Il Momento di Agire e Adesso ~ Trace & Trump

This literally means, "the time for action is now", but I say it to my children and students and can think of no better action than that which causes us to rise.

Our actions can destroy or they can create.

And if they create it doesn't have to mean another is destroyed in the process.....

.....others can also be raised at the same time.






Christ rose from the dead. Why can't we?

We've all seen the incredible results from the incredible rising of the human spirit, rising from the prisons we're put in and the prisons we put ourselves in.

I met Trace Adkins from The Celebrity Apprentice the other day. I told my sister who had come down on vacation that I had to shake his hand and let him know the real difference he's making by simply being himself. He and his wife introduced me to his entire family, including his daughter that he's on the show for.

Piers may have raised the most money for charity so far, but if this season is truly about, "What if you could make a difference?", then Trace has made the biggest difference by raising the most hearts and minds. He is teaching the world that you CAN be an honest person who acts with integrity and still win. He is giving people the currency of courage that although gold is important, the gold within them IS MORE VALUABLE than gold itself.

I'm writing a poem for his daughters about how no matter what happens this Thursday on the finale, their daddy has already won; he has shown Donald Trump and the viewing world that the biggest charitable difference you can make in this world is not only achieving victory, but doing it without backstabbing and manipulation and instead shining brightly with integrity and honesty.

My students don't understand why I don't ask famous people I meet for money, recognition, etc.

I do my best to tell them it's not about what we can get from others, it's about what we can give, especially with famous/rich people.

They have put in the blood, sweat and tears to develop their gifts, where most of us haven't.

(Kelly teaching Flo who teaches Miguel whom I'm now asking to teach Kristen. Both resisting this new level of challenge.)

Knowing doesn't mean understanding. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is that wisdom is applying, or teaching knowledge......And making others' lives better in the process.

And as a father myself, there's nothing that will bring tears to a man's eyes faster than the sight of his own children looking at him with love and admiration. As Trace and his wife Rhonda took the time to introduce me to each of their three girls, as well as his parents, I could tell how much they loved their father already. But isn't it a nice gesture to let them know that before I ever heard one of his songs, their daddy had made a fan, not because of his talent or popularity, but because of who he is as a man. He is the epitome of what I was talking about in, "Be More of a Man".

(I listened to country music for one week in high school when I was trying to get a pretty country girl to like me. It didn't work, so I stopped listening to country music :-)

I should somehow find the time to write to Trump himself, because between Trump and Trace...there's Taneicea, the child who is watching us all, learning what the world is really like, learning what she can and cannot do, struggling to believe in herself, struggling to become her best self....Struggling to hold on despite massive failure and ugliness in her world and the world at large.

You give them Trump's unbelievable self-confidence and battle-readiness AND Trace's unbelievable sense of integrity and vulnerability........man, you have one UNBELIEVABLE CHILD!

Being a warrior is not about being tough and invulnerable, it's about having the strength to be completely vulnerable. People wonder how unbelievable results are achieved year-after-year in my classroom. I see the good in Trump and let him inspire me to have unbelievable self-confidence that every child who comes through my door can be reached, and I refuse to give up the battle until their success is achieved.

This cannot be accomplished without being like Trace in his gigantic sense of realness, love and goodness. No matter how hard a teacher tries, no matter how good their lesson plans are, if the teacher doesn't truly see the goodness in every child and is willing to work and love it into existence until THEY REALLY FEEL like a winner, not every child will win the ultimate victory of believing in themselves and developing the genius and great gifts that lies within each one.

Trace is exactly the person Trump is looking for to help his world-wide organization. Trace is exactly the person I'm looking for to help make my students unbelievable. Trace is exactly the type of person we need more of in this world.

On his website is a song called, "You're Going to Miss This", which as I played in class on Friday caught Taneicea's eyes, and decided to make it our class song.

For her this time is over.......all I know is I couldn't have given her more.....and she rose to incredible heights academically and in self-confidence.

(she's answering a question from a 6th-grade reading test....she began the year reading at a 3rd grade level with no self-confidence to raise her hand for any question)

She has shown the greatest respect to her creator, no matter who exactly that is for her, because she has risen! Every day we rise or fall. I think today should especially be a day we all rise, getting closer and closer to our greatest selves.

(reading "Diomedes Fights the Gods" from Homer's The Iliad to my son. I love the look on his face. He is happy. He is playful. He is alive!)










And I explode in joy......










.....Because he is my boy!










Let today be more than a celebration of some part of religious history. Give it real meaning.....Let it make you determined to rise to unbelievable heights for yourself and those around you.









Resurrect your life! I know one man who did it 2,000 years ago and 23 children that have been doing it all this year. Why not you and me?

Il momento di agire e adesso!