Tag: Hope
Hope is fuel — for learning, for leadership, for culture, for change. This collection of essays by Matt Foster explores how optimism, resilience, and forward vision shape human systems and personal growth. Reflections and insights that help you see possibility beyond constraints and build momentum toward futures worth creating.
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AI and Jobs…The Fear is False
The headlines say layoffs. The corporate memos say “restructuring.” But if you think AI is just coming for the data entry jobs, you’re missing the entire plot. We are sitting on the edge of a shift with a scope we haven’t witnessed since the dawn of agriculture. But the panic selling is wrong. The fear…
The Inner Architect: Building a Happy Mind
How often do we look outside ourselves for happiness? For that next promotion, that perfect vacation, that new gadget? We chase it like a distant mirage, convinced it lies just beyond our grasp, tethered to external circumstances. See Also: Never Truly Satisfied But what if the blueprint for a truly happy life already exists, not…
The Unruly Seas: Finding Strength When the Forecast Changes
Strength lies not in stopping external challenges, like storms at sea, but in mastering our response to them. A seasoned sailor illustrates this: despite meticulous planning, unforeseen chaos arises. The key is to focus on what can be controlled—our mindset, decisions, and actions—finding calm amid turmoil.
The Blank Canvas: A Symphony of Questions
Life is Art, What Questions are You Asking Your Canvas?
Do you need a break?
Half times in sports signify crucial resets for rest and strategy. Similar to a deload week in weight training, which includes lighter workouts followed by intense training phases, this concept applies to all areas of life. Planned breaks help prevent burnout, promoting appreciation of life’s simple joys and rejuvenating our spirits.
Embracing Change as the Currency of Life
Change is a constant in life. Often, change can be intimidating or uncomfortable. Believe me, I know. In the past 5 years, I’ve changed from school administrator to full-time digital nomad. My areas of expertise went from designing curricula and supporting teachers to traveling oceans and helping schools and small businesses find new horizons for…
Simple Removals for This (and any) Week
It’s the things you say stop to – those things you remove – that free you to do your next level of work. Recently I stopped, and asked the last question for, my podcast. In addition to you big stops, there are also frequent removals. Things to remove in your life starting Monday morning: ⛔…
Every New Frontier Needs Boundaries
We could argue whether or not the American frontier of the late 1800s benefited from barbed wire. But ranchers realized boundaries gave peace of mind and increased productivity. This new frontier of emergency distance learning is free and open. However, it needs boundaries. Don’t be afraid to set your own. Take care of yourself.
Glimpses into the Future
We often catch glimpses into the future. In the moment, those glimpses appear as challenges, chaotic events, or overwhelming obstacles. The reason we perceive chaos or challenge is merely because the future is drastically different than our current reality. What challenges are you facing? What obstacles do you see? Adjust your vantage and you might…
Now, About That Blank Check
$43,800 is a pretty solid deposit, especially if you make it monthly. I deposited my 43,000 today on April 1st. And so did you. They aren’t dollars. They’re better. They’re minutes. 43,800 minutes ready to spend this month and each month. What will you do with you 43,800? ________ PS – Happy April 1st! I…
It’s okay if you get it wrong.
Really, it’s okay. There’s no shame in getting it wrong. There’s no reason to feel bad all. You made a move, and you missed it. That’s life. Actually, that’s learning. It’s okay if you get it wrong. You can dig valuable learning from it. You tried. You put your heart into it. You acted and…
Be The Change, But Not This Time
Sometimes we change. Sometimes things change. Sometimes we change things. But these three rarely happen in a single sphere all at the same cadence. The famous quote says, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Knowing when to be the change, and when to adapt to change is a subtle insight that may…
Sometimes Opportunity
You Can. Sometimes opportunity doesn’t come. Sometimes windows don’t open. Sometimes there is no door to walk through. Sometimes you chart your own path. You Can.
