Skip to content
When You're Surviving You Can't Dream

"When you're always surviving, you can't dream"

When You're Surviving You Can't Dream

Michael Ketterer was a featured contestant on America's Got Talent last week and he was awarded a "Golden Buzzer" for his performance. Michael and his wife have adopted multiple children, including one with cerebral palsy. As you might imagine, their story is quite compelling!

In the pre-performance interview before the judges, he made a profound statement:

“When you’re surviving you can’t dream”


CLICK HERE
to Watch the AGT Video.

His statement struck me because I've found that to be true, especially among educators and entrepreneurs.

When people are stuck in the cycle of crisis management and trying to hang on for dear life, they can't dream. (See Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) Their minds are so full of the decisions required to deal with the current issues, exhausting the internal resources needed to step back and consider future goals and opportunities. 

Is living in survival mode limiting your ability to dream? Are the people following you exhausted from having to manage the tyranny of the urgent?

Take some time soon to hit the pause button, reflect and consider your future. A Leadership Retreat could be the ideal way to do this.

Think about where you are, where you want to go, and how you might get there. How can you more effectively build on your strengths and find greater joy along the way?

When you stop surviving perhaps you can start dreaming again.

And perhaps that would help transform your school from a dispenser of curriculum to become an inspirer of dreams.

Listen to the School Growth podcast

Read On

by: Dr. Amy Galloway Swann
Administration, School Growth, Professional Development, Strategy, supporting teachers
You poured in time, money, and hope, and Monday still behaved like last Monday. I have felt that sting—big energy in the room, same obstacles the next day. If folks left inspired and defaulted by Tuesday, the design failed them. Not the people. This...
by: Dr. Amy Galloway Swann
Innovation, Soft Skills, Workforce Readiness, Future Ready Skills
The most important skills your child will ever learn are not locked in a textbook. They grow in tiny, unphotogenic moments that never make the report card. Snack time. Bedtime. Playtime. Even boredom. That is where future-ready skills take root. And...
Hope For When Reading Is Hard
by: Dr. Amy Galloway Swann
Instruction, Reading Instruction, Dyslexia, Struggling Readers
If your child or your students are struggling to read, maybe you have tried everything and nothing seems to stick. Please hear this first: you are not alone, and you are not failing. Reading challenges, including dyslexia, are common and solvable...