February 22, 2025 • 24 mins
LS Kirkpatrick introduces Mark Papadas, offering insights into his background and motivations for writing. Mark discusses his business and the reasons behind his focus on identity in children, sharing a personal homeschooling story that influenced his work. The conversation explores how Mark's books have impacted family communication, emphasizing the importance of rest for teenagers. Details of his books are highlighted, along with a glimpse into his upcoming projects and ways listeners can support his work. The episode concludes with Mark's final thoughts and a wrap-up of the discussion.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to another episode of Reading Betweenthe Words.
It's new to me, maybe new to you.
Today, we have Mark with us who's going to showus three books that he has.
Welcome, Mark.
Thank you for having me.
Great to be here.
Thank you, Per thanks, Celeste.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm so glad you're here.
Now we did record this earlier, but because Iwas new to the program I was using, it didn't
(00:25):
record.
So we're gonna do this again.
Hopefully, we've got even better stuff for youthis time around.
So, Mark, go ahead.
No.
So I'll I'll do my best.
So it was a very good it was a very goodconversation that we had.
So
It was.
It was.
We'll have a good one now.
So so let our audience know a little bit aboutwho you are.
(00:47):
Thank you.
So so my name is Mark Papadis, and I'm known asthe be great guy, and that's because of my work
bringing personal development to kids.
So if you have to describe what me and my teamdo in one sentence, say, imagine Tony Robbins
meets Charlie Brown, where our mission is to dofor kids empowerment and kids personal
(01:07):
development, what the Muppets did for readingand for math.
That's awesome.
I do love that.
Yeah.
And and so why why would you want to write abook?
What would be the purpose in writing a book?
Well, there there's a a number of reasons.
(01:28):
I mean, if you really wanna look at it, part ofit is to by nature, I am a a teacher, a
trainer, a coach.
Right?
So the the biggest reason is for the thetransfer of knowledge.
From a business standpoint, you know, therethere's a reason like, what's the first couple
syllables in the word authority?
(01:50):
Author.
Right?
So until you can I
like that?
Perceived as a as an expert in your field,you've gotta have a a book.
And preferably, the better the book, the moreof an authority you are perceived to be.
So that that was the biggest part of it is toget the knowledge out, but then also as a way
of separating myself.
(02:11):
Yeah.
And it's true because a lot of books are beingused, like business cards now.
I mean, people yeah.
People still have business cards, but whenyou've got a book, not only does it tell people
who you are, but they can see what you do andhow you think, and it just really brings a
whole another realm to it.
So, yeah, books are great.
(02:33):
So explain a little bit more about what yourbusiness really is, and what does it do for
people who come to you?
Okay.
Thank you for asking.
So so I am for kids is except it's all aboutbringing personal development to kids.
And the the foundation of what we talk about,the the the core of it that everything else
builds upon is the child's identity.
(02:55):
In other words, their I am statement.
Now the problem with that is that most people,doesn't matter whether you're a kid or adult,
have never given that any conscious thought.
They haven't decided for themselves who theyare.
Now we all have one.
We just don't necessarily know it.
So if if you haven't decided for yourself, it'susually just the loudest voices that are in
your orbit that get in there and stick in yourhead so that when things come up, that's that's
(03:20):
what all you have to go by.
Right.
So we we we bring it we we bring programs tokids and families so that they can decide for
themselves and make a huge difference in theirlives.
I do like what you said earlier when we talkedtogether, and maybe I'm speaking too early, but
but I I it made an impact on me that, I thinkyou said you had kids you asked who says, who
(03:48):
am I?
Yeah.
And then you asked adults.
Tell that to our audience.
Yeah.
So the you know, I I worked with so calledgrown ups for over a decade before before I had
my epiphany, in roughly 02/2010, to take thiscontent to kids.
Now the the five step process that I've createdto develop an empowering identity for yourself,
(04:11):
it's the same five steps that I was using withadults as they are with kids.
It's just how it's taught and communicated iswhat's completely different.
Okay.
But the the first step either way is they get ablank sheet of paper that just has the words I
am on the top of it, and they're asked to justfinish that statement.
Again, it doesn't matter.
Kids or adults, hands go up.
So what what do you look for?
You know, do you mind how do you want me toit's like, there's no right or wrong answer.
(04:33):
However you think you should, you can usewords.
You can draw a picture.
However you express yourself.
Now with adults, over 80% of the time, theywrote down their name and or their occupation.
That's just crazy.
Yeah.
Neither has nothing to do with like I said, aname is just a label you were given by your
parents when you were born, and your occupationis what you do to make a living.
(04:54):
And not everybody is as fortunate as I am toget to get up and do what they're passionate
about every day.
But the the sad and scary part was when we'redoing it for the pilot classrooms for our I am
for kids school program that sits on top of thecurriculum taught in second through fifth
grade, a, nearly a % of them answered with aone word answer, which is that's how kids are.
(05:15):
Right?
You know, it's like, how was school today?
Fine.
Right?
You know, that's the that was expected.
Right.
Yeah.
Exactly.
The the scary part was that over 50% of thetime, it was that one word answer was a
negative trait or characteristic with the threemost common ones being I am fat, I am stupid,
or I am ugly.
That's that's just crazy.
(05:36):
You know?
I got to thinking about that after we talked.
And my son, when he we first startedhomeschooling it, and it's just a whole story
about the homeschooling.
It wasn't because we are against the schools oranything, but, he kept saying how stupid he
was.
Now I don't remember kids in school saying thatthey were stupid.
(06:02):
No.
That's not completely true.
I do remember one kid used to say that, buteverybody rallied around him and started
tutoring and helping him out because Phil knewhe wasn't stupid.
There was just he just had a different way tolearn.
And but to hear my son say that, you know, it'sfifth grade, and it was all over math.
(06:22):
And it's like, you're not stupid.
And then I found out that in the public schoolthe year before, the teacher didn't like
teaching multiplication, so she didn't teachit.
And it's like, no wonder he doesn't understanddivision.
You gotta have that before you can go on.
Right.
But it's surprising how many kids say those sonegative things about themselves.
(06:45):
It it just breaks my heart.
Yeah.
I couldn't agree more.
So show us your books.
Let's get a happy note in here.
So there's, you know, there is the these arethere these are the adult books.
Okay?
So this is Okay.
So I can make sure I so this is the English.
This is the Spanish version of this book.
(07:07):
So
Oh, okay.
These so these are designed, I said, foradults.
They're designed for the teachers, the coaches,the parents, etcetera, who who work with young
kids.
And then we also have are starting our kids'book program.
And this goes along with the TV show that we'redeveloping as well, so I'll I'll cover that
(07:28):
later when yeah.
I don't I don't wanna be, you know, pluggingstuff.
I don't want it to be a a plug fest kindathing.
But,
Yeah.
So what's the difference between the the adultbooks and the kid books?
So the the kids' books are they are truestories of real kids and who have gone through
(07:51):
the I am for kids program and the impacts thatthey're making, whether it be in their family,
their communities, and sometimes beyond.
So these are kids who have been through it andhave decided for themselves what their identity
is and how they're making an impact.
So the adult books, these are designed becausefirst off, what what I do is is basically
(08:13):
universally accepted.
I've yet to talk to somebody that that says,you know, yeah.
I'm dead set against that.
I I want kids to be miserable and unsuccessfuland all that kind of stuff.
You know?
There there was a I could I'll tell the storylater about one woman who actually did say she
wasn't sure if she could get behind it, but shewas saying it as a joke.
So kids are way smarter than adults give themcredit for.
(08:37):
Yes.
They're basically they're also pretty muchhuman lie detectors.
So if a parent or a teacher is basicallysaying, you're like, this is really important
for you and all that kind of stuff, and whenthey go through the program, they they do come
out feeling better and stronger.
And it's the longer that they do it, the thethe happier and stronger they become.
Okay.
They go home and start talking to to mom anddad about about having this empowering identity
(09:01):
and stuff like that.
So so, mommy, tell me tell me what's yours.
Right?
If if they don't have an answer or or don'thave a good reason why it's important for the
kids to be going through it, then pardon mylanguage, but the kids think you're full of
crap.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right?
And this also gets the content to the parentsso that what we find is that families who have
(09:24):
where the parents have read this, the kids aregoing through it, they wind up kind of doing it
together, and the communication and everythingin the family unit gets so much better as well.
That's exciting.
That that would be really great because how wasschool today?
Fine.
What'd you learn?
Nothing.
Right.
Did you do anything exciting?
No.
(09:44):
It I feel like you were saying those one wordanswers, but, yeah, when when you can can get
that communication going, I'm I'm just editingsome, chapters for a book that's coming out,
and, it's written by different authors.
And it was just happens to be about parents andkids and the communication and stuff.
(10:05):
And and, wow, so important to do that.
And kids do wanna talk to the parents, butthere's just that as they get older, it's like,
one, I don't think you know anything that'sgonna be applicable to my life because you're
not me.
You know?
You've never been a teenager.
You're this old person.
(10:26):
But but also I think sometimes as adults, wedon't know how to ask questions because we have
gotten past that age.
And and I know there are some out there who arevery fortunate to be able to speak teenage
language.
But for most of us, it's like, well, how do Iengage my child or my grandchild into a real
(10:50):
conversation?
Because I really am interested in it.
I'm not in there to judge.
I'm not in there to tell them what to do.
Well, I'd say there's there's a short term anda long term answer to that question.
So the the short term, is the answer is thequestions that you ask.
Right.
It's it's how you ask them.
(11:11):
It's the it's more of the specificity asopposed to, like, you know, so how was school
today?
Something that they can't answer with one word.
Yeah.
Ask
them specific questions that they actually haveto think about.
Because a lot of times that that fine, no, yes,whatever, those are just they're they're just
pattern responses just to, you know, kind ofmove on with the day.
Right?
Right.
(11:31):
Right.
The the long term answer to that, though, is ifyou can, as they're growing up, pre frame with
them things that are going to happen in theirlives.
Right?
Oh, interesting.
When those thing when those things come up, nowit's like, you know, my mom or my dad was
pretty smart because they told me this wasgonna happen.
(11:52):
And when they told me it was gonna happen, Iwas like, no.
That's not gonna happen.
Right?
So if if you can cover those things in advance,they're so much more likely to actually come to
you, not just answer your questions, butthey'll come to you with that that issue or
problem about that.
You know?
And so that was the the number one reason thatwe were able to keep our kids from I don't
(12:15):
wanna say so much rebelling, but from thinkingthat we were stupid when they were teenagers
because we told them that was gonna happen.
Yeah.
And when it when it finally did happen, they'relike, no.
You're you were pretty much spot on.
You're pretty cool.
We get it.
That's cool.
That's cool.
Yeah.
I was speaking with, one of my guests yesterdaythat was talking about, being in a divorce
(12:37):
family.
And the questions he asked his daughter now areare really brilliant questions.
And it's the way that he asked them, whichactually invoked a conversation.
There was no accusation.
There was no anything like that.
And the one thing we have to remember is whenkids get home from school, they're exhausted.
(12:59):
They need, even teenagers, they need the snack.
Maybe they need a ten minute nap or something,you know, to get charged up again.
But, yeah, they've got to refresh their bodiesbecause one, their bodies are growing at
exorbitant rate.
Everything is changing constantly.
In fact, I remember, studying on napping andkids and different ages.
(13:22):
Teenagers actually need more naps than youngchildren do because there's so much going on.
And that really surprised me.
I think that's why it stuck in my head wasbecause it's they've got all of this plus
they've got all the extra learning going on andthe school going on, which you don't have, you
know, as as a toddler and stuff.
(13:44):
So there's a lot going on.
So give them a little bit of grace and andYeah.
Let them recoup themselves before before youstart asking.
Yeah.
I mean, especially with teenagers, in additionto all of the just the growth, there's all of
the hormone regulation that needs to happenYeah.
Which which happens when you sleep because Isaid there's all this you know, there's a
(14:07):
there's a new soup that's going through thesystem.
That's right.
You
gotta get the recipe right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, when you rest, our bodiesactually heal themselves.
So anything that's going on there, it needsthat time to really do that.
Especially now with cold and flu season andfull swing in the schools, the weather's
(14:28):
getting colder, so let them get that rest.
You know, some of them say, no.
I don't need a nap.
Fine.
Let's talk.
Okay.
I'll go take a nap.
Anything but that.
Just kidding.
But tell us more about your book and what whatare the plans for it?
What do you have going on with it?
Okay.
So it's basically, the name of the book is the10 secrets to empower kids and awaken the child
(14:52):
in you.
And the book is divided up into two parts.
The first part is the identity buildingprocess.
So, again, this is for the adults to go throughso that when they talk to the kids about it,
they can they know what stage and thedevelopment that they're doing and all that
kind of stuff.
And then the last half of it is the 10 secrets.
Secrets.
So the the the number one secret is where my mymoniker comes from because I said I'm known as
(15:16):
the be great guy.
Right.
And that's because of that, that's the numberone secret in the book.
And the genesis behind that is that anytime,whether it's somebody like a kid that I'm
working with, my old kids, my grandkids, youname it, is anytime I am leaving an interaction
with them.
(15:36):
So not necessarily every time I leave the room,but, you know, when when we're done for that
day or that session
Right.
I say I say be great.
And then they say with enthusiasm, I am.
Oh, that's nice.
That's nice.
And because what what that does is over overtime, it literally builds a neuroplastic
(15:57):
connection in the brain so that every time thatthey say it, the the more often they say it,
the more they literally believe it, not in amental way, but in a physical or a
physiological
Oh, yeah.
Way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's a lot of, I should say, a few studiesthat I'm hearing about that are talking about
how what you're thinking actually affects youryour body, all this the cells that are going on
(16:24):
with there.
And and by building yourself up, the cells arestronger.
So you want to do that.
I I know I I told you this earlier, but ouraudience didn't hear it.
As as a volunteer firefighter, we take the,fire trucks out to the schools.
I know you're at a grade school and while theywere getting some of the stuff ready, I was
(16:46):
talking with the kids and and, somehow it cameup that I I said, well, who's feeling great
today or something like that?
And they're like, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I am.
I go, okay.
Raise your arms and say, I am the greatest.
And couple of them raised their arms.
Most of them said, yeah.
I'm the greatest.
And I'm like, what?
That doesn't sound like great to me.
(17:07):
Let me hear you raise those arms and yell it.
Every child raised their arms up and yelled, Iam the greatest.
And the whole atmosphere changed.
They were eager to learn.
They were ready.
It's just amazing to see that change just fromdoing that one thing.
Mhmm.
I was just just so happy to see that.
(17:30):
And it's funny going back to what you had saidjust prior to that when you're talking about,
like, at the cellular level is the this everycell has energy.
And we're not talking all, you know, poofy andauras and, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Not that there's anything wrong with people whobelieve in that kind of stuff.
Right.
But they do have positive and negative energyto them.
(17:52):
Mhmm.
And when you're talking about how the bodyreproduces itself, I mean, we we have literally
every seven years, you are a different personthan you were seven years ago physically.
There's not a cell in your body that was therethat was there seven years ago.
Now some do it much faster than that.
Usually, it's bone and things of that naturethat take a longer period of time.
(18:12):
But so that's why it's so important to do thesethings every day because if you get to that
point to where you are in that that flow ofenergy in your body that is positive, that
keeps the cells healthy and strong, etcetera.
