Tag Archives: artist

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Get Out of Here!

Every time we leave town our problems shrink because our perspective grows. 

I had the pleasure this past week to leave town and visit family.

While I enjoyed: hanging out with relatives, good food, and exchanging fun stories, another blessing crossed my mind; it is a wonderful gift to change your location, routine and perspective.

The nine hours in the car wasn’t easy, but my wife and I really got to spend some time with one another. Physical discomfort of sitting for so long aside, there is a genuine importance to switching up your routine and literally getting away from the perspective from which you see the world the majority of the time.

As hard as I try to bring variety and a fresh perspective to my work and my family life, I fall into a routine. I see the same things. I do the same things. I talk about the same things. Most significantly, I observed, my approach to life becomes a bit routine.

Just being on the road allowed me to count my blessings and change my perspective as we encountered people who were: homeless, in distress, in trouble, sour to the world, and challenged in many unique ways. Our family has our own challenges too, but what we saw was a reality of life that we are typically spared from during our work and school week routines. We don’t encounter these harsher realities, or when we do it’s on the news and a bit distant. (Don’t even get me started on how our social media consumption literally and figuratively filters the world into a false ‘magical place of beauty and perfection.’)

We all need a change in perspective a little more frequently.

My biggest takeaway: The problems I thought were problems are not really problems.

I had more fun than I deserved with some amazing family, but I am also thankful for the needed change in perspective our travels highlighted.

Routines begin to narrow our focus ever so gradually until we have a pretty fixed mindset.

Every time we leave town our problems shrink because our perspective grows.

I challenge organizations to encourage visits to conferences and other organizations, even ones outside of their line of work, and to bring outsiders with powerful stories and uniques perspective into your organization. We need to share ideas and takeaways. We must consistently work to expand our perspective.

~Kelly

If you like what you’ve read, please share-out with our friends on social media and tag me. Don’t forget the #LeadEveryDay hashtag. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
Twitter: @kellycroy
Instagram: @kcroy
Website: kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com
Podcast: The Wired Educator Podcast
and of course: Facebook.

Sign-up for my newsletter here:

I’ve written two books, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness .

Send me an email. 

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FFP 039: Five Financial Apps You Must Have on Your Phone

In this episode of The Future Focused Podcast I share the five financial apps you must have on your phone, and share a little on how to use each one to level up your leadership and design a more dynamic life. 

Finances matter. They really do. You can’t lead others nor live your best life if the weight of financial strife is holding you back and impairing your decisions. While these five apps are extremely helpful and will give you an edge, it takes personal discipline to manage your money. These are not get-rich-quick apps or anything like that. These are apps that help you spend less, budget, keep an eye on your money, invest, and learn about finances.

Click here to listen to this episode!

Money matters. To be a good leader and to design a dynamic life, you need to master your finances, and mastering your finances begins with mastering yourself. You need to be extremely disciplined. Rules I follow: Eliminate Debt. Build savings. Create multiple revenue streams. Invest.  You need these buckets. You do need to have fun too. 

This podcast will serve you well. Let me know what app I should have included and why in the comments below.

Kelly

Want to give your child or a child you know the gift of confidence and tools to tackle worry and anxiety? Order my new book Unthink Before Bed. It is a children’s book on mindfulness. It’s the perfect gift and bedtime book. I am so proud of it! It is a very fun read.

Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. Want to learn more? Send an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 178 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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My New Book: Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness

I Wrote and Illustrated a Children's Book on Mindfulness Titled Unthink Before Bed

I just published a new book titled Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness. It is available on the world’s largest bookstore, Amazon, now. You can get your copy here.

II am very excited to share this book with families. It is a fun bedtime story with incredible artwork. This is exactly what children need to hear right now. (Parents too.)

We are living in uncertain times and children (and adults) need the strategies to prepare their minds for the challenges in today’s world. Unthink Before bed teaches children how to relax, reduce stress, and give themselves an advantage to get the rest they need a prepare for a new day. You are going to love it.

I had so much fun writing this book and illustrating every page. There are over forty, beautiful pages of illustrations. This book has a fun rhyme. I have even built a free audiobook inside the book. I’m not kidding. Wait until you see how I did it!

There are so many great surprises inside this book. Kids are going to love it. Parents are going to love it.

The book hit #2 in bedtime stories yesterday and was featured as one of Amazon’s “Hot New Releases” and one of their Best Sellers. I am so excited.

