I found this brilliant article on the web...

The Dream Cycle

by Anthony Fernando

The process of transforming your dreams into reality is the same regardless of what your specific goals are. I’d like to share with you The Dream Cycle..

There are six stages in the Dream Cycle and each one of them is very important.
Stage 1: Dream
Every man-made item you see around you began as the spark of an idea in the mind of a single individual. The greatest architectural monuments, the most famous works of art, the most stirring pieces of music, the most profound works of literature – they all began as a thought…an idea…a dream.
We all have flashes of inspiration from time to time, but sadly, many people let these ideas fade away. Successful people however are different. They realise how precious these ideas truly are and they are not afraid to dream BIG dreams.
Stage 2: Plan
Imagine for a moment that you want to travel from your home to the supermarket. You get into your car, drive to the nearest intersection and flip a coin to decide which way to turn. If it’s heads you turn right, if it’s tails you turn left. At every intersection you come to you repeat this process of flipping a coin and choosing a direction. How long do you think it will take you to reach the supermarket using this navigational approach?
Clearly it is unlikely that you will ever reach your destination unless you know how to get there.
Unfortunately this is how many people navigate through life. They make random decisions from day-to-day and hope that somehow they will reach their destination.
In order to make your dreams a reality you must take the time to formulate a plan which will act as your ’street directory’ to guide you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.
Stage 3: Work Hard
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that success is easy. It isn’t.
True success in any area of life involves focused and consistent hard work. A good way to gauge your chances of achieving success is simply to count the number of hours each week that you are actively working on achieving your goal. If you don’t put in the work – you won’t get the result.
Stage 4: Achieve
The feeling of achievement that comes from working hard and transforming your dream into reality is one of the most satisfying feelings you can ever experience. This is why the Olympic Games are so popular. Elite atheletes are a great example of people who are prepared to put in the hard work necessary to achieve their dreams.
Stage 5: Celebrate
It is very important when you achieve a major goal to take the time to really enjoy and celebrate your achievement. Don’t make the mistake of trying to launch straight into your next goal. Take a break and enjoy your success. Go out with someone you love, do something you enjoy or buy yourself something special. By doing this you will reinforce the positive energy associated with achievement and be ready to move on to your next dream.
Stage 6: Give Back
The final stage of the Dream Cycle is to give something positive back to the Universe. If you’ve achieved a monetary goal, give 10% of your profits to a worthy cause.
This idea of giving back does not only relate to financial goals however. For example, if you’ve just lost 30 pounds and reached your ideal goal weight, share your knowledge and experience with others. Tell them how you achieved your goal and encourage them to pursue their own dreams.

The Inner Circle
You will see that the inner circle of the Dream Cycle contains two items:
(1) Visualise
(2) Enjoy
Visualisation
Visualising your goal in every detail is the best way to clarify your dream. It also helps you to create your plan and keeps you motivated while you work hard to make your dream a reality.
Enjoy
Don’t be afraid to really enjoy your success and achievement. Celebration and giving back to the Universe helps you create a positive mindset which in turn helps you achieve bigger and better dreams.
Action Steps:
This week, review your major goals and see where you are in the Dream Cycle. Ask yourself these questions:
(1) Do I have a clear plan for transforming my dream into reality?
(2) Am I putting in the regular hard work necessary to make my dream a reality?
(3) Am I visualising my dream daily?
Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Dr Anthony Fernando

"If people are good
only because they fear punishment,
and hope for reward,
then we are a sorry lot indeed."
Albert Einstein

"The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born"
UNICEF

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

Andrew Carnegie

We are facing another onslaught from our friends at OFSTED who are also visiting our 'satisfactory schools' and ratcheting up the bar and focusing relentlessly and ruthlessly on data, outcomes and progress...

At times like this I often ask myself what are we trying to achieve together here in Leeds? What is our vision for our children and young people? How do we continue to build brilliant learning, in brilliant learning places to serve brilliant learning communities? What is the trick to releasing the magic and unlocking the potential of each and every child, of each and every colleague and of every family and every community to be their brilliant best? Our culture, our beliefs, attitudes, and values, determines our choices, our decisions, and our effectiveness. We know that beliefs, attitudes and values are the best predictors of individual behaviour and that these things influence our perceptions, our judgements, and our behaviours. Research also indicates that beliefs, attitudes and values are powerful and highly resistant to change. ‘The way we do things round here’ is the culture and it is really important that we regularly check out what it is we all believe should be the beliefs, values and attitudes driving our work and shaping our behaviours.

