Think for a minute about moments that have changed the trajectory of your life? In this episode we dive into the power of defining moments and how you can author some yourself! Defining moments pave the way for transformative experiences, deep connection, memories that stand the test of time, and so much more!
You never know how far an idea will go until you take action on it! WHAT IF YOUR IDEA has the power to transform your life or other people's for that matter?
You're going to love the story I share about two amazing teachers who created powerful defining moments for their students and get some inspiration to author some defining moments in your life and the lives of the people who matter the most to you!
Something tells me you've experienced some defining moments and it is never too late to author and design some more.
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Do you have questions you’d love to ask but don’t because you aren’t sure who to ask or you’d rather not let the world in on not having it all together? I am here for it! I can't wait to answer your questions. DM me on Instagram @jennifersise and I will answer your question on an episode soon.
Be sure to rate this podcast, leave a review, share it with your friends and hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
Here’s to more intentional connection and less grind … 9 minutes at a time!
Think for a minute about moments that have changed the trajectory of your life? In this episode we dive into the power of defining moments and how you can author some yourself! Defining moments pave the way for transformative experiences, deep connection, memories that stand the test of time, and so much more!
You never know how far an idea will go until you take action on it! WHAT IF YOUR IDEA has the power to transform your life or other people's for that matter?
You're going to love the story I share about two amazing teachers who created powerful defining moments for their students and get some inspiration to author some defining moments in your life and the lives of the people who matter the most to you!
Something tells me you've experienced some defining moments and it is never too late to author and design some more.
_________________________________________________
Do you have questions you’d love to ask but don’t because you aren’t sure who to ask or you’d rather not let the world in on not having it all together? I am here for it! I can't wait to answer your questions. DM me on Instagram @jennifersise and I will answer your question on an episode soon.
Be sure to rate this podcast, leave a review, share it with your friends and hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
Here’s to more intentional connection and less grind … 9 minutes at a time!
Speaker 1:
If you had a dollar for every time you heard yourself or someone else say I don't have time for that, you'd probably be rich. I know life can feel like a circus, especially when you're trying to juggle it all, and I know what it's like to be pulled in a million different directions and to feel like there's never enough time to do all the things for all the people. But I really believe that what you want is possible. It just requires some decision making and intentional action. You truly can't make time or find time. You have to set it apart, and I'll show you how to make big moves and take game changing action nine minutes at a time. I'm Jennifer Seiss. I love helping impact-oriented women run their home life and business, gain traction in their day to day and have more time with the people they love the most. My heart is to share what I've learned along the way and help you get more of what you want out of your life and work. Every episode is designed to get you on your way to a quick win. So grab your favorite beverage, pull up a chair and let's start making more of your time. Hey there, and welcome to the In 9 Minutes podcast. I'm Jennifer Seiss, and I can't wait to connect with you for the next nine minutes.
Speaker 1:
Today we are going to talk about defining moments, and a defining moment is a point in your life when you make a pivotal decision or when you experience something that fundamentally changes you and the people who matter most to you. Defining moments can be small things, small gestures, and take small amounts of time, but they always have a big impact, whether or not you recognize the impact in the moment or not. And sometimes we can experience a defining moment and in that moment we don't know that it's a defining moment. We don't know yet. Defining moments pave the way for connection, for making memories. Defining moments improve experiences and ultimately transform lives, and our lives are essentially measured in moments, and it is defining moments that endure and stay in the test of time, and they do that with a little intention and some thoughtful action.
Speaker 1:
Another thing about defining moments is that they can be born out of ideas with far reaching impact, and you often don't know how far an idea will go until you take action on it, and so many people you might be one of these people as well never act on their ideas. You just hold on to your idea because you're afraid that it won't work out. But I would like to offer you another thought. What if your idea did work out? What if your idea was something that transformed someone else's life? What if you made a decision to take action on an idea and it became a defining moment for you and someone else and potentially a lot of other people?
Speaker 1:
I want to tell you a story about two teachers who were sitting in a pub in Houston, texas, recovering from a 14-hour day running their charter school, and how taking action on their idea helped them out, ended up transforming thousands of lives. So Chris and Donald were sitting in a bar drinking beer, watching ESPN and sharing a tombstone pizza, because that's the only food the bar had to offer, and they had no idea that they were moments away from an epiphany, an idea that would affect thousands of lives. Espn was previewing National Signing Day in the first day. That's the first day when graduating high school football players can sign a binding letter of intent to attend a particular college, and for college football fans, this is a big day. And as they watched the coverage, something struck Donald and he leaned over to Chris and said it blows my mind that we celebrate athletics this way, but we don't have anything that celebrates academics in the same way, and the students at their school primarily kids from low-income families, many of whom would be the first in their families to graduate from high school really deserve celebrating.
