Raising Kids to Be Entrepreneurs

About a year ago, I came across the TED videos and I watch the ones that interest me personally.

This TEDx video in particular by Cameron Herold was very interesting to me since it involves kids, education, and entrepreneurship.

Here are some bullet points from the video that I wanted to remember and will try to apply as my kids grow up:

Entrepreneurial Traits to Nurture:

attainment
boot strapping
customer service
handling failure
introspection
leadership
networking
sales
tenacity

Entrepreneurial Skills to Teach:

how to sell
how to save money
problem solving
public speaking
to ask for help
to ask questions
to be creative
to lead others
to learn from mistakes
to never give up
to see solutions
to want to make money

Thanks Cameron for a great video.

Oh, by the way a TED event will be coming to Albuquerque, NM on September 18, 2010. You can find out more here TEDxABQ, I’ll be there.

– Dom

Here is the video link for those who can’t see the embedded viewer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCar_sFfEf4

Career Planning Fallacies

I recently found the Harvard Business Review IdeaCast on iTunes. I came across a informative podcast called “Avoid These Career-Planning Fallacies” that talked about career paths of managers and executives, about 15 minutes long. In particular it was interesting to hear about the topics of job hopping, promotions, and international experience. For those looking for career insight, this is a great episode. I have added this channel to my podcast listening list on my iPhone. Here is the direct link to the blog where the audio is, enjoy!

http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2010/07/avoid-these-career-planning-fa.html

– Dom

Public Education

This is a interesting video on public education by a Seth Godin interview. I did not know some of the history on how public education was started. I have come to believe that our kids need to be more creative and entrepreneurial to be successful today. That the traditional public school & college teach our kids to look for jobs vs creating jobs/companies. This is particularly difficult with kids on tribal reservations since distance & quality high speed internet access is a large factor in not being aware of their life possibilities.

– Dom

Laguna Pueblo Honors Night

Last night I attended the 15th Annual Honors Night at the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Auditorium. The event was put together by the Laguna Education Foundation and Partners For Success to recognize the efforts and achievements of the students from Laguna Pueblo. I was able to see and meet many of the pueblo youth who have made the significant effort to complete their GED, Bachelor, and Masters degrees (over 20 of them). It was also great to see the many Laguna High School students receive the LEF scholarships to allow them to attend a college of their choice. I myself benefited from this same higher education program when I attended SMU.

I also had the honor of talking to the students, tribal council, and community members to share some of my thoughts on education today. I wanted to share my perspective on the changes in learning due to high speed internet connectivity and personal learning styles, people now have more options to gain knowledge. I personally use time-shifted education (web videos, web meetings, podcasts, & screencasts) to keep my skills up-to-date and maintain competitiveness.

We also enjoyed a wonderful red chile stew, turkey, & beef dinner from Grandma Joe’s Catering. In particular, I loved the pumpkin pie.

Here is the presentation titled “Adaptive Learning” that I’ve uploaded to slideshare. I will add the audio when I get some time to process the recorded content from the evening. Enjoy!

– Dom

Dr George Blue Spruce Jr

Last night I attended the book signing of Dr George Blue Spruce Jr (Laguna Pueblo / Ohkay Owingeh) and was very delighted to meet him for the very first time. The room was full of family, friends, & most of all future medical students. Roughly about 100 people were in the room to hear Dr Blue Spruce Jr talk about his life story. A story he finally wrote down into a book titled “Searching For My Destiny”. I have a previous post on my blog here, which contain some of what I was able to find on the internet about him.

I particularly enjoyed his jokes and how he overcame adversity being the only American Indian among many groups growing up. What struck me most was how Dr Blue Spruce Jr had to develop the independence and sense of self worth to continue alone for many years away from his tribal home. His life dedication and thoughtfulness of others helped craft Indian health policy to benefit not only the tribes he was from but those of so many others as well.

I am proud to have met this man, and I sincerely hope to continue the conversation again.

Dr Blue Spruce Jr and the family allowed me to video the event and share it. Here is the full MP3 audio & download link from his talk (almost 43 minutes long, and 20MB in size), and a highlight video. Enjoy!

– Dom

Full Audio: