Breakfast Club Blog

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is a curated space where bloggers from around the world contribute content on a continual basis about a variety of topics relevant to in and out-of-school time. The BOOST Breakfast Club blog is at the heart of an ongoing dialogue where expanded learning and education professionals share their personal thoughts and stories from the in and out-of-school time field. They also tell us what they ate for breakfast!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Enjoy the brain food.

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!

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For when you feel lazy or unmotivated…

3 quotes I use to spark motivation when I feel lazy, unmotivated, or hopeless Lazy isn’t permanent Let’s get something straight: no one feels enthusiastic, motivated, and productive all the time. Even if it seems like it from the outside. I know because I’ve been called a motivated, disciplined, and courageous person since I left a great job to become an entrepreneur. But I’m not like that all the time – not even close. There are plenty of times when, even though I absolutely love my life ...Read More

Love in Your Voice

It’s not always easy to be yourself. Maybe you can relate to this. I’m in a café with a cup of tea. It’s funny actually. There’s a trendy wooden table beside me. As I sit to write the first words of this blog project, in my head I hear the voices of writers I’m reading and speaker types famous for dumb one-liners. They are a crowded group in a room somewhere in my brain, an indecipherable rumble. “No Chad. Be you. Find your voice. Don’t write like them.&...Read More

Leaders Who Inspire Us: Alex Kajitani

Editor’s Note: Continuing with our Leaders Who Inspire Us campaign, check out today’s featured leader Alex Kajitani! Keep an eye out for more inspirational people in our field who are change-makers. If you want to recommend someone, please send a note to [email protected]. Alex Kajitani (Kaw-juw-taw-nee) is the 2009 California Teacher of the Year, and a Top-4 Finalist for National Teacher of the Year. He is the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers, ...Read More

Transformation: It’s Time For Personal Change

As we look ahead to imagine what this new year will bring it reminds us that we have an opportunity to change course or dream bigger. The year ahead provides space for transformation. Many people begin the first 30 days with resolutions to tackle. What if, instead of a list of resolutions, we made a commitment to do one thing that would be such a game changer that it would ultimately change the course of our future? In 2016, I tackled something new and challenging each month. A few months ago, s...Read More

A Holiday Invitation, Highs and Lows: What Will You Choose?

Happy December! It’s the season of holidays for many of us, though I know not all.   I embrace the holiday season, and Christmas is my holiday. I love it all—the lights, the trees, the presents, the magic. I love that the first snowfall usually comes during this season. I love the opportunity for gathering with people to enjoy eating, drinking, and merriment. I love that I have a fireplace and can light a cozy fire during this season. I love the Christmas music playing in the background (fo...Read More

The Flawed Leader… Follow Up 6 Months Later

Social Power is defined as the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. 6 months ago, I shared in this blog my challenges with my own leadership and that of the organization I started and grew over the past 15 years. I poured out on the table the comments my staff made in relation to my leadership flaws, and the ways I needed to be better for my team. Since then I have openly spoken in three different states in front of lar...Read More

Commencement

On behalf of the BOOST Breakfast Club, congratulations to all the graduates across the nation in 2017! This post from @erikap is so beautiful and well written, we wanted to #repost this heartfelt message. We believe the message is universal. Enjoy! As spring has officially given way to summer and academics have been replaced by pools and bike rides, I’ve been thinking about commencement speeches. Students across the country have been hearing them, whether graduating from high school or col...Read More

Finding Some Extraordinary In Your Ordinary

What does it mean to find the extraordinary within the ordinary? One of my favorite quotes is by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince, among others), where he says: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” Are you someone who sees rock piles, or do you see cathedrals? To find the extraordinary within the ordinary, you have to see it. And to see it, you have to look for it. And to look...Read More

2017: I Am Here (with love)

Starlings In Winter, by Mary Oliver Chunky and noisy, but with stars in their black feathers, they spring from the telephone wire and instantly they are acrobats in the freezing wind. And now, in the theater of air, they swing over buildings, dipping and rising; they float like one stippled star that opens, becomes for a moment fragmented, then closes again; and you watch and you try but you simply can’t imagine how they do it with no articulated instruction, no pause, only the silent conf...Read More

When We Awaken

For some reason lately I’ve been thinking about those moments that awaken us in some way—moments that either subtly or profoundly affect the way we interact with the world. Some of those moments are earth-shattering, like the first time Loss comes up and punches you squarely in the face. (For me, that came in the form of a 7 am phone call when I was 17 years old alerting me to the death of one of my most beloveds). Some of those moments are seemingly trivial, like the first time you find y...Read More

Does Self-Doubt Mean I Lack Self-Confidence?

Do you ever experience self-doubt when you’re about to do something new? Do you ever get the jitters and feel nervous? Do you ever wonder where your self-confidence has gone when this happens? Guess what…you’re normal! You’re supposed to feel a little nervous before you do something new because your brain is wired that way to protect you. You see, whenever you experience something new, your brain builds connections called “neural pathways” that let you know th...Read More

Inner City Scholars

For most inner city students of color, college is a distant dream. The thought of four more years of school is enough to discourage many inner city students from going for the gold in education. The military seems to be the golden ticket instead of college. In fact, 2 out of every 4 seniors I have counseled from the inner city intend to choose the military over college. Conversations of escaping current situations and making instant money surpass the collegiate pursuit. I am not bashing the mili...Read More

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