What is the Big Life Journal?
As a parent, you want your kids to be confident and resilient with high self-esteem and ambition to achieve great things in life. You want them to have a positive outlook on life and try new things. And at the same time, you don't want them to be afraid of making a mistake or think they "can't do" before they even try.
We get it. We are parents too. And we created the Big Life Journal for our son Mikey so that he can grow up to be a positive, resilient, confident human being who strives to achieve great things in life. We're sharing this journal with you with the great hope that it will positively impact your kids' lives too.
Alexandra & Scott, creators of the Big Life Journal
Alexandra Eidens
Founder & CEO
Scott Eidens
Co-Founder & Logistics
Kate Kolesar
Sr. Creative Producer
Evin Hunter
VP
Carla Kohn
Operations Manager
Laura Maloney
Special Projects Lead
Thays Silva Knight
Social Media & Content Associate
Melanie Rodriguez
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Martha McQuaid
Customer Support Specialist
Marjorie Stordeur
Creative Content Associate
Sam Hudgins
Designer & Illustrator
Vanessa Wright
Special Projects Associate
Arsh Bajwa
Facebook Community Guide
Laura Hernandez
Operations Associate
Nicole Brener
Copywriter
Ally Weber
Content Creator
Have you ever thought "If only my parents taught me THIS when I was little..."?
I have.
Let me share a short story with you...
It was 15 years ago. I walked into my parents’ apartment and fell face down on the couch. Breaking into tears, I cried uncontrollably for what seemed like hours.
I remember how I felt to this day - the wrenching feeling in my stomach, nausea, and the irrepressible desire to cry. That day my whole world crashed.
This was the day I failed.
It was my second year of college, and I lost a math competition. Before that I had been told I was very good at math... by my parents, my teachers and of course my grandma. She told me I was a math genius!
"How could I have lost the competition? Was I not good at it any longer? Was everyone wrong?... Now they all will be disappointed in me..."
Ah, this mental chatter... sounds familiar? Have you ever thought similar thoughts about yourself? Do you have a suspicion that your kids might have too?
Well, there is a reason for this kind of mental chatter. And it actually has a name - FIXED MINDSET.
You see, looking back many years later I understand why it was hard for me to process that failure. I was brought up with a FIXED MINDSET (sorry, mom and dad, it's true) believing that failure was not an option. I was certain that failing at that math competition meant something profound about me; I thought it meant I wasn't smart enough. I decided right there and then I wasn't good at math and never would be.
Why do I share this story with you?
Because today I understand the power of a GROWTH MINDSET. And I want to make sure that YOU understand it too.
If I had a GROWTH MINDSET in college, I would not have thought of myself as "being talented" in math. Instead, I would have looked at this loss in a math competition as the way to improve. I would have understood that I failed because I had not tried hard enough. I just didn't spend enough time learning math. That's it.
Now, I want my son Michael to have a GROWTH MINDSET. I know it can literally transform his life, it is THAT powerful.
And as a parent, you too can make a huge difference for your child by making sure they grow up with a GROWTH MINDSET. That's why I created the Big Life Journal. To help you and me on this journey.
Joy Acaso
Joy is a family therapist & anxiety support coach for parents & children.
Stefanie Faye Frank
Stefanie is the founder of Mindset Neuroscience with over a decade of counseling and teaching in schools and organizations across the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Jen Harrison
Jen is a parent coach and the founder of Supporting Sensitive Children.
Chase Mielke
Chase is a writer, speaker, and award-winning high school teacher. He holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.
Big Life Journal helps kids go from “I can’t” to “I’ll keep learning until I can.”
When kids become stuck in negative self-talk or can’t push through their fear of failure, it’s hard to know how to help them. At Big Life Journal, we create engaging resources to help kids develop a resilient growth mindset so they can face life's challenges with confidence.
Who is behind Big Life Journal?
Our tools and resources are brought to life by a dedicated team of parents, homeschoolers, former educators, family coaches, designers, and illustrators – from around the world!
Together with the team, our founder Alexandra Eidens creates the resources to be as effective (and fun!) as possible for the target age group. In the process, we consult with trusted parenting and family coaches, teachers, homeschoolers, and growth mindset experts.
Then the content is passed onto one of our talented illustrators and designers trained in how to best communicate to kids through art.
But we’re not finished here. Before we make our resources available, we put them through a rigorous “field test.” Our team includes 22 children who provide honest (as if kids could be anything but!) reviews of all our material before anything goes live! If it passes with flying colors, it’s officially released to our community.
How did Big Life Journal start?
Big Life Journal began in 2017 when founders Alexandra and Scott decided to create child-friendly resources to develop a growth mindset.The husband and wife team experienced first-hand the life changing benefits of a growth mindset and, once they became parents, began searching for personal development tools they could use with their son.
However, Alexandra and Scott were only able to find concepts of mindset, resilience, and self-esteem for adults and weren't able to find any resources specifically designed for children.
It was then they decided to create their own resources using language and stories kids could relate to and easily understand. They launched a Kickstarter project, and it quickly gained momentum. Through support from parents and educators like you, the couple raised enough to fund the first print of Big Life Journals.
Since then, Big Life Journal has continued to grow, with word quickly spreading around the world!
Today, Big Life Journal resources are used in hundreds of thousands of homes and schools around the world and the community has grown to over 500,000 parents and educators.
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