Abundant Thinking

february-2009In the February 2009 issue of Success magazine, publisher and editorial director, Darren Hardy, shares his top eight tips for fostering abundant thinking in children.

I find his list fascinating on three accounts: one, Success is a business magazine ; two, a business magazine publisher, who is a self-proclaimed workaholic and perhaps father himself, is offering parenting advice; and, three, a magazine pitched me, a blogger, a story. It shows how much our world is changing — for the better. Work and life are coming into equilibrium in the form of such publications that celebrate the wholeness of life. We are all people, whether our name is Barack Obama, Colin Powell or Christine Hohlbaum. Feel the power of slow move through every nook and cranny. Kudos to Success and their connection to what matters most!

Darren Hardy suggests:

8 Strategies for Building Abundance Attitude in Your Kids

• Reward Responsibly – Don’t give rewards for promised future behavior.  Reward when the goal is accomplished.  Acknowledge the accomplishment and celebrate it.

• Clarity – Be open about your financial state.  Work as a family toward saving for a big item like a dream vacation.  Adopt a family mission statement. 

• Everything is a Teaching Tool – Use economic and financial news, as well as the success stories of business owners as conversation starters or as talking points around particular issues.  Inspire your kids by highlighting positive entrepreneurial stories. 

• Foster Support – You’re not necessarily the dominant adviser to your children.  Kids need support, mentorship and encouragement from coaches, teachers and other influential people.  Find out who your child’s favorites are and encourage their support of your child’s endeavors. 

• Encourage Networking and Innovation – Connect your children to people who have passion for what they do that’s of interest to your child.  Encourage them to set high goals for themselves even if they don’t reach them.

• Learn Business – The greatest teacher and confidence builder is to learn by doing.  Encourage your child to take a part-time job, volunteer or start their own business.  Programs like Youthpreneur give kids business skills whether for their own for-profit business or fundraising.

• Giving Back – Show your children the power of sharing.  Volunteering time and resources goes a long way toward teaching an abundant outlook by giving to the less fortunate.

• Gratitude Attitude – Appreciate the things you have.  Teach your children to take stock of and appreciate the intangibles like relationships, nature, shared experiences and things that don’t cost money.

2 Comments

  1. Bernadette Noll

    January 10, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    I love that and I love too that the world is beginning to understand that it all must remain connected – and when it does, everyone wins. We are just about ready to launch our Family Mission Statement ebook at our slow family site. I’ll let you know when it’s ready. It’s a great tool if I do say so myself. We came up with the ebook from a Family Mission Statement class we offered.

  2. Christine Hohlbaum

    January 11, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    What a great idea! I wrote an article ages ago called how to create a family mission statement. And in The Power of Slow, I talk about creating your own mission statement. At this time of year, people are thinking ahead. It’s wonderful to know business-minded people are doing the same for the next generation!

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