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“CHIPPIE THE PARAKEET NEVER saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said ‘hello’ when ‘sssopp!’ Chippie got sucked in.

“The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie– still alive, but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

“Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

“A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. ‘Well,’ she replied, ‘Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore he just sits and stares.”

Have you ever felt this way?

Yeah… Me too….

This is a performance from Friday Night January 6, 2012 at “Johnny’s Off The Plaza” in Healdsburg, California.

John Chevalier Music Set in Healdsburg, CA. from John Chevalier on Vimeo.

by John Chevalier *

At the end of every year it’s common for people to evaluate their lives and make resolutions for the New Year.  It’s a natural new beginning and a time to look at the changes we’d like to make.  The problem is that we seem to be really motivated on January 1, but lose sight of these goals by the end of the month. What would it look like if we could actually stick with it and make our goals happen?

The problem with resolutions is that they represent change… and change is hard.  We can’t just say that we’re going to change; we need to embrace it and let it take us to the next level. It has to be more than just nice words and a dream that we’d like to see happen on its own.

So this year, before you lock in your resolutions, let’s look at how to position ourselves for change.

Understand That There Can Be No Other Choice.
Most New Year’s resolutions fail because the stakes aren’t high enough.  When it’s not important, we don’t take our resolutions seriously.  Ask yourself; “What do you really need to change?” and  “What is really “life or death” for you?” The common resolution of loosing that extra ten pounds might not be much to most people, but for a model, actress, or athlete, it could kill a career.  Take the time to really think about what ONE CHANGE can you make that will bring the biggest difference in your life.  Don’t make a resolution unless it’s really critical.

Cut Away Negative Relationships.
Good relationships inspire and motivate you.  Bad relationships suck the life out of you and grind you down.  In 2012, surround yourself with people who believe in your vision, those who really love you, support you, and care about you.  Get rid of the negative people in your life, and surround yourself with people who are convinced of your possibilities! This can be a hard decision to make and even harder to carry out, however, making a break from those past negative relationships is vital to move in to your new future.

Change What Matters.
Take control of your priorities, and you’ll take control of your life.  We often fail because we don’t take the time to decide what’s really important.  A promotion has little value if it comes at the expense of your family, friends or your personal life.  Stop spending so much time on what other people think is urgent, and spend more time on what really matters TO YOU. This means that you’ll have to do some evaluation. This means that some people won’t understand. But remember, this is “life or death” and a chance to change tomorrow.

Eliminate Destructive Distractions.
Release the negative baggage from your life.  Stop re-living your failures and start focusing on the future.  Don’t focus on the darkness of night, but on the new dawn that’s coming. Remember, there has never been a night without a dawn.  So, the divorce, the firing, the bankruptcy, the last decision that you couldn’t follow through with, or other disaster in your past does not determine your future.  I love the interaction between Pumbaa and Timon in “The Lion King”, when they are trying to encourage Simba:
Pumbaa: It’s like my buddy Timon always says: you got to put your behind in your past.
Timon: No, no, no. Amateur. Sit down before you hurt yourself. It’s “You got to put your past behind you.”
Again, this is not always easy to do, but it’s necessary if we’re going to move forward. As long as you dwell in the past, you’ll never discover your destiny.

Think about these four things before you decide on resolutions.  Because the truth is, when you know how to position yourself for change, you’ll find that these annual “resolutions” are really not that important, because you’ll always looking for ways to improve your life, year round.

Here’s to new beginnings…. I am personally looking forward to a great 2012! Happy New Year!

*Adapted from “For 2012, Let’s Get Serious About New Year’s Resolutions”,
by Phil Cooke author of the book “Jolt!”.

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It was about 10 years ago my daughter wanted a pet mouse.  I can’t remember all of the circumstances around it, but I knew that’s what she wanted, so off to the pet store we went to pick out a mouse.  After careful consideration she chose a black one what was very cute and we brought it home.  After a couple of hours of getting used to it’s new cage and accessories, she wanted to hold him.  She went to pick him up and it bit her.  She tried on a number of occasions and got bit every time.  Later that night, I found her in her room crying her eyes out, not because of the bite wound, but because the mouse “hated her”.

In reality the mouse was scared to death with the unfamiliar surroundings, the changes, and this new life it was embarking upon.  It did the only thing it knew how to do in the moment… It did what came natural to it.  BITE!  It didn’t hate my daughter, but it was so scared it was unable to accept the love that she wanted to give it…… and it crushed her.  If it had given her a chance she would have held it, pet its head, protected it and made sure that no harm would ever come to it.  It would have been safe.

This happens with people too.  There are times when we go through a period where we are unable to accept, or maybe even recognize, love because of our surroundings.  Life can get so hard that we no longer can trust anyone but ourselves and we lash out or, even worse, shrink inside of ourselves and ignore the world. 

It’s in these moments where we need to pull on whatever strength we have to look up and recognize those who truly want to care about us.  It’s not easy to see when we’re scared.  It’s not easy to accept when we’re overwhelmed.  But it can turn the worse possible situation into a life changing moment.

I understand the pain of being bitten by the mouse; and I choose to continue to pick it up. No matter how many times it snaps its little teeth at me, I will continue to show it love. I will continue to hold out hope that one day soon it will open up it’s little eyes and see that the safety and security that it’s been looking for has been right in front of it all along.

As I read the speech below that Matt Damon gave last weekend at the Save Our Schools Rally in Washington DC, my heart broke as I could think of several excellent teachers who are not appreciated by their own administration.

During this time of budget cuts, politics over progress, and insecure leadership in our schools, I think it’s time to remember why we got into this gig in the first place.  This is worth reading..  Someone, somewhere out there, really does “get it”.

Regardless of your surroundings..  Keep On Keeping On!!!
John C.
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I  flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.

I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn’t trade that education and experience for anything.

I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all come from how I was parented and taught.

And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success — none of these qualities that make me who I am … can be tested.

I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that’s true. But it’s more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep — this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.

Now don’t get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal’s office and said, ‘My kid ain’t taking that. It’s stupid, it won’t tell you anything and it’ll just make him nervous.’ That was in the ’70s when you could talk like that.

I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.

I don’t know where I would be today if my teachers’ job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.

I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn’t be here. I do know that.

This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you:  As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. … Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you, and we will always have your back.

Here’s a piece from the New York Times Opinion Pages, written by Virginia Heffernan. Is the current educational system relevant to the students that we are teaching?

Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade

This Music Video was created by two former Healdsburg High School Students and features my daughter Stephanie with a song that she wrote.

Every year I have my Digital Film Making students create a music video.  This year I decided to do one, myself, from scratch.  It’s a cover of the Joan Baez tune, “Diamonds & Rust”, and it features two of my students, who are both graduating next week.

Yesterday afternoon Stephanie graduated from Santa Rosa Community High School. Here is her graduation speech.