That's why it's so important to feed the mindto be able to do that because the mind body
connection is is a real thing.
(18:32):
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was just you're thinking about that, and it'slike how many you know, sometimes there are
scars.
They don't always get rid of our scars, but younotice that the scars are different as as you
age.
Yeah.
That's very different.
(18:53):
Yeah.
That's just great.
So how do people get ahold of you?
Where do they find your books and and how canthey get in touch with you to learn more?
Well, as far as finding the books, you can goto 10secretsbook.com.
You either write out 10 or use the number 10.
I have both URLs.
So 10, and that will take you directly to theorder page on Amazon where you can order there.
(19:18):
We actually are running we, we're gonna we Ijust revised the book, and we're relaunching
it.
And we're running a 25% off discount at leastthrough the end of the month.
So if you wanted to go there and say it was$19.95, now it's $14.95 if they wanted to go
ahead and do that.
And there should be a link to the kids' book onthat page as well if that was something that
(19:40):
you would would like to look at.
Okay.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Wonderful.
So do you have events and things coming up?
The right now, we don't have any events comingup for the next few months.
But if you don't mind, there is one thing thatI would like to plug.
Oh, definitely.
That so as I mentioned, we're we're we'reliterally developing the I Am For Kids brand.
(20:01):
And part of that brand is we have indevelopment the world's first animated reality
based TV show for kids.
Right now, the working title is I Am For KidsTV.
And like I said, it's it's it's all of the thereal stories of the real kids, and every one of
those episodes will become an episode in thebook series as well.
(20:22):
K?
So what we're doing is, as I said, starting thepilot episode should be done by the end of this
year.
So we will be pitching it starting in Januaryto the networks, the streaming services,
etcetera.
So what we're we think we have a fairlyingenious marketing method that is geared
towards those streaming services.
(20:43):
So we've started a campaign on GoFundMe.
So go this is not for us to raise money toproduce it.
We've already got that under control.
What we're looking to do is to get as many ofthe smallest allowable donations on the
platform as we can possibly get.
So on GoFundMe, it's only $5.
K?
So the whole concept is is that when we havethe the pilot ready, we take it to them.
(21:08):
We can show Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime,etcetera that we've got 10,000, 20 thousand, a
hundred thousand, however many people that itis Right.
Who have said that they want this show, andthey've paid something to get it.
We're bringing an audience with us.
All you have to do is say yes.
(21:28):
Wow.
That's great.
So, yeah, we we we think it's a a pretty smartway of doing it, and then we've, you know, we
we've launched it recently.
We're getting some good response.
But my job is to make sure that everybody knowsabout it.
So if somebody would like to just go check itout, you can go to Iamthenumber4kids.TV.
So Iamforkids.TV.
That'll take you right to the campaign page.
(21:49):
There's a little video there.
It talks about the show, the characters, youknow, what the whole concept is behind it.
There'll be, right now, there is nothing fromthe pilot because, like I said, the pilot isn't
done.
But you can see that.
And if you think that this type of programmingis something that we need today for our kids as
opposed to the the mindless dribble that'saimed at them right now for the most part.
(22:10):
Yep.
Give us your $5 and share it on your socialmedia.
If you don't think it's worth it, I appreciateyou're taking the time to go and take a look at
it.
Okay.
That's great.
So we go go to Iamthenumber4kids.TV to supportthat project, I guess, is a good word.
(22:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
But if we want the books, we go toIamthenumber4kids.com.
You can get it there.
Okay.
You know, you can also but a a ten secondretsbook is the Absolutely.
URL that goes directly to the the Amazon page.
10 secrets books.
Okay.
Book.
One single.
Ten ten secrets book.
(22:52):
Okay.
10 secrets book.
And it can be the number 10 or spell out theword 10.
Correct.
Okay.
That sounds great.
That sounds great.
Any closing thoughts for our audience?
No.
I let's say, guys, I wanted to thank you forthe opportunity to to talk about the book.
As you can tell, I'm kinda passionate aboutwhat I do, and then I always end, you know, I
(23:15):
said every interview or every interaction withand always remember, be great.
I love that.
Alright.
Thank you for being here, and thank youraudience for being here, and be great.
Well, thank you.
That went good too.
Thank you.
Yeah.
So, I'll try and get it out this weekend if Ican.
(23:38):
I've got quite a few that are lined up, but,yeah, but I'll see what I can do then.
Thanks so much for coming back and doing thisagain.
I appreciate it.
It was my pleasure.
Alrighty.
We'll talk to you later.
Go ahead.
Okay.
I I will, at some point, be connecting with youbecause if if I remember correctly, you you're,
like, your main thing is operations manuals andthat type of thing.
(24:01):
Is that correct?
I'm remembering or am I thinking of somebodydifferent?
Probably somebody different.
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Shoot.
No.
That's okay.
I swore it was you, but maybe not.
Obviously, not because you just said not.
But it it works.
That's why.
They might have something to do with it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I should pay more I should pay more attentionon some of these networking things.
(24:22):
I know.
It's like I have all these post it notes, andit's like, oh, no.
I didn't write down the name for which post itnote this went to.
Okay.
