Set your sights high for your kids

I gave a keynote speech for  the Staff Conference in Central Hall Westminister for  the wonderful School Home Support Charity for whom I am an ambassador when I read this wonderful quote:

“Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.”

~ Eileen Caddy Author

There is nothing you can’t achieve if you try, persist and keep taking small bite sized steps towards your dreams and goals and as I say in my Keynote Speech:

 “For me it’s not about the background parents come from, the colour of their skin or the amount of money they have in their bank account that matters. It’s about the memories they build with their kids that will last a lifetime and the opportunities they give them to succeed in life – whatever that means for them – able to fulfil their true unlimited potential.

We are not all born equal but it’s about empowering parents and children with the belief that their past does not have to equal their future – and that through education, studying or learning new skills they too can achieve – whatever that means for each individual.

Whether it’s about becoming a plumber, an electrician, a teacher or an entrepreneur running their own small business it’s all about mindset, attitude and being positive as well as having a practical roadmap, compass and torch to get you there.

Children need that roadmap and education, learning and growing up with high expectations and high aspirations do make a difference.

I remember talking to someone recently who argued with me that not everyone can be a President Obama – well, I say …. “Why not ?”  If he thought like that he wouldn’t have become the most powerful man in the world.

But he did it one small step at a time. He did it with a strong single mother getting him out of bed to go to school and study when he was a typical teenager wanting to loll in bed and who very nearly went off the rails dabbling in drugs.

We all need that mentor, that special person who believes in us and sees us not how we are but how we can become.

You are that role model – that mentor – that champion for many and what you do makes a difference.”

If you would like to listen to my Keynote Speech you can by clicking here   My aim is to uplift, inspire and help you be the best you can be – because what you do as  a parent everyday really DOES MATTER