I will be sharing more about the book, but I just wanted to share my excitement with you!

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement.

Let me know what you think about the new book.

Order your copy of Unthink Before Bed today.

Thanks!

Kelly

Here is more about the book:

Unthink Before Bed is the perfect bedtime book with over forty, beautifully colored illustrations and a whimsical rhyme reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. 

 Written and illustrated by a veteran educator of thirty years and a father of four. This is Kelly Croy’s second book.

Unthink Before Bed teaches children (and adults) how to slow down, build routine, get to bed, and sleep. 

Woven into every stanza and illustration are the ten, secret lessons of mindfulness. 

Reduce anxiety, worry and stress. Fall asleep happily. Get a peaceful night’s rest. 

Enjoy this fun and relaxing bedtime story. 

Readers are leaders. 

Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. Want to learn more? Send an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 173 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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Authenticity is Essential for Leaders!

The Future Focused Podcast Episode 29

In this episode of the Future Focused Podcast, I explain why authenticity is essential to leadership and how we can build and keep our authenticity.

When asked what is the most important action a person can take to improve as a leader, I always answer with build trust. The best way to build sustainable trust is through authenticity, and the fastest way to destroy trust is to demonstrate a lack of authenticity.

One of the most important ways we can build trust is by living in authentic life. Authenticity is the glue that holds leadership together without it a leader falls apart.

Show me someone who has failed as a leader at an epic level whether on television, in the newspaper, in politics, or anywhere, and I’ll tell you someone who has a problem with authenticity. They simply lived one way but let others believe they were living another. Once people recognize you are not who you say you are, they will no longer allow themselves to be influenced or led by you.  

I’ve written about the six core elements of leadership and authenticity is the sixth. You could be super strong and all the other five but be weak and authenticity and the rest will crumble. 

You need to know your values. You need to proclaim your values. And most importantly you need to live your values. I find so many people who want to be great leaders and yet they do not do any of these three. They don’t truly know what they value. They don’t let people know what they value. And therefore they can’t what they value. They are all over the place.  Living our values is what other people see and that is how we build trust with them.

This episode will help you become a better leader.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy week to level-up your leadership and design a dynamic life.

You are awesome!

Kelly

Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. Want to learn more? Send an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 148 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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Five Tools I Use for Note-Taking, Journaling and Organizing My Ideas

I have been journaling now for over 20 years. I use my journal to improve my life by taking notes, planning projects, reflecting on successes and failures, brainstorming ideas, planning books, writing speeches, capturing magical moments with my family and so much more.

My process has evolved over the years. The very first year I wrote things down in a spiral notebook just like the one you would use in a high school classroom. Now my notes sync electronically across all of my devices and a plan special projects in a leather Moleskine journal.

For day-to-day journaling, I use:

• Day One: Day One is an electronic journal that is on all of my devices. It is passcode and security protected. It prompts me each day to write an entry. I have multiple journals inside the app. One for my personal life, one for work, and a Kudos journal to inspire and improve my mindset. I really like Day One. It has a lot of advanced features and it is searchable. Easy to find what you are looking for with a quick search. You can include photos, sketches, text, voice and more. I highly recommend Day One. The best journal is the one you have with you, and Day One is on your iPhone, your Apple Watch, your iPad, and Your MacBook.

• Moleskine Journal: I like to use paper and pen sometimes to plan projects although my iPad and the Apple Pencil are replacing this need more frequently. The best physical journal is this Moleskine Journal: My journal of choice is: extra-large, softcover, Moleskine Carnet ligne’ lined 192 paged journal measuring 7 and 1/2 inches by 9 and 3/4 inches. I know because I have tried them all.

For Note-Taking and Sketch-noting: 

• GoodNotes: GoodNotes is the app I use with my iPad and Apple Pencil for note-taking. The ability to use the Apple Pencil and write with it makes it awesome! It’s searchable and versatile. You can create notebooks or quick notes. It has so many great features and lots of incredible templates. GoodNotes is the tool that is quickly replacing my Moleskine Journal for everything. It syncs with all of my devices so ALL of my notes are with me wherever I go. They are on my phone, iPad, and MacBook. They look great and it is perfect for sketch noting too. You can even search handwritten words and you can also convert handwriting to typed text. I take my iPad to meetings or work on my notes or review wherever I go.

