Episode 81 | Leading Students with HOPE: College Readiness, Scholarships & Purpose with Shellee Howard

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Welcome to the Lead with Hope
podcast.

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Today we're talking with Shelly
Howard, a mother of four and the

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inspiring founder of College
Ready.

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Shelly has helped countless
students navigate the college

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admissions process and get to
college without debt.

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In this episode, she shares her
journey as a mother and an

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entrepreneur, and she offers
actionable strategies for

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parents and students to explore
their values, build leadership

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skills, and discover their
authentic selves.

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If you're ready to empower the
next generation, uncover

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scholarship opportunities, and
create a road map for a debt

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free education, welcome to this
conversation.

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Before we get started, I want to
thank our legacy partner, Craig

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Williams, founder of Commissary
as Spark Hope.

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We believe this story matters
because story shapes how we

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lead, how we can connect, and
how we show up in the world.

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Commissary helps authors and
leaders bring clarity to their

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story and confidence to their
voice, so their brand truly

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reflects who they are.
You can learn more about their

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work by visiting the link in
today's show notes or on the

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Spark Hope website.
Thank you, Commissary for

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supporting the Lead with Hope
podcast.

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So Shelley, welcome to the show.
And today I want to start off by

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just asking you to tell us who
are you.

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Tell us your story.
So it's important to start with,

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I'm a mom of four, all who have
gotten into college and not

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without debt and that's very
important to me.

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I am a fifth generation
Californian, I think very unique

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in that respect.
But I've been to 100 countries

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and many of them in third world.
So I'm a very diverse person in

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that I grew up in Laguna Beach,
CA and my true passion is

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international travel and college
Ready was started my my business

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and years ago.
Shelly, for those new to college

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ready, what created the spark
for you to want to do this type

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of work?
It started with my first born

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coming home from 8th grade and
asking for help.

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And so you know moms and dads,
if you're out there know your

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kids ask or not, they need you.
And my story.

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I could go on and on but I know
our our time together is

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limited.
So please know your kids need

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you and I don't put that on as
another thing you need to do.

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I put that on as a wonderful
place to share who you are and

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what matters to you.
So that is really where I come

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from, a place of being a mom and
also being ACEO of an 18 year

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old company.
I think it's important to note

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that I was the 1st to go off to
college and I did it completely

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wrong.
Both of my parents are

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entrepreneurs and they thought
that path was just fine.

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After college.
I started with a Fortune 500

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company, joined the corporate
ladder, was forced to wear

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pantyhose with my skirt, and I'm
telling you, went through the

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wringer and tried to break down
some some incredible barriers

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before I left.
I stayed there 8 1/2 years.

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I got great training, credible
opportunity, and then I had to

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really lean into my entrepreneur
spirit and that's my spark.

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College Ready is my seventh
business I have started and I've

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been here 18 years.
I can't imagine life without

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inspiring teenagers to be the
best version of themselves.

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Now that I have 4 young adults
of my own who have graduated

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debt free, I can truly say it's
more of a passion than a job.

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Shelly, I've heard people say
that when you love what you do,

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you'll never work a day in your
life.

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One of my parents encouraged me
to go to college and the other

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one discouraged me.
So we had a house divided.

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And I think it's important that
not everybody understands that

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being an entrepreneur is not the
easy path, right?

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Some people want to leave
corporate America because they

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think, Oh my gosh, this is
awful.

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I would encourage you to look at
it differently and think, Oh my

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gosh, it's going to be hard, but
so worth it.

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I've loved every second.
So my my hope is, or my hope was

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when I graduated from high
school that I would have some

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kind of direction on where, what
do I want to be?

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Where do I want to go?
How am I going to get there?

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And my parents honestly put
their head in the sand.

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And the high school counselor
said, your grades are great,

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just kind of deal with it.
And I was left at 17 years old

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to navigate my future.
And so my hope is that no child

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has to do what I had to do.
You know, sitting down your

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parents and and telling them
what your game plan is, is, is a

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kind of a big ask for a
teenager.

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So I wanted to do it very
different for my own family.

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And that's exactly what sparked
the hope of what college ready

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does.
We're not just about getting

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your child into a brand name.
We're actually more about

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helping your child figure out
who they are, what matters to

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them, showing proof.
And then they get into a perfect

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fit school.
But they're prepared for what

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comes after college, which is no
debt and a wonderful career that

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they fully engage and embrace.
So the hope is changing what I

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went through and making this
next generation just so much

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better than what I experienced.
It's, it's truly a gift that

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I've been given.
There's no doubt.

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And you know, I, I started
reading your book after you

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asked me to be on your podcast.
And so we have so many things in

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common.
But the hope I want to give

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parents is it is possible.
Last year our students got over

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10.3 million in scholarships, so
it is possible to have them

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graduate without debt.
There are 10 colleges that are

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tuition free, so there's some
hope.

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And getting in is not as hard as
social media makes it sound.

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So my whole goal of being on
your podcast is giving your

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families hope that it really is
a wonderful process to go

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through with your teenager and
set them up for an incredible

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future.
And that's the hope I wanted to

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share with your listeners.
This all sounds amazing for the

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parents that are navigating, oh,
their child senior year, all of

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the emotions that go with it,
trying to figure out where their

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kids are going to go to college,
how to pay for it, all of the

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things.
What advice would you give

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parents going through this right
now?

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Let me just give you a few, a
few realistic things.

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Number one, help them understand
their core values.

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Those things that you know, you
raise them up to be, but those

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things they hold near and dear
most students.

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And when I ask them, who are
you, they look at their cell

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phone as if their cell phone's
going to tell them who they are.

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And we need them to know deeply
who they are, which is their

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core values.
And that won't change very much

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after middle school.
The second thing is ask them

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really questions of curiosity
without judgment.

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So like you, I have four and one
of them wanted to be an

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entrepreneur.
And of course, I tried to say

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that is not as you want to be an
influencer, let's be real.

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And I asked her, how will you do
your business plan?

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No judgment.
I just wanted her to be

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prepared.
And she goes, how do I know?

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So they think they know, but do
they really know?

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And so I asked very simple,
thoughtful questions, not to

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make her feel bad, but to help
her to see that maybe there's a

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few things that she could open
up her world to.

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If it's not four years of
college, maybe it's an

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entrepreneurial path of
bookkeeping and and social

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media.
You still need all of those to

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have a career.
So those are some practical

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things, parents.
And then also be careful in your

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judgment tone of I'm not paying
for that.

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I hear that all the time.
And it's not it's not a good

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place to have a conversation
about your child's future.

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So just know in hopes of helping
and guiding them because I know

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that's what we all want as
parents.

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Those are some things that you
could do very gently to

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encourage and.
Let's pause for just a moment

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because I want to tell you about
a partner who truly aligns with

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the heart of this podcast.
Congress.

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Here on Lead With Hope, we talk
a lot about clarity.

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Clarity of purpose, clarity of
voice, and clarity of direction.

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And that's exactly where
Commissary comes in.

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They help leaders, educators,
and change makers uncover the

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story behind their work and
share it in a way that feels

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honest, meaningful, and deeply
aligned with who they are.

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If you've ever felt the nudge to
write a book, refine your

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message, or build a brand that
actually reflects your values,

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not just your resume, Commissary
doesn't rush you or box you in.

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They walk alongside you, helping
you shape your story with

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intention and integrity.
You can learn more by clicking

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their link in the show notes or
visiting them through the Spark

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Hope website.
A big thank you to Craig

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Williams at Commissary for being
a legacy sponsor of this podcast

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and for investing in stories
that matter.

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Because when we share our
stories with clarity and hope,

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real change happens.
Shelly, reflecting on your

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journey, what experiences or
lessons have had the biggest

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impact on your life or on your
leadership?

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Such a great question and
colleges are looking for

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leaders.
So I think this is important for

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all around thinking.
The first thing I like to share

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is when I was a teenager, I
could not ask a stranger for

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time.
I could not ask them what time

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it was.
I couldn't even pick up a phone

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and order a pizza.
And it made both of my parents a

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little crazy, I'm not going to
lie.

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And they were very adamant that
if you want to eat, you will

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call the pizza guy.
They did not let me sit in.

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Oh, OK, fine, I'll do it for
you.

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No, they are like, you're going
to figure this out.

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And it really came down to two
things.

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And I found my strength and
being a softball player, I

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actually played for the USA.
And so that experience gave me

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confidence that led me to be
part of a great team and lead.

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So that was #1 #2 is my mom.
She said I could either do band

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or cheerleading, you choose.
And I was like, well, what?

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And I'm like, well, I don't even
know how to play an instrument.

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Well, she's like, you don't know
how to cheer either, so let's do

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this.
And I'm like, so my mom didn't

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let me sit in it that I didn't
know how to leave.

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And really what ended up
happening is I did do band for a

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year and then I did cheerleading
for four years.

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And that was huge talk about
being put in front of the firing

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squad.
Like I stood in front of people

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to lead them.
And what I learned is people

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want to be LED.
People want to be inspired,

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people want to be encouraged.
It's, it was kind of like

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affirming and it really came
true.

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When I was in college, I joined
a sorority and then I started

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leading there and then I joined
the speech and debate team and I

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started leading there.
And then now I'm an

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international public speaker and
I lead my team of 11.

