This past week, we welcomed 55 attendees from 14 states (and Puerto Rico) to the campus of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy for the second annual Entrepreneurship Symposium. And while we discussed everything from “why entrepreneurship education matters” to “how to start a student-run business,” the biggest lesson centered on IMPACT.

My friend Alex Judd of Path for Growth defines impact as follows: “impact is what happens when we refuse to stay in the same place, but we commit to the same path.”

Imagine the impact we would have on the lives of our students if we, as educators, refuse to stay in the same place but commit to the same path. If we refuse to continue doing things the way we’ve always done them and instead work to create new methods and techniques to engage students all while committing to principle-based education.

When we commit to principle-based education, we are committing to helping students understand that first and foremost, belief drives behavior (and behavior drives results). If we desire certain results, we must be sure that we are operating out of the right beliefs (and get rid of any limiting beliefs). Second, that consistency compounds—that what we do over and over, day after day, is what will determine the person we will become, for better or worse.

A third principle is that we can either spend or invest our time. When we demonstrate to students the principle of investing our time, we are teaching them to be intentional in all aspects of their lives which will lead to more fulfillment as well as meaningful relationships.

Perhaps most encouraging is the principle that constraints breed creativity—this was a big takeaway from our symposium event. When constraints are placed upon us, we have the choice to react in frustration or be proactive in creativity—when we choose to be proactive, we often find that the constraint can be a positive force for innovation. After all, this is how our entire entrepreneurship program at the school got started.

When we, as educators, desire impact, what we are really desiring is to build into the lives of those students who will go on to make the world a better place. We, in effect, have the most important possible calling: inspire change by refusing to stay in the same place but committing to the same path.

Want to get started with entrepreneurship at your school? Connect with me to learn more.

Just 10 Minutes a Week

Want a super-charged dose of the entrepreneurial mindset once a week? Silly question—of course you do. Check out the podcast, send it to your friends, encourage them to listen.

The journey is worth it…