay Bennett. Jay had achieved great success in network marketing and spoke with energy, humour, confidence and a genuine passion for helping others succeed.

He was also a very fit and healthy man, and his appearance could easily fool you into thinking he was many years younger than he actually was. He was a walking billboard for the health and wellbeing industry.

Jay spoke for two hours and had us captivated by his insights. His talk was titled “Steps to Success”, and I thought his message was powerful enough to share with our readers.

Step 1: Start With a Dream

If you have not really thought about what your dream is, Jay suggests that is where you should start.

Identify your real dreams and what you want in your life.

Where do you want to be in ninety days?

Where do you want to be in one year?

Where do you want to be in three years?

That simple act of looking ahead can be powerful for students and enterprising kids. Young people need to learn that goals do not have to stay vague. They can be named, pictured, written down and worked towards.

“You have to have a dream to make a dream come true.”

For children and teenagers, a dream might be connected to school, sport, creativity, enterprise, confidence, travel, friendships, money or contribution. The specific dream matters less than the process of learning how to imagine a future and then take steps towards it.

Step 2: Build the ABCs of Success

Jay Bennett explained the foundation for success using three simple ideas: Attitude, Belief and Commitment.

These are easy words to say, but they are powerful life skills to practise.

For enterprising kids, these three ideas connect directly to real-world learning. A child starting a small enterprise, learning a new skill or working towards a personal goal will need all three.

Attitude: Focus on the Solution

Jay’s first success principle was attitude.

He made the point that a great attitude often leads to better results. That does not mean life is always easy or that problems disappear. It means choosing to focus on the solution rather than becoming stuck in the problem.

Some of Jay’s key ideas around attitude included:

  • Having a great attitude leads to better results.
  • Focus on the solution, not only the problem.
  • Associate with positive people.
  • Attitude can influence success in every area of life.

This is such an important message for students.

A child with a poor attitude may see every challenge as proof that they cannot succeed. A child with a stronger attitude can begin to ask, “What can I try next?”

That shift matters.

Belief in Yourself: The Core Success Principle

The second principle was belief, and this is where the phrase belief in yourself becomes so important.

Jay spoke about believing in the industry, the company, the products and the opportunity. But he made it clear that the most important belief is the belief a person has in themselves.

For students and young people, this is a huge lesson.

Belief in yourself does not mean pretending you already know everything. It means believing that you are capable of learning, improving, asking for help, recovering from setbacks and becoming stronger through experience.

Jay’s key ideas around belief included:

  • Believe in the opportunity in front of you.
  • Most importantly, believe in yourself.
  • Believe that you are capable of success.
  • Believe that you deserve the chance to grow.
  • Build belief through positive learning, books, audios, events and mentors.

This is why personal development matters for children and teenagers. The books they read, the people they listen to, the events they attend and the conversations around them can all help shape what they believe is possible.

Commitment: Stay With the Journey

The third principle was commitment.

Jay reminded us that success is usually one step at a time. It is not a single moment. It is a journey.

Commitment means following through on your dreams, even when the first burst of excitement has worn off.

Some of Jay’s key ideas around commitment included:

  • Success is one step at a time.
  • Follow through on your dreams.
  • Success is a journey, not only a destination.
  • Commit to the journey.
  • Success often means hanging on when others have let go.

This is a powerful message for enterprising kids.

Many children have ideas. Fewer children follow those ideas long enough to learn from them. Commitment teaches young people to keep going, adjust, improve and continue after the easy part is over.

Positive Association and Success

Jay Bennett and family showing success principles built around belief attitude and commitment
Jay Bennett and family.

Jay Bennett made a big point about mixing with the right people and keeping yourself focused and motivated.

The best way to do that, he suggested, is to regularly place yourself in environments where you can learn from people who are positive, motivated and moving in the direction you want to go.

That might include seminars, talks, training events, books, audios, mentors, coaches or simply spending more time with people who lift your thinking.

For students, this does not have to mean attending business seminars. It might mean choosing friends carefully, joining a positive team, listening to encouraging podcasts, reading books that stretch them or spending time around adults who model persistence and confidence.

Belief in yourself is easier to build when you are surrounded by people who also believe growth is possible.

Jay Bennett’s Message for Enterprising Kids

Although Jay’s talk was aimed at adults pursuing success, the principles apply beautifully to young people.

Students need dreams.

They need a positive attitude.

They need belief in themselves.

They need commitment.

They also need positive people around them who help them stay motivated and focused.

These are the same qualities that help children develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Whether a child is starting a small business, improving at school, building confidence, learning a sport or working towards a personal goal, the principles remain the same.

You can learn more about Jay Bennett’s training background through his Jay Bennett trainer profile.

How Students Can Practise the Steps to Success

Here is a simple way to turn Jay Bennett’s message into a practical student activity.

1. Name the dream

Ask the student to write down one dream or goal they genuinely care about.

2. Choose the attitude

Ask them to write one problem they might face, then one solution-focused response they could practise.

3. Strengthen belief in yourself

Ask them to write three pieces of evidence that show they are capable of learning, growing or improving.

4. Commit to one step

Ask them to choose one small action they can take this week.

5. Find positive association

Ask them to identify one person, book, video, team or environment that helps them feel encouraged and motivated.

This turns success from a motivational idea into something students can actually practise.

Key Takeaway: Belief in Yourself Builds Success

Key takeaway: belief in yourself is one of the foundations of success. Jay Bennett’s Steps to Success message reminds us that dreams, attitude, belief, commitment and positive association can help students and enterprising kids build confidence and keep moving towards their goals.

Where to Next?

Which part of Jay Bennett’s Steps to Success would help your child most right now: dream, attitude, belief or commitment?

Money Mindset for Kids: Moving Beyond Earn, Spend and Borrow

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Money Lessons for Kids , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
money mindset for kids and financial freedom

In the last blog we spoke about who it is that teaches our kids about money. In this post we’d like to delve a little deeper into that topic, because understanding our money mindset is such an important part of changing it.

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Our intention is to build an understanding of why most of us have settled into the role of being a “worker” rather than following a more entrepreneurial path. You will also learn a little more about what we are endeavouring to achieve as a family, and why developing a healthier money mindset for kids matters so much to us.

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Kaitlin learning about money mindset for kids
Kaitlin represents the challenge many teenagers face as they learn about money, work and independence.

Money Mindset for Kids: Moving Beyond Earn, Spend and Borrow

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 helping in the kitchen. She works hard and it pays pretty well. However, to take on a job, she loses some of her weekends and time to do school work and have a social life. She also commits time to regular babysitting work for some of the families in the area.

What Is a Money Mindset?

At present, the money mindset of our 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 money 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 still give our time for a monetary return. Whatever the case, we are often tied down and limited by 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 as normal. Often our minds become closed off to entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities. Schools train us and prepare us for the workforce. Parents often 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 keeping us on the “straight and narrow” path of getting a job (earn), then spending our money on things (spend), and then borrowing money to spend on even more things (borrow).

The Earn, Spend and Borrow Pattern

Finance companies advertising loans and debt as part of a money mindset
Advertising constantly reinforces an earn, spend and borrow money mindset.

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 or loans to pay for it all.

The more things they acquire during their lives, the harder and longer they often have to work to pay for those things. Most people can see no obvious way out of their situation and simply accept that this is what is supposed to happen.

That is one reason why understanding money mindset for kids is so important. If children grow up believing that the only option is to work, spend and borrow, then they are likely to repeat that cycle without ever stopping to question it.

How the Rat Race Shapes Our Thinking

The rat race showing the worker mindset and earn spend borrow cycle
Many families become locked into the Rat Race without ever questioning the pattern.

In fact, many of us have been conditioned to accept a financial mindset that locks us into what many people call 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 right or wrong about it at all. It simply is what it is.

For us though, we are looking for a new direction — one where we have the time to follow our passions and the freedom to give to our family, community and world without constantly worrying about how to pay for it. Our goal is to move beyond a narrow “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? What is their conditioning around money? What kind of money mindset have they built?

Why Money Mindset for Kids Matters

What’s more, we wish for our kids to grow up with the mindset of an entrepreneur. It is important to us that they receive a real financial education for kids, not just an education that prepares them to earn a wage.

Financial education for kids does not usually come from school
A financial education for kids often begins at home, not in the classroom.