Speaker 1:
Chris was a teacher who founded the yes Prep Charter School after watching too many of his students head off to high school eager to pursue big things, only to find themselves feeling disconnected and out of place, and he felt like he had two choices save himself and quit teaching, or build a school his students deserved. And that's exactly what he did. He decided to build a school his students deserved, and Donald was his first hire. And in the pub that day, an idea came to light and they made a decision. They had sudden inspiration what if we created our own signing day when our students would announce where they would attend college? And since applying and getting accepted to at least one college was a requirement for yes Prep, they could do it. They had a brilliant idea and as their idea took shape, they made a decision to bring it to life. They took action and their excitement grew and grew and grew for Senior Signing Day and six months later, 17 seniors took the stage, each with the opportunity to stand at the mic, feeling seen and heard, and share their name and where they were headed for college, and they revealed a t-shirt or a pendant with their colleges and signia on it, and after each announcement, the room erupted with cheers. And this tradition continued and each graduating class got bigger and bigger and every student got their moment and every student was connected by this shared experience. It got so big, in fact, that their graduations took place in stadiums and they filled the stadiums.
Speaker 1:
In their book, the Power of Moments, chip and Dan Heath go on to share that defining moments shape our lives, but we don't have to wait for them to happen. We can be the authors of them, much like Chris and Donald were for Signing Day at yes Prep. Now the defining moment that they authored and they created seems so big and so unattainable, but you all are probably sitting on an idea or a conversation that can have such an impact with someone and become a defining moment in their life. So I want you to think about is there something you've been wanting to do, an idea that has been sitting on a dusty shelf, a story you have to tell? An adventure you want to go on, a conversation, that you need to have a podcast. You want to start a book, you want to write a community that you want to start. I want to encourage you to do it. Go for it and give it a shot, because you can author defining moments.
Speaker 1:
Think about the defining moments in your life. If you're a believer, think about when you started walking with the Lord. I would venture to say that that's probably a defining moment in your life and each time throughout your life that you've kind of rededicated your heart and life to the Lord, those are defining moments. If you're a musician, think about the first time you picked up a guitar. And even more than that, think about the first time you picked up a guitar after you gave it a break for a little while because you weren't sure if it was for you. Or when you got married, or when your kids were born, or when you decided to start your business, or when you signed up for a class that changed the trajectory of your life, when you drew a line in the sand to say no to something over and over and over again. When you decided to stop doing something or start doing something. When you decided to be someone who builds intentional connection, when you changed your routine for the better so that you could show up for the people who matter most to you differently. When you've had hard conversations with one of your kids. When you set a firm boundary, when you started working out.
Speaker 1:
This list could go on and on, and I could share ideas or pictures of defining moments all day. All of these moments, all of the moments I just listed, are like lines in the sand defining moments in your life, and I'd be willing to bet that the defining moments in your life had a significant impact on you. Like Chris and Donald, you can author and design defining moments. You can put opportunities in front of other people and you can take opportunities. I want to encourage you to take nine minutes today and just journal about some of the defining moments in your life and consider how you might bring one to life for other people, and I want you to celebrate the things that have had a profound impact on you. And if someone else was involved, I would love to encourage you to thank them, send them a note, dm them, text them, meet with them for coffee and tell them it's so, so valuable to consider the defining moments in your life and it's really exciting to think that you can author defining moments for someone else. So here's to more defining moments, and I am pulling for you always. Thanks so much for listening today.
Speaker 1:
Do you have questions you'd love to ask, but don't because you aren't sure who to ask, or you'd rather not let the world in on not having it all together? I get it. I get lots of questions all the time, from parenting to business development, to Bible study recommendations to the best meal to serve a crowd and even how to navigate hard conversations. My husband and kids call me Google and since I'm a problem solver by nature and love research, it sort of fits. So I am so excited to answer your questions. You can share your questions with me by DMing me on Instagram at Jennifer Seiss and I'll answer your questions on an upcoming episode. So here's to more intentional connection and less grind. 9 minutes at a time.