The world is your oyster.

Here’s a gift. Do you want it?
What is it exactly?
It is an opportunity.
What do I do with it?
You take it!

That’s how the conversation went in my head when Jeff Gargas, the COO of the Teach Better Team first reached out to ask me if I would be interested to join him and his co-host Rae Hughart for a podcast episode on Teach Better Talk. Actually, my first questions were, “Who me? Why me?” But I didn’t let that stop me. I told him I was interested right away. With the gift of time during this pandemic, I dove into what the Teach Better Team was all about and was blown away. Since then, I started participating in their webinars, #MasteryChat on Twitter (Thursdays at 5PM PST), live shows, blog posts, and listening to their podcasts and I’ve been hooked ever since. Everyone on the team has been so positive and welcoming, which completely fits in with what I believe too! (If you read my first blog post, you’ll learn that “welcome” is one of the words I live by.) And as Jennifer and Hans Appel shared recently on their Award Winning Culture Podcast about the Teach Better team, “it is infectious to be around the team” and I so agree! Fast forward to today, I was recently asked to be a Teach Better Ambassador and now have the opportunity to share my story on Episode 183 – Teach Better Talk! I have been so blessed with many people believing in me and supporting me. It has truly been humbling and I want to thank you all for your part in helping me find my joy and being a source of joy. I am on my own journey but I didn’t get here alone – I learned from you and with you along the way, and for that, I am deeply grateful.

Opportunities are circling all around us, all the time, everywhere we go, and in every interaction we have. So what do you do with an opportunity?

• First step: Open your eyes and your heart. Look around to see possibilities you can turn into opportunities. If you don’t see one YET, you may need to take some initiative to find one or create one for yourself. Sometimes opportunities find you but you also can work towards placing yourself in situations where there will be more opportunities available.
• Next step: Assess whether these are opportunities you want to take. Can you grow from this? Does it help others in any way or make the world a better place? If so, then…
• Final step: Jump in or dive into the deep end! Take the opportunity! And if you are not quite ready, a toe dip is still a motion forward.

I could talk about opportunities all day! They are possibilities you have chosen to turn into opportunities with action. In the podcast episode, I talk about various opportunities we can take to grow, be better, and improve our relationships, our teaching, and ourselves by the simplest act of making small changes. We don’t need to make big changes, but instead, make and take the opportunity for small changes. Making small changes will lead to bigger changes over time. In the podcast, I discuss some of the following:

• We have the flexibility for professional development (PD) every day with who we want to follow, what we find interest in, when we do it, where (platform choice) so consider why and how you learn best. The door of opportunity is always open for you to step through. There are always takeaways when you open yourself up to receive them. I am newer to podcasts as a form of PD so I found it hard to keep track of all those golden nuggets I was hearing so I created a Google Form to keep track. Read my tweet and click here to make a copy to use. I am so loving this small change!
• Reflect and consider how we can better connect with others, how we nurture the positive actions we notice, how we show gratitude, and how we build community with every interaction.
• In the classroom, take the opportunity to add the elements of surprise, choice, creativity, and fun.
• On a personal level, tweak your mindset to see challenges as opportunities. Please read my last post to learn more.

I give my students daily opportunities. I call them “areas of opportunity” and it is presented as an imaginary gift but it’s very real. They can choose to take it or not. When they do, they grow from it each time. My challenge to you is to explore possibilities, assess their value, and then take the plunge – go take those opportunities and run with it. Whenever I have, it has always brought great joy and when it hasn’t worked out as planned, I am better because I learned from the experience. Go find your oyster and discover your source of joy.

Please feel free to reach out to share what resonated with you here or in the podcast episode. I deeply appreciate you for your time and effort to listen and connect by commenting here or on Twitter @LiviaChanL. I am looking forward to connecting with you!

With a heart full of gratitude,

Thank you, Jeff and Rae, and the Teach Better Team for this exciting opportunity to share my story. Love you all!