It’s week two of
the TPT Seller Challenge, and this week’s challenge is called “Dare to
Dream.” I will admit I laughed when I
first read the title, as my thoughts on this cliché have become more cynical in
my thirties than they were in my twenties.
It’s not that I don’t “dream” anymore, it’s just that I fully realize
“my” dreams may or may not come true the way I envision them. However, the good part is I also realize
THAT’S OKAY!
Last week, I
attended church camp with the youth group from my church. The theme for the week was “More” and it was
based on Ephesians 3:20, “Now
to him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us.” I can’t help but see a connection between
this week’s challenge and last week’s theme; for me, they go hand in hand. Rather than choose a particular dream for my
career, my personal life OR my spiritual life, I’d rather live day to day and
put it in God’s hands, knowing that it’ll be immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine, as I let His power
work through me.
While I do think
it’s important to have goals and to visualize where hard work toward those
goals can take you, for me it’s all about the journey. One day at a time, one step at a time or in
the case of TPT, one product at a time, one follower at a time. I truly believe my personal quote on my TPT
page that says, “To know even one life
has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.” (Emerson) I clearly remember what it was like to be
drowning as a new teacher, and it thrills me that TPT can hopefully alleviate
some of that for new teachers now. I
want to reach new teachers, as well as veteran teachers who are just looking
for new ideas. I’d also like to help
colleagues get started with their own TPT business. In short, I’d like to reach more teachers!
I also love the
fact that more success on TPT means more
resources for my own classroom. Whether you’ve been teaching one year or ten
years, there are never enough hours in the day to create everything you’d like
to offer your students for optimal learning.
TPT is such a timesaver, and I like to think of it as a bartering
system. The money I make on TPT creating
resources that I’m good at creating allows me to get resources that I’m not so
good at creating. Knowing that little
people around the world are using the resources I create in their classrooms
also makes me smile.
When I first
started teaching, I struggled with the lack of genuine feedback about what I
was doing in my classroom.
Administrators and colleagues are so busy with their own
responsibilities that it’s hard for them to get a handle on what’s REALLY going
on in individual classrooms. I love the
fact that TPT allows me to receive genuine feedback on products I’m using in my
own classroom. Being able to compare
what worked well or didn’t work well for my customers to my own experience has
taken my teaching to a whole new level! For
me, TPT means more feedback that
helps me do my job better.
Let’s be real for
a minute. Everyone likes more income. I’ve always scoffed at the fact that I work
just as hard as my husband (or harder) (well for ten months a year anyway) and
make a fraction of his salary. TPT still
hasn’t exactly leveled the playing field, but it makes me feel like it could
one day if I keep up the hard work and the stars align. I love that feeling of professional
empowerment- that what I do IS valued and DOES matter to more than just the
twenty-some kids I teach each year (not that it wouldn’t have been enough if it
was only them). Most importantly, more income means more opportunities to do
good for others. Again, "to know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived- this is to have succeeded."
With TPT, I
really do feel that the possibilities are endless. It’s been an amazing journey so far and I can
only hope that there’s immeasurably more to come. If you’re a teacher and you haven’t yet given
it a try, either as a customer or as a seller, I’d love to tell you more!
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