Reflections: From Where I Was to Taking the Next Right Step

There's a flurry of activity amongst the Pathways to Success Youth Team as we prepare to head west to begin training with Jack Canfield at Breakthrough to Success on August 10th.

A few days ago, we spent the afternoon making lists and checking them twice as we prepare for two fundraising events that will be coming up over the next couple of weeks while continuing to spread the word about our crowd funding campaign. And it seems that everywhere I go, I am fielding questions and having conversations about this amazing project that is gaining lots of momentum.

In the midst of the flurry, I sat back and found myself reflecting on the origin of the project ...

It was Friday, August 14, 2010. We were coming to the end of an amazing week in the training room. My head was spinning with ideas and possibilities. Jack Canfield was wrapping up the session at his Breakthrough to Success event. He spoke about his dream to bring his Success Principles work to young people, his roots as a high school history teacher and why he thought the work was so important. He talked about his yearlong Success Principles Train the Trainer program. In an instant, I knew I had to participate and that I was somehow connected to his vision.

As Jack spoke, I had vision of my own. It was like a movie trailer, flashing pictures of me across the screen. I was on stage with a microphone speaking to a large audience. I was in front of classrooms of middle, high school and college students, looking into their eyes and seeing their aha moments as they began to understand the power of their subconscious mind and heart in pursuing their dreams. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I was being introduced by the host of the teacher's conference I was speaking at. I could feel the heat of the TV camera lights as I was promoting this amazing work on television talk shows.

Jack was so right! Kids need his work. As an educator working in the fields of both teen pregnancy and dropout prevention I could certainly see the application of Jack's principles. During the entire week of BTS, instead of socializing with other attendees after our daily session, I hurried back to my room and wrote new lesson plans for my fall health classes and designed a training for my colleagues incorporating the Success Principles I had been learning all week.

The most ironic thing was that I had originally attended Breakthrough to Success as part of my exit strategy ... to help me figure out the next steps in my career transition ... moving from my classroom/nonprofit gig to a more lucrative career back in the corporate world with the corporate paycheck.

Fortunately, Jack's work is all about finding your passion and purpose, clarifying your vision, breaking through fears, blocks and self-limiting beliefs, harnessing the power of the subconscious mind and heart to support our dreams, taking planned and inspired action, setting goals, masterminding and accountability partnerships. The truth is, my passion was working with kids and the adults that serve them. The corporate paycheck was just a carrot ... a distraction from what I now knew I was meant to do.

As the session ended, as if carried by something way beyond me, I got up out of my chair and walked up to the stage. Before I knew it I was standing in front of Jack, face to face, eye to eye, as I heard the words coming out of my mouth. "Hi Jack, my name is Trisha and I am going to be the one to help bring the Success Principles to young people across the country." 

And so it began! I spent the next couple of years attending more trainings while I began to expand the Success Principles in all aspects of my work with kids, families and youth service professionals. In 2012 I piloted a 2 week curriculum in the classroom as well as in a peer education training program. I incorporated participant feedback and expanded the vision to include online programs, retreats and special populations in addition to implementing in nationwide classrooms.

So much is happening right now and I'll have lots more to report about collaboration with stakeholders, funders, partners and supporters over the next few months. But for now, I just keep taking the next right step towards my vision; a vision that has led me to amazing work, with an amazing team and a wonderful opportunity to be mentored by Jack and his team so I can, in turn, support young people in living their full potential.

The next right step is to develop and train a group of young people to help me spread the vision. The group is called the Pathways to Success Youth Team.

I hope you will consider supporting this work and my youth  team as we begin the journey to Arizona and get the training we need to begin expanding what we've been doing in NH and reach out to young people across the country.

Check out what we're up to and how you can help at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pathways-to-success-youth-project/x/7319305

If you're in the Conway, NH area or are up for a roadtrip, join us at our live events that promise to be fun and entertaining!