If there is no struggle…
Long-term investors know the return on investment is an aggregate. It’s the combination of wins and losses that create a portfolio. Cut the losses. Maximize the wins. Then the portfolio wins. It’s not the day to day trades that long-term investors care about. Frederick Douglass said it best, “If there is no struggle, there is…
It’s Okay to Lose
10 students enter a competition, one wins. 20 teams start a tournament, one wins. 500 schools apply for a grant, one wins. If you compete, odds are against you. It’s just simple math. That knowledge can be liberating or debilitating. The great thing about school leadership is you don’t have to compete in someone else’s…
If you’re a risk-taker, you will…
Make mistakes. But it’s not the mistakes that define you. It’s not failure that defines you. It’s what you focus on that defines you. If you’re focused on your mission – your why – then mistakes will refine you. Just listen to these amazing educational leaders and principals share what they learned from their mistakes.
Criticism is Proof of What
Criticism is proof they’re listening. It is not evidence of stopping. Whatever you do, don’t let criticism be proof that you’re not good enough or that you need to stop. Silence is a lack of evidence. If you’re going to make waves, there will be criticism. If your waves are valuable the criticisms will represent…
End of My Rope
A second grade teacher shared the story about her first year teaching. She was exploring tone and mood in a text, and she mentioned how authors come up with ideas. She made her second-grade class cry. In her words, “I didn’t mean to make them cry. I was sharing one of Tomie DePaola’s simple books…” >> Listen…
Engineering Hope
In yesterday’s post, we examined the effect of making impact visible. Let’s make a connection to another concept that you know about. Small wins. We know the path to large gains and big goals is comprised of small steps. Bit-sized wins along the way accumulate into great improvements. All of the goal-setting books and coaches…
Plan Your Half-time
Roadblocks are not unforeseen obstacles but planned pauses that provide opportunities for reflection and strategizing. In personal growth, business, and career development, these moments allow for adjustments and re-evaluation. Successful individuals use these breaks to regroup, troubleshoot, and prepare for the next phase, fostering resilience and adaptability.
Easy “Feels” Rights
If it’s easy to see, it’s easy to blame. If it’s easy to measure, it’s easy to prioritize. If it’s easy to think of, it’s easy to believe. Easy almost always feels right. But that doesn’t mean it is right. The right path, the right decision, the right question – these are often hard-earned. …
When Others Count You Out
In my current research of over 40 school districts in Texas, an amazing outlier has surfaced. Here are the stats for this outlier district: 98.1% Attendance Rate 33% of Students Master State Test vs. 20% in the State 86% of Students Pass State Test vs. 75% in the State Okay, so it’s a high…
The Mirror
The Mirror – Is it a place where secrets are exposed? Or is it a place where hope is renewed?
Career Moves
Life is beautiful, and it’s too short to feel stuck. If your career is not where you want it to be…
Fear of Failure
It’s not a fear of failure that holds us back. It’s a fear of criticism. People mocking our failures. Our deep need for community drives this fear, which is a fear of:Not being accepted.Not being respected.Not being valued.Find every reason for this type of fear to subside. Then your work will become your art. It’s not a…
Empathy From an AP to Students
By the time you read this, she may no longer be an assistant principal, because this level of empathy belongs behind the principal’s desk, and she’s destined to get there soon! What did she do? Here’s a quote from assistant principal Alexa Musarelli Kehres, “50 notecards went out today to let my ‘repeat offenders’ know…
The River That Shapes
The power of a river can chisel the toughest granite and smooth the most jagged limestone. The river is what shapes the Grand Canyon. Over time, it grinds. It’s relentless and never rests. School cultures are shaped in the same way. But what makes the river? Here’s a piece of it. Forgiveness. Forgiveness is the…
Recovery and Failure
Recovery is a dangerous concept. It can destroy a career, hinder risk-taking, and paralyze you with fear. The dictionary says recovery is: Return to a normal state. Process of regaining control of something that was lost. The thing is, learning is not about recovery. When we fail, it’s usually because our previous normal state was flawed. It’s…
RTF Better than RTI
Response to Failure is more important than Response to Intervention. That’s what grit is about. That’s what builds successful businesses. That’s what creates innovation. That’s what holds families together. That’s what learning is made of. That’s the stuff of life. It might just also be the stuff that makes an impact on learning. Response to…