Kathleen Boucher - Nine Ways to Empower Tweens with Emma and Elliot: You Learn More from Your Mistakes Than from All of Your Successes

Nine Ways to Empower Tweens with Emma and Elliot

You learn more from your mistakes than from all of your successes

Kathleen Boucher

Copyright 2016 Kathleen Boucher.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-5737-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-5739-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-5738-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016907227

Balboa Press rev. date: 05/19/2016

Contents

Synopsis: Nine Ways to Empower Tweens with Emma and Elliot is a book that teaches life skills for kids aged 10-12. It is written through the eyes of fraternal twins Emma and Elliot whose mission is to empower kids their own age. They share skills to defuse anger, have confidence, eliminate procrastination, apply the power of gratitude, self-talk, increase work ethic, and create vision boards.

This book is dedicated to Casey Mary Mae Boomhour

Chapter 1

HOW TO SPEAK CONFIDENTLY

R epeat after me: be prepared so you wont be scared. Remember this declaration.

Hi, my name is Elliot. My sisters name is Emma. Emma and I are fraternal twins. We are tweens. In this chapter, we show you how you may use a simple technique to learn to speak confidently. We want to share this information so that you feel empowered to try new things and to be confident.

Allow us to introduce ourselves a little more thoroughly. As I said, Emma and I are fraternal twins. This means we have the same birthday, but we are not identical. We live on a farm in Ontario, Canada. We have a dad who is a farmer and a mom who writes childrens books. We own three cats, two birds, a dog, and a gerbil.

The purpose of sharing this information with you is to help you learn to speak confidently. This is a skill that you will use your entire life. Why should you listen to us? Well, we feel very fortunate to know what we do, and we want to share this knowledge with you. It all started with this declaration: be prepared so you wont be scared. Our best friend Todd taught us this declaration when we were in grade one. We dont know who taught it to him. We never asked. We are grateful to Todd, as we have used it ever since.

There are two topics that we are going to cover in this chapter. The first one is how to get more confidence. The second topic is how to prepare to give a talk in front of people. Emma insists on adding a third topic, so the third topic is how to combine the confidence you have with the preparation you have done. Practice makes perfect. You are going to make mistakes. We all do. Fantastic! Imagine being excited about making mistakes and gradually improving. Celebrate each time you try something new! In The Talent Code: Greatness Isnt born. Its Grown. Heres How. (1.), Daniel Coyle says not to be afraid to try something because you are afraid of making a mistake. Every mistake teaches you something and helps you alter your approach to get better and better at what you do.

Our mother says, You learn more from your mistakes than from all of your successes. This is good to know because when starting something new, how can you be your best if you have never done it before? So, being prepared is a good place to start, but realize that there is always room for improvement. All successful people have a coach. Therefore, the first thing to do is to find someone who can help you become more confident. We have two coaches: our mother, Kimberley, and our English teacher, Mrs. Turner. Often, you will find that successful people have more than one coach. You are already good at so many things. You may not even realize it.

Here is how to become confident in just about anything! Write down on a piece of paper what you already do well. Are you an amazing writer, singer, great at playing the guitar, tying your shoes, singing in the shower, keeping your room neat, riding a bike, washing dishes, making your bed, hugging your parents, or feeding the dog? Remember that thought. Each time you try something new, first remember something you are really, really good at. Remember something that makes you confident. Then, take that confidence and associate it with whatever you are trying that is new. Its as simple as that. You have associated the thought of doing something that you are good at to the thought of you trying something new! This gives you confidence right from the start. Easy! Now add energy and emotion to it! Dance around the room. Laugh out loud. Be energized. You are now attracting what you want! You are already successful! Wonderful!

Our mother gave us a book to read when we were six. This book also gave us confidence. We read it all the time. It is called A Simple Idea to Empower Kids: Based on the Power of Love, Choice, and Belief (2). It helped us realize that we are unique and that each of us has talent and purpose and a responsibility to share this with the people around us. We want you to realize that you are already good at so many things. You are unique and special just the way you are.

So, how do you prepare to do a talk in front of your class? Here are a few suggestions:

• Remember to be prepared so you wont be scared.
• Before you talk in front of your class, pick a topic that you like and feel enthusiastic about, and know what your message is.
• List in order of importance the key points you want to make.
• Gather facts to support each key point.
• Be organized.
• Then, answer this question: After I finish my great presentation, what do I expect from my audience?

Did you know that even adults get nervous before they speak in front of people? This is normal.

So, you have done the research. You are organized. Now, you get to rehearse your presentation in front of your friends, family, dog, or whoever will listen to you. You keep rehearsing until you feel comfortable with your talk. One of the best ways to feel prepared is to rehearse your presentation before you actually do it in front of your class.

Carol Burnett was one of the funniest and most popular comedians in the 70s and 80s. She used to stand up in front of thousands of people and try to make them laugh. Do you think she got nervous? You bet your boots she did! But she had a plan for dealing with the nerves by preparing a lot. She recommends that you know what you want to say so well that you can improvise. This means you can handle distractions and questions without losing your concentration.