Well, then then never mind what I just said.
Well, if you have an operations manual youwanna talk about, come and let me know.
Fair enough.
Alright.
We'll talk with you later.
Bye bye.
Have
(24:42):
everyone.
Bye bye.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you next time on Reading Between theWords.
Welcome to another episode of Reading Betweenthe Words.
It's new to me, maybe new to you.
Today, we have Mark with us who's going to showus three books that he has.
Welcome, Mark.
Thank you for having me.
Great to be here.
Thank you, Per thanks, Celeste.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm so glad you're here.
Now we did record this earlier, but because Iwas new to the program I was using, it didn't
(00:25):
record.
So we're gonna do this again.
Hopefully, we've got even better stuff for youthis time around.
So, Mark, go ahead.
No.
So I'll I'll do my best.
So it was a very good it was a very goodconversation that we had.
So
It was.
It was.
We'll have a good one now.
So so let our audience know a little bit aboutwho you are.
(00:47):
Thank you.
So so my name is Mark Papadis, and I'm known asthe be great guy, and that's because of my work
bringing personal development to kids.
So if you have to describe what me and my teamdo in one sentence, say, imagine Tony Robbins
meets Charlie Brown, where our mission is to dofor kids empowerment and kids personal
(01:07):
development, what the Muppets did for readingand for math.
That's awesome.
I do love that.
Yeah.
And and so why why would you want to write abook?
What would be the purpose in writing a book?
Well, there there's a a number of reasons.
(01:28):
I mean, if you really wanna look at it, part ofit is to by nature, I am a a teacher, a
trainer, a coach.
Right?
So the the biggest reason is for the thetransfer of knowledge.
From a business standpoint, you know, therethere's a reason like, what's the first couple
syllables in the word authority?
(01:50):
Author.
Right?
So until you can I
like that?
Perceived as a as an expert in your field,you've gotta have a a book.
And preferably, the better the book, the moreof an authority you are perceived to be.
So that that was the biggest part of it is toget the knowledge out, but then also as a way
of separating myself.
(02:11):
Yeah.
And it's true because a lot of books are beingused, like business cards now.
I mean, people yeah.
People still have business cards, but whenyou've got a book, not only does it tell people
who you are, but they can see what you do andhow you think, and it just really brings a
whole another realm to it.
So, yeah, books are great.
(02:33):
So explain a little bit more about what yourbusiness really is, and what does it do for
people who come to you?
Okay.
Thank you for asking.
So so I am for kids is except it's all aboutbringing personal development to kids.
And the the foundation of what we talk about,the the the core of it that everything else
builds upon is the child's identity.
(02:55):
In other words, their I am statement.
Now the problem with that is that most people,doesn't matter whether you're a kid or adult,
have never given that any conscious thought.
They haven't decided for themselves who theyare.
Now we all have one.
We just don't necessarily know it.
So if if you haven't decided for yourself, it'susually just the loudest voices that are in
your orbit that get in there and stick in yourhead so that when things come up, that's that's
(03:20):
what all you have to go by.
Right.
So we we we bring it we we bring programs tokids and families so that they can decide for
themselves and make a huge difference in theirlives.
I do like what you said earlier when we talkedtogether, and maybe I'm speaking too early, but
but I I it made an impact on me that, I thinkyou said you had kids you asked who says, who
(03:48):
am I?
Yeah.
And then you asked adults.
Tell that to our audience.
Yeah.
So the you know, I I worked with so calledgrown ups for over a decade before before I had
my epiphany, in roughly 02/2010, to take thiscontent to kids.
Now the the five step process that I've createdto develop an empowering identity for yourself,
(04:11):
it's the same five steps that I was using withadults as they are with kids.
It's just how it's taught and communicated iswhat's completely different.
Okay.
But the the first step either way is they get ablank sheet of paper that just has the words I
am on the top of it, and they're asked to justfinish that statement.
Again, it doesn't matter.
Kids or adults, hands go up.
So what what do you look for?
You know, do you mind how do you want me toit's like, there's no right or wrong answer.
(04:33):
However you think you should, you can usewords.
You can draw a picture.
However you express yourself.
Now with adults, over 80% of the time, theywrote down their name and or their occupation.
That's just crazy.
Yeah.
Neither has nothing to do with like I said, aname is just a label you were given by your
parents when you were born, and your occupationis what you do to make a living.
(04:54):
And not everybody is as fortunate as I am toget to get up and do what they're passionate
about every day.
But the the sad and scary part was when we'redoing it for the pilot classrooms for our I am
for kids school program that sits on top of thecurriculum taught in second through fifth
grade, a, nearly a % of them answered with aone word answer, which is that's how kids are.
(05:15):
Right?
You know, it's like, how was school today?
Fine.
Right?
You know, that's the that was expected.
Right.
Yeah.
Exactly.
The the scary part was that over 50% of thetime, it was that one word answer was a
negative trait or characteristic with the threemost common ones being I am fat, I am stupid,
or I am ugly.
That's that's just crazy.
(05:36):
You know?
I got to thinking about that after we talked.
And my son, when he we first startedhomeschooling it, and it's just a whole story
about the homeschooling.
It wasn't because we are against the schools oranything, but, he kept saying how stupid he
was.