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And, you know, of course, I'm a
mother of four and I'm a wife.

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And so I have other leadership
roles.

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I have my own podcast where I
lead a village of people helping

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other people.
I have a nonprofit that I lead.

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It all started because I was
encouraged, but actually kind of

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pushed a little bit to not be OK
with just doing what was

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uncomfortable.
And so I tell my students, the

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first thing I encourage them to
do is do community service

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because when they're serving
another human being, they're not

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worried about leading well.
They're like, well, if I don't

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help them, nobody's going to
help them.

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So I guess I'm better than
nobody.

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And once they do, they get the
bug of I'm impactful.

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I can inspire other people,
people want to follow me.

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And so if you have a child, even
an adult and you're struggling

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with leadership, go volunteer.
You are going to see that it is

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an incredible opportunity for
you to step into a very safe

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leadership role.
That is why I started Empower

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Education dot World is because
students were telling me I don't

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know how to get started.
I don't know where I could do

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that.
They had a zillion excuses and

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so I built a program they can
join.

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At.
Home online, it's global, so

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they meet students from all over
the world who are changing

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lives.
They have no more excuses other

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than I have no Internet.
And then I say go to a library

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and log on.
They're so it to me, there's so

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many opportunities for these
kids.

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They just, if it's not in their
phone, they're not sure how to

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go and.
Do it, Shelly.

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My System of Hope is an acronym.
It stands for Habits,

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Optimistic, Outlook, Purpose,
and Excellence.

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So, thinking about hope, which
one of those pillars resonate

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most with you and why?
All of them do, to be honest, my

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mindset is a daily work.
It's it's an everyday, every

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morning at 7:00 AM that is my
daily go to.

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I got to get my mind right
before I can do the rest.

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But I'm very big on excellence
because I teach that to my

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students.
If we're not getting better,

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we're not moving forward.
And so I just started a new

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subscription to helping students
do just that, $27.00 a month.

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And I guide them step by step on
how to every, every single day

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get a little bit better.
And so it's top of mind.

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So I'm going to say.
Excellence.

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This year I have been
volunteering with a group of

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teenagers in our Macoupin County
CEO program, and I've had the

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privilege of going in and
talking to them about

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leadership, about
self-awareness, all of the

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things that I really just love
to talk to teenagers about.

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And you know, right now, Shelly,
the kids, the especially the

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kids that I have had the honor
of getting to know, they're

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giving me hope.
And I think it is such a

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privilege to be able to work
with them.

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It's the same when when I'm on
an Empower Education meeting,

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honestly, these teenagers lead
other teenagers.

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So I mentored them in the
executive room and then I

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watched them inspire me for an
hour.

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I'm like, these, these are
amazing leaders.

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Like they, they have more
advocacy than any generation

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I've ever seen.
They are on fire to create

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change.
Not everybody likes the change

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they want, let's be honest, but
they are on fire to create

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change and I love that.
I love that every day they lean

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into their hope that this world
is going to be better than they

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they stepped into it.
So for me, it's definitely the

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teenagers, my children, every
single day that I'm, I'm blown

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away.
One's a doctor and one's a

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nurse, one's a paramedic, the
other's an entrepreneur.

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And what they do every single
day is provide people hope.

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They're going to get better,
they're going to be safe, so on.

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I'm like, that's heavy.
I, I don't have that kind of

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pressure at my job.
I inspire, but I don't have the

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impact that they get to do.
You know, when my son talks

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about putting somebody's leg
back together after an accident,

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that's where that's massive
hope.

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Both of my oldest, who they love
to serve and we couldn't figure

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out if they were going to go
into social work, like what were

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they going to do with this?
And it really wasn't until I

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took my oldest to Africa and I
took my my second to Peru and we

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served in orphanages and I
watched genuinely what they

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could do with these children.
It really it was, I couldn't do

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it.
Like I couldn't do it.

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And I'm like the this is a gift.
And so I just affirm their gift.

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And when I affirm their gift,
they became, wow, I am pretty

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good at it and they leaned into
it.

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So that's the part I think
parents don't realize is their

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words and their affirmations.
I would also encourage your

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listener to carve out a time.
It could be 5 minutes, 10

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minutes, have a frozen yogurt,
whatever that is quality time

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and look them in the eye and ask
them who are you?

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And listen.
And they're going to look at you

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first and be like, would you
know who I am?

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I'm your child.
Like, have you lost your mind?

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But really listen and say, you
know, I want to know from your

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perspective, who are you?
And don't be surprised if they

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can't answer parents.
And then I say, who would your

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siblings or your best friend say
who who you are?

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And they, they can usually
muster that up.

