Jen Molitor Jen Molitor, a Renegade Teacher and catalyst for change, joins Neva Lee Recla to inspire people how to change the world. She is on a mission to get us fired up about improving our education system and lifting up educators so they can help our children reach heights that were once thought impossible. Jen also believes we can change the face of education through storytelling, rich discussions, taking advantage of teachable moments, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Listen in as she shares her experience and initiative in changing the world.

Hi kids, this is your Super Power Kid, Neva Lee Recla, and today we have on our show a very special guest, Jen Molitor. And today we’re going to be talking about changing the world. Today’s show is going to be Change the World. Jen and I both met at New Media, at Steve Olsher’s New Media Summit and she’s a master teacher, a certified coach and speaker, and she loves empowering people to make a difference. So without further ado, would you help me welcome on our show, Jen Molitor.

Hi Jen.

Hi! Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you. So, what are your super powers?

One of my favorites is believing in kids.

That’s awesome.

Believing in their super powers, believing that they can make a difference

Believing in their super powers, believing that they can make a difference.

Believing in their super powers, believing that they can make a difference.

I love that. I love that, so that’s awesome because you’re a teacher. So it fits in.

Perfect, huh?

So I thought, you’re a super hero, I’m a super hero, wanna do a super hero pose?

Yes! See if I can stand up.

There’s like a bookshelf behind me.

Nice matching colors, our blue and blue.

Actually on my dad’s camera it made my cape look purple. And it shows the blue.

Okay, so, what advice do you have kids to help them find their passion?

Two things. One is to believe in themselves through and through. To listen to their heart and really know what it is to have your true calling, the things that you really love to do. And the second part to that would be to find a mentor. Find someone who also believes in you and can lift you up and help guide you on the right path.

I love that. So what advice do you have for people on how they can be confident in themselves and they can find what they are passionate about and truly do to change the world? Can do to change the world?

Such a great question. So I work a lot with people and really tuning in to their bodies. We have so many answers inside us and often we tend to doubt ourselves and think the answers come from somewhere else. So I teach kids to get inside their body. We do lots of grounding exercises. Can I teach you one?

Sure.

Okay. So I want you to take both hands out in front like this. Straight out in front, can you see that?

Like this?

Yup. And you’re going to put your palms together so they’re straight out like this.

Like that?

Go ahead and touch them. Yeah. And then you’re going to flip your palms like this so your thumbs are down and the backs of your hands are facing each other. Yup. And then take one hand over the other and cross your fingers. And then roll it up like this.

Like this?

Yup. So you’re all mixed up. This is called a pretzel and what happens when we do this is our right side of our brain controls the left side of our body, and the left side of our brain controls the right side of our body. So when we do this whole pretzel and we get all mixed up, we start to engage both sides of the brain communicating. And then this part of our body, and this that goes, “Uhhhh,” this is a very grounding part in our body. So when we take this and get both of our brain sides working together and then we do this with our hands, I have them close their eyes and we picture a place that we would love to be. Someplace outside, our feet on the earth somewhere, and we picture just the temperature, the sun, the wind, and all that stuff on our body. And then from there we can make really confident decisions. Like we kind of get into our body and get grounded. So I teach kids how to kind of get in and sink into themselves instead of all the other chatter around. Make sense?

I love that. That actually, we go to this event called CEO Space. They do something called Teen Program and I was a part of it this year and he taught every teen in there how you can stay centered.

Yes!

Keep like your feet on the ground so then keep the palms of your feet on the ground and then it helps you stay centered and focused.

Yeah. That’s a great way too.

Yeah. Do you think that kids can change the world?

Absolutely.

I know you have kids, so what are their names and ages?

Cecilia is five and Edwin is eight.

Nice. I’m eight.

Yay! Yes, and you know I showed them one of your podcasts and they were so entranced, like, “How old is she? Mommy, how did she get this job?” And so we talked about how to be, what an entrepreneur is and what we want to do and so my daughter who’s five asked for an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas because she was going to bake all the stuff and sell it, so that’s going to be her little store. She’s already started making it and we live out in the country on 11 acres so we don’t have traffic or neighborhoods or anything like that, so she wants to set up a stand at the end of the road. However, we don’t really have people driving by that will slow down and buy stuff so we’ve got to rethink that idea. She’s on a mission.

Maybe I should interview them sometime.

They would love it. They would love it.

Which interview did you show them?

I can’t remember the guy’s name but he had a little bank, like a little pig bank or something.

Oh, Joe Polish?

Yes. Yes, yes.

He’s absolutely amazing.

Yeah.

He’s out to change the world. So your kids are eight and five?

That’s awesome I actually turned eight, remember?

I remember.

My birthday working, so that was, it was fun. I had two pieces of cake and two surprises.

Yay!

It was fun because remember Steve had everyone stand up and sing, “Happy Birthday”?

I remember. I remember when I saw you I was thinking now what is her role and I thought maybe you were a kid of somebody, and then when I learned just all that you’ve accomplished and the passion you have for making change and for starting businesses and wanting kids to do the same. I was like, “Holy cow, she’s amazing.”

Thank you.

It’s so fun to see a kid in action. One thing I’m doing at school with some of my kids is something called Invention Convention.

Sweet.

We brainstorm everyday problems and then they pick a problem that they want to solve

We brainstorm everyday problems and then they pick a problem that they want to solve.

Yes, you would love it. We brainstorm everyday problems and then they pick a problem that they want to solve. An example that my son did last year, when he gets out of the shower he’s always cold and so he wanted to solve that problem.

I know how he feels.

Yes, see, so it’s an everyday problem, lots of people have it. And so he created a towel warmer that uses the shower water to go into some pipes and you rest the towel on the pipes and it warms up the towel. Isn’t that cool?

That is awesome. I need that in my life.

Well he hasn’t put that into production or anything yet, but, so anyway we solve everyday problems and some kids, like I have a little girl right now, she was in kindergarten last year, she’s in L.A. and I can’t tell all the details yet because it’s top secret, but she’s going to be on a show and this came from one of her inventions that she did last year! So it’s so cool, so I should show them something from…like once they have this idea and they created this invention they should take this and create a business around it.

Yeah.

You could help them.

Yeah, I agree. Actually, there’s some problems that I do want to solve.

Yes?

Sometimes they can’t be solved, but it’s awesome that those kids are so creative. I see when kids step up and they become their own adult.

Yes. Yes.

I love it when kids take ideas that maybe don’t seem very easy to solve, but then they make the impossible possible.

And I believe that anything is possible so if you have this idea and you have this passion I believe that you can change, something can change. I think anything’s possible. Yeah.

Yeah. Anyone can do anything they set their mind to.

You got it.

So we have to take a quick break, but we’ve been talking to Jen Molitor about Change The World. We’ll be right back.

To know more about Jen Molitor you may visit: LiftupLeaders.com.

To listen to the entire show click on the player above or go to the SuperPower Up! podcast on iTunes.