And back to our schools and OFSTED, we know the key to school improvement. It’s the quality of what goes on in the classrooms and everything points to the fact that teacher quality is the key to success. We need to focus on how we improve teacher quality and the key must be to love the one’s we’ve got. Evidence suggests that big improvements are possible provided we focus vigorously on the things that make a difference. There is also a strong relationship between well-being and child poverty and between well-being and inequality. Research shows that poverty and parenting both matter and that the eradication of child poverty is a great cause which must remain a high priority.

I have worked for over thirty years trying to answer these challenges and those of us who have spent our lives at the front line know the real answers lie where they have always been...

• strong, disciplined, focused and passionate leadership;
• clear, shared vision, values and beliefs;
• talented, energetic, enthusiastic and creative teaching teams;
• empowered, trusted and disciplined colleagues;
• brilliant teaching supported by strong assessment for learning;
• stimulating, exciting and engaging curriculum pathways;
• powerful, stimulating and interesting learning environments;
• high self-esteem and high expectations of everyone;
• strong, dynamic and meaningful coaching relationships;
• high engagement and involvement of young people;
• positive engagement and involvement of parents and carers.

We need to be determined, persistent and focused even if it is hard.… whatever it takes!

Chris

A young colleague introduced me to 'Independent Thinking' today...

'Independent Thinking' is a compny working to bring the best out of young people and those who work with them, focussing on areas including thinking, learning, motivation and creativity. They aim "to inform, inspire and shamelessly entertain, because education is too important to be taken seriously." Their website shows you what they do, why they do it Their written mission which I love is "To enrich people's lives by changing the way they think - and so to change the world".

You can visit their website at http://www.independentthinking.co.uk.
Chris

"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."

Nelson Mandela

We are all struggling with change but I found this really helpful article and wanted to share it with you...

Learn to Love Change

By Karen Susman

“History's lesson is that it is precisely the times of wrenching change that humankind makes its most significant advances…that the richest personal fortunes are built, that the most enduring achievements are recorded.“

Marshall Loeb

You can hate change or love change or embrace change or reject change. Change doesn't care. It's happening. Choke back your resistance. Here's how:

1. Adjust your attitude. Reframe the change as positive. Find the potential gain.

2. Pay attention to trends. Spot them first and adjust your plan before you're forced to.

3. Focus on solutions. Don't get stuck in problem mode. Ask yourself, “What actions can I take to manage the change I'm facing?”

4. Be flexible. Have Plan B. The worst idea is having only one idea. Knowing you have several options is great relief.

5. Become comfortable with risk taking. Try a risk a day regimen. Today green eggs and ham. Tomorrow the world.

6. Learn continuously. You'll keep your brain sharp and stay ahead of the curve.

7. If you're experiencing change in one area of your life, reduce changes in other areas of your life. Don't change jobs, mates, houses and locations at the same time. Routines are your friends when you're in the midst of change.

8. Use water logic as opposed to rock logic. Water flows and adapts to its surroundings while retaining its power. Given enough friction, being rock solid can turn you into a sand pile.

9. Nurture support systems. Change is smoothed with a little help from your friends.

10. Know that you will be able to handle the changes in your life.

As philosopher Soren Kirkgaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

©Karen Susman.

Karen Susman, Speaker/Author/Coach, works with organizations and individuals that want to maximize their performance and quality of life. Check out her free tips and articles at www.karensusman.com. Karen can be reached at karen@karensusman.com.

This is such brilliant advice in an ever changing landscape where we don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Chris

"If you can't explain it simply,
you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

"Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing,
you will be successful."
Albert Schweitzer

"Anyone who has never made a mistake
has never tried anything new."
Albert Einstein

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
Albert Einstein

The challenge we all face is about action or is it inaction. We spend too much time in working parties, committees, focus groups, project boards and meetings talking about the things that are wrong and what we need to do to put them right. We create strategies, plans, structures and resources. We inspect, monitor, measure, check and audit.

My challenge is why don't we simply put all this activity into action and do something about underachievement by rolling up our sleeves, targetting vulnerable and hard to reach groups using the things that work like Every Child a Reader. Makes sense to me.
Chris

I attended a brilliant session at the NEEC 2010 in York last week.

Dylan Wiliam from the Institute of Education’s session on ‘Leadership and Learning in a Changing World’ was looking at School Effectiveness and School Improvement at a time when structural change, curriculum change, new models of governance, new technologies and workforce reform are impacting on schools. Over three generations of school effectiveness research from raw results, through demographic solutions to value-added approaches we’ve learnt that an effective school is a school full of effective classrooms managed by highly effective teachers supported by highly trained classroom assistants. Importantly the most effective schools are not those achieving the best 5A*-C including English and Maths scores. Research suggests that it doesn’t really matter which school young people go to because only 7% is down to the school and 93% is down to external factors. When you adjust the data for those external factors there is very little difference between schools, be they public or private sector.

