Guest Post by Anthony C Delauney
Yesterday marked the official release of my first children's book, Dash and Nikki and The Jellybean Game and I want to share with you a secret I discovered when bringing this book to life. One of the key lessons in the Dash and Nikki story is the importance of patience. Two children are given an opportunity and also a choice. Eat ten jellybeans now, or wait and allow their jellybean piles to grow by five more jellybeans every hour until the end of the day.
As adults, we think the choice is clear and easy. We can envision how many jellybeans will exist at the end of the day or do the math to determine just how many we will have if we wait. Children’s minds are easily distracted. They can’t always imagine the future result because so much is swirling around in their curious heads.
While it seems like a simple concept, I would challenge all of you to consider just how hard it is as adults to apply the same concept of patience to the decisions we make every day. Jellybeans are tangible. We can see them and feel them. It’s easy to know how many you will have in the future if you play the game. The decisions we have to make as adults are usually not as tangible.
If you have to choose between fruit or a bag of chips when ordering lunch, you can’t see the calories, carbs, or fat that you put into your body with each choice. When investing for a future goal, you can’t imagine how the compounding growth of your investment will generate a much larger portfolio in the future.
As adults, we think the choice is clear and easy. We can envision how many jellybeans will exist at the end of the day or do the math to determine just how many we will have if we wait. Children’s minds are easily distracted. They can’t always imagine the future result because so much is swirling around in their curious heads.
While it seems like a simple concept, I would challenge all of you to consider just how hard it is as adults to apply the same concept of patience to the decisions we make every day. Jellybeans are tangible. We can see them and feel them. It’s easy to know how many you will have in the future if you play the game. The decisions we have to make as adults are usually not as tangible.
If you have to choose between fruit or a bag of chips when ordering lunch, you can’t see the calories, carbs, or fat that you put into your body with each choice. When investing for a future goal, you can’t imagine how the compounding growth of your investment will generate a much larger portfolio in the future.
Some individuals might say that I’m 100% wrong in what I just said. You can do the math. You can read the side labels of the chips bag to compare its calorie content to that of the fruit. You can use a financial calculator to determine what your investments will yield if you save a certain amount and it achieves a certain rate of return.
The key question is, “Do you?” Do you take the time to make an informed decision, or do you allow your hunger to get the better of you when ordering lunch? Do you stick to your workout schedule or find a reason to sleep in? Do you take the time to determine what you need to save to achieve your long-term financial planning goals, or do you allow the impulse purchase to win the day?
Every adult shares the same difficult choice that Dash and Nikki experience in the Jellybean Game. Do we allow the time to make an informed, unemotional decision when working toward our goals, or do we allow our emotions and the distractions of life to cloud our decision-making and rob us of our goals and our future dreams?
It’s not an easy path. Every day, more distractions seem to pop up to sidetrack us from working on our goals. It takes discipline, patience, and planning to stay on track. The sooner we learn how to recognize the emotions and distractions, the easier it becomes to subdue and overcome or avoid them.
Dash and Nikki and The Jellybean Game helps young children begin to develop the tools and behaviors needed to recognize these emotions and distractions. The earlier they understand that patience is a good thing and that immediate gratification is not always the best decision, the easier their lives will be as they enter adulthood and confront more critical choices and opportunities.
If you know a young child who could benefit from the lessons shared in Dash and Nikki and The Jellybean Game, please consider this book as a gift for the holidays. It will be the gift that keeps on giving!
The key question is, “Do you?” Do you take the time to make an informed decision, or do you allow your hunger to get the better of you when ordering lunch? Do you stick to your workout schedule or find a reason to sleep in? Do you take the time to determine what you need to save to achieve your long-term financial planning goals, or do you allow the impulse purchase to win the day?
Every adult shares the same difficult choice that Dash and Nikki experience in the Jellybean Game. Do we allow the time to make an informed, unemotional decision when working toward our goals, or do we allow our emotions and the distractions of life to cloud our decision-making and rob us of our goals and our future dreams?
It’s not an easy path. Every day, more distractions seem to pop up to sidetrack us from working on our goals. It takes discipline, patience, and planning to stay on track. The sooner we learn how to recognize the emotions and distractions, the easier it becomes to subdue and overcome or avoid them.
Dash and Nikki and The Jellybean Game helps young children begin to develop the tools and behaviors needed to recognize these emotions and distractions. The earlier they understand that patience is a good thing and that immediate gratification is not always the best decision, the easier their lives will be as they enter adulthood and confront more critical choices and opportunities.
If you know a young child who could benefit from the lessons shared in Dash and Nikki and The Jellybean Game, please consider this book as a gift for the holidays. It will be the gift that keeps on giving!
(Personal note: I had a chance to review a copy of this book. It's a cute and realistic way to teach kids about patience and discipline when thinking about money and purchases. If you're looking for a book that can introduce some basic financial topics to kids, this is a good one to have in your library.)
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