Adam Carroll is a longtime friend and colleague from Des Moines who is dedicated to teaching people to be more financially literate. He has a campaign on Indiegogo to raise funds to finalize his documentary about the student debt loan epidemic in America called Broke, Busted & Disgusted. Please consider donating! Financial literacy is an important topic for students I meet at Choose2Matter LIVE events. A group of students from East Greenwich High School is working to make financial literacy part of the core curriculum in RI. I met with Adam recently and, given the critical importance of this topic, I asked him to submit this guest post. ***** I spend a good part of my year speaking on college campuses, teaching students the virtue of living below their means, only borrowing what they absolutely need, and going after scholarships like it’s their job. My passion is helping young professionals succeed faster by finding their passion, and having the wherewithal to go after it. Yet, year after year, I see colleges and universities graduate students who have no real clue what they aspire to, and to boot are tens of thousands of dollars in debt. The payments on the debt require many of them to take jobs they wouldn’t otherwise have taken, and within a few years they seem lost in their own reality. Many of them ignoring or at the very least keeping their unique gifts in reserve. What if we could liberate their genius through their finances? I maintain that we each possess an "inner knower" that innately knows our God-given talents, our special gifts, and our unique calling. As a speaker I once heard said, "we are on this earth, not to be employed, but to be deployed." Yet it’s the lucky few who actually realize what their deployment is. The rest of humanity seems to be going to work because it ‘just seems like the thing to do’ and we’ve got bills to pay. In America, we graduate from high school feeling very proud of ourselves. If we follow the oft-given advice of going to college, we are ascribing to the notion that you need a degree to succeed. In the process of getting a degree, we rack up a large amount of debt - the average of which for most graduates is $29,200 but can be as much as $80-90,000 for some. Once we land the job (either in our field of major or more often not), we then begin to "lifestyle up". We acquire stuff to fill homes because in large part it’s expected, and it makes us happier (for awhile). We see our neighbors and family who are buying new things and we legitimize that we should probably be doing the same. And as we follow the heavily beaten path, our debt grows and grows. It is a firm belief of mine that we have Four Legacies to leave future generations. It starts with financial freedom, which leads to time freedom, which leads to relationship freedom, which leads to service freedom. What our inner-knower knows is that we were put here to be of service to someone or something. However, the debt begins to cloud our ability to see "the genius". We start working to live instead of living to share our genius with the world. For many, something is missing, but they’re not exactly sure what. Real freedom comes from doing what you love and being content doing it. Content with your time, with your money, with your relationships, and content with the fact that you are leveraging the service you were put here for. Financial freedom is something most Americans will never achieve, and as a result, may never be able to pursue their passions at the level to which they’d like. Let’s make a drastic correction with the next generation. My children’s financial education is one of the most important things I can impart on them as a parent. Though we’re allegedly living "better lives" than generations past, I would argue that we’re simply living "better lifestyles." My grandparents had significantly fewer niceties, but they had enormously more freedom. Isn’t it time we tried trading a bigger lifestyle for a bigger LIFE? The questions my wife and I are pondering as we look at financing college for our 3 children is will college be worth it? And is college the answer for them? The growth in tuition is skyrocketing, and by the time they are ready to go may cost upwards of $250,000 per child (for a state school no less). That kind of investment could buy an apartment complex that would take care of all of us financially for the rest of forever. And most importantly, allow our children the freedom to pursue their genius. My challenge to you is teach your children every facet of money you wish your parents would have told you. Liberate their genius from the bondage of debt. Focus on providing them the tools to become more, not the toys that make them want more. And while I have no doubt you’ll get push back, and comments about all the other kids getting this or that, imagine a future society full of liberated geniuses free from financial pressures. Your children will be walking out the God-given gift their inner-knower told them about - the ultimate service freedom. ***** Adam Carroll is the co-author of the book Winning The Money Game, the co-founder of Succeed Faster Seminars, and the Chief Education Officer of National Financial Educators. To find out more about Adam, check out http://AdamSpeaks.com.