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And I'm like, are they lying?
And they're like, no, they're

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not lying.
So that's who you are.

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Now you can jump in and affirm,
I agree with that.

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You absolutely are that.
And so that's kind of a, a

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gentle way of having that first
conversation if you're not

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really sure how to start that.
It's a beautiful way.

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I do that with all of my new
clients and it's shocking.

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Their parents are very surprised
their child does not know who

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00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,840
they.
Are If you're a leader feeling

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00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,360
overwhelmed by everything on
your plate, you're not alone and

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00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:52,200
nothing is wrong with you.
Leadership is demanding,

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00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,200
especially when you care deeply
and you carry responsibility for

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others.
And that's why I created The

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00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,360
Hope You'll Leadership
Kickstart, a short, focused

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00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:06,920
coaching experience designed to
help you pause, clarify what

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00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,560
matters most, make confident
decisions, and reconnect with

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00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,480
your purpose and your community.
It's that feels like what you

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00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,280
need right now.
I invite you to visit

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00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:24,160
sparkhopeedu.com and book your
free discovery session with me

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00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,880
today.
You'll also find some resources,

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00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,320
some upcoming events, and
leadership tools to support you

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00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:36,000
along the way.
Most importantly, I'm grateful

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00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,240
for you, for the courage you
show, the heart you lead with,

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and the hope you choose.
Even on the hardest days, know

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that I'm cheering for you every
step of the way.

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I have lots of parents who wish
they had me when they were 18,

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but it's never too late.
And I encourage you that work is

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so very important.
I write a book called Purpose

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Driven Life and that's what
started this whole idea of

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00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,520
living with purpose and finding
my passion.

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And it's it's great work that
you're doing.

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Your book is incredibly
inspiring.

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00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,080
And so thank for putting that
out in the world.

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And parents, here's the thing
about college, taking it back to

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college, If your child cannot
tell you who they are, how will

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00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,880
they tell a college who they
are?

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00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,160
And if they can't, they're not
going to get accepted because

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00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,640
that's all a college wants to
know is if I invite you here, am

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00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,560
I going to make sure that's a
good choice?

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00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:38,800
So it really is for not only
them now it's also for them for

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00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:40,760
college and for their adult
life.

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00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,160
So doing this work now we raise
our kids, don't brag, don't

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00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:46,680
boast.
People don't like it.

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00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:50,480
And now I tell them, brag like
your life depends on it or your

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00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,600
the college will only be a
dream.

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So it's a, it's a different
conversation.

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00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,720
So as we conclude this episode
of the Lead with Hope podcast,

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00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:04,920
Shelly, how would parents get a
hold of you if they'd like to

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00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,160
learn more about your services?
Or maybe they want to work with

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00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,800
you.
So I have many ways that

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00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,120
families can connect, but the
easiest is to go to college

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00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:21,440
ready plan PLA n.info in in it's
30 minutes with me to see.

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00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,760
Does your child need to learn
their core values, their gifts,

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00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,320
their their passions, their
advocacy?

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00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,600
Do they want to be part of
empower education dot world, the

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00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,080
nonprofit to serve others.
But if you're, you're wondering,

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00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,680
is my child ready for college?
You definitely want to go to

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00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:44,920
go.collegereadyplan.com/checklist
and I'm actually going to send

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00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,760
you a checklist and that's the
only commitment as you go to the

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00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:53,280
checklist and you get real about
are they ready to go off on

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00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,680
their own and start their adult
life?

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00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,120
So the two best selling books
are also on sale for your

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00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:03,320
listeners for $0.99 on Amazon.
How to send your Student to

360
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,240
College Without Losing your Mind
to your money and the college

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00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,240
admissions plan simplified.
I never want a family to feel

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00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,240
that they can't, and so those
two books are there to inspire

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00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,920
you and give you hope.
As we close today, remember

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00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,480
this.
The world needs your leadership

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00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,640
now more than ever.
If this conversation encouraged

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00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,080
you, challenged you, or reminded
you that you're not alone,

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00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:31,280
here's one simple way you can
help us spread hope.

368
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,000
Follow the Lead with Hope
podcast and leave us a five star

369
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,600
rating.
Those few seconds help this

370
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,160
message reach leaders who need
it most.

371
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:44,760
And if today's episode resonated
with you, share it with a friend

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00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,560
or a colleague, someone who
could use a reminder that they

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00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,920
matter, that their work matters,
and that hope still belongs in

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00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,120
leadership.
Change doesn't start with

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00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,880
systems or titles.
It starts with you.

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00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:02,120
Fuel your life with hope.
Embrace your purpose, and never

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00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,480
underestimate the power of your
light to lead the way for

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00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,960
others.
I'm cheering you on always.