High School Hamster Wheel

I am thrilled to welcome Blake Boles to the podcast. Blake is the founder and director of Unschool Adventures, as well as an author, speaker, educator and podcaster. During our conversation, Blake and I discuss the various alternative learning paths and why parents need to learn to release control of their kids’ education in order to build a more authentic relationship. Blake is an expert in the field of self-directed learning and he shares lots of great advice and insights for parents to help their teens find their way to a career and a life that is best for them.

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In today's episode, I have two special guests joining me. One is my son, Ethan. He's 16 years old and a junior in high school. Also joining me is Jay DuSold. Jay has spent decades working with teens and their parents as a speaker, writer, learning experience designer, mentor, and coach. His work as a career guide began in 2014 while helping his own son figure out what to do after high school. He now works with teens around the world, helping them discover their career DNA and identifying careers that they love and stick with so they don't waste their time, money, or life. Jay has become a great friend and we're going to talk through his process and how it helps teens learn more about themselves. It's never too early to start talking with your teens about their future!

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I am delighted to welcome Maia Agranoff to the podcast. Maia is the mom of two young men who have both taken very different journeys than what many kids experience. One of her sons started his own business when he was just 13 years old and reached a million dollars in sales by the time he turned 16. What I love about this conversation is that Maia has so much experience and wisdom. I always say, try and surround yourself with parents whose kids are older than yours, because they have so much valuable advice. During this conversation, we talk about identifying the entrepreneurial spirit in your kids, why it's important to allow them to fail and how failure leads to progress, why our teens' choices should be about them and not about us, and when our kids come to us with a problem, instead of solving it for them, we need to encourage them to go off and find solutions themselves. The truth is we can learn a lot from our teens if we allow them to teach us. This is a must-listen for parents of teens and younger!

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In today's episode, I'm joined by my youngest guest to date. Her name is Charlotte and she's 14 years old. Charlotte is quite an amazing young woman. At the age of 12, she started her own Pinterest business and now, two years later, she's created a course to teach others. Charlotte's mom, Annette, also joins us during this conversation and we talk about parenting young entrepreneurs, why we need to give teens the space to fail, and how we can encourage and foster their entrepreneurial spirit. This is an episode you'll want to listen to with your young business-minded kids.

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My guest this week is Ken Burke. Ken is the founder and CEO of The EntrepreneurNOW! Network. He is a speaker, serial entrepreneur, mentor, and author. Ken founded MarketLive, a market-leading, enterprise-class eCommerce software platform used by major merchants generating two billion dollars in online sales through the platform. He sold MarketLive to Vista Equity Partners in 2016. Ken authored the book, “Intelligent Selling: The Art and Science of Selling Online,” as well as hundreds of industry articles. He earned his MBA in Entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business, which later awarded him the honor of Entrepreneur of the Year.

During our conversation, we talk about the journey to becoming an entrepreneur including the challenges that entrepreneurs face, how to know if you have what it takes, and the secret sauce for becoming a successful entrepreneur. There's so much good information here. If you have a teen or young adult who's considering taking the entrepreneurial path, I suggest you invite them to listen with you.

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In this episode, I'm joined by mother and daughter Punam and Lyla Saxena. As the mother to four young adults, Punam has years of experience parenting teens and has lots of valuable advice to share. Lyla is a current college student and is wise beyond her years. She offers great suggestions for teens who are figuring out their path after high school. During our conversation, we talk about the importance of communication skills, how to help our teens build confidence, and why it's critical that teens maintain a growth mindset.

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In this week’s episode, I welcome Dr. Shelly Gruenig to the show. Shelly is a homeschool mom of three successful adults, a STEM entrepreneur, and a career coach. During our conversation, we talk about the importance of exposing kids to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) from an early age. Shelly believes that our teenagers want to do hard things, and she has some great suggestions about how to get them engaged. You won’t want to miss Shelly’s “failing forward” philosophy and what she means by helping kids become better than average.

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With schools getting ready to reopen over the next few weeks, parents need helpful tips and strategies to guide their teens as they return to campus. There’s no better source for accurate, science-based information than my guest today, Diana Stark. Diana is the Director of Infection Prevention and Control for Oviedo Medical Center and UCF Lake Nona Medical Center located in central Florida. During our conversation, Diana shares helpful advice and sound recommendations for parents to help keep their families safe in the coming months.

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In this episode, I am joined by Loren Kelly and Rebecca Stansfield. As she approached the end of her sophomore year of college, like many students, Becca was really starting to feel the pressure to choose a major. She was unsure of what her path would be beyond college and really needed some help in declaring a major. So she sought out help from Loren and they've worked together to help Becca design a plan for college and beyond. During our conversation, you'll hear all about Loren’s process for helping young people figure out their path and why it's so important to think about career planning before thinking about college planning.

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Preparing ourselves for the empty nest phase isn’t always easy. Parents typically spend more time and effort focusing on getting their kids ready for their next chapter and spending little or no time preparing themselves. In this week’s episode, I welcome my friend and fellow podcaster, Colleen Rosenblum to the show. Colleen has a lot of wisdom and insight to share based on her own journey to becoming an empty nester. During our conversation, Colleen stresses the importance of parents thinking about and preparing for their own life once their kids are out of the house. We talk about how to adjust when your young adult kids pivot their plans and end up living at home again. And we discuss how to find joy and connection with our kids while they are living at home due to the pandemic.

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