Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education with Stephen Carter

Adam Richardson on Hands-On Learning and Student Entrepreneurship

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Adam Richardson of Jupiter Christian School and I explore why entrepreneurship education is one of the most powerful ways to prepare students for life right now. This conversation highlights what happens when students move beyond theory and into real-world building—learning how to solve problems, create value, communicate clearly, and grow through challenges. We also talk about how hands-on entrepreneurship experiences help shape the entrepreneurial mindset in meaningful ways, including growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking.

You’ll hear practical insight for school leaders and educators who want to engage students more deeply and create learning experiences that are relevant, formative, and future-ready.

Learn more about Jupiter Christian School: https://www.jupiterchristian.org/

Learn more about Seed Tree Group: https://www.seedtreegroup.com/

Connect with Stephen Carter: Stephen@Seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

From Achievement to Agency: Why the Mentor Mindset Is the Future of School

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0500

For decades, schools have been designed around achievement—grades, test scores, and carefully mapped pathways to success. But the world our students are entering no longer rewards compliance or perfection. It rewards agency.

In this episode, Stephen Carter explores the growing shift from the Age of Achievement to the Age of Agency, drawing on research from the National Association of Independent Schools, David Yeager’s Mentor Mindset framework, and emerging insights about learning in an AI-driven world.

You’ll hear why high expectations alone are not enough, why struggle is not a sign of weakness but of growth, and why the Mentor Mindset—high expectations paired with high support—is essential for developing resilient, adaptable learners.

We’ll unpack the difference between Resisters, Passengers, Achievers, and Explorers, examine why so few students are given real opportunities to explore, and challenge the assumption that a perfectly mapped path is the best preparation for life.

If we want students who can set meaningful goals, navigate uncertainty, ask for help, and thrive in a rapidly changing world, we must intentionally design for agency.

Because when schools shift from maps to compasses, real learning begins.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Forming Courageous Students Through Entrepreneurship

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Entrepreneurship is often celebrated for creativity, innovation, and problem-solving—but at its core, it requires something deeper: courage.

In this episode, we explore why the entrepreneurial mindset is inherently a mindset of courageousness. Real entrepreneurship involves risk—real risk—where loss is possible, failure is visible, and outcomes are uncertain. And if there’s no chance you could lose, it’s not truly a risk at all.

We unpack how schools often unintentionally design learning environments that reward comfort, compliance, and safety, while entrepreneurship calls students to step into uncertainty, take meaningful risks, and act even when success is not guaranteed. Courage, it turns out, is not a personality trait reserved for a few—it’s a skill that can be developed through intentional experiences, supportive cultures, and real-world laboratories like student-run businesses.

If we want to form resilient leaders, creative problem-solvers, and students prepared for life beyond the classroom, we must stop protecting them from risk and start preparing them to face it.

Courage isn’t optional.
It’s the curriculum.

Reach out to Stephen Carter at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com or by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

More Than a Class: Head of School Heath Nivens on Embedding the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

McKinney Christian Academy is stepping into a bold season of growth—and Heath Nivens is leading with a coach’s mindset and a Christ-centered mission. In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with the Head of School at MCA to talk about building a new STEM center, launching an entrepreneurship program, and weaving innovation, mission, and durable “human skills” into one cohesive ecosystem.

Heath shares lessons from coaching and leadership, why “fail forward” matters for educators and students, how mentorship can reshape student development, and how Christian schools can prepare graduates for a future where many jobs don’t even exist yet—without losing their biblical foundation.

Learn more about the school by visiting https://www.mckinneychristian.org/

Learn more about Seed Tree Group and Entrepreneurship Education by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Make It Better: Dr. John Patterson on Growth Mindset and Entrepreneurship

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0500

What if the future of Christian education isn’t just about better programs—but about a different kind of mindset?

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Dr. John Patterson, Head of School at Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, to explore how a Christ-centered growth and entrepreneurial mindset is reshaping life on their 6–12 campus. From daily fitness and Bible classes to capstone projects and advisory groups, Brentwood Academy is intentionally designing a culture where students are challenged, nurtured, and equipped to solve real problems for the good of others.

Dr. Patterson shares why he believes the entrepreneurial mindset is the future of education, how innovation really works in a school with deep traditions, and why relationships—not programs, facilities, or technology—remain the foundation of lasting impact.

If you care about Christian schooling, student formation, and preparing the next generation to think critically and courageously in a rapidly changing world, this conversation will both challenge and encourage you.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Finding a Better Way: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Christian Education with Jeff Williams

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Jeff Williams, Head of School at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas, for a powerful conversation on innovation, student engagement, and the future of Christian education. Jeff shares how TCA is cultivating a culture obsessed with “finding a better way,” empowering faculty to take risks, and preparing students for a rapidly changing world shaped by collaboration, AI, and real-world problem-solving. The discussion highlights TCA’s bold move into entrepreneurship—including a student-run coffee shop fueled by donor support—and why hands-on ventures are becoming essential learning laboratories for today’s learners. Jeff also reflects on the role of leadership, the importance of trust and flexibility, and how schools can avoid “failing the next generation” by embracing creativity, curiosity, and the entrepreneurial mindset. This is a must-listen for school leaders seeking practical wisdom, inspiration, and a vision of what Christian education can become.

Learn more about TCA by visiting their website: https://www.trinitychristian.org/

For more on Seed Tree Group and entrepreneurship programming, visit https://www.seedtreegroup.com/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Joshua Expeditions CEO Amir Mahadi on Mission-First Entrepreneurship: Forming Kingdom-Minded Students

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Amir Mahadi, Founder and CEO of Joshua Expeditions, to unpack how a nonprofit Christian travel organization launched in 1997 has grown into a global, mission-driven partner for hundreds of Christian schools. Amir shares his story of blending business ownership with deep dependence on God, why JE is “mission first, travel second,” and how student trips can become catalysts for calling, leadership, and even entrepreneurial thinking. They discuss JE’s new London office, post-trip momentum for schools, limiting digital distractions on trips, and the big idea that business and ministry are not rivals — they’re allies in the Kingdom. If you’re a Christian school leader building entrepreneurship, global leadership, or missional programs, this conversation will help you see how travel, faith, and an entrepreneurial mindset can all live in the same lane.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Rod Gilbert on the Antifragile Mindset: Preparing Students to Fail, Recover, and Flourish

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Rod Gilbert, Head of School at Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach, California—a K–12 school just over a mile from the Pacific Ocean that’s redefining what innovation in Christian education looks like. Together, they explore how schools can move beyond comfort and control to create environments where students develop true resilience, moral agency, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

Rod shares his conviction that education must invite students to try, fail, recover, and grow stronger through real-world challenges. From launching a student-run coffee shop to forming an AI task force, his leadership is rooted in courage and vision—showing that the future of Christian education isn’t about avoiding risk, but transforming it.

Stephen also reflects on his visit to Santa Fe Christian, where he was inspired by Rod’s blend of spiritual depth and forward-thinking leadership. This conversation is a powerful reminder that schools can be both deeply faithful and boldly innovative.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Beyond the Tank: Helping Students Discover Their Blue Ocean

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:00:00 -0400

Shark Tank has become the pop-culture symbol of entrepreneurship, filled with high stakes, fierce competition, and investors circling for the best deal. It reflects what business scholars call a red ocean world, where everyone fights for the same space and survival becomes the goal.

Entrepreneurship in schools should look different.

In this episode, we explore how Blue Ocean Strategy can reshape the way we teach young innovators to think. Instead of chasing crowded markets or flashy inventions, what if students learned to identify real, meaningful problems that are still waiting for solutions?

Listeners will gain practical insight into:
• Why competitive pitch events often limit creativity
• How to shift student thinking from reactive to proactive
• Principles of Blue Ocean Strategy that ignite purpose and innovation
• Real examples of breakthroughs created by solving overlooked human needs
• How collaboration builds deeper belonging and more impactful ventures

We introduce a new Seed Tree Group initiative designed to help students explore the open waters of possibility, where compassion and creativity meet. The goal is not to impress the sharks. The goal is to help the world.

It is time to stop preparing students for tanks when the world needs explorers.

Dive in, and discover how to create the conditions for the next generation to set sail.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

You’re Not Alone: The Power of Community in Innovation

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Innovation can feel lonely — especially in education. When you’re building something new, it’s easy to get buried under the weight of logistics, doubt, and the many hats you have to wear. In this episode, Stephen Carter shares a story from a recent Seed Tree Mastermind session and explores why connection is the key to sustaining creativity and courage.

You’ll discover how community can reignite passion, prevent burnout, and accelerate meaningful change — and why even the best ideas can’t thrive in isolation. Whether you’re a teacher, leader, or entrepreneur, this episode will remind you that you’re not crazy for dreaming of something better… and you’re certainly not alone.

Listen in and be reminded: innovation grows best in community — just like trees in a forest.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Unique Value Proposition: The Secret to Creating Real Impact in Business and Education

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education podcast, Stephen Carter unpacks the idea of a Unique Value Proposition (UVP)—the clear reason people choose you over anyone else. More than a catchy slogan, your UVP is the heart of value creation: identifying problems, understanding your audience, and delivering solutions that matter.

Stephen shares how students can practice this skill through real-world entrepreneurship projects, including the surprising story of a student who turned a “gross” idea into a business with a powerful UVP. He also explains why schools themselves must define and communicate their UVP if they want to stand out in a crowded educational landscape.

Whether you’re an educator, a leader, or simply someone interested in building an entrepreneurial mindset, this episode will challenge you to clarify your value and communicate it with confidence.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Business Innovation That Transforms Christian Education—Inside GAC with Dr. Scott Harsh

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Stephen Carter talks with Dr. Scott Harsh about Greater Atlanta Christian School's journey to integrate spiritual formation, academic excellence, and business innovation into a cohesive student experience. They discuss how to personalize learning, curate each student’s path, and build a culture that’s “obsessed with finding a better way.” You’ll hear how the Spartan Café became more than a coffee shop—serving as a living lab for leadership, revenue, hospitality, and real-world problem solving—and how that space fits into a broader ecosystem of innovation. The conversation closes with a practical challenge to Christian school leaders: why now is the moment to say “yes” to disciplined, mission-aligned change.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Entrepreneurial Mindset Meets Global Mission: A Conversation with World Vision’s Chad McDaniel

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

What makes education truly transformative? How can schools move beyond academics to ignite passion, grit, and purpose in students?

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Chad McDaniel, Senior School Advisor at World Vision, who has visited Christian schools across the country and seen firsthand what engages students at the deepest level. Together, they explore how connecting entrepreneurship with global impact creates powerful opportunities for students to flourish—by helping others flourish.

You’ll hear stories of middle schoolers running cross country for clean water, high school biology classes turning science lessons into entrepreneurial ventures, and schools redefining success by measuring impact instead of just dollars. Along the way, Chad and Stephen unpack:

What separates a “good” school from a transformative one
How the entrepreneurial mindset (growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, opportunity seeking) shows up in unexpected ways
The role of mission clarity in avoiding drift while embracing innovation
Why giving students ownership and tying learning to purpose unlocks engagement like nothing else

Whether you’re a school leader, teacher, or parent, this episode will inspire you to rethink how your community prepares students—not just for college or career, but for a life of calling and impact.

Resources & Links:

Connect with Chad McDaniel: cmcdaniel@worldvision.org
Learn more about World Vision Ignite: https://www.worldvision.org/ignite/
Follow Stephen Carter and Seed Tree Group: https://www.seedtreegroup.com/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Language Creates Culture: The Words That Shape Entrepreneurial Mindsets

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

The words we use don’t just describe reality—they create it. In this episode, Stephen unpacks how language directly shapes student identity and school culture, and why every teacher, parent, and leader is really a Chief Repeating Officer. He explores the flywheel of the entrepreneurial mindset—how growth mindset leads to grit, grit leads to redefining failure, and failure redefined leads to opportunity seeking. Along the way, Stephen shares three simple but powerful language swaps you can start using today to transform the way students see themselves and their potential. If you’ve ever wondered how to intentionally build a culture that fuels entrepreneurial thinking, this episode will give you the clarity and practical tools to start right now.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Transforming Christian Schools Through Entrepreneurship: A Conversation with CESA's Tawanna Rusk

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode of Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education, Stephen Carter sits down with Tawanna Rusk, Assistant Director at CESA and former Associate Head of School at Mount Paran Christian in Atlanta. Together, they explore how entrepreneurship education is reshaping Christian schools by cultivating grit, creativity, and responsibility in students.

From student-run businesses that serve as real-world laboratories, to the power of mentorship and teacher-as-coach models, Tawanna shares practical insights on how schools can move beyond electives to create a culture of innovation. The conversation highlights how initiatives like Personal Responsibility Time (PRT) prepare students for college and life, why collaboration across disciplines transforms learning, and how CESA supports schools in staying mission-true while pursuing academic excellence.

Whether you’re a head of school, principal, teacher, or parent, this episode offers inspiration and actionable takeaways on how to build Christ-centered entrepreneurial programs that transform both students and school culture.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Creating a School Culture Conducive for the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Flourish

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Listen - EVERY school should be working toward the creation of a culture where the entrepreneurial mindset can flourish, but this culture does not happen on its own. It requires intentional language and key measurements to allow the right amount of FREEDOM, AUTONOMY, and RESOURCES for teachers to embrace innovation in order to drive student engagement. In this episode, Stephen Carter breaks down how this culture at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy enabled the entrepreneurship program to not only start (13 years ago) but to grow at an incredible rate and gain national attention. Culture is key to everything when it comes to school innovation.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Courage to Say Yes: Innovation, Risk, and Christ-Centered Leadership with Randy Brunk

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with longtime mentor and former Head of School at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, Randy Brunk, to explore what happens when school leaders embrace a culture of yes.

For 18 years, Randy led CHCA through seasons of growth, experimentation, and deep cultural transformation—laying the groundwork for what would become one of the most replicated K–12 entrepreneurship programs in Christian education. Together, they unpack how thoughtful risk-taking, teacher empowerment, and student engagement converge to build thriving, innovative schools rooted in faith.

You’ll hear stories about:

– Launching groundbreaking programs like Personal Responsibility Time (PRT) and the Teacher Innovation Fund
– Why student engagement—not tradition—is the best metric for success
– What heads of school can do right now to foster flourishing and innovation
– How “minimum viable risk” creates space for big ideas to grow
– The power of saying yes—even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed

Whether you’re a head of school, principal, or educator looking to ignite something new in your school, this conversation is packed with real-world wisdom and actionable takeaways.

Connect with Stephen to get started with entrepreneurship at your school by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/ and connect with Randy at https://next-ed.com/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Artists Are Entrepreneurs: Kathie Davis on Empowering Creative Students to Lead and Launch

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 16:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Kathie Davis—educator, creative advocate, and leadership champion—to explore the powerful idea that artists are entrepreneurs. Together, they unpack how schools can help creative students see themselves as leaders and changemakers, not just performers or hobbyists. Drawing from her work at Sacred Heart Schools in Louisville, Kathie shares how integrating entrepreneurship and leadership into the fabric of education can transform how students think, create, and contribute. Whether you’re an arts educator, school leader, or parent, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and equip you with a vision for empowering every student to launch with purpose.

Want to bring this to your school?
Reach out to Stephen@seedtreegroup.com or visit seedtreegroup.com to start the conversation.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Redesigning Education for Impact: Head of School Dr. Susan Crosier on Parent Partnership, Portrait of a Graduate, and the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 07:00:00 -0400

What does it look like when a school places equal value on student formation, family partnership, and real-world readiness?

In this episode, Stephen Carter sits down with Dr. Susan Crosier, Head of School at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas—the first trademarked university model school in the nation. Together, they explore how Grace Prep is rethinking everything from classroom structure to curriculum alignment, all anchored in a bold Portrait of a Graduate that emphasizes resilience, critical thinking, and effective communication.

You'll hear how the school’s no-homework model fosters meaningful learning and family connection, why parent engagement is not optional but essential, and how their upcoming entrepreneurship program—developed in partnership with Seed Tree Group—is helping students become resilient, curious problem-solvers ready for any future. Whether you're a school leader, teacher, or parent, this episode is full of insights on creating a truly transformative education experience.

Learn more about Seed Tree Group at https://www.seedtreegroup.com/ and learn more about Grace Prep by visiting https://graceprep.org/

Stephen Carter can be reached directly at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

How Schools Can Innovate Without Losing Focus

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we explore one of Jim Collins’ most practical and empowering ideas: “Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs.” It’s a mindset shift that helps schools innovate wisely—by starting small, testing what works, and scaling only when the time is right. Stephen shares how this principle shaped the launch of a thriving entrepreneurship program, and how it can transform everything from student-run ventures to leadership initiatives.

Rather than betting big on untested ideas, schools can take a smarter path: run small pilots, gather real feedback, and adjust as they go. That’s how you build momentum without burning out your team or your students. This episode walks through exactly how to apply that thinking—whether you're launching a new class, rethinking PD, or trying to boost student engagement.

And it’s not just for educators. Students can learn to lead the same way—by testing ideas, failing wisely, and learning fast. If you want a strategy for building innovation into your school’s DNA without losing focus, this episode will give you the tools—and the mindset—to start small and scale with confidence.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Flywheel Effect: How Momentum Builds in Transformative Schools

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0400

This episode dives into one of Jim Collins’ most powerful ideas: The Flywheel Effect. Stephen Carter explores why real, lasting school transformation doesn’t come from flashy launches or one-time events—but from consistent, mission-aligned actions that build momentum over time.

From student-run businesses to leadership programs, the episode unpacks how small, strategic steps—done repeatedly—can unlock exponential growth. Stephen also breaks down how to design your school’s unique flywheel using Collins’ framework and explains why this metaphor is essential for both educators and student entrepreneurs.

Whether you're launching a new initiative or helping students take their first steps as change makers, this episode will help you shift from short-term sprints to long-term momentum.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Consistency Compounds: The 20 Mile March and the Power of Disciplined Progress

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Discipline beats intensity. Steady, consistent effort—regardless of external conditions—is what drives breakthrough results. This is the 20 Mile March—a metaphor for setting and sticking to clear performance markers no matter the circumstances.

In this episode, we explore how in a world obsessed with hacks, bursts of energy, and overnight success stories, we need to teach our communities the value of consistent, disciplined progress over time.

I’ve seen so many schools launch bold new initiatives—a new leadership program, a student-run business, an advisory model—only to abandon it when the weather gets rough, the momentum dips, or results aren’t immediate.

That’s where we miss the mark. Because consistency compounds.

In my own work with schools across the country, I’ve seen one defining trait of those who build lasting, impactful programs: they commit to the 20 Mile March. They show up. They iterate. They track the right metrics. They don’t get too high when things go well, and they don’t collapse when things get hard.

Discipline is the differentiator.

And that’s where this all ties back to last week’s episode—preserve the core of who you are, yes. But stimulate progress not through massive shifts, but through consistent steps forward—week by week, month by month.

And this means having a vision for where you are and where you want to be.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Preserve the Core, Stimulate Progress: The Secret to Engaged, Future-Ready Schools

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Why do some schools seem to innovate without losing who they are… while others lose their identity in the process?

In this episode, we explore the Jim Collins concept behind the necessity of preserving the core (holding tightly to your mission, values, and distinct identity) while also stimulating progress (relentlessly pursuing new ideas, methods, and programs to stay relevant and effective).

Innovative programs like entrepreneurship, STEM, or design thinking make learning feel exciting, real-world, and future-focused. These aren’t just electives — they are powerful vehicles for students to apply knowledge, solve real problems, and discover their unique strengths. When students build a business prototype, code a solution, or tackle a design challenge, the walls of the classroom expand — suddenly, learning has purpose and relevance. It’s in these moments that students aren’t just preparing for the future — they’re actively shaping it.

The caution is if we only preserve the core without progress, we get stuck. If we only chase progress without preserving the core, we lose trust and clarity.

There are four ideas for how to do this in the school setting:

1. Redesign Learning Spaces for Collaboration

2. Integrate Real-World Partnerships

3. Shift from Content Coverage to Competency Development

4. Empower Student Voice and Choice

And all of this matters because the future belongs to schools—and students—that know who they are and where they’re going.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

True Collaboration and Culture Building: A Conversation with Joel Hazard

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Dr. Joel Hazard, the Head of Academic Collaboration and Culture at Fellowship Christian School in Roswell, Georgia, has amazing insights when it comes to transforming the school experience around true collaboration. On a mission to provide the best possible Christian education, Dr. Hazard explores how we, as teachers and school leaders, need to get used to being uncomfortable.

He recommends implementing After Action Reviews (AARs) for a culture of continuous improvement that focuses on 1) what went well, 2) what didn't go well, and 3) what can we do to enhance going forward?

Additionally, Dr. Hazard explores how true collaboration is different than cooperation, and schools need to step into this space to make sure true collaboration is taking place. This means learning to "fail cheaply" through trying new, innovative things in the classroom. It also means getting feedback, providing differentiated learning, creating physical movement in the classroom, and given choices to students.

With an emphasis on "relationship first," Dr. Hazard has fantastic content that can e immediately applied to K-12 schools across the nation.

You can follow him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-joel-hazard-797703126/ and you can learn more about Fellowship Christian School by visiting https://www.fellowshipchristianschool.org/

Connect with me, Stephen Carter, at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Negotiation, Saying "No," and the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 16:00:00 -0400

After a chance encounter with Chris Voss, author of Never Split the Difference and CEO of the Black Swan Group, I walked away with a valuable lesson around negotiation tactics.

Voss suggested that the key to a negotiation is to get what you want with the other person saying "no." The reasoning is that it feels considerably safer to say "no" than to say "yes" and therefore you are more likely to close the deal or make the sale if you can get what you want while the other person feels they can say "no."

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Engage the Flywheel: Executive Director Weston Kurz on Transforming Education

Tue, 27 May 2025 07:00:00 -0400

Ready to fully engage your students around transformative education? Weston Kurz, executive director of Dayspring Christian Academy, breaks down key leadership thoughts in a discussion around creating synergistic wins for students.

In a day and age where students have more choice in education, schools need to see students as customers, and when this happens, students will begin to flourish through a whole child outlook.

Real engagement involves students (and teachers) stepping out of their comfort zones to grow in new and exciting ways--after all, healthy growth is contagious.

Dayspring Christian Academy worked with Seed Tree Group to launch an entrepreneurship program this year that results in a student-led pitch and the start of an official coffee shop on campus. And the program is just getting started.

To learn more, please visit:

www.dayspringeagles.org

www.seedtreegroup.com

Email Weston at weston.kurz@gmail.com

Email Stephen at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Insatiable Curiosity: The Driver of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 19 May 2025 07:00:00 -0400

People who have developed an entrepreneurial mindset tend to have a few things in common including an insatiable sense of curiosity.

This sense of curiosity causes us to ask "Why?" with a true desire to understand, with a quest to get to the root cause. Part of this drive is due to entrepreneurs seeing problems as opportunities, so getting to the root of something is equated to opportunity seeking.

One of the best ways to practice this is through the "5 Why" technique where you ask the question why over and over to get to the root issue.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Give Them Ownership: A Conversation with Superintendent Tom Isaacs

Mon, 12 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

What happens when you take a group of students, many of whom struggle with a disability, and you put them in an Educational Service Center that is launching an entrepreneurial initiative? In a word: engagement.

Tom Isaacs, superintendent of the Warren County Educational Service Center, brings his over 40 years of experience in public education to this episode where he explores a range of themes related to reaching students with disabilities while supporting the staff who provide their care.

Tom explores the need for ongoing positive affirmation, the need to give students real-life experiences where they have ownership, the need for a career-ready education, and the need for schools to teach durable skills.

The Warren County Educational Service Center is about to launch its third year of integrating entrepreneurial mindset education into its programs and the results have been incredible.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Teach Them About Money: Financial Literacy and the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Let's face it - of all the things we CAN teach our students, one of the most practical is how to manage their money.

Poor management of money is a clear formula for anxiety, stress, and broken relationships. A strong sense of how to properly manage money, however, creates pathways and opportunities for success.

When we teach financial literacy from the perspective of the entrepreneurial mindset, we give students a clear of understanding of not only how money works, but how it can work FOR them.

This involves four steps:

1) Create a revenue stream

2) Have a spending plan

3) Have a savings/investing plan

4) Apply Compound Interest

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Head of School Teresa Chambers on How to Get Started with Entrepreneurship Education

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 07:00:00 -0400

Ask students at First Baptist Academy in Houston, Texas what they are most excited about and chances are, their answers will be related to entrepreneurship. Two years ago, Teresa brought an entrepreneurship program to her campus and engaged her 8th grade students in launching a student-run venture at the school. Now they are developing a certificate track, certifying their teachers in the entrepreneurial mindset, and digging into deeper parent engagement.

Teresa's story is an inspiration to any head of school who is wondering how to start a meaningful entrepreneurship program--if you want to learn more about her school, visit their website at https://www.fbahouston.org/

For those wanting more information on what starting an entrepreneurship program at K-12 school looks like, reach out to Stephen Carter at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Helping Students Flourish with the Entrepreneurial Mindset: A Conversation with Ryan Moore

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0400

"Failure as fuel to future success" - Ryan Moore, Director of the Business Academy at North Cobb Christian School, outlines the key ways his entrepreneurship program has grown and is impacting students through the development of the entrepreneurial mindset. Overseeing multiple student-run ventures as part of the business academy at the school, Ryan (in addition to helping coach varsity baseball) helps students have "Ah ha" moments when it comes to building skill sets and increasing confidence, all through hands-on learning in entrepreneurship.

Connect with him at rmoore@ncchristian.org

North Cobb Christian School Website: https://www.ncchristian.org/academics/academies

Alumni mentioned in podcast to follow:

Finley Ross - NCCS Alumni at UGA - Finns Mobile Detailing - www.finnsautodetailingllc.com

Jaden King - NCCS Alumni - Superior Cans - Started his own commercial and residential trash can cleaning service. https://www.superiorcancleaning.com/

John Michael Meadows - NCCS Alumni - Started a Christian Clothing Brand - 2nd2him. Instagram handle is 2nd2him.

Follow Ryan on LinkedIn - Ryan Moore M.S.

To learn more about starting an entrepreneurship program in your school, reach out to Stephen Carter at Stephen@seedtreegroup.com

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Entrepreneurship Education is a Movement: Embracing Entrepreneurship as a Calling, Not Just a Course

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0400

This episode of the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education Podcast features a short clip from our entrepreneurship symposium event where we launched the premise that All of us are called to be entrepreneurial in how we think and act - how entrepreneurship is rooted in empathy and creativity, and how it is a calling to embrace.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Creativity in the Business Space : The Power of Entrepreneurship Education with Charleigh Wright

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0400

When you bring a creative, artistic person and put them into a business setting, things don't always work out. But if that business setting is a space where the entrepreneurial mindset flourishes, good things are bound to happen: you will be forced out of your comfort zone, you'll be drawn into real-world problem solving, and you'll encounter ongoing critique and feedback on your way to develop empathy and a growth mindset.

Charleigh Wright, 2024 graduate from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, exemplifies the entrepreneurial mindset in all that she does--she explains, in this podcast, how failure is a maze and how leadership, team building, and goal setting contributed to her overall success both in high school and now in college.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

What if We Are All Called to be Entrepreneurs? Embracing a New Definition

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:00:00 -0400

The word "entrepreneur" is not just hard to spell--it is loaded with meanings both literal and suggested, to the point that we need clarity around what the term actual means and represents.

In this episode, we explore Jordan Raynor's definition from his book, Called to Create, where he explains that an entrepreneur is "anyone who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others." In this sense, he has three primary components:

1) Takes a risk

2) Creates something new

3) Serves others

When we consider this three-fold definition, it becomes clear that we are all actually entrepreneurs in how we think about and interact with the world.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Go Out and Sell Something: A Powerful Opportunity for Our Students

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 16:00:00 -0500

As part of the foundations of entrepreneurship program as we work to instill the entrepreneurial mindset in our students, we give them a project where they go out and sell something. And the real kicker is it has to be to someone they do not already know.

This involves identifying a product or service and cutting to the heart of the TRUE value and creating a UVP or Unique Value Proposition. The true power comes as students identify the WHY behind what they are selling and it adds power to the entire experience. In the end, teaching the entrepreneurial mindset is about arming our students with real-world skills that will set them up for success in every area of life.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Dr. Jen Bennett on The Time for Christian Entrepreneurship Education is Now

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Wow--talk about a supercharged podcast episode! Dr. Jen Bennett, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Endowed Faculty in Business Entrepreneurship at Indiana Wesleyan University dives into the heart of what it means to think like an entrepreneur and how she uses her classroom to help students embrace their calling and step into who they were created to be.

Key points in the talk:

Impact Start with a Pivot

You learn entrepreneurship by Doing It

Students need to step out of the pressure to be perfect

We need to do scary things and get uncomfortable

Rubrics and tests stifle curiosity

Don't Give students an Easy Way Out

Being Successful Means Doing the Work You Were Created to Do

You can follow Dr. Bennett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjenbennett/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Creativity and Entrepreneurship with Bella Randle

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Bella Randle is flourishing in every sense of the word - since graduating from the entrepreneurship program at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (where she led the flagship business, The Leaning Eagle Coffee Bar), Bella has entered into an Entrepreneurship and Innovation major at West Virginia University and has woven her love of entrepreneurship with her love of theater through constantly seeking opportunity.

In this conversation, we explore how a firm foundation in the entrepreneurial mindset through a hands-on approach can set us for everything life can throw our way.

Some primary takeaways from our conversation:

1. Creativity is a key part of the entrepreneurial mindset

2. There is no "solo" part of entrepreneurship - it takes a team and it takes communication

3. Problem solving is a key skill and shows up everywhere

4. We need freedom, resources, and autonomy (but not too much) to flourish

5. Have a plan but hold it loosely

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Is It Really Collaboration or Is It Just Cooperation?

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Understanding the true difference between cooperation and collaboration is key to getting to the heart of the transformative power of working together toward a shared goal. When we embrace true collaboration, we bring about critical thinking, adaptability, and innovation--skills that are essential for an entrepreneurial mindset.

Cooperation is often about individuals working side by side, independently, toward a shared goal, while collaboration is about individuals or groups working together in a deeply integrated way, co-creating solutions.

Let's move FROM cooperation TO collaboration!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Ideal Environment for Entrepreneurial Flourishing

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

We wouldn't plant seeds in a garden without ensuring the proper nutrients, water, and sun, so why would we attempt to plant the seeds of the entrepreneurial mindset in our students (and ourselves) without first ensuring we have the three necessary components?

We need to make sure that we have proper FREEDOM, AUTONOMY, and RESOURCES (but not to much of any of these) in order to bring about true flourishing for the entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Two Most Important Areas for Healthy Growth

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:00:00 -0500

When it comes down to it, the two most important areas for healthy growth are CLARITY and ACCOUNTABILITY. Whether it is healthy growth in a relationship, in a business, in a school, in a classroom, or in any setting, having a clear vision of where you are going and why (CLARITY) and a system to ensure you will get there (ACCOUNTABILITY) is a clear formula for success.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Conducting a Failure Audit: Four Key Questions for Growth

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:00:00 -0500

When we take the time to really dig into "failure" we discover that it really isn't failure at all--if anything, it's a key to unlock greater learning and exponential impact. The best tool to do this is a failure audit. In this podcast, I walk through the three primary components of a failure audit to bring about the biggest impact in our lives and those around us.

Key takeaways include the four questions for a failure audit:
1. What happened?
2. Why did it happen?
3. What did you learn?
4. What will you do differently next time?

Failure audits begin with examining a failure we have experienced ourselves, and then move to key interviews with other people, before resulting in patterns and insights.

Redefining failure is one of the key steps in increasing our entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

We Must Redefine Failure: Moving from Perfection to Progress

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0500

In this episode of the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education podcast, Stephen Carter discusses the transformative power of redefining failure and its essential role in growth and education. He emphasizes that failure should not be viewed negatively, but rather as a necessary component of learning and improvement. By adopting a growth mindset and embracing the concept of continuous improvement, individuals can foster resilience and progress. Carter also explores practical strategies for rethinking assessments and feedback in educational settings, ultimately advocating for a shift in mindset that prioritizes action and reflection over perfection.

Key Takeaways

Failure has been identified as something bad, something to avoid.
Failure is an element necessary for growth.
Comfort and growth can't coexist.
True failure is if we never tried in the first place.
The entrepreneurial mindset can be taught.
Failure is necessary for learning and growing.
Continuous improvement means we're never going to fully arrive.
Redefining failure means moving away from perfection as the goal.
Wisdom comes from evaluated experience, not just experience.
Using growth mindset language creates a culture for redefining failure.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Preparing All Students with a Mindset to Thrive in Uncertainty

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 14:00:00 -0500

In this episode, I include the full audio from my breakout session at the CESA Symposium where I discuss how the entrepreneurial mindset offers a transformative approach to education that takes students from "surviving" to "thriving" in face of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This talk focuses on how schools can engage in meaningful entrepreneurial education on their K-12 campuses in order to truly engage students.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Becoming Unstoppable: Taking Stock of Where We Are and Where We Want to Be

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:00:00 -0500

When we come to value principles, we can create unstoppable momentum in our lives. This begins when we accept that we must balance our production with our production capacity, what Stephen Covey calls the P/PC balance and this requires taking stock of where we are in key areas of our life: spiritual, intellectual, financial, relational, vocational, physical. When we determine where we are in these areas and contrast it to where we want to be, it will lead to a clear plan that we can them implement alongside these three principles:
1) comfort and growth cannot co-exist
2) vision is essential
3) sharpen the saw (another Covey principle)

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Collaboration is Key to Entrepreneurship and Life

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0500

Entrepreneurship is often seen as a solo endeavor, but true success often hinges on collaboration. In this episode, we explore why teamwork and synergy are essential entrepreneurial skills, challenging the myth of the "lone wolf" entrepreneur. Drawing from Stephen Covey’s sixth habit, we highlight how embracing diversity and leveraging strengths creates innovative solutions far greater than individual efforts. We also connect these lessons to schools, showcasing practical ways educators can teach collaboration through project-based learning, student-run businesses, and more. Listen in to discover how fostering synergy in education prepares students for entrepreneurial success in a connected world. Transformative schools start with collaborative classrooms!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Transformative Education with Erik Ellefsen

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0500

In this episode of Entrepreneurial Mindset for Transformative Education, I'm joined by Erik Ellefsen from Baylor University's Center for School Leadership for an unstructured yet insightful conversation on innovation in education. We explore the power of dreaming bigger, the importance of trust in leadership, and why educators need to shift from being subject matter experts to becoming expert guides. Through this, we dig into stories of risk-taking, the value of a growth mindset, and how to design meaningful learning journeys for students. Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, or lifelong learner, this episode is packed with inspiration to ignite your passion for education.

Tune in and discover how saying "yes" to opportunities can transform the way we teach and lead.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Transforming School Culture Through the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0500

The time to teach the transformative power of the entrepreneurial mindset is now--and the age is as soon as we start learning. The entrepreneurial mindset will transform an entire school culture in four distinct ways: first is through its Biblical principle found in Romans 12:2. Second is through the ripple effect of transformation and how it spreads from person to person. Third is through the process of renewal that happens when we embrace a mindset opposite of conformity. And finally, an entrepreneurial mindset causes us to stretch and dream bigger than we ever though possible. Through this, we can come to live the transformed life.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Pre-Decide to Chase Opportunity

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 19:00:00 -0500

John Wooden famously said, "When opportunity comes, it's too late." If we're going to be the kind of people who think like entrepreneurs, we have to be ready to seek and chase opportunity when it shows up--that is not the time to plan and prepare. This requires having a readiness mindset, developing our skills, creating systems and habits, and preparing both financially and emotionally. Once this plan is in place, we are ready whenever opportunity shows up.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Two Steps to Become More Antifragile

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0500

As we explore this idea of antifragility more and more, it becomes apparent that there are key techniques we can implement into our lives that will help us build systems to encourage antifragility (as opposed to fragility). First, this means we need to lean into redundancy and second this means we need to actively get rid of the things making us fragile. If we work toward building our own antifragility, we are working toward an entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Beyond Resilience: Building a Mindset of Antifragility

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0500

We focus a lot, when it comes to the entrepreneurial mindset, on resilience and the development of grit. We like to consider ourselves elastic enough that we can "bounce back" from difficulty and return to our normal state. What if, however, there was a way for us to go beyond resilience and build a mindset of antifragility so that the volatility and stress we will inevitably encounter in life leaves us stronger and better as a result?

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Five Questions To Use in Conversation with Other People

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

At a networking event and not sure how to proceed? Want to strike up a conversation with someone but unsure of what to say? Want to avoid saying things like, "what's your name?" and "what do you do?" These five questions will guide into meaningful conversation and allow you to get to impact through connecting with other people: they will enable you to be both interested in others and interesting toward others.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Entrepreneurial Journey with Ezekiel Rochat

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Ezekiel Rochat has lived and continues to live the entrepreneurial journey - starting his website building business in his early 20's, he has experienced all the aspects of thinking and pivoting like an entrepreneur. The one common theme through it all is movement--he keeps going and trying new things and growing his business. You can follow Ezekiel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezekielrochat/ and you can check out his website at https://www.rocship.com/

If you want to see real-time work he has done, check out my own website https://www.seedtreegroup.com/ which Ezekiel built.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Always Be Moving: Avoid the Risk of Inaction

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 14:00:00 -0400

To have an entrepreneurial mindset is to have a mindset biased toward action--if we are biased toward action, then when the decision comes to do or to not do, we will lean toward doing. In this, we will be able to steer and course correct along the way, but we if never act, we never make movement, which leads to the ongoing regret of inaction.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Don't Break the Chain: A System for Your High Return Habit

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0400

The famous "don't break the chain" system is famous because it works--once we identify our high return habit (the habit that creates enormous momentum toward our vision) then we can use this system to create accountability around our daily completion of this habit.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Growth and Comfort Cannot Co-Exist

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0400

The irony is we want both comfort and growth and yet comfort and growth cannot co-exist--which is to say we have to make intentional choices regarding how we will pursue growth. Growth does not come naturally--our natural inclination is toward comfort and ultimately the path of least resistance, but when we embrace growth, we find a higher sense of meaning and purpose to our lives.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Drift is Inevitable: Calibrating is Essential

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 07:00:00 -0400

We will drift--the only way to avoid drift is to stay out of the water, but with the entrepreneurial mindset, we are biased for action which means we will be getting in the water and chasing down our dreams. It also means we will fall victim to longshore drift and regularly get off track. With a system of calibration, we can ensure we get back on track and progress toward our goals.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

"Go Out and Test": A Conversation with EdTech Consultant Jacob Kantor

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 06:00:00 -0400

When it comes to the entrepreneurial mindset, Jacob Kantor has lived this since coming to America at the age of five. As he tells his impactful story of entrepreneurship, he touches on the importance of effort and the role of having a growth mindset. Throughout this conversation, he showcases the power of helping other people along the way and how this plays into his own journey of success in the real estate and ed tech space.
Learn more about Jacob by following him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejacobkantor/
Check out his website at https://edlit.org/

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Knowing What You Want is the First Step

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Knowing what you don't want is not the same as knowing what you do want. When it comes to vision, it is essential that we look at what we want to be true in our lives and then craft a plan to bring that truth about. This involves determining what we want and then determining why we want that--once we do that, we can establish the habits and daily actions necessary to bring it about.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Kaizen - Improving Every Day

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0400

When we focus on continuous improvement, day after day after day, what we are really doing is fine tuning our system. Our system, or our daily habits, is the engine that will drive us toward our goals. By establishing a goal, we are essentially putting a destination into the GPS of our life, but the vehicle to get us to that destination is our system.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Impact and Intentionality toward the process of becoming grittier

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400

When we focus in on grit with intention, we begin to move the needle. When we do this with consistency, it leads to impact. When we create impact, we change the world. Taken from a keynote talk on the topic of grit, this episode gets into clear tangible ways we can work on becoming grittier in our own lives.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Most Important Principle about Grit

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 09:00:00 -0400

When we start with a growth mindset, we understand that grit can be taught and developed-it is not a fixed trait but rather something we can foster through intentionality in order to create lasting impact. This episode is taken from a recent keynote talk I gave to a group of educators around how to intentionally teach grit to students.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Are You Chasing Opportunity?

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 07:00:00 -0400

Entrepreneurs are biased for action and this means going out and SEEKING opportunity--not just sitting back and waiting for opportunity to come to them. Armed with a growth mindset, with the necessary grit, and a redefinition of failure, we can all look at problems and see them as opportunities. Once we do this, we become unstoppable. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Develop the Skill of Curiosity

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 21:00:00 -0400

Curiosity is a skill and like any skill, it can be developed. But in order for it to be developed, we have to remove the blockers that often keep us from embracing a curious mindset. When we tackle three blockers in particular (our phones, our routines, our comfort zones), we are poised to ask the key questions of curiosity in order to fully seek opportunity.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Want to be Grittier? Have a Purpose

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

If we are to develop our entrepreneurial mindset and experience the transformation that comes from the renewing of our mind, then developing our grit is essential. But moving from become gritty for the sake of being gritty, we must tether our growth and development of grit to a larger purpose, which Angela Duckworth defines as "intention to contribute to the wellbeing of others." When this is coupled with a passion, we become grittier. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Leveraging the Law of Association and Influence

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0400

You are an average of the five people you hang around with the most--this stems from the law of influence. If you could directly influence your overall happiness, your net worth, and your quality of relationships, would you do what it takes? It is really just about surrounding yourself with the right people.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Seven Strategies to Become More

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:00:00 -0400

"To have more than you've got, become more than you are" - Jim Rohn's words of wisdom ring as true today as when he first said them years ago. This principle goes alongside his seven strategies for wealth and happiness which become powerful tools for helping us make ourselves as valuable as possible.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Are You Going to Be the Same in Five Years?

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 14:00:00 -0400

Charlie "Tremendous" Jones is famous for saying "you'll be the same person you are now in five years with the exception of the people you hang around with and the books you read." So, what are you reading? Are you reading books that align with the vision of who you want to be in five years? Are you moving from BELIEVER to "EXPECTER" to ACHIEVER?

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Time to Get Up and Take Action!

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The entrepreneurial mindset is rooted in movement, in momentum. It is about being biased for action--take the leap, step into the unknown, go for it. Too often planning becomes its own form of procrastination that keeps us from going after the things we need to do in order to create lasting change in our lives.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Applying the Principles of Entrepreneurship

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

“Principles are concisely worded statements of truth that transcend circumstance” (quote from Alex Judd of Path for Growth) and as a result, it imperative that, as educators, we work to point out principles for our students and teach them to leverage these principles in their lives.

In other words, principles are always at work regardless of our acknowledgement of them—consider the principle of compounding: every single thing we do adds up over time to define who we become. This can work for us (become healthier and happier) or against us (lose our health and sense of purpose) but once we identify the principle and how it works, we are better poised to use it to our advantage.

In this episode of the podcast, I identify four key principles that drive the entrepreneurial mindset: belief drives behavior (and behavior drives results), consistency compounds, time can be spent or invested, and constraints breed creativity.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Building Your Own House - Making Yourself as Valuable as Possible

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:00:00 -0400

We focus a lot on investments and getting a return on our investment but often we don't focus on the return we get by investing in ourselves. Through making ourselves more valuable, we become more valuable to others (and therefore to the marketplace and to society at large). Let's focus some intentional investing in our personal growth to become as valuable as possible.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

An Inspiring Story of Empathy

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Empathy is the superpower of the person with the entrepreneurial mindset--after all, understanding the customer's problem is at the root of what it means to be a successful entrepreneur. When it comes to empathy in action, I can think of no better example than Sara and the way she inspired an entire crowd at a high school track meet.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Say Yes and Then Figure It Out

Tue, 28 May 2024 11:00:00 -0400

Sometimes you just have to say yes and then figure it out after. When it comes to the entrepreneurial mindset, we have to be willing to take certain acts of faith and embrace a certain degree of risk that says "we may not have it all figured out and we may not have a fully developed plan but we are going to say yes and move forward anyway."

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Moving from Having to Becoming

Mon, 20 May 2024 10:00:00 -0400

A focus on "having" leads to discontent: we focus on the destination and what we "don't have yet" which puts us in a situation to never be satisfied. If, however, we focus on "becoming" then we are looking at the journey and the value we are creating along the way. This is key to the entrepreneurial mindset. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Secret to Getting Great Ideas

Tue, 14 May 2024 14:00:00 -0400

Why do some people have amazing ideas and aspirational thoughts while others sit in frustration over their lack of inspiration? The answer is so simple its frustrating--what we consume directly impacts the quality of ideas we have. If we want better ideas, we need to consume better content.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

All Kids Need the Opportunity to Be Entrepreneurs

Mon, 06 May 2024 09:00:00 -0400

All kids should have the opportunity to be entrepreneurs--and it is our job as adults to encourage them and buy from them. Pure and simple. Remember the lemonade stands from back in the day? Remember how you pushed your dad's lawn mower from yard to yard to earn extra money? Those experiences shaped you and when we encourage our youth to embrace those experiences, not only do they develop an entrepreneurial mindset, but they also grow significantly in their confidence and self-esteem.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Four Stages of Starting a Business

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

These four stages, when built upon the firm foundation of the entrepreneurial mindset, exponentially increase the odds of success when it comes to starting a new business. We talk about ideation, creation, launch, and growth and how to do this from the launchpad of the entrepreneurial mindset. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Spirit of Transformation

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0400

The core of the entrepreneurial mindset is an approach of radical transformation--we, as people who think like entrepreneurs, are called on to transform ourselves so that we can transform the world. And that's no small feat--but it is made possible through small daily applications of renewing our mind. Let's go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Get Serious About Change by Getting Serious About Habits

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0400

We can talk all day long, day after day, about the power of the entrepreneurial mindset, but until we commit to making serious and lasting change, it is all just talk. Time to take ACTION- time to get starting with real change to create the ideal life in order to become the person that we want. We can make the choice today to become better, but it is an intentional choice that will direct impact the habits that begin forming because consistency compounds and what we do day after day after day will directly influence the person we become (for better or worse).

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

What if I fall? Oh, but what if you fly?

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0400

We cannot fully live out the entrepreneurial mindset until we are willing to truly redefine failure--true failure is not trying in the first place. If we allow ourselves to become paralyzed by the fear of not succeeding, we will not only miss out on opportunity but we will leave ourselves at risk of living a life of regret on what "might have been."

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Your Goal is Not Just for You

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 17:00:00 -0400

When we choose a goal, we are looking for something that will stretch us and cause us to move beyond that which we thought possible. This is especially true if the goal is for a team or even a family. When we can come together and rally around the completion of this goal, it creates a powerful bond that best represents the power of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Break the Circle of Incapacity

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0400

I had the unique privilege of sitting down with three time cancer survivor Johnathan Sams who, just after finishing chemotherapy treatment, walked an entire marathon (all 26.2 miles) through the halls of the hospital. Johnathan's take on life is that every day is awesome and it is up to us to live up to it--and to do this, we have to break out of the circles of incapacity that we paint for ourselves. This is at the core of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

From "If Only" to Superpower

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0400

We all have "if onlys" in our life--if only we had more money, if only we had more time, if only we didn't have so many people relying on us, if only we had more opportunity...often these "if onlys" are excuses that weigh us down and cause us to accept mediocrity. But no more--now we can use them as the superpowers they are to help us find creativity in the constraints. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Are You Biased for Action?

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0400

Entrepreneurs are biased for action and when in doubt, they act. This attribute is central to seeking opportunity--we have to overcome the paralysis of analysis and get up and seize the opportunities that are all around us. That's what Marcus and Nate did in order to successfully launch their business--these two high school students got up and figured out what problem to solve and started creating value in real time.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Why Having a Dashboard is a Gamechanger

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:00 -0500

We have a dashboard in our car that tells us our speed, our oil status, the car's temperature, and other key metrics--at a single glance, we know the state of things. Imagine the power of applying this concept to other areas of our life, primarily our goals. Having a dashboard tells us where we are, without sugarcoating, so we know how far we have to get to where we want to be. Let's go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

If Teachers Complain About You, You Might Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 18:00:00 -0500

Ever get in trouble in elementary school for selling something out of your locker to your classmates? Ever end up being chastised for not doing things in the right order or thinking outside the box? Often traditional education is at odds with the entrepreneurial mindset and if we are going to help cultivate this mindset in ourselves and in others, we have to allow for different approaches.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

If You Want New Ideas, Read Old Books

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 13:00:00 -0500

Ivan Pavlov's famous quote, "If you want new ideas, read old books" is truer today than ever before--we have a treasure trove of advice available to us in the pages of the past. Such is the case with Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World where we are exhorted to "persist until we succeed" and "avoid with fury the killers of time." These principles are central to the entrepreneurial mindset.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Seeking Meaning over Quiet Desperation

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Look, it's both simple and profound: we have to start by knowing where we are going. We don't get into a car and drive aimlessly around; we have a destination in mind. Yet often we go through our lives with purposeless movement. It's time to connect our movement to a vision so that our time is invested. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Preparing to Win - Behavior Drives Results

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Coach K has famously said, "Everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to prepare to win." This preparation to win requires behaviors and those behaviors stem from beliefs. If we want to win, we have to start with our beliefs which will guide our behaviors and ultimately drive results.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

How to Thrive in Uncertainty

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

The popular acronym VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) best describes life in the next ten years. And yet, armed with an entrepreneurial mindset, we can see the realities of VUCA through the lens of problem solving and other durable skills. With increased communication and collaboration, we can thrive in uncertainty because we think like entrepreneurs. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Two Things We All Need to do to Think Like an Entrepreneur

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0500

A conversation with Dr. Tim Holcomb, the Director of the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, yielded some fascinating insights.

Dr. Holcomb began by saying that much of their work, in college-level entrepreneurial studies, is undoing the methods that schools have taught students to adopt.

“We don’t use textbooks and we don’t do tests,” said Holcomb while explaining their approach to “learning by doing.” He explained that often students come in with a standardized test mindset and see everything as multiple choice, but life doesn’t package problems with “A, B, C, D, and E” answers.

“It comes down to giving students more opportunities for shots on the goal,” he said. The first time they take a shot, they miss. The second time, they get closer. The third time, they get closer still. The fourth time, they make it, and by the time the fifth time comes around, they approach the shot with the confidence that comes from experience.

In the end, Holcomb explained, there are two things that all students must learn. First is how to solve problems—and these should be real-world problems, not just case studies. They need to see how problem-solving works and how it can be applied to every area of life.

Second is “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.” When students get out of their comfort zone, they get into situations where failure is more common and this leads to faster learning and adapting, skills which will serve them well in an uncertain future.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Do We Have a Curious Mindset?

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 12:00:00 -0500

Having a curious mindset is key to developing empathy which leads to emotional intelligence. If we want to be better communicators, collaborators, parents, and coaches, we need to learn to ask better questions.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Importance of Mindset: Part Three

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 10:00:00 -0500

This is the final episode in a three part series that explores the importance of mindset. From knowing what you want to choosing how to think to desiring your purpose, training one's mindset is central to the path to success. Here we go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Importance of Mindset: Part Two

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 10:00:00 -0500

This is the second episode in a three part series that explores the importance of mindset. From knowing what you want to choosing how to think to desiring your purpose, training one's mindset is central to the path to success. Here we go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Importance of Mindset: Part One

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 10:00:00 -0500

This is the first episode in a three part series that explores the importance of mindset. From knowing what you want to choosing how to think to desiring your purpose, training one's mindset is central to the path to success. Here we go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

It's Time to Set Meaningful Goals

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0500

Two of the most important skills we can ever develop in life include understanding how to set meaningful goals and then creating systems to accomplish those goals. Goal setting is central to the entrepreneurial mindset and we need to ensure that we are setting goals to bring our life into balance by focusing on growth in all areas of importance: intellectual, relational, spiritual, vocational, physical, financial.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Use Your Time for Impact and Intentionality

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:00:00 -0500

If we focus on investing our time with impact and intentionality, we will reap the rewards of the entrepreneurial mindset--this is especially important as we work toward the fulfillment of our mission and vision.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

It's Okay To Fear Failure As Long As You Redefine It First

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:00:00 -0500

It’s trendy in educational circles to talk about “embracing the learning experience of failure” or “teaching students to not fear failure,” but at the end of the day, it’s the same old story: we’re afraid. When we do a cost-benefit analysis, we tend to overload the cost side and assume it is not worth the risk. When we consider our shareholders, our customers, and our employees, we decide to play it safe and minimize damage. Playing it safe can certainly be appealing—especially in the independent school arena. When the school board looks at enrollment numbers and makes a direct comparison to customer satisfaction in the classroom, it can be enticing to continue to rely on tested methods of the past. It can be enticing to avoid failure at all costs. It can be enticing to stay comfortable. But comfort is the enemy of progress.

This kind of thinking is in line with self-made billionaire entrepreneur Sara Blakely who explains that true failure is “not trying in the first place.”

The impacts of this style of thinking on education are endless. Redefining failure is a key attribute of what is referred to as the entrepreneurial mindset. In enabling our teachers, and our students, to think like entrepreneurs—to ask, “What if?” and “Why not?”—we are giving them a path to success. A bumpy and misshapen path, for sure, but a path nonetheless where the learning yields not only rewards but a life free of inconsolable regret.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Principle of Direction

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 07:00:00 -0500

The entrepreneurial mindset is a mindset based on principles and principles are truths that directly impact our lives. Principles are at work regardless whether or not we acknowledge them, but when we do acknowledge them, we can make them work for us rather than against us. The principle I focus on in this podcast is the principle that we go in the direction we are facing. This is foundational to a mindset of success.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Seek Directional Growth in Your Life

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:00:00 -0500

Teaching the growth mindset is foundational to teaching entrepreneurship and I can think of no better place to teach this than in a space dedicated to real-time displays of flourishing growth. But the space also illustrates a key point about growth—if not directed, growth can get out of control.

Consider the tomato plant. In the greenhouse, we grow “indeterminate” tomatoes which means they can grow to fill the space provided. It also means they grow like crazy—and in every direction. If left unchecked, the indeterminate tomato plant will grow out, over, up, and under, filling up all nearby space. The plant will focus so much on growth solely for the sake of growth that it will produce less fruit.

For this reason, tomato plants must be heavily pruned. Their suckers must be removed, and the bottom leaves must also be cut off, leaving only the top to grow in one clear direction—vertical. Because of this intentionality, the tomato plants will grow well over twenty feet tall and will produce incredible harvests all through the growing period.

The lesson is clear—growth for the sake of growth can often lead to less fruit. Directional growth that is pruned with intentionality, however, will more than exceed expectations. And this is the type of growth we seek with the entrepreneurial mindset.

When we tether our growth to a clear vision and when we operate out of a defined mission with stated core values, our growth will not only be healthy and life giving, but will know no limits. Coupled with grit, the ability to redefine failure, and the desire to seek opportunity, we become unstoppable.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

We need to Be Interesting and Be Interested

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 18:00:00 -0500

When I talk to business owners regarding their pain points, the conversation often trails toward the hiring process. “We can’t find good people,” they say before bemoaning all the problems with “this generation.”

As someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, this problem is an opportunity. The opportunity lies in what we can teach our students to help them not only stand out but also excel in the hiring process. The art of the conversation, while essential to most career paths, is largely untaught in modern schooling.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. As part of the entrepreneurship programming here at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, we dive deeply into teaching students how to network which includes lessons on shaking hands, making eye contact, asking questions, and genuine listening. We even teach them how to use LinkedIn.

In the end, the biggest value-add comes from a two-fold lesson: be interesting and be interested. Be interesting enough for people to want to talk to you and be interested in other people enough to ask curious questions.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Invest in Your Rock Stars

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0500

We’re all guilty of it—we don’t spend enough quality time with our rock stars. Don’t get me wrong, we certainly know who our rock stars are, but because they are the ones who've got it together, who deliver consistently, and who don't cause us problems, we often let them do their thing so we can focus on putting out the fires.

And this can be a detrimental mistake.

Our rock stars need us. They need us to, if nothing else, listen. They need us to recognize, affirm, and uplift. Even if they seem like they don’t, they actually do.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

The Most Powerful Tool of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0400

At the end of the day, the most powerful tool in our tool box for entrepreneurship is compound interest. And I'm not just talking about a financial tool or economic indicator--I'm talking about the heart of the entrepreneurial mindset and the vehicle by which dreams and goals are fulfilled, by which habits are formed, and by which lives are crafted. Harnessing this power is central to our success in life.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Finding the Right Space in your School for Entrepreneurship

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 17:00:00 -0400

Believe it or not, your school already has the perfect space for entrepreneurship to not only happen but to thrive--all it takes is recognizing it and creating the necessary freedom, resources, and autonomy for the program to thrive.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Admit it—We Need Coaching

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 11:00:00 -0400

I can KNOW everything in the world about leadership and organization and team collaboration, but without someone in my corner challenging and pushing me, my growth will be stunted. This revelation brought me to the following admission, and it is one born out of vulnerability: we all need coaching. Wherever we are in our lives, we all have dreams and goals and, hopefully, an inspiring vision. And having someone come alongside us to help us stay on that path is not just a want but a need.

For those of us pursuing an entrepreneurial mindset in order to distill and share that mindset with students or coworkers or parents, coaching is essential. Take it from a guy who thought he didn’t need it and now, just seven months later, is shocked by the results.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Let's Increase Engagement with the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0400

Feeling disengaged? Have students, parents, or teachers that would classify as disengaged? They're in the majority--67% of US employees report feeling disengaged from their work. Rather than see this as a major problem, we can see this as an opportunity if we approach from an entrepreneurial mindset. And the opportunity to increase engagement starts with a clear understanding of the WHY.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Entrepreneurial Wisdom from the Ant

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0400

In a classic Biblical teaching, we are encouraged to look to the ants in order to learn wisdom. Based on the teaching of Jim Rohn, there are two key attributes that ants can teach us that directly contribute to our ongoing development of the entrepreneurial mindset. When we apply these teachings, wisdom supercharges our growth.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Establishing Rocks to Achieve Your Goals

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 07:00:00 -0400

What do rocks have to do with goal setting? Everything, it turns out. Going back to Stephen Covey's famous "put first things first" habit, rocks became synonymous with the big, important things in life that often get set aside for the less important "whirlwind" of the everyday. Gino Wickman in the book, Traction, explains how setting rocks, or quarterly goals, will directly relate to accomplishing yearly goals which will directly relate to accomplishing big, lofty ten year goals. The truth is in the system, and this system works for schools, businesses, and individuals.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Achieving Sanity Through Prioritizing Our Email Inbox

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 19:00:00 -0400

Let's work "on" instead of "in" our email. Some time management professionals will tell you to ignore email as much as possible or only look at it once a day. Often this results, however, in missing an important or urgent issue that needs to be addressed.

My preferred method harkens back to Stephen Covey. He shares the power of the Eisenhower Matrix (pictured below) in assuming control of one’s time. The matrix is a simple but powerful tool which, if correctly implemented, yields enormous benefit in helping us to prioritize.

Using four quadrants (urgent and important, not urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent and not important), the matrix allows us to filter incoming tasks and requests and ideas into the areas they belong. We are encouraged, by Covey, to “live” in the second quadrant—not urgent and important—as this is where our goals and dreams and ambitions are accomplished.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

An Inspiring Story about Grit and Entrepreneurship

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0400

Ready to get fired up with some inspiration for you day? How about the story of a group of high school students who rallied behind a Wildly Important Goal to create a new business venture that fueled them with ownership and confidence? This is the stuff of the entrepreneurial mindset and this is what innovative education is all about. Let's Go!

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Trailer for Entrepreneurial Mindset

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0400

Ready to supercharge your growth and development? Want to dive in to growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking? Subscribe to this podcast to get inspired and help radically transform yourself and the people in your life.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Teaching Grit Through Setting Goals

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0400

We all innately understand the value of becoming grittier but often we fall into the trap of assuming grit is an innate, fixed trait. Thanks to the growth mindset, however, we can dive into the way in which grit can be developed over time. A key technique for this is in goal setting. By setting goals in our own lives and by helping the students and children in our lives do the same, we become grittier as a by-product. Listen in to discover how.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Planning for Personal Growth

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:00:00 -0400

We hear a lot these days about personal growth but if we don't have a plan for our growth, our growth will be undirected and haphazard. Having a plan means looking at all key aspects of our life--intellectual, relational, spiritual, physical, financial, and vocational--and setting key goals for our growth in those areas. This is about achieving balanced growth that is clearly directed toward our vision and it is as important for us as it is for the students in our classrooms.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Mission, Vision, Values: The Essential Starting Point

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:00:00 -0400

So we have a mission, a vision, and core values for our organization (be it a business, church, or school). Before we congratulate ourselves, however, let's ask how deeply it has infiltrated each and everything we do. Does everyone know the mission, vision, and values? Does everyone live it out? When we have clarity around this and when we hold each other accountable to the mission, vision, and values, we set the level of its important--and it's incredibly important because it answers WHY. If we are going to help students determine their WHY, we need to make sure we are truly living ours.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Why Student Engagement Matters

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:00:00 -0400

Our students are bored--they are disengaged, listless, and disruptive in the classroom. And the issue is us as educators. Tough pill to swallow, I know, but if we help our students connect the WHY of education to the reality of practical training toward future success, we can create opportunities for them to engage in their learning and see the true value.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium

Understanding the Entrepreneurial Mindset

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 13:00:00 -0400

This episode explains the four primary attributes at work in the entrepreneurial mindset--growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking. When these are working together, we are ready for anything.

Join the movement - sign up for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Symposium today by visiting https://www.seedtreegroup.com/2026-entrepreneurship-symposium