The Transformational Power of Promises

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Educators recently spent time together exploring how making a promise can transform a student’s life. BARR kicked off 2021 by providing school communities with the opportunity to listen to five times TEDx Speaker Alex Sheen about the power of strengthening relationships by keeping promises. Check out the event recording below!

School leaders from across the country attended this event to embrace an inspirational message, while also being able to walk away with practical lessons for their classrooms and beyond. During this event, Sheen walked the educators through the stages of the life of a promise to help them both ideate opportunities to make more promises and create realistic plans to help carry them out.

“When you calendar things out, you have a plan. When you have a plan, you’ve got a little hope. You can see the feasibility and that stress comes down,” Sheen said.

Sheen has used the “because I said I would” movement to inspire him and millions of others, as he has fulfilled his promises to walk 245 miles across Ohio for the three Cleveland women who were held captive for a decade, volunteer at 52 different non-profit organizations in a year, and provide children with cancer trips to Disneyland.

During the opportunity, educators digested important questions such as who they would consider the most reliable person in their lives. They also reflected on the impact broken promises can have on those around them. He provided tools for educators to be able to schedule out their days to best be able to follow through with promises they are making.

“I cannot tell you how much I believe that time management, it is stress management,” said Sheen.

This opportunity was a powerful time to reflect, energize and strategize about how future promises made and kept can transform students’ lives in every corner of the country. 

Alex Sheen will be a keynote speaker at the next BARR National Conference this fall.