Interestingly as well, the key to school improvement is not the school, not the headteachers, not the class size. Specifically it’s the quality of what goes on in the classrooms and everything points to the fact that teacher quality is the key to success. And importantly subject knowledge and professional qualifications make little difference. Pedagogy is more significant but largely being a brilliant teacher is unexplained.

We need to focus on how we improve teacher quality and the key must be to love the one’s you’ve got. Left to their own devices teachers do improve but slowly because we’ve been doing the wrong kind of professional development. Evidence suggests that big improvements are possible provided we focus vigorously on the things that make a difference; even if they are hard.

To create a climate for improvement we, as leaders, need to be committed to creating effective learning environments, creating a culture of high expectations, providing time, space and support for innovation, supporting risk taking and maintaining the focus on the things that matter. Our colleagues must be committed to continuous improvement and maintaining a focus on the things that make a difference to learning outcomes.

The continuing focus on school improvement and improving outcomes for our young people is a national economic priority. We can improve achievement through improving teacher quality and focusing on formative assessment and the creation of school-based and area-based learning communities.
Chris

I attended an interesting session at the NEEC 2010 in York last week….

Professor Jonathan Bradshaw’s session on ‘Understanding Child Poverty and Child well-being’ highlighted the international research which consistently put us at or towards the bottom of the international league table. The session attempted to identify why we are doing so poorly.

It’s important to drill down into these figures. In some areas we are performing well:

- accidental deaths;
- educational attainment;
- housing conditions; and
- peer relationships.

But in some areas we are performing badly:

- subjective well-being;
- income poverty;
- risky behaviour; and
- NEET

There is a strong relationship between well-being and child poverty and between well-being and inequality. Children are happier at school and their friendships have significantly improved. Spending on vulnerable families is high but improved outcomes have not been seen YET! Interestingly the research suggests that subjective well-being; how young people feel about their well-being is the essence of well-being. Between 1994 and 2007 there have been little variation in happiness, self-esteem and feeling troubled. Importantly most children report that they are happy. Research shows that poverty and parenting both matter and that the eradication of child poverty is a great cause which must remain a high priority.
Chris

"Intelligent accountability preserves and enhances trust, involves participants in the process, encourages deep, worthwhile responses and recognises and attempts to compensate for the severe limitations of our ability to capture educational quality in performance indicators. "

Sad then that there is so little intelligent accountability around.
Chris

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

John Maxwell

People constantly tell us that things are impossible. They tell me that you can't get every child to read by the time they are eight. That you can't get every young person the equivalent of 5 good GCSEs by the time they are sixteen. That every school in Leeds can't be a great school. That you can't create great teams with the current people. However, we all know that success doesn't come in can'ts it comes in cans. We simply need to change the culture and get people to believe; to believe in themselves and to believe in our children and young people and our colleagues. The next person who tells you it's impossible with these children, these young people, these families or these colleagues, tell them straight back that if you believe anything is possible and that achieving the impossible is nothing!

Chris

A friend sent me this quote after Christmas...

"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."

Albert Einstein

When I attended my first 'Investment in Excellence' session I discovered that there is a special part of the brain called the reticular activating system that filters out the noise, the rubbish and the irrelevant in the world around you to allow you to focus on what you are looking for...

The world around us is full of success and failure, inspiration and boredom, happiness and sadness, opportunities and problems. So if you’re looking for success, inspiration, happiness and opportunities, you will find them. Unfortunately it also means that if you are looking for failure, boredom, sadness and problems, you will find them too. The truth is that what you experience in life depends on what you are looking for!

So how do I cope with all this? Well I try to start each day positively and optimistically. However hard it is, I make a conscious decision everyday to filter out the negatives and the pessimistic influences in my life and I refuse to waste my precious time with people who are negative, boring and destructive.

I constantly search for successes, inspiration, happiness and opportunities and usually it delivers brilliant results. Why don't you try it?

Chris

"Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

A friend sent me this message over Christmas...

"live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is."
Mary Anne Radmacher

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Another New Year...

I hope that everyone who reads the blog has a happy, healthy, safe and successful 2010 and that it brings you and those you love and care about, peace fulfillment and all the things you really, really want. It is certainly going to be an interesting year!
Chris