This week, millions of youngsters are heading back to school. One of the highlights of this rite of passage is the chance to relay to your teacher and classmates how you spent your summer. Even though I was not technically in school the past few months, I was definitely in full attendance at the University of Life. I had so many tremendous learning experiences over the course of the past few months I wanted to share what’s been going on in the world of tremendousness.
Reading Tremendous Books: You and hundreds of others like you nourished a legacy. You made reading cool again! You bought books from our Tremendous Summer Sale in the thousands for yourselves, for your teams, for your friends, for your ministries!! They say people aren’t reading anymore but not this tremendous group! My father, the late Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, would be smiling down from above because you bought them not just for yourself, but to give away to others!! Together we can save the world by getting others to read tremendous books!!
Sharing Tremendous Woofs: You helped us kick-off two new extraordinary youth leadership programs, Lend A Helping Paw and Indy Takes A Walk. The programs blended literacy, philanthropy, environmental stewardship, community engagement, AND dogs into one incredible experience of learning and sharing. In the words of one youngster, "I had one day to pick to come to the summer camp, and I'm glad I chose this one because it was the best!" With this much tail wagging, we formally launched the Four-Legged Leadership section of our site so be sure and check it out. And, we signed our first best-smelling “paw”thor from outside the Jones pack.
Publishing Tremendous Works: We have received so many incredible opportunities to collaborate that we are back in the publishing world again! This summer we released our newest Life Changing Classics on one of my lifetime heroes, C.S. Lewis. We’ve got another set to release the beginning of next month on Martin Luther. We’ve got numerous others in the pipeline on overcoming poverty, leading with intentionality, and moving from believing to knowing, so stay tuned for more great reads.
Widening our Tremendous Circle: I completed a media tour via under the guidance of my superb publicist which provided avenues for our Message to Millennials to be carried far and wide. We were featured on over 1500 Tier One Radio stations, appeared in print on such major sites as Forbes.com, Metro.US, Monster.com, Recruiter.com, and were featured guests on NBC and Fox in Philly. We received incredible feedback from all types of people from all over the country. It’s amazing to see how hungry people are for these universal truths on leadership and followership. We are truly honored and humbled.
Building a Tremendous Team: Lastly, and most importantly, I have the blessing of collaborating with a whole new slew of in-house talent whose hearts and minds are dedicated to changing the world one book at a time. They say when you are ready to take the next step, the right resources will appear. This fall is packed full of even more tremendous activities with new programs such as The Granddaughter Project, Christmas at Italian Lake, Ethics and Excellence, and the opportunity to revisit the Kosovo Leadership Academy and teach their students, as well as parents.
As for back to school, I'm right there with you. I have two more classes in my doctoral program before heading into Comps and the Dissertation process. I am eager to get back to the books and into the groove of mind renewal. And I learned the greatest lessons of all; stop trying to chase grace and simply do your best, sit back, be quiet, and let grace alight on you.
