Laura Sandefer is an author and the co-founder of Acton Academy, a school whose learner-driven model is spreading across the globe with over 130 locations in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, Malaysia and more, and in 2019 is celebrating 10 years of letting children take learning into their owns hands. Acton Academy bases their model of learning on the Hero’s Journey: a story pattern common in ancient myths and modern day adventures in which a hero goes on an adventure, wins a victory and comes home transformed. Children at Acton Academy know why they are being challenged to learn — they are on their own Hero’s Journey to find their passion in life. Laura went on her own Hero’s Journey in starting Acton Academy, which she chronicles in her book Courage to Grow: How Acton Academy Turns Learning Upside Down (Acton Press, 2017). She became a reluctant entrepreneur, growing Acton Academy so other parents can start their own learner-driven communities. Laura has a bachelor of arts and masters of education degrees from Vanderbilt University. She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children and three dogs.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“my biggest difficulty was sales. I hated the idea of selling. This was a real misconception on my part. But I felt that I had to be all things to all people so I was afraid to say no as parents were coming to ask about our product which was our school, our learning journey. I was afraid to say how good we were for one thing, that felt like bragging to me. And I was also afraid to say no to what they wanted. So I was self-conscious, I feared rejection”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm by Verne Harnish
- The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
- The Talent Code: Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown by Daniel Coyle
- The Dream Manager: Acheive Results Beyond Your Dreams by Helping Your Employees Fulfill Theirs by Matthew Kelly
- The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable… About Restoring Sanity To The Most Important Organization In Your Life by Patrick M. Lencioni
- The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM by Hal Elrod
Favourite Quote:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
Recommended Online Resources:
- YouTube, LLC is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. Three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—created the service in February 2005. Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion; YouTube now operates as one of Google’s subsidiaries.
- Amanda Horvath – Entrepreneurs and business owners, this channel is for you! You know video is your next step, but the fear of doing it wrong or wasting money can halt you in your efforts. In this channel, Amanda will walk you through how to use video marketing to build your tribe and grow your business.
- Expensify is the world’s leading application for expense management, receipt scanning, and business travel. Snap a photo of your receipt using SmartScan and Expensify takes care of the rest.
- Google Drive – Safely store and share your photos, videos, files and more in the cloud Your first 15 GB of storage are free with a Google account
- Google Docs – Create a new document and edit it with others at the same time — from your computer, phone or tablet Free with a Google account
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“have a morning routine that feeds your mind and your body and soul. It took me years to figure out that I need to get up an hour before everybody else in my family. I need to have a solid hour in the dark before the sunrises to get centred, to get less stressed, to become fuelled… It transformed everything about my work life”…[Listen for More]
More About Laura Sandefer:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” Colin Powell
Other Quotes From the Chat with Laura Sandefer:
- “it’s really not about the treasure although making money is a positive thing it’s really about adding value and making the world a better place”
- “be absolutely 100% clear about what your mission is. Just very specifically what you are, what you offer and never ever waver from it. So, don’t try to be too many things. Do one thing better than anyone else, know that one thing, grow very carefully. So, I can’t say grow faster, grow slow.”
- “Seeking feedback continually I think is something very, very important. But seeking feedback from people who are willing to take the time to give you thoughtful constructive feedback, not just feelings but really specific feedback”
- “I think the key to success for a six-year-old or a sixty-year-old is having the willingness to listen to feedback and taking what you learn and improving over time”
- “a second key to success is surrounding yourself with really smart people… If you can fuel smart people who are excited about your mission and make them successful in their work then I think that’s the ticket, I think that makes your organisation successful. So, caring deeply about the other people, the other people success I think is really, really important”
- “I rely deeply on books for my growth and my entrepreneurial learning”
- “I don’t want to be on the sidelines of life”
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