Now I don't remember kids in school saying thatthey were stupid.
(06:02):
No.
That's not completely true.
I do remember one kid used to say that, buteverybody rallied around him and started
tutoring and helping him out because Phil knewhe wasn't stupid.
There was just he just had a different way tolearn.
And but to hear my son say that, you know, it'sfifth grade, and it was all over math.
(06:22):
And it's like, you're not stupid.
And then I found out that in the public schoolthe year before, the teacher didn't like
teaching multiplication, so she didn't teachit.
And it's like, no wonder he doesn't understanddivision.
You gotta have that before you can go on.
Right.
But it's surprising how many kids say those sonegative things about themselves.
(06:45):
It it just breaks my heart.
Yeah.
I couldn't agree more.
So show us your books.
Let's get a happy note in here.
So there's, you know, there is the these arethere these are the adult books.
Okay?
So this is Okay.
So I can make sure I so this is the English.
This is the Spanish version of this book.
(07:07):
So
Oh, okay.
These so these are designed, I said, foradults.
They're designed for the teachers, the coaches,the parents, etcetera, who who work with young
kids.
And then we also have are starting our kids'book program.
And this goes along with the TV show that we'redeveloping as well, so I'll I'll cover that
(07:28):
later when yeah.
I don't I don't wanna be, you know, pluggingstuff.
I don't want it to be a a plug fest kindathing.
But,
Yeah.
So what's the difference between the the adultbooks and the kid books?
So the the kids' books are they are truestories of real kids and who have gone through
(07:51):
the I am for kids program and the impacts thatthey're making, whether it be in their family,
their communities, and sometimes beyond.
So these are kids who have been through it andhave decided for themselves what their identity
is and how they're making an impact.
So the adult books, these are designed becausefirst off, what what I do is is basically
(08:13):
universally accepted.
I've yet to talk to somebody that that says,you know, yeah.
I'm dead set against that.
I I want kids to be miserable and unsuccessfuland all that kind of stuff.
You know?
There there was a I could I'll tell the storylater about one woman who actually did say she
wasn't sure if she could get behind it, but shewas saying it as a joke.
So kids are way smarter than adults give themcredit for.
(08:37):
Yes.
They're basically they're also pretty muchhuman lie detectors.
So if a parent or a teacher is basicallysaying, you're like, this is really important
for you and all that kind of stuff, and whenthey go through the program, they they do come
out feeling better and stronger.
And it's the longer that they do it, the thethe happier and stronger they become.
Okay.
They go home and start talking to to mom anddad about about having this empowering identity
(09:01):
and stuff like that.
So so, mommy, tell me tell me what's yours.
Right?
If if they don't have an answer or or don'thave a good reason why it's important for the
kids to be going through it, then pardon mylanguage, but the kids think you're full of
crap.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right?
And this also gets the content to the parentsso that what we find is that families who have
(09:24):
where the parents have read this, the kids aregoing through it, they wind up kind of doing it
together, and the communication and everythingin the family unit gets so much better as well.
That's exciting.
That that would be really great because how wasschool today?
Fine.
What'd you learn?
Nothing.
Right.
Did you do anything exciting?
No.
(09:44):
It I feel like you were saying those one wordanswers, but, yeah, when when you can can get
that communication going, I'm I'm just editingsome, chapters for a book that's coming out,
and, it's written by different authors.
And it was just happens to be about parents andkids and the communication and stuff.
(10:05):
And and, wow, so important to do that.
And kids do wanna talk to the parents, butthere's just that as they get older, it's like,
one, I don't think you know anything that'sgonna be applicable to my life because you're
not me.
You know?
You've never been a teenager.
You're this old person.
(10:26):
But but also I think sometimes as adults, wedon't know how to ask questions because we have
gotten past that age.
And and I know there are some out there who arevery fortunate to be able to speak teenage
language.
But for most of us, it's like, well, how do Iengage my child or my grandchild into a real
(10:50):
conversation?
Because I really am interested in it.
I'm not in there to judge.
I'm not in there to tell them what to do.
Well, I'd say there's there's a short term anda long term answer to that question.
So the the short term, is the answer is thequestions that you ask.
Right.
It's it's how you ask them.
(11:11):
It's the it's more of the specificity asopposed to, like, you know, so how was school
today?
Something that they can't answer with one word.
Yeah.
Ask
them specific questions that they actually haveto think about.
Because a lot of times that that fine, no, yes,whatever, those are just they're they're just
pattern responses just to, you know, kind ofmove on with the day.
Right?
Right.
(11:31):
Right.
The the long term answer to that, though, is ifyou can, as they're growing up, pre frame with
them things that are going to happen in theirlives.
Right?
Oh, interesting.
When those thing when those things come up, nowit's like, you know, my mom or my dad was
pretty smart because they told me this wasgonna happen.
(11:52):
And when they told me it was gonna happen, Iwas like, no.
That's not gonna happen.
Right?
So if if you can cover those things in advance,they're so much more likely to actually come to
you, not just answer your questions, butthey'll come to you with that that issue or
problem about that.
You know?
And so that was the the number one reason thatwe were able to keep our kids from I don't
(12:15):
wanna say so much rebelling, but from thinkingthat we were stupid when they were teenagers
because we told them that was gonna happen.
Yeah.
And when it when it finally did happen, they'relike, no.
You're you were pretty much spot on.
You're pretty cool.
We get it.
That's cool.
That's cool.
Yeah.
I was speaking with, one of my guests yesterdaythat was talking about, being in a divorce
(12:37):
family.
And the questions he asked his daughter now areare really brilliant questions.
And it's the way that he asked them, whichactually invoked a conversation.
There was no accusation.
There was no anything like that.
And the one thing we have to remember is whenkids get home from school, they're exhausted.
(12:59):
They need, even teenagers, they need the snack.
Maybe they need a ten minute nap or something,you know, to get charged up again.
But, yeah, they've got to refresh their bodiesbecause one, their bodies are growing at
exorbitant rate.
Everything is changing constantly.
In fact, I remember, studying on napping andkids and different ages.
(13:22):
Teenagers actually need more naps than youngchildren do because there's so much going on.
And that really surprised me.
I think that's why it stuck in my head wasbecause it's they've got all of this plus
they've got all the extra learning going on andthe school going on, which you don't have, you
know, as as a toddler and stuff.
(13:44):
So there's a lot going on.
So give them a little bit of grace and andYeah.
Let them recoup themselves before before youstart asking.
Yeah.
I mean, especially with teenagers, in additionto all of the just the growth, there's all of
the hormone regulation that needs to happenYeah.
Which which happens when you sleep because Isaid there's all this you know, there's a
(14:07):
there's a new soup that's going through thesystem.
That's right.
You
gotta get the recipe right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, when you rest, our bodiesactually heal themselves.
So anything that's going on there, it needsthat time to really do that.
Especially now with cold and flu season andfull swing in the schools, the weather's
(14:28):
getting colder, so let them get that rest.
You know, some of them say, no.
I don't need a nap.
Fine.
Let's talk.
Okay.
I'll go take a nap.
Anything but that.
Just kidding.
But tell us more about your book and what whatare the plans for it?
What do you have going on with it?
Okay.
So it's basically, the name of the book is the10 secrets to empower kids and awaken the child
(14:52):
in you.
And the book is divided up into two parts.
The first part is the identity buildingprocess.
So, again, this is for the adults to go throughso that when they talk to the kids about it,
they can they know what stage and thedevelopment that they're doing and all that
kind of stuff.
And then the last half of it is the 10 secrets.
Secrets.
So the the the number one secret is where my mymoniker comes from because I said I'm known as
(15:16):
the be great guy.
Right.
And that's because of that, that's the numberone secret in the book.
And the genesis behind that is that anytime,whether it's somebody like a kid that I'm
working with, my old kids, my grandkids, youname it, is anytime I am leaving an interaction
with them.
(15:36):
So not necessarily every time I leave the room,but, you know, when when we're done for that
day or that session
Right.
I say I say be great.
And then they say with enthusiasm, I am.
Oh, that's nice.
That's nice.
And because what what that does is over overtime, it literally builds a neuroplastic
(15:57):
connection in the brain so that every time thatthey say it, the the more often they say it,
the more they literally believe it, not in amental way, but in a physical or a
physiological
Oh, yeah.
Way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's a lot of, I should say, a few studiesthat I'm hearing about that are talking about
how what you're thinking actually affects youryour body, all this the cells that are going on
(16:24):
with there.
And and by building yourself up, the cells arestronger.
So you want to do that.
I I know I I told you this earlier, but ouraudience didn't hear it.
As as a volunteer firefighter, we take the,fire trucks out to the schools.
I know you're at a grade school and while theywere getting some of the stuff ready, I was
(16:46):
talking with the kids and and, somehow it cameup that I I said, well, who's feeling great
today or something like that?
And they're like, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I am.
I go, okay.
Raise your arms and say, I am the greatest.
And couple of them raised their arms.
Most of them said, yeah.
I'm the greatest.
And I'm like, what?
That doesn't sound like great to me.
(17:07):
Let me hear you raise those arms and yell it.
Every child raised their arms up and yelled, Iam the greatest.
And the whole atmosphere changed.
They were eager to learn.
They were ready.
It's just amazing to see that change just fromdoing that one thing.
Mhmm.
I was just just so happy to see that.
(17:30):
And it's funny going back to what you had saidjust prior to that when you're talking about,
like, at the cellular level is the this everycell has energy.
And we're not talking all, you know, poofy andauras and, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Not that there's anything wrong with people whobelieve in that kind of stuff.
Right.
But they do have positive and negative energyto them.
(17:52):
Mhmm.
And when you're talking about how the bodyreproduces itself, I mean, we we have literally
every seven years, you are a different personthan you were seven years ago physically.
There's not a cell in your body that was therethat was there seven years ago.
Now some do it much faster than that.
Usually, it's bone and things of that naturethat take a longer period of time.
(18:12):
But so that's why it's so important to do thesethings every day because if you get to that
point to where you are in that that flow ofenergy in your body that is positive, that
keeps the cells healthy and strong, etcetera.
That's why it's so important to feed the mindto be able to do that because the mind body
connection is is a real thing.
(18:32):
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was just you're thinking about that, and it'slike how many you know, sometimes there are
scars.
