Ever Feel Like Giving Up Would Be Easier?
This has been our season of challenge.
Have you ever had an experience you can point to and say, “That changed me”?
Chances are, it wasn’t during an all-inclusive vacation. For most of us, the experiences that shape us are the tough ones; those seasons filled with strong feelings, uncertainty, and the temptation to throw up our hands and say, “Why bother?”
Sometimes we do give up, or we convince ourselves it’s not our fault. We find agreement when we blame people, systems, and circumstances for the stuck place we’re in. It helps us feel stable again, but it comes at a cost.
When we give up, we’re not just giving up on a goal. We’re giving up on our hero’s adventure.
The harder path - continuing to move forward in the face of challenge - requires us to get radically clear on our goals, to develop resilience, and to find the courage to keep going even when there’s little visible evidence of success (yet).
This summer tested us.
By mid spring, we heard that some districts were de-funding DEI initiatives. In early June, it looked like Joyful Inclusion might shrink instead of grow. It felt like forces beyond our control were going to decide our future.
Perfect timing for a plot twist.
In mid-June, Amy traveled to Los Angeles for Success Live with Jack Canfield. Jack reminded us how he was turned down by 144 publishers before one finally said, “yes,” to Chicken Soup for the Soul. (Feeling a bit better about your last bad news?)
For two days, Amy was surrounded by authors, speakers, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists who shared stories of defeats turned into victories by refusing to give up.
The energy in that Hollywood Boulevard theater was contagious.
✨ If your dream is big enough, nothing can stop you.✨
Just a week later, our team came together in Philadelphia for our Joyful Inclusion Retreat. Amy brought two of Jack Canfield’s Success Principles to the table, and we dug in:
1. We are 100% responsible for our success.
We don’t control the events that happen, but we are 100% responsible for how we think, speak, and act in response - and those choices change our outcomes.
2. Vague goals get vague results.
Jack shared how Walt Disney “visited” Disneyland in his mind daily: seeing the rides, the costumes, the crowds, long before it was built. When people said, “It’s so sad Walt never got to see Disneyland,” after his passing, his wife corrected them: “Oh, he saw it every day.”
That is what it means to be a visionary.
We left our retreat with clarity and renewed commitment.
We asked:
✨ What exactly do we picture when we say Joyful Inclusion Schools and how can we spark a vision for each district?
✨ What can we be responsible for, regardless of external circumstances?
✨ How can we serve districts even more powerfully, right now?
We emerged with new features and benefits we will be adding to our packages, along with a new stand-alone option addressing the first, critical insight partnering districts need when starting the Joyful Inclusion journey.
Stay tuned. We have big, exciting announcements coming.
And if you’re in a season of challenge right now,
let us leave you with this:
✨ If your dream is big enough, nothing can stop you.✨
Keep going, friend. Your hero’s adventure is worth it.
