Tag: together

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Victory

#kidlogic

We thought we would add some fun to Homes of Victory this year. At times we can overthink, how we parent, how we are as people and how we can always be just that little bit better.

What sparked this new series called Kid Logic, was a big clean out – yes Marie Kondo style over our summer. During which I found a whole heap of notes and stories I had written down about the kids when they were younger. The smiles it gave me and the laugh out loud moments I captured – need to be shared… why?

So you know that we know parenting is interesting, parenting can be frustrating and parenting is an experience like no other.

For privacy – I’ve called the characters (aka my kids) Lalee, Moe and Sparkie. You’ll see their personalities shine, you’ll relate the them and us, but most of all we hope you enjoy and remember we are living the dream… even if it looks a little different to what we imagined…

Lastly, please share your kidlogic moments with us – we would love to hear all about them.

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Victory

#homesofvictory

Anytime, someone gives you advice, rethink if it will lead to personal progress.

LailahGiftyAkita, author of  Think Great: Be Great!

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Victory

#homesofvictory

The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child’s home.

William Temple

As parents prepare for the school year ahead (in Australia), one thing to remember and hold close is, we as parents are our kids first teacher. They look to us for everything – unconditional love, guidance, discipline, growth and development. What words are you speaking into your child’s heart – no matter if they are 1, 10 or 30… What conversations do you have as a family about other people, about the world we live in. These are critical to their education – make them positive, make them a special part of their day, use it to learn together, be curious together and most of all grow together. That’s how families living in victory are made – together.

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Leadership

Leadership Trait: Coaching

In my home we love watching AFL and Rugby League – suffice to say we love football. What I do love to watch is the coaches barking orders during the game and watching the emotion of the game – the highs and lows on their faces. This is only a tiny window in to the work of the coach – the time the effort and energy they put into their team. The aim of the coach is to make their team the best – the best in the competition. To do that, each individual player needs to be their best, on top of their game and contribute to the team as a whole.

As leaders, whether in our work life or in our homes, it is our responsibility to develop those around us to succeed, and to prepare them for their future roles. When my children start to argue about the disciple or rules in our home, more often than not I reply with – “ It is my role to turn you into a good adult…” We are their coaches, their mentors, their supporters, their cheerleaders.

I am sure we could all name and shame a leader in our working life who is not a coach and makes no effort to be a coach. The one thing I’ve learnt from that kind of leader is what not to do. Let’s make an effort to be generous with our skills, develop those around us, encourage them to flourish in their own skill sets and prepare them for their future.

Not only will our own children benefit from this attitude in our homes, but those in the workplace who look up to us, whether we are in a leadership position or not – will benefit.

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Victory

Together

The most important key to successful leadership is your ability to direct and challenge the very best that is in those whom you lead.

Anonymous
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Victory

Word of the year

Our words often frame who we are and how those around us see us and are influenced by us. Our words are so powerful. On my first day back at work for 2021 I was challenged by a work mate who simply asked me ” What is your word for the year?” It wasn’t something I had ever really thought about. I often think of words and their definition and how I live by them – but I have never decided upon a word for a year. My lovely work mate, shared her word for 2021- positive. She wants to see life in a positive frame, rather than the fear she felt she had during 2020. I love this concept, and the responses from other staff really encouraged me and showed me that at times we may not need a new years resolution or new year goals, but rather a new way of thinking, a simple word to hold onto.

The question I now ask, is do you have a word for the year?

I’ll share mine – although these two words have been my word of the year in a way for many years.

The two words I love most are enable and empower. These two words tucked away in my heart – determine how I see the world, how I see what I do and how I interact with those around me. These words are so powerful many ways. I’ll give you the definition here to add context to the power of these two words:

Enable: to make able; give power, means, competence, ability to // to make possible or easy // to encourage or support

dictionary.com

Empower: to give power or authority to

dictionary.com

For word nerds like me, both of these words are verbs – action words. They represent something that is done. (I’ll never forget the ROTE learning of ‘ a verb is a doing word’). I personally love these two words and aim in my home, workplace and world to enable and empower those around me. If I can give just a little encouragement, a little power through my support, increase the confidence of those around me to achieve their goals – I feel my job is done. If I can be generous in unexpected ways to enc0urage or support, if I can make a way for goals to be achieved, if I can cheer you on to give you authority over your fears – then my job is done.

I hope this encourages you and inspires you to think about a word that you would like to hold onto this year, a word that represents the year you aim to have – despite the circumstances around us.

Ler us know in the comments your word of the year – we can’t wait to hear what they are!

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Victory

Goal Habits

I am amazing at thinking about goals, spending time writing them succinctly and then rarely achieving them. I think I am more addicted to adding the checkbox next to my