From what we’ve discovered so far, kids need to start very early if they are to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and the skills needed to manage money and build enterprise. They need role models who can foster different thinking, and parents who encourage and look for opportunities that develop enterprise.

Open discussions about money, business, debt, freedom and opportunity all help to build a better money mindset for kids.

We want our seven children to grow up having choices. We want their pathways to be wide with opportunity. We encourage them to follow their passions and not simply be conditioned into the “earn, spend and borrow” mindset. We hope they will think differently, believe in themselves and develop the habits of people who achieve both personal and financial freedom.

Our Family Is Learning Too

We know we have a challenge ahead of us, because our kids have already been conditioned from an early age — just as we were.

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 while we still carry some of that same conditioning and mindset ourselves. Although we are 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 breakthrough. We have enlisted the help of a Money Mindset personal mentor who is helping us develop a new way of thinking. He is there to help us transform our thinking through our actions — and as we do so, so will our children.

In upcoming blogs we will continue to share this journey with you, including the lessons we are learning about building a stronger money mindset, creating more opportunity, and helping our children develop an entrepreneurial way of thinking.

Key Takeaway: A Money Mindset Can Shape a Family’s Future

Key takeaway: A family’s money mindset shapes how children see work, spending, debt, business and opportunity. Building a stronger money mindset for kids can help children grow up with more choices, wider pathways and a better understanding of enterprise and financial freedom.

We believe that changing a family’s money mindset can change a family’s future.

Where to Next?

What money mindset are your children learning from the world around them?

How to Avoid Distractions for Students: Kaitlin’s Enterprise Lesson

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Kaitlin's (Kat) Stories, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
How to avoid distractions for students shown through Kaitlin balancing friends, camps and enterprise

How to avoid distractions for students is one of the biggest lessons that came out of Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise.

Kaitlin had a strong creative idea, real customers and the talent to make it work. But like many students, she also had school, friends, sport, camps, work, family and plenty of other distractions pulling her focus away.

How to avoid distractions for students with Kaitlin revisiting her portrait drawing enterprise
Kait with that winning smile!

How to Avoid Distractions for Students: Kaitlin’s Enterprise Lesson

How to avoid distractions for students is the practical lesson behind this follow-up to Kaitlin’s portrait artist enterprise. Before we revisit her progress, it is worth looking at the idea of focusing on what you truly want to bring into reality.

At the time, we had been learning a lot about goals, values, mindset and the importance of making what you want a genuine priority. Whatever language people use — goals, vision, manifestation, values or focus — there is a practical lesson underneath it.

If something matters to you, it needs time, attention and action.

That sounds pretty easy, but I will be frank: it is easier said than done.

If you are anything like us, you will have very busy, complicated lives and are overrun with distractions. Work, family, social life, worries, school, sport, friends and commitments can all pull your focus away from what you say you want.

This is exactly what happened with Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise.


Kaitlin procrastinating while learning how to avoid distractions for students
Kaitlin procrastinating!

Of course, not all distractions are bad. Some are part of life, family, travel, friendships and growing up. The problem is when those distractions quietly take over and push important goals further and further into the background.

For Kaitlin, learning how to avoid distractions for students was not about removing every fun or social activity. It was about recognising when her enterprise idea needed protected time, focus and follow-through.

How to Avoid Distractions for Students with a Real Goal

Kaitlin’s enterprise plan that she shared in her home video was a very good one, but it required time management, focus and diligence.

Once the article about her enterprise was posted on Enterprise for Kids, Kaitlin received two customers requesting her to do portrait drawings of their families.

Kaitlin was delighted that people had actually appreciated her talents and were willing to pay for her service. This was a real opportunity for Kaitlin to follow a passion of hers and she was motivated to get started.

Sliding into Action

Kaitlin sliding into action while learning how to avoid distractions for students
Kaitlin sliding into action.

She had bought half a dozen quality timber and glass frames from a garage sale, which would beautifully show the portraits if her customers wanted them framed.

She also had the $100 loan from me to buy the art materials required for her to run her enterprise.

So what has happened so far?

Distractions, distractions and more distractions!

Why Distractions Can Stop a Good Student Business Idea

Kaitlin, being a popular teenager, had many demands put upon her and she certainly didn’t have her focus set on attending to portrait drawings yet.

