cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Alec Couros
I am nervous and excited about my first day tomorrow. As a new school year starts I am reminded about the brilliance of the students, teachers, and families around me. I encourage you all to share your obvious with the world in order to inspire those who will learn what you do is amazing. Below is one of my favourite videos of all time by Derek Sivers. I have shared this video multiple times because it epitomizes how being brave enough to share what is obvious to us can make a world of difference to people who find what your sharing amazing. Often we are our own biggest critic and don’t give our obvious ideas an opportunity to grow. Often they are halted in their tracks because of fear we are not good enough or I don’t have anything valuable to offer. I know I am not alone when I say that I once felt that way.
Imagine… the education world as a whole being a community of learners sharing successes and sharing difficulties. Through sharing we can be inspired by someones else’s obvious in order to come up with creative solutions to difficulties us and our students all face inside and outside our classrooms each day. The smartest person in the room is not the person standing and speaking the most… it is the collective of the room. The world is the room. Reach out and share! Thank you to George Couros and the countless others in my learning network who have helped me understand that deeply. We are all smarter together and our worlds will benefit from us sharing and learning from each other! Model your sharing with your students and see them be inspired to engage in learning about how they too can spot amazing ideas and inspire amazing in others.
Have a wonderful first day back and find 1 obvious thing to share this year. Your obvious is amazing to others.
Today is a Great Day for Learning 
Thank you for sharing this video (which I found view a tweet from George’s big brother) – it frames in an approachable way the aversions and self talk that keep people from sharing.
I’ve been collecting these kinds of stories for year; I hope if you have an experience like them, you might add your own:
http://stories.cogdogblog.com/
(I’m still waiting for George or Alec to get around to doing one 😉
Then there is this well written little piece of blog, whicyh may interest you:
There’s No Copyright for Cookies: Why Educators Should Embrace Sharing
http://amysmooc.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/theres-no-copyright-for-cookies-why-educators-should-embrace-sharing/
I love it! Thank you for sharing Pete. I read it and shared it too. Same message with the delicious examples of sharing cookies.
hi!Thank you for sharing. Means a lot to me as a principal from a small town in Malaysia. Have to do a presentation about my school to a few visiting principals and this video gave me the clarity I needed.
@sjaafar