Justin R. Lester tells educators to set ambitious goals for the school year and adopt a growth mindset. He draws on John Maxwell, Tony Robbins, and Patrick Lencioni to argue that teachers should treat themselves with the same care they give their students.
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For Mondays with Justin Lester. Today we continue our series on ambition. And today we're talking about what it means to have ambition this school year. As an educator, I look forward to unpacking you as you lead others to their future. Welcome to Made for Mondays. Remember, Mondays don't own you. You own your Mondays. Now let's jump right into it today. Welcome to Made for Mondays. Let's do it. So today we're diving headfirst, I believe, into what it means to own your ambition as an educator. To so many of you listening to this podcast, you teach it. Whether it's a university or a school, elementary, middle or high school, or maybe continuing education, no matter where you are, you are crafting the future of scholarship and scholars in our country and in your community. And I don't want you to forget yourself in the journey to leading others to find themselves. So let me give you this joke. Let's start lighthearted. Why did the math book look so sad? Because it had so many problems. Speaking of problems, let's talk about the unique challenges that you face as an educator. You know, I've been teaching adjunct at a university in Rhode island for the last five years, believe it or not, and it's been such a journey. I love teaching people. I get to do it in pastoral ministry. But there's nothing like seeing those who are not adjunct but have full course loads. Those of you who show up every single day to talk to parents, talk to students, talk to scholars, talk to your co workers. And so let's talk to you. Education is no easy task. You're shaping minds, you're inspiring curiosity. And sometimes just making it through the day is a lot. But I want to pull out of you you, because at one point in time, you were the one who's been poured into. You were the one who everybody was pulling something out of being, pulling their curiosity, imagination out of. And so when it comes to owning your work week, you're the hero. So let's start by setting ambitious goals. Like just like you encourage your scholars to set ambitious goals and reach for the stars and write beautifully and to solve new problems, create problems to solve them, reach for yours as well. Remember, setting goals is not just about writing them down and calling it a day, but I want you to embrace this year educator, a growth mindset so that when life throws you a curve ball, don't duck. I want you to swing for the fences in your own journey and show those challenges who the real teacher is. So consider this wisdom from John Maxwell, where he said dreams don't work unless you do. So let's put those dreams into work. Tony Robbins even put it like this. He said, setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible to the visible. So it's not just about goal setting and just waking up with a brighter, bigger smile. But here's what Patrick Lencioni, one of my favorite authors, once said. In the book the Ideal Team Player, Lencioni shares valuable lessons that perfectly align with you. He said, I want you to be humble, I want you to be hungry and I want you to be smart. I want you to be humble, I want you to be hungry and I want you to be smart. Because that is transformative. That transforms your teamwork, that transforms your communication, and that will transform your impact. Let me give you this other piece from Patrick. If you haven't. I love Lencioni. He said, the best teams don't overcome challenges. They thrive in spite of them. Make your work week legendary. I want to challenge you to go forward and to engage with your students. But then in the same way you engage with your students, engage with yourself, the same questions you ask them, I want you to ask yourself the same challenges you give them, I want you to give yourself. I want you to make sure you find time, whether that's your lunch, your time before or after school, your time walking to your car, whatever podcast you listen to outside of this one, make sure that you don't inspire others to find their imagination. Make sure you're not just inspiring others to be transformative agents of change, but you embrace the transformation you receive as while you teach them, they teach you as well. So own your work week and you have the power to inspire and educate and make a difference. And next week we're going to continue in what it means to empower students and and their ambition on next week in their academic journey. So have an amazing day. Stay bright. Remember, you are the real superhero educator. Stay awesome and we'll catch you next week on Made for Mondays. Before we go, let's make sure we say our affirmations today. Someone just repeat after me. Just say, I am me. I can be me and no one will stop me from being me. Have an amazing day. You were made for Mondays. Mondays don't own you. You own your Mondays. Now go forth and win this week. God bless you.
