How To Raise Your Family & Follow Your Dreams

Stress is something we are all familiar with. The world we live in is the ultimate breeding ground for it and it’s the number one health issue today. It affects us in ways in which we aren’t even aware and wreaks havoc in our lives. Obesity, fatigue, mental fog, sleep issues, digestive problems, anxiety, hives, premature wrinkles, depression, emotional instability, food cravings … the list goes on and on and on. In short, stress takes the joy right out of our lives.

We had enough of the fight to climb the corporate ladder, the running from activity to activity, and the financial stress. We saw the absurdity of pushing our kids, like cows, into the educational system of elementary school, middle school, high school and then college. Everyone is exactly the same. They all have the same education, they all have the same qualifications. Hence, the need to get a master’s, you know, to separate yourself from the crowd, until you realize, everyone has the same idea. The enormous debt to become a paper pusher in a cubicle for 9 hours/day minus lunch and smoke breaks, erodes at your ability to make any headway.

You are trapped.

Until you decide to quit being a victim and choose to get motivated to follow your dreams of living in the moment instead of in fear. Having a vision and a purpose enables us to feel worthy. Making a ton of money doesn’t make you feel worthy, it makes you feel rich. Having goals, making a difference in the world … that makes you feel worthy. And making a difference comes in so many forms. My personal form of making a difference comes by way of being the best mom I can be, homeschooling my kids, being a faithful Catholic, loving Dan with all my heart, showing our kids how to follow their dreams, being joyful and, hopefully, expanding people’s views of society’s expectations.

Dan and I didn’t travel as kids, we didn’t travel as young adults, we didn’t start traveling until we were the parents of 11 kids with another one on the way.  In fact, we didn’t even know we wanted to travel until one day our kids got the kayaking bug and they wanted to compete.  We drove to a few nearby competitions and that was the end of never traveling.  We bought an RV (by the Grace of God) to facilitate getting to events.  But then something shocking happened.  No-one wanted to go home.  NO-ONE.  And so we went home to sell all our crap, sell our house and have sweet Coby.  We’ve never looked back, the rest is history.

So, how did we accomplish this major feat?

The first step in breaking free is to rid yourselves of the shackles of fear. From there anything is possible. There’s no doubt that the majority of people who decide to vacation/travel full time do so in a childless time of their lives. Either prior to becoming parents or after their children are grown. But living authentically isn’t only for the young or the old … you should follow your dream because of your children, not in spite of them. Giving them the power and permission to stray from conventional thinking is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. This hones their instincts, it doesn’t allow the existence of fear … only possibility! And equally important, it teaches them to pursue things that matter to them.

Why is this so important? Because instead of spending 4+ years in college, learning economics, statistics, humanities, sociology, Dante’, biology, calculus, computer science etc., your kids will be pursuing the education they need to make their own lives inspiring to them.

Now that’s a novel idea!

Setting your kids up for a life of consequence to them, instead of the One Size Fits All education that everyone has!! Isn’t learning to learn the greatest asset of education?

I know my goal as a parent is see my kids become so much more than Dan & I ever will be. I believe showing them that you can truly be unstoppable, that you can mold your life into anything you want it to be, happiness and joy are attainable, if you are not fearful, if you are not mindful of the myriad of opinions around you, if you truly believe in yourself and live your faith in all you do … yes, you will be unstoppable.

Showing them the way to pursue being the best they can be, showing them that family is the deepest, most meaningful relationship they will experience, that education is NOT public education, instead education is an on-going, day-to-day, hour-to-hour pursuit, that everyday ought to be filled with excitement and passion and if that is lacking, their life is lacking. I want them to live, to really truly live, freely, passionately, lovingly, compassionately, inspiringly, faithfully, and exceptionally.

And I want you to join us. I think that once per day or once per week, whatever works for you, until the end of August, we should all post a photo to Twitter and/or Facebook showing us doing something wholly unexpected with our family. Playing hooky (that’s such a weird looking word) from work, a picnic in the park, a hike, playing in the mud, staying up late on a school night, rafting, surfing, jumping out of a plane, kayaking, running a race … whatever takes you out of your comfort zone, forces you to abandon fear and inhibitions and just be.

It goes without saying, don’t be stupid. Don’t go breaking bones, losing your job or dying to jump out of your comfort zone, this is much more subtle, this is you thinking for a moment about what you’ve been wanting to do, small baby steps, a little rebellion, a little excitement, a little passion. Get a little taste of living outside the fear, outside the judgmental glares of our peers, outside our own inhibitions and we’ll never be the same. It’ll be anarchy!!

Use the hashtag #unstoppable …

Oh and you have to tag @kelloggshow on facebook and twitter (whatever you prefer to use) so we can be sure to see them. At the end of the week, on Saturday, we’ll pick our favorite and post it, tagging you!! This is how it works, we all inspire each other, keeping us motivated to rid our lives of stress and live intentionally!!

Now go take some epic photos!! 🙂