Tomorrow, Choose2Matter LIVE visits Estherville, Iowa. We are spending the day with all 1,400 students in the entire district! It will be unpredictable, nerve-wracking, chaotically beautiful, and utterly, gloriously life-changing for everyone present. Pictures, videos and other content will be shared by participants on Twitter and other social media channels using the hashtags #Choose2Matter #ELCCSD  PLEASE TWEET A MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION TO THE STUDENTS NOW! Updates about the Choose2Matter LIVE experience will be posted regularly to the ELC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/405038082884748 throughout the event. A year ago, we conducted our first Choose2Matter event, with a class of 350 sophomores at Dowingtown STEM Academy. Since then, we’ve visited Bettendorf (IA) Middle School; Gibson Elementary in Palmdale, CA; Hutto ISD in Texas; and East Greenwich High School in Rhode Island. Students at each of these schools have been pursuing world-changing initiatives ever since. We begin these events by asking students a simple question: "What matters most to you, and why?" Unlike most questions that students around the world are asked, this one has no "right" or easy answer. The process of answering this question is the first step in unlocking the unique genius in each student, by focusing them on their values and purpose, and fostering self-awareness. Students have learned that each of them has a unique genius to contribute to the world, teachers have remembered why they chose education as a profession, and everyone who has witnessed one of these experiences has been utterly transformed. The Choose2Matter team is led by Angela Maiers, a nationally renowned speaker and veteran educator; Mark Moran, a corporate lawyer and online research expert; and Ginny Washburne, an education technology expert and veteran educator. Also expected to attend are local business leaders, elected leaders, and members of the Iowa education community. A lineup of special guests will appear via videoconference, including General John Michel, the Commanding General of the NATO Air Training Command in Kabul, Afghanistan, who will discuss courage and bravery with the students. The Choose2Matter team and guests will work with ELC students, staff and community members on the concept behind Choose2Matter when someone believes that they matter and that their actions have an impact on the world, they approach their life and work with renewed passion. ELC students and staff will begin work on their call to action, develop an action plan, collaborate with experts, and begin to implement their plans. The goal is to create an authentic, social entrepreneurship learning experience for students, in which they learn skills that are relevant to the modern world, a world that belongs to our students. ELC Superintendent Tara Paul said, "ELC is embedded in a community that prides itself as a great place to Live, Work, and Play. As an integral part of the community, we want to put action to those words, and make Estherville proud of its students as they display their genius. Choose2Matter will change the hearts and minds of many."

This week I will present two sessions at the 2014 Nebraska Educational Technology Association Annual Conference (hashtag #NETA14). My morning keynote is titled, "Liberating Genius." Liberating Genius is an over-arching term for our Choose2Matter movement and related work that we are doing and planning. Students aren’t the only ones who need to matter; so do teachers, administrators, organizations, companies, communities and, well, let me say it: every other person or entity on earth. We’ve worked with schools and a church group so far, and we plan to offer it to communities, companies, and faith-based organizations later this year. Click here to access my full range of resources on Liberating Genius. I will then have a breakout session on living up to and into your genius. This will begin as a Q&A, and we’ll see where it goes from there! Finally, I will present a session on Digital Literacy. Here is a Slide Deck on this topic. Here also is a Google Doc of digital resources that I recommend. I can’t wait to meet all of you!

Two weeks ago we took Choose2Matter LIVE to the Estherville Lincoln Central School District in northwest Iowa. It was an incredible two days in a very special place, with remarkable, brave leaders and students who astounded me in so many ways. Here is a reflection on the two days from Technology Integration Specialist Jenny Nichtals, who played an indispensable role in making the event a grand success. ***** First and foremost I have to thank the leader of our district, Tara Paul for making this all a possibility. When Angela Maiers first came to ELC in January, she spoke of Choose2Matter and many thought this would not be possible in Estherville. BUT Mrs. Paul believed in our students and community and pursued the opportunity! I am honored to be a part of her staff and believe that we are headed in the right direction!It is really hard to put into words what took place over those 2 days. It was awesome to observe 1500+ students, staff and community members working on passion projects TOGETHER!As Angela was opening the day with her keynote talk, I looked around wondering, "Is this really happening here at ELC?" What a special and powerful day our students get to be a part of. I believe it is very important that we give our students the opportunity to work on these types of passion projects, whether it be through an event like this or a genius hour. As I look back to this WONDERFUL day, here are some of my thoughts: The day really wasn’t about the projects although we had/have great ideas and things our students are continuing to work on after the fact. It was about Being Brave - tears come to my eyes at the bravery of some of our students! WOW! #YouMatter - Each one of our kids by the end of the day had a t-shirt with their genius on the back. Each student hopefully left the day knowing they matter and they can make a difference. Their contributions to our world make it better! Our students have the power to change the world. Together we can make the difference, by using each other’s genius. Collaboration Creation Communication As I sat in a very special place one Sunday, the speaker said, "Turn to your neighbor and tell them they are a masterpiece." I barely kept it together! #Choose2Matter emphatically echoes those words. We have many students that do not believe they matter and it breaks my heart! Somewhere along the years they have stopped believing. As teachers, we can play a big part in keeping the fire burning. Our kids here at ELC are amazing and they all matter. They can and will make a difference.