It had not become her highest value to develop an enterprise, despite the fact that she really did want to have her own enterprise doing something that she had passion for.

The list of distractions could almost fill a blog on their own!

Kaitlin at Bali Green SuperCamp while balancing distractions and enterprise goals
Kaitlin on the Bali Green SuperCamp.

Kaitlin had been on the Country Week camp, had sleepovers, caught up with friends, and was currently on the Bali Supercamp.

She had work commitments, babysitting, sporting commitments, school, boyfriends, homework, modelling classes and family commitments that had all stolen her focus away.

How to Avoid Distractions for Students with Big Goals

To do portrait drawings, Kaitlin needed a lot of concentration, patience and most importantly, a distraction-free amount of time where she could get her head around it.

Kaitlin understood that she needed to establish a time management plan where she could devote her focus to what she wanted to achieve.

Admittedly, Kaitlin didn’t need to complete the drawings straight away. She had a few months. But you could see how easily those few months could whittle away to nothing without a plan of attack, followed by action to bring that plan to fruition.

This is a useful lesson in how to avoid distractions for students. It is not enough to simply want something. Students need a simple structure that helps protect time and attention.

A few practical steps could include:

  • choosing one clear goal to focus on;
  • setting aside a specific time each week to work on it;
  • breaking the goal into smaller tasks;
  • creating a quiet, distraction-free space;
  • removing easy distractions during work time;
  • using short blocks of focused time rather than waiting for a perfect long stretch;
  • asking someone to help keep them accountable.

For families, how to avoid distractions for students becomes a practical conversation about priorities, routines and gentle accountability. The goal is not to remove every distraction, but to help children notice when distractions are stopping them from doing something they genuinely want to achieve.

ReachOut has some useful advice for parents helping teenagers manage distractions, including encouraging teens to work in short chunks of focused time and then take regular short breaks. You can read more here: How to help your teenager avoid distractions while studying.

How to Avoid Distractions for Students with a Simple Plan

That being said, we all must do the same with our dreams and desires in life.

Without making what we want a high value, writing down a plan, and then focusing our energy on it, those dreams are unlikely to come about very easily.

This is why children’s enterprise projects are so valuable. They teach more than business. They teach responsibility, time management, problem-solving and follow-through.

Kaitlin’s portrait drawing idea was still a good one. The challenge was not the idea. The challenge was protecting enough time and focus to bring the idea to life.

That is a powerful lesson for mindset, confidence and leadership.

What Kaitlin’s Distractions Teach Us

Kaitlin’s story reminds us that students can have talent, opportunity and encouragement, and still struggle to follow through if distractions take over.

For parents, the lesson is not to criticise the child for being distracted. The better lesson is to help them notice what is happening and gently guide them back to structure.

Questions like these can help:

  • What do you really want to achieve?
  • Why does it matter to you?
  • What is distracting you most?
  • When could you set aside time for this?
  • What is the next small step?
  • Who could help keep you on track?

This is how raising entrepreneurial kids can become part of everyday family life. It is not always about big wins. Sometimes it is about helping children learn what stops them from moving forward.

Key Takeaway: How to Avoid Distractions for Students

Key takeaway: Learning how to avoid distractions for students is an important part of helping children and teens follow through on their goals. Kaitlin had talent, customers and a strong enterprise idea, but she also needed time, focus and a plan to protect her attention.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed this follow-up on Kaitlin’s enterprise journey, you may also like:


Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Enterprise
Read the original post where Kaitlin planned her creative student business idea.


Mindset, Confidence & Leadership
Explore more stories about focus, confidence and learning through real-world challenges.


Kids Business Ideas
Find more practical enterprise ideas for children and teens.

We will keep you in the loop with Kaitlin in coming Enterprise for Kids blog articles.

For my next post or two, we will have a break from following our kids’ journeys and discuss understandings about developing a mindset for success. We’ll be looking at how we, and many other people, are conditioned to think in a certain way about money and how this conditioning may prevent us and our children from achieving success — and we are not just talking about the financial kind either.

Until then, we would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.