• Procreate: Procreate is the best app for creating art. Boom! I said it. I have tried every art app imaginable. Procreate is fun, easy to use and powerful. I love Procreate. I do all of my art here now except for my painting, and even my paintings begin here as sketches. I sometimes use Procreate for Sketch-noting.

• Drafts: Drafts is an app I use to quickly capture and idea for a blog post or crudely capture a thought that enters my head while listening to a blog post. Everything inside my Drafts app is captured quickly, crudely, and is reviewed and put into one of my other tools later. I also store hashtags and other copy that I will tweet, or copy and paste into something else on a regular basis. Drafts is where I dump my brain. I really enjoy it.

I’ll share how I put these tools to work in a later post.

You can use these tools to level-up your journaling and note-taking game to become more productive and successful.

Reach out to me with any questions you may have.

Kelly

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Looking for a dynamic speaker for your event? • Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. Want to learn more? Send me an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

 

 

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FFP 022: Be Careful What You Label a Weakness

It's REALLY a strength!


In this episode of the Future Focused Podcast I caution you to be careful what you label a weakness. Labels don’t help us and most of them are wrong. Labels often program us with incorrect, limiting mindsets.

When I was young my teacher’s feedback on my work in school focused on two areas that were presented as weaknesses. They would report: “Kelly talks too much. Kelly draws pictures on his paper and during class.” What was once a negative is now my livelihood; I am hired by organizations around the world as a speaker and artist.

We need to be careful of what we allow others to label as a weakness and what we label for ourselves. I often hear people say they have anxiety or attention issues like ADD. I have these, but rather than view them as negatives, I see them as super powers. My anxiety helps me to prepare for possible problems in presentations and consulting work. It allows me to analyze scenarios and issues others cannot even conceive. If you can’t identify potential problems, how can you prepare to stop them before they happen? My anxiety, when managed is a super power. My perceived weakness with attention disorder is also a super power. I come up with the most creative ideas and solutions. Without a busy mind bouncy around thinking of a hundred possibilities my creativity would be severely limited. Yes, my attention issues are a super power.

Listen to this podcast. It will give you a new perspective on your life. You are going to love this episode of The Future Focused Podcast. This episode will help you become even more successful.

Best to you! Get after it.

Have a great week!

Kelly

Book I am reading and recommend: The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

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Looking for a dynamic speaker for your event? • Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. Want to learn more? Send me an email. • Sign-up for Kelly’s Newsletter. Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 121 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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FFP 016: The Importance of Minimizing

In this sixteenth episode of The Future Focused Podcast, I explain the importance of minimizing, and I get you started putting minimizing into action.

Not enough time in the day? Too many items on the to-do list? Not sure where to focus? Disorganized desk? Cluttered house?

It’s time to minimize!

Minimizing is a gift you give yourself and those you love. In this episode I will help you get started on getting rid of what is cluttering up your life and holding you back from greatness. Minimizing is a critical act that leaders need to take to gain clarity, get more accomplished,  and add value to their lives.

Thank you for subscribing to The Future Focused Podcast. I hope you will send me a message and let me know your thoughts on the podcast. I also hope you will share this podcast with your friends and family.

Thanks!

Kelly

PS. Check out this book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Add this one to your library!

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Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.  •   www.kellycroy.com   •  info@kellycroy.com  •  1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is an inspirational speaker, author, and artist. Kelly’s program includes an amazing art performance brought to life with computer animation.

Please leave a review of his podcast here: Leave a Review for The Future Focused Podcast.

Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram

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Better is possible…

We can always improve ourselves.

This is a winning mindset.

It’s not perfection we seek, simply improvement.

As Winston Churchill wisely exalted, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.”

Indeed.

Seek the smallest of margins of improvement daily in order to make progress.

Flip the switch and become self-aware that within you, better is possible. Who knows about your spouse, your children, your coworkers, or your dog, but within you, yes… better is indeed possible.

Knowing that ‘better is possible’ should create a feeling of excitement, not guilt.

You are in the pilot’s seat, and… you got this.

•

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Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.  •   www.kellycroy.com   •  info@kellycroy.com  •  1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is an inspirational speaker, author, and artist. Kelly’s program includes an amazing art performance brought to life with computer animation.

Please leave a review of his podcast here: Leave a Review for The Future Focused Podcast.

Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram