Welcome! This is a reissue of a popular blog post from October of 2019, called Grandma’s Fish Pond. Lady Linda and I are extremely busy talking to organizations about teaching our You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! class and also talking to podcasts. We’re doing our best to get the message of positive self-esteem and finding your passion out to as many people as possible.

We are ready to teach You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! classes again, so if you know of any organization, church, school, library, etc. that would like us to teach a class in positive self-esteem and finding your passion, or give a talk please contact me at nealbrownellthecrazyinventor@gmail.com or call me at 845-657-3009.

 Now for this week’s story.

Grandma’s Fish Pond

About a year ago, Linda and I were looking for advice on how we should go about marketing You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! We figured that the Small Business Administration would be a good place to start. After meeting with them, they informed us there was very little they could do for us. However, they could help us find a mentor who had written his own book.

Linda and I were excited to meet this man, so we made an appointment. We wanted to meet him as soon as possible so we could get his advice. We were to meet him in his home in a few weeks. We really didn’t want to wait two weeks, but we were sure the wait would be worth it.

He said, “the reason I haven’t sold any books was because I always set my goals low and that way, I am never disappointed.” He also told us that he taught his students throughout his teaching career to set their goals low so they would never be disappointed. He informed us that we should set our goals low. Linda and I weren’t going to waste another second with this man. We thanked him for his time and informed him we would not be using any of his advice and we would never be in contact with him again. We also let him know we were not happy he was teaching our kids to fail. After all, if you teach someone not to try you are teaching them to fail.

Finally, the day came. We drove more than an hour to meet him. Upon arriving, we introduced ourselves and he introduced himself as Professor So and So. He was an older man who had taught at several prestigious universities across the country during his teaching career. Linda and I were impressed.  We asked him how many books he had written. He answered with a great deal of pride. He said, “I have written five books.” We said, “That’s awesome! How many have you sold?” He said, “NONE!” You read that right he said, “None!”  We looked at him and repeated his answer back to him with astonishment in our voices, “None?” This so-called Professor who had been teaching our kids for years and was now recommended to Linda and I to be our mentor went on to explain why he had sold NO BOOKS AT ALL.

We let him know that You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! teaches our readers not only to accept themselves which leads to accepting the people around them, but it also teaches goal setting, perseverance, and tenacity. We informed him that You’re Amazing teaches no matter how many times a person fails, just because they tried, they are way ahead of where they would be if they hadn’t tried at all.

After Linda and I left, on the ride home, I told Linda that this reminded me of my grandmother’s fish pond. I didn’t grow up near my grandmother, so the only experience I had with goldfish was the little ones you see in a bowl on someone’s counter in their home. Then one day my parents decided we should drive from New Orleans, Louisiana to Wichita, Kansas to see my grandmother. I was six years old. When we arrived, I learned that my grandmother had a cement fish pond that had goldfish in it in her back yard. I was excited to see all the little goldfish swimming around in her fish pond. I ran to her back yard. But to my surprise when I looked in the pond, I saw lots of great big goldfish swimming around. I asked my grandmother, “why are the fish so big?” She informed me that the fish grow to the size of the pond they are in. If the fish are in a little bowl, then they stay little, but if you put them in a big pond then they grow big.

I learned this lesson when I was six years old. Although the fish pond story is not in You’re Amazing, You’re Amazing does teach that if you want to grow to your maximum potential you have to set your goals high, then learn everything you can about your goals and then relentlessly go after them. In other words, you have to risk failure in order to move beyond where you are at. To say it another way, like the goldfish in my grandmother’s pond you have to put yourself in a bigger pond.

It’s too bad our college professor didn’t learn the big pond lesson. I also wonder how many of our young people this man deliberately taught to stay in a small bowl. He deliberately taught our kids to stay small, not to grow and achieve. I am here today to say to you never ever let someone tell you to stay small. Always look ahead. Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep achieving. No matter how far you get you will be farther down the road of life just because you tried. Keep trying, spread your wings and fly!

You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It!

Attention all parents!

Are you looking for a fun and inspiring way to Teach Your Children Positive Self-Esteem? Look no further than You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! This book is filled with exciting rooms to explore and topics to learn about. The rooms are filled with thought-provoking comparisons and real-life stories that will encourage your child to embrace their unique talents and abilities.

Have fun with your precious children while teaching them how incredibly valuable they are. Your child will also learn that the people around them have enormous value.

Unlock your child’s full potential Order Now at https://www.youreamazingandillproveit.com/

When you order on the You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It! website, in addition to a physical and digital copy of the book, you get a number of valuable FREE Bonuses!

As always, I welcome your comments and stories. If you would like to follow my blog, please click on the plus (+) sign in the upper left-hand corner of this page. See you soon!

Neal Brownell The Crazy Inventor

845-657-3009

nealbrownellthecrazyinventor@gmail.com

www.nealbrownellthecrazyinventor.com

https://www.youreamazingandillproveit.com/

knowledgeisfreedompublishing@gmail.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/nealbrownellthecrazyinventor.author.publicspeaker
Twitter – https://twitter.com/NealGBrownell
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCri1QaL4gYDqM5HSxmDyO9g
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/nealbrownellthecrazyinventor/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyinventor
Rumble – https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all
Amazon –  https://tinyurl.com/cucn3suw
  

Guest on –

Beyond Surviving with Rachel Grant – (air date 8-16-23)

I Should Have Learned This Sooner (air date 6-19-23)

Rich Life Realization podcast (air date TBD)

Anxiety About Anxiety (air date 12-21-22)

Finding Freedom with John Odermatt (air date 8-4-22)

Let’s Live with Thurman Greco – YouTube (air date 11-30-21)

The Power To Pivot with Elizabeth Miles (air date 3-16-21)

Heroes Like You Podcast with Joe Belliston (air date 3-5-20)

Be Awesome Podcast with Dr. Kristina Hallett (air date 3-3-20)

The Empowered Whistleblower with Dawn Westmoreland (air date 2-24-20)

Which Way? with Shari and Jann Simmons (air date Friday 1-10-20)

Let’s Live! with Thurman Greco – Woodstock, NY cable TV – Nov. 2019

Beyond Risk and Back with Aaron Huey (air date TBD)