Two summers ago, I was watching an episode of Idea City. (For my American friends, Idea City is like a Canadian version of TED Talks - where intellectuals speak to an auditorium of people about a variety of subjects.) This particular episode featured a woman named Lakshmi Pratury. Lakshmi, a brilliant entrepreneur, says that she asked wealthy people "What is the one story that you will take with you to your grave; that you will cherish forever?" She discovered that no one would ever say 'the day they sold their business for x amount of dollars', or 'the day they made manager at their company.' Instead, Lakshmi heard stories of the day when a woman held her daughter for the first time; the final moment a man had with his father before he died; etc. The moments we live for are the moments that our lives are affected by love, joy, and kindness. Being a 'billionaire' isn't about the money. It's about the moments we collect that fill our hearts.
AHA! I had just come up with a fabulous idea for my students. Personal Memoirs. Using this theory, students would write about a moment in their life that touched their heart. A moment that they would cherish and remember for a long, long time. [note: I do not actually show my students the Idea City video. It is a bit too mature for them. I only explain the important concepts outlined by Lakshmi.]
They also learned how to 'explode a moment,' how to write an interesting lead, and how to proofread and edit their work for their final draft.
As a year-end present, I combined all of their memoirs into a book that they could take home as a momento of the year. On the last day of school, I presented my students with their gifts. They were all very excited to find their own memoir in the book and to read the memoirs of their friends. Enscripted into their book was a personal note from me and one last final lesson about becoming successful:
"Everyone has the opportunity to become a billionaire of moments. It's simple, every time you experience a moment that touches your heart you count that as one moment. The more moments you experience, the closer you will get to a billion. BUT, if you do something to show love and kindness to others so that they are touched by your actions - you get to count their moment too! Be kind, be happy, and always cherish those moments that take your breath away."