Youth Leadership Programs: Green SuperCamp Bali

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Adventure & Real-World Learning, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Youth leadership programs at Green SuperCamp Bali helping children build confidence and real-world learning

Youth leadership programs can open children’s eyes to a completely different way of learning. Sometimes one idea, one email, one video or one story can land in your life and make you rethink what is possible for your kids.

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That is what happened when we first discovered Green SuperCamp Bali. As teachers, parents and lifelong learners, we were immediately excited by the idea of a camp that combined leadership, confidence, learning skills, sustainability and real-world experiences.

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Youth leadership programs at Green SuperCamp Bali helping children leap with confidence and joy
Green SuperCamp Bali showed us how youth leadership programs can help children grow in confidence, courage and joy.

Youth Leadership Programs: Green SuperCamp Bali

It’s amazing how life works sometimes.

As you know, we had been sharing our kids’ experiences and journey as they followed their enterprise ideas through to fruition. Certainly, as our learning and that of our children accelerated over the previous six months, other opportunities landed in our laps.

One such opportunity came in the form of a friend and a simple email.

She had attended one of the workshops we had been doing with our mentor, Paul Counsel. She sent us an email with a link to something, in her words, “pretty special”.

Being school teachers, and always being open to hearing about things that inspire children to think outside the square and follow enterprising ideas, the link our friend sent us truly was special.

Below is a snapshot of a concept that had us super excited and super motivated.

Discovering Green SuperCamp Bali

Green School Bali campus connected to youth leadership programs and sustainable education
The Green School setting immediately captured our imagination.
Bamboo structure at Green School Bali inspiring youth leadership programs
The bamboo architecture helped make the learning environment feel inspiring and completely different.

Green SuperCamp Bali was indeed a very unique and inspiring concept.

At the time, what captured us most was the combination of an extraordinary natural setting, forward-thinking education, leadership activities, learning skills and the clear intention to help children grow in confidence over a short period of time.

We had seen many schools and camps, but this felt different. It seemed to combine personal development, learning, sustainability and real-world experiences in a way that aligned strongly with what we were trying to foster through Enterprise for Kids.

Youth Leadership Programs That Build Confidence

The camp was held in the tropical paradise of Bali and connected with the world-renowned Green School campus.

From the materials we saw at the time, Green SuperCamp used a learning approach that aimed to develop life skills, learning skills, confidence, teamwork and leadership.

It was not just about children sitting and listening. It was about children participating, moving, trying, reflecting, building relationships and stepping outside their comfort zones.

Trust activities at Green SuperCamp Bali as part of youth leadership programs
Trust activities helped children build confidence and connection.
Children working in groups at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership programs
Working in groups helped children learn through connection, cooperation and shared experience.

That is why youth leadership programs can be so powerful. Children and teenagers often need experiences that help them discover what they are capable of outside their normal routines.

They need safe environments where they can practise confidence, communication, teamwork, responsibility and self-expression.

Learning Skills, Life Skills and Real-World Learning

One of the things that impressed us was the focus on learning skills as well as life skills.

We were especially interested because, as teachers, we had long believed that learning should feel meaningful, active and engaging. Children learn so much when they are physically involved, emotionally connected and given opportunities to participate.

Children learning at Green SuperCamp Bali as part of youth leadership programs
Green SuperCamp Bali presented learning as active, engaging and memorable.
Children enjoying learning at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership programs
The children appeared deeply engaged in the learning experiences.

Listening to some of the videos and stories at the time, we viewed teenagers describing large improvements in confidence, learning and self-belief.

Of course, every child’s experience is different. But what excited us was the possibility that a well-designed camp could help young people have breakthroughs in how they see themselves and what they believe they can do.

The current Green Camp Bali kids and youth camps continue to offer nature-based programs for children and teenagers, with a focus on adventure, sustainability and immersive learning.

A Learning Environment That Inspired Us

The SuperCamps were held at the Green School campus, a place that immediately fascinated us.

The founders of Green School, John and Cynthia Hardy, built a school that was intentionally close to nature and strongly connected to environmental education.

The school was never intended to feel like a standard city school. It was designed to be in the heart of nature itself.

Bird's eye view of Green School Bali connected to youth leadership programs
A bird’s eye view of the Green School Bali environment.
Bamboo ceiling at Green School Bali showing a nature-based learning environment
Looking up into the bamboo ceiling.

