Today, in Peoria for the Illinois Arts Council, I led a core values workshop for 73 adults who work in the arts, primarily with children (I made some great Barrio contacts that I’ll be following up with). As a group we discovered something. The core values work I did with them would be great to do with students, especially at-risk kids. I’m going to be discussing that further with some of these people. One asked me specifically if I teach this as part of our Barrio curriculum, which obviously I have not yet, but now intend to do. I’m going to start offering this as one of my speaking topics. Below is a description of the workshop.

Core Values: When our Young People know who they are, their lives take a direct path towards success

Core values are the guiding principles that help an individual to define what they stand for. Walt Disney’s core values are imagination and wholesomeness. Those principles guide all of their decisions from the simplest to the most complex. The U.S. Air Force’s core values are integrity, service, and excellence—words that easily come to mind when we think of our military. When it comes to our youth—who might be looking for a job or trying to get into a trade school or college—understanding their core values is the secret to selling themselves. Imagine their ability to clearly and articulately tell an employer or a potential university what they stand for in this world…the core values discussion workshop will help other people to see these students’ greatest assets. This workshop will begin that articulation process for participants and will also discuss how to utilize these core values on a daily basis so that students can inspire others to help them on their journey.