I read. A lot. And every time I come across a “highlight-worthy” sentence or paragraph within a book, I can’t help but wish I could share them with my two boys. But with my youngest being 5, he’s not yet quite ready to grasp and understand some of the shared concepts. Yet, it is something I want my kids to know. Preferably today, and not when they’re older…
I once believed that being a children’s book author had nothing to do with doing good in this world; beyond providing entertainment, that is.
I WAS WRONG.
Armed with the desire to share these nuggets of wisdom of my favorite books that truly impacted my own life, I started working on a children’s book series, titled Braving The World.
In today’s fast- and ever-changing world, we all need to be asking ourselves: How am I impacting and supporting others with my life and my energy? How do I leave a lasting, positive impact on my little ones that leaves them for the better long after I’m gone?
As a children’s book author, I set out to turn impactful and valuable concepts of our literary ‘grown-up world’ into beautifully illustrated children’s books that can be understood and appreciated by little ones.
The purpose of Arianna Huffington’s book Thrive, for example, is to redefine success and what it means to live a life that truly matters – such an important topic – and yet so very hard to explain to little ones.
One of my favorite lines of this book reads,
“I give you the watch not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it.”
As I read this sentence again, and then re-read it once more, I instantly wanted to share this with my kids. Yet, I also knew that little ones wouldn’t be able to fully comprehend this. What I knew they would understand, however, is this:
“The tock, it goes tick. The tick it goes tock.
The hands of time move, whether we want them or not.
So instead of doing everything faster in hopes to succeed,
we slow down, and do everything at just the right speed.”
These lines are from I Wish You Success – Thriving From The Inside Out, my children’s book that was greatly inspired by Arianna’s book Thrive.
As a book of the award-winning series Braving The World, it won’t just help kids understand Thrive‘s introduced ideas and concepts. Parts of its proceeds will also be dedicated to help build schools and create programs with the goal of increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world.
Turns out, books written for grown-ups have plenty to teach even our smallest of people. And I believe that the best way to give our kids a shot at a bright and secure future is to help them understand these important principles early on.
Planting these seeds and exposing little ones to these concepts and ideas during their most formative years, the deeply ingrained knowledge would be theirs for life. Just like their language becomes second nature, so too will having strong interpersonal skills, problem solving abilities, and self-confidence.
I believe so much in the importance of bringing books like Thrive to little ones to help them understand what the authors are trying so hard to spread among adults.
I truly appreciate and value books such as Thrive. And I hope our littlest of generations get to as well!