We were inspired by the bamboo structures, the natural setting and the sense that education could look and feel completely different.

Green School Bali’s current description of its approach includes sustainability, community-integrated learning, entrepreneurial learning and a wall-less natural environment. That philosophy strongly connects with the kinds of real-world learning experiences we value for children.

You can learn more about the school through the official Green School Bali about page.

Sustainability, Nature and Leadership

Another thing that captured our attention was the way sustainability seemed to be built into the physical environment.

The original materials we viewed spoke about bamboo buildings, natural light, compost toilets, solar energy, gardens, animals, rivers and children learning in direct connection with the natural world.

Solar panels in a natural environment at Green School Bali
Solar panels in a natural environment.
Hut accommodation at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership camp
Hut accommodation for the camp.

For us, this mattered because leadership is not only about confidence and public speaking.

Leadership is also about taking responsibility for yourself, for others and for the world around you.

A youth leadership program that connects children with nature, sustainability, teamwork and personal growth can help young people see themselves as part of something bigger.

Social Learning and Self-Discovery

As we viewed the short movies of teens sharing their experiences after attending Green SuperCamp, we were struck by their personal insights.

They seemed to go through a journey of self-discovery where they built strong relationships with future leaders from around the world.

Many described Green SuperCamp as a life-changing experience.

Children building social connections at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership programs
Social interactions were a big part of the Green SuperCamp experience.
Kite building skills at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership programs
Kite building skills.

They learnt to live in the moment and become more fully self-expressed.

They developed responsibility for themselves and each other. They also took part in activities outside their comfort zone.

Activities such as rope climbing, Balinese dancing, mud activities, flying fox, group challenges and practical projects all seemed to contribute to building self-confidence and leadership.

Confidence Building Through Challenge

Children having fun in the mud at Green SuperCamp Bali leadership activities
Fun in the mud.
Children having fun as a group at Green SuperCamp Bali youth leadership programs
Fun as a group.

We were completely amazed that Green SuperCamp seemed to have such a positive impact on kids in only a matter of days.

As teachers and parents, we wondered what schools could learn from this kind of model.

What if more children experienced education that developed confidence, leadership, sustainability, self-expression, practical skills and entrepreneurial thinking?

What if more children saw themselves as capable of leading, creating, contributing and thinking differently?

Why Green SuperCamp Bali Inspired Our Family

We were so inspired by Green SuperCamp that our three oldest kids were booked to attend the camp that year.

For us, the decision connected strongly to Enterprise for Kids.

We wanted our children to grow up with confidence, initiative, creativity, courage, responsibility and an entrepreneurial mindset. Green SuperCamp Bali seemed to offer experiences that supported those qualities.

This article became the beginning of a much bigger family story.

Green SuperCamp Bali Series

This post is part of our Green SuperCamp Bali series.

We will let you know in future blogs how they go… although we think we already know the answer to that one! 🙂

Key Takeaway: Youth Leadership Programs Can Shape Confidence

Key takeaway: youth leadership programs can help children build confidence, self-expression, teamwork, responsibility and real-world learning. Green SuperCamp Bali inspired us because it seemed to offer children a powerful combination of leadership, sustainability, learning skills and personal growth.

Where to Next?

What kind of youth leadership program could help your child build confidence, courage and a bigger view of what is possible?

Vision Board Goals for Kids: Enterprise, Money and Action

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Kids writing down goals for a vision board about enterprise money and action

A vision board can help children turn a goal into something they can see, feel and act on. Visualising a goal, evoking the emotional response within, and then taking the necessary action are all important ingredients in achieving something meaningful.

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Whether the action involves acquiring knowledge, building skills, doing something physical or creating a small enterprise, children need a goal they can believe in before they are likely to follow through.

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Family writing goals in a notebook before creating a vision board
A vision board begins with clear goals, written down and connected to action.

Vision Board Goals for Kids: Enterprise, Money and Action

In fact, many leading sports men and women use visualisation as part of their preparation.

I remember reading about one of Australia’s very best runners, Cathy Freeman, who won gold in the 1994 Canadian Commonwealth Games in both the 200m and 400m races.