"Collaboration" has become a buzz word that we attach to any process that involves people working together. This is because we often use collaboration as a synonym for other buzz words that start with C: Cooperation, Communication and Coordination. In doing so, we miss the most critical element - value creation. Collaboration describes a process of value creation that our traditional structures of communication and teamwork can’t achieve. Let’s break it down further and clarify what it really is: Collaboration has three parts: TEAM, PROCESS, PURPOSE Two or more people (Team). Working together (Processes). Towards shared goals (Purpose). A group of people using social software together doesn’t, by itself, translate into collaboration. Technology certainly raises the bar of what is possible, but merely using them does not create value. I say that because I see schools and organizations struggling to understand fit social technologies into their culture. Widespread  platform or tool adaption is not enough. There needs to be a unified plan, an understanding of what these tools can and can’t do, and more importantly how people are going to work together. Great tools available can facilitate such collaboration, but even the best tools cannot guarantee that success. Collaboration: Must be embedded in the culture, where standard and expectation ethic of contribution. People in the classroom or community must recognize they are smarter together. People must work "out loud" - sharing is constant. People collectively solve problems. Together, everyone discovers more innovative ways to be successful. Now this sounds high-tech, but it happens elegantly every day in kindergarten classrooms, where we call it "Show and Tell." We learned how to collaborate in the sandbox with friend and strangers alike-now we get to expand the size of the sandbox and extend the invitation for creation to anyone, living anyplace, any time, anywhere This is where and how disruption happens-when you invite people into the room and assure them that their contribution will be honored, they choose to contribution. They choose collaboration. Tap into of crowd if you believe the most valuable person is the crowd. You must innately believe that smartest person in the room -is the room-and that the more diverse room, the smarter it gets. Collaboration requires unrelenting determination and commitment from those who now understand that the desired result can only be achieved together. People at any level can make an impact, be a leader, break barrier. No only can they ; they must. We are smarter together.

Choose2Matter is proud to announce that it will once again have the honor of selecting a worthy student to receive the Bammy Award for Student Initiative at the Third Annual Bammy Awards this fall. The student chosen will be recognized at the black-tie, red-carpet Bammy Awards event in Washington DC on September 27, 2014. Choose2Matter will assist the award recipient with fundraising efforts to pay travel expenses. Other deserving students not selected for the Bammy Award will receive recognition on our websites, in the many publications to which we contribute, and in other venues and forums. Choose2Matter intends to select a student with the fortitude to take courageous action to create social change, for good. We invite all educators to nominate an individual student who exemplifies the habitudes of a social entrepreneur: Relentless passion Fierce devotion to a cause Courage and fortitude Visionary innovation The Student Initiative Bammy Award will be presented to one student who (i) is nominated by an educator, and (ii) has joined the Chose2Matter movement and shared his or her social entrepreneurship project on Choose2Matter’s community platform on Yoursphere. Click here to learn more about the Choose2Matter Community on Yoursphere. The 2013 Bammy Award for Student Initiative was presented to 13 year-old Mallory Fundora, founder of Project Yesu. To nominate a deserving student, please complete this nomination form. To be eligible, the nominated student must join the Choose2Matter community on Yoursphere, our community platform, and share his or her social entrepreneurship project there. To be eligible for the Bammy Award for Student Initiative, nominations must be submitted by July 8, 2014. For questions, please contact Mark Moran, co-founder of Choose2Matter, at Choose2Matter@GMail.com About the Bammy Awards The Bammy Awards were created by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences, in response to the relentless national criticism of America’s public schools while all that is right in American education is largely ignored. Modeled on the broad scope of the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, the Bammy Awards are presented by the Academy’s Council of Peers and Board of Governors. The Academy accepts nominations in dozens of disparate categories, selects honorees, and brings together constituents from the entire education community to recognize the honorees. See www.BammyAwards.org

