SRHDevelopment, LLC

This last week I had the privilege to do the Dream Out Loud workshop with the juniors and seniors at Christian Heritage School. My gratitude to Principal Schapansky for giving me this opportunity. What an incredible learning experience this has been for me, as I usually work with older individuals. I was not sure what impact the workshop would have. I was humbled by the students responses. Here are some of their comments:

“I have pretty big dreams, and my goals can be overwhelming, but Dream Out Loud enabled me to process them through a lens of not just passion but also purpose.” Senior student A.N.

“I have come to realize that it is okay to dream. In fact, it is exciting.” Junior student V.A.

“You made it very clear how we can chase our dream - one step at the time - which was very helpful because it is easy to be overwhelmed by everything I need to do.” Junior Student E.D.

We all have dreams and being young does not, should not stop you from pursuing them. Grow yourself to have what it takes to reach your dreams.

Looking down the road

My wife and I have a tradition of taking some time at the end of a year or the beginning of a new year to think and pray about what the theme for our personal lives and our family life are for that year. As we spend a few days away from the buzzle of everything, I got the word prepare from a passage in the Bible I was reading. I did not like that word. Prepare for what? All the stuff I have listened to on the online channels I tend to listen to? The things the media is saying? The prognostications that friends were making on social media. I found myself quite frustrated with that word.

In my reading of Rabbi Lapin, one thing struck me in the strategy of preparation even though that was not the subject Rabbi Lapin was addressing. He mentions how in Jewish culture families think about the generational impact of decisions and plans, and not just about the immediate reward. It is always the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that is three generations. In light of the thought of preparing, I had to ask myself if I was thinking only about the immediate, or was I thinking down the generations about my children’s children. In my reflection I realized that many decisions that we see taken in political, business and personal aspects are only addressing the immediate and not the long-term. Policies, laws, agreements all for gaining political, business or personal gain now. If that is the culture of the day, don’t think that you and I are exempt from it. It takes conscious effort to not go with the flow. It has taken a bit of rethinking for me to start changing my own perspective and learning to keep the immediate preparation in sight while looking down the path. In life and business, we need both preparation for the things immediately in front of us, yet keeping in sight the impact generations down the road. Neglecting or choosing one over the other, could be the end of your legacy.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to learn this new preparation skill:
- What do I want, really want long term?
- What do I want/need now?
- How would getting what I want now affect what I want long-term? How far down the generations will the consequences reach?
- Am I willing to give up my legacy?