Cathy began her preparation for the 200m race two years earlier.

Every day she trained and visualised the race in her mind. Her visualisation included every detail of the race, from what she was wearing, to the lane she was in, and how she would run the race from start to finish.

She even pictured the time she would get and how much it would take to beat the second-place getter.

She was so mentally prepared that she had no doubts at all that she had the gold in the bag.

Cathy Freeman showing the power of visualising a goal
Cathy Freeman showed the power of visualising a goal and preparing with belief.
Cathy Freeman winning gold as an example of goal setting and visualisation
Cathy Freeman winning gold.

She had already won in her mind.

As it turned out, she ran the race beautifully. She is a living legend.

Why a Vision Board Can Help Kids Believe in a Goal

Imagine if our kids were able to muster up that sort of determination and self-belief.

It would make anything possible for them.

So our kids needed to see a real purpose in the kids enterprise project they were embarking on. Without a real purpose they could believe in, they would not have the steam to see it through.

Before we even considered kids enterprise ideas, I asked them to think of something they would like to buy with the profits they were going to make from their enterprise businesses.

It had to be something they really wanted.

It also had to be something they realistically believed they would be able to achieve.

From Dream to Dollar Amount

Coming up with ways to spend the money was easy, even though at this stage they still had no idea what enterprise project they would be doing.

But that didn’t matter.

The important part was that the kids established a realistic goal they could believe in with certainty.

If the kids wanted their goal badly enough, and focused on what they needed to do to get that money, then the enterprise had a much better chance of becoming fruitful.

Once the kids had a visual picture of what they wanted, the next stage was to convert it into a dollar amount.

I made a stipulation that their first enterprise idea may not completely reach the whole monetary target they had set for themselves, but it had to at least be able to pay my $100 back, plus $1.

This we called ROI, or Return On Investment.

Future enterprise ideas could contribute to the children realising the rest of their financial goal.

Finally, they needed to set an end date for the completion of their enterprise.

Vision Boards for Kids and Enterprise Goals

The kids jumped onto the computer to find images of the things they wanted to buy when they had made the money.

These images were printed, and each of the kids constructed a vision board.

I laminated the vision boards to make them special and long-lasting.

The vision boards were then stuck on their bedroom walls, where our little enterprising team could look, dream, think and evoke the visual pictures into their subconscious.

Amber's vision board showing goal setting and enterprise goals for kids
Amber’s vision board helped her picture what she wanted to achieve.
Flynn's vision board showing money goals and enterprise ideas for kids
Flynn’s vision board helped him connect his enterprise idea with a goal he cared about.
Chayse and Kit using a vision board for enterprise goals
Chayse and Kit used their vision boards to focus on what they wanted to achieve.

Why This Goal-Setting Activity Worked

This simple vision board activity helped our children connect their enterprise ideas to something personal.

It was no longer just about “starting a business”.

It was about creating money for a goal they could see.

That made the project more meaningful.

The process gave the kids:

  • a clear picture of what they wanted,
  • a reason to stay motivated,
  • a dollar amount to work towards,
  • an end date,
  • and a practical reason to create an enterprise idea.

For children, this is powerful.

They can begin to understand that goals are not achieved by wishing alone. They are achieved by combining belief, focus, planning and action.

Vision Boards Need Action

A vision board is not magic on its own.

It works best when it is connected to action.

That is why we linked the children’s vision boards to their enterprise projects.

They could look at the pictures on their walls, but they also had to ask:

  • How much money do I need?
  • What can I do to earn it?
  • What skills do I need to learn?
  • Who can help me?
  • What is my deadline?
  • How will I know if my enterprise idea worked?

This moved the activity from dreaming into doing.

For a broader reflection on vision boards, visualisation and action, you can also read our article on Vision Board Ideas for Students.

Enterprise Goals for Kids

In the next blog, we’ll take you through the process of how the kids came up with each of their kids’ enterprise ideas.

See you then!

Key Takeaway: A Vision Board Helps Kids Focus

Key takeaway: A vision board can help children picture a goal, believe it is possible and connect that goal to action. When children turn a dream into a dollar amount, an end date and an enterprise idea, goal setting becomes real-world learning.

Where to Next?

What goal would your child be excited enough to picture, plan and work towards?