On June 16 and 17, Downingtown STEM Academy will host a two-day Choose2Matter LIVE event. We invite business, education and government leaders from around Pennsylvania and indeed around the country, to actively participate. Please email MarkMoranMES@GMail.com if you would like to attend, so that we may put your name on the guest list. SCHEDULE: Monday June 16 7:30 am: Introduction by Angela Maiers and Mark Moran; video appearance by USAF General John Michel from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Daniel O’Neil, of the Center of Innovation at The Mayo Clinic. 8:45 am: Personal stories and heartbreak mapping 11:00 am: Development of action plan and declaration of intent 1:30 - 2:30 Day 1 Closing Tuesday June 17 7:30: Day 2 Opening 8:30 - 1:15 Action Plan Development 1:30 - 2:30 Day 2 Closing Background In June 2013, Choose2Matter LIVE launched at Downingtown STEM Academy. We told students that they were geniuses, and that the world needed their contribution. A group of innovation experts visited via videoconference to provide a "real world" perspective. We then asked students to gather in groups so that each student could answer the question "What matters most to you - and why?" The answers to this question steered students in the direction of their "heartbreaks," and challenged them to develop plans of action to solve it. Students formed more than a dozen nascent social enterprises to tackle problems. These ranged from providing an EMS service in third—world countries to curing Type 1 Diabetes to improving the ways that schools address suicide to encouraging teens to be positive role models. Teacher Justin Staub wrote about some of these ventures. The students Tweeted extraordinary messages, such as these: "It’s amazing, wonderful and overwhelming how quickly this came together, and I’m grateful to be part of it." "I have never been prouder to be a student at STEM than I have these past two days." "It’s unbelievable how much a group of teenagers can do." Downingtown students created this video capturing the experience, as well as this video describing how the event impacted them. Additionally, a group of six DASD STEM students presented the results of the experience at the prestigious Business Innovation Factory Summit in Providence, RI in October. Watch the video. Since the event at Downingtown, Choose2Matter LIVE has visited five other school districts across the country. The team reports that the experience has gotten even better each time, and everyone who has witnessed Choose2Matter LIVE has been utterly transformed. Third-party reports confirm this: ·      "Choose2Matter Should Be an Every Day Event" - Estherville Daily News ·      "A Nice Day for a Revolution" - reflections from a RI HS student. Choose2Matter has also met with prestigious companies and top universities. Each emphatically stated that, for students to "break out of the pack" when applying for college seats or employment, they must have a record of exploring their passions, authentic problem-solving, service to others and innovative thinking.  

In 2008, a new era began - the Social Age. That’s the message of Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt, the authors of an upcoming book, "A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive." I recently spoke with Ted and Mark about how they define this new age and what it means for individuals and organizations. Here are some of the takeaways from their conversation: * The Social Age is not the Technology Age. New technologies, though powerful, are merely the tools that allow us to connect and be productive. Instead, our changing interactions are the defining piece of this new shift. * The landscape for careers, and the educators who prepare students for them, has fundamentally changed. * Engaging in social is no longer an add-on—it is a necessity. * Social innovation offers more than better learning outcomes for students or higher profits for companies. * Everyone has a voice and can connect in the Social Age.   Watch the full conversation below to hear Ted and Mark expand on the ideas behind A World Gone Social.

  I was recently interviewed by Anita Stout, author of Life Isn’t Broken, a blog that celebrates "all that’s good in life." Anita was kind enough to include me in her "Moments of Creation" series, which asks entrepreneurs how they conceived of the idea for their business and how they’ve developed it. We spoke about how the start-up life is frightening and exhilarating; challenges and rewards; my vision for Choose2Matter, and what’s it’s like to avidly pursue your passion. Read the full article here. Click on the image below to learn about Mattering IS the Agenda, our toolkit to transform school culture. Click the image to learn more!

The You Matter message is resonating with educators more than ever before. Interest has been strong in "Mattering IS the Agenda - a Toolkit for Transformation," which helps schools create a #YouMatter culture in school. Nearly every keynote I’ve given in the past 30 days has been on #YouMatter. I asked a school district to have 50+ educators vote on which of three keynotes I would present at Convocation. You Matter won by unanimous decision. A #YouMatter panel at ISTE had an overflow crowd and blew up Twitter. With this in mind, we are excited to launch a "You Matter" class on Remind. My #YouMatter class on Remind will launch on August 25. Remind is typically used by teachers to connect with students and parents. Teachers are invited to join my "You Matter" class on Remind to receive #YouMatter messages 3x a week to help them introduce a culture of mattering in their schools and communities. Things to know about Remind: Remind helps teachers connect instantly with students and parents. By making communication simpler and more efficient through mobile, Remind improves how teachers, students and parents connect with one another. Remind is free and easy: Sign up in 15 seconds. Personal phone numbers are always kept private, and messages are broadcast-only. Remind is simple: Teachers can use Remind to send or schedule reminders, documents or motivational messages directly to students’ and parents’ phones, with no reply-back. To join "You Matter" on Remind, follow these instructions: Download the Remind app for iOS (iPhone) or Android as a student or a parent. On the app, you can subscribe to multiple classes and keep messages in one place. Search for our class by tapping the "+" next to "My classes." Enter @YouMat and sign up. No smartphone? From the US or Canada phones text @YouMat to 516-321-4580 and follow instructions. You can also visit www.remind.com/join/youmat and enter in your phone number to sign up. Note: We will never see your personal contact information and it will be kept secure. You can learn more about Remind and different ways to use it on their site.