They don't always get rid of our scars, but younotice that the scars are different as as you
age.
Yeah.
That's very different.
(18:53):
Yeah.
That's just great.
So how do people get ahold of you?
Where do they find your books and and how canthey get in touch with you to learn more?
Well, as far as finding the books, you can goto 10secretsbook.com.
You either write out 10 or use the number 10.
I have both URLs.
So 10, and that will take you directly to theorder page on Amazon where you can order there.
(19:18):
We actually are running we, we're gonna we Ijust revised the book, and we're relaunching
it.
And we're running a 25% off discount at leastthrough the end of the month.
So if you wanted to go there and say it was$19.95, now it's $14.95 if they wanted to go
ahead and do that.
And there should be a link to the kids' book onthat page as well if that was something that
(19:40):
you would would like to look at.
Okay.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Wonderful.
So do you have events and things coming up?
The right now, we don't have any events comingup for the next few months.
But if you don't mind, there is one thing thatI would like to plug.
Oh, definitely.
That so as I mentioned, we're we're we'reliterally developing the I Am For Kids brand.
(20:01):
And part of that brand is we have indevelopment the world's first animated reality
based TV show for kids.
Right now, the working title is I Am For KidsTV.
And like I said, it's it's it's all of the thereal stories of the real kids, and every one of
those episodes will become an episode in thebook series as well.
(20:22):
K?
So what we're doing is, as I said, starting thepilot episode should be done by the end of this
year.
So we will be pitching it starting in Januaryto the networks, the streaming services,
etcetera.
So what we're we think we have a fairlyingenious marketing method that is geared
towards those streaming services.
(20:43):
So we've started a campaign on GoFundMe.
So go this is not for us to raise money toproduce it.
We've already got that under control.
What we're looking to do is to get as many ofthe smallest allowable donations on the
platform as we can possibly get.
So on GoFundMe, it's only $5.
K?
So the whole concept is is that when we havethe the pilot ready, we take it to them.
(21:08):
We can show Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime,etcetera that we've got 10,000, 20 thousand, a
hundred thousand, however many people that itis Right.
Who have said that they want this show, andthey've paid something to get it.
We're bringing an audience with us.
All you have to do is say yes.
(21:28):
Wow.
That's great.
So, yeah, we we we think it's a a pretty smartway of doing it, and then we've, you know, we
we've launched it recently.
We're getting some good response.
But my job is to make sure that everybody knowsabout it.
So if somebody would like to just go check itout, you can go to Iamthenumber4kids.TV.
So Iamforkids.TV.
That'll take you right to the campaign page.
(21:49):
There's a little video there.
It talks about the show, the characters, youknow, what the whole concept is behind it.
There'll be, right now, there is nothing fromthe pilot because, like I said, the pilot isn't
done.
But you can see that.
And if you think that this type of programmingis something that we need today for our kids as
opposed to the the mindless dribble that'saimed at them right now for the most part.
(22:10):
Yep.
Give us your $5 and share it on your socialmedia.
If you don't think it's worth it, I appreciateyou're taking the time to go and take a look at
it.
Okay.
That's great.
So we go go to Iamthenumber4kids.TV to supportthat project, I guess, is a good word.
(22:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
But if we want the books, we go toIamthenumber4kids.com.
You can get it there.
Okay.
You know, you can also but a a ten secondretsbook is the Absolutely.
URL that goes directly to the the Amazon page.
10 secrets books.
Okay.
Book.
One single.
Ten ten secrets book.
(22:52):
Okay.
10 secrets book.
And it can be the number 10 or spell out theword 10.
Correct.
Okay.
That sounds great.
That sounds great.
Any closing thoughts for our audience?
No.
I let's say, guys, I wanted to thank you forthe opportunity to to talk about the book.
As you can tell, I'm kinda passionate aboutwhat I do, and then I always end, you know, I
(23:15):
said every interview or every interaction withand always remember, be great.
I love that.
Alright.
Thank you for being here, and thank youraudience for being here, and be great.
Well, thank you.
That went good too.
Thank you.
Yeah.
So, I'll try and get it out this weekend if Ican.
(23:38):
I've got quite a few that are lined up, but,yeah, but I'll see what I can do then.
Thanks so much for coming back and doing thisagain.
I appreciate it.
It was my pleasure.
Alrighty.
We'll talk to you later.
Go ahead.
Okay.
I I will, at some point, be connecting with youbecause if if I remember correctly, you you're,
like, your main thing is operations manuals andthat type of thing.
(24:01):
Is that correct?
I'm remembering or am I thinking of somebodydifferent?
Probably somebody different.
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Shoot.
No.
That's okay.
I swore it was you, but maybe not.
Obviously, not because you just said not.
But it it works.
That's why.
They might have something to do with it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I should pay more I should pay more attentionon some of these networking things.
(24:22):
I know.
It's like I have all these post it notes, andit's like, oh, no.
I didn't write down the name for which post itnote this went to.
Okay.
Well, then then never mind what I just said.
Well, if you have an operations manual youwanna talk about, come and let me know.
Fair enough.
Alright.
We'll talk with you later.
Bye bye.
Have
(24:42):
everyone.
Bye bye.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you next time on Reading Between theWords.
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