Kay:
Hey there Questers, and welcome back! It’s Monday, October 5th and this is Episode 196. For those of you who joined us over on our YouTube channel you might notice something’s a little bit different today. Shila and I are actually recording remotely via a Zoom which is fun! You can see my resort living in the background while Shi’s at home holding down the fort in Reno, Nevada.
Shi:
Yeah! And today’s quote for you is in honor of World Teachers’ Day today. And the quote comes from one of our favorite teachers, John C Maxwell. The quote is, “A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can save a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach their potential.”
Kay:
So, who needs encouragement?
Kay & Shi:
EVERYONE!
Kay:
Literally everyone. Everybody needs a little bit of encouragement in their life. But, before we talk about encouragement, let’s talk a little bit about teachers. Teachers have just such an important role in our lives, be it the teachers that come from school or be it the teachers that come in just regular old life!
Shi:
Well, just like everyone else, I’m sure that we and you listeners have teachers that have impacted your life tremendously. I’ve certainly had college professors that I’ve built long term relationships with that I genuinely love and learned so much from. I have elementary school teachers that left an imprint on my heart. I have a high school teacher in particular that I absolutely adored. Teachers that had quite a hand in my life. And, I certainly do not appreciate them any more than I do this year in 2020, as I watch my three kid’s teachers. I have a first grader and two fifth graders – so, trying to navigate the distance learning waters has certainly given me new perspective into how much teachers do and deal with.
Kay:
Well, the definition of encouragement is: the action of giving someone support, confidence or hope. And in a year like 2020, I think teachers have certainly been giving a lot of support and confidence and hope. They’re seriously the superheroes of society right now and things must be really difficult for them, having to kind of straddle the two lines. But teachers even outside the public school system of all kinds are rising up right now. Shi what is the statistic on the personal growth and development industry right now? I mean, it’s INSANE growth.
Shi:
Oh my Gosh, Forbes Magazine recently said that right now daily $335 million is being spent on self help and personal development.
Kay:
What?!
Shi:
I know! And, that is projected to get up to $1 billion in the next five years! So, it is a rapidly growing industry which means there’s a rapidly growing need for teachers and quality lessons, and things that will help others and encourage them which is what this is all about.
Kay:
Well, I think there’s a huge gap that can happen often when people want to seek knowledge and want to seek something better for themselves, and they want to step out, but then this block happens and they don’t feel like they’re good enough, or they don’t feel like they can…They might feel held back for some reason, and, often times, just a little bit of encouragement from the right person can get you going in the direction in order to actually get started on your dream!
Shi:
You’ve heard us talk about it before – but, to “encourage” is kind of this giving courage to, and (given the definition) that action of giving someone support, confidence or hope. But there’s a bit of subjectivity there because what inspires hope or support or confidence in one might not be the same for everyone. In fact, Kay and I had a funny encounter about this just recently when Kay was talking to me about something and I said, “Well do you want encouragement or sympathy?” And, she says, “I don’t know, what do both of those look like?” And I kind of described what encouragement looks like to me which is probably how most people would classify perspective shifting…And, Kay was like, “That is not encouraging at all.”
Kay:
Well, she’s like, “Just think about it this way, you have food in your stomach and there are kids that are starving in underdeveloped countries.” And I’m like, “That’s not helpful for me in my painful, current situation.” But, “encouraging” for Shila was really about perspective shifting into gratitude.
Shi:
So, sometimes it’s helpful to ask someone: What would be encouraging for you right now, or what is the way that I can best support you or give you hope or confidence? So, that way, you can understand how to come at that from a place of intellectual and compassionate understanding, and to encourage in the way that teachers do with students, in the way that sisters do with each other, and in the way that we all need to do together in order to really progress towards I think a picture of society that we all see.
Kay:
All right gang, so just as a reminder, today’s quote from John C. Maxwell is, “A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can save a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach their potential.”
Shi:
All right, so on this Monday get-it-done day, you’ve got an encouragement quest! And, in honor of World Teachers Day, we want you to give encouragement to a teacher. Whether it’s your teacher for your kids, a friend that’s a teacher, or even a teacher from your past – give an encouraging word on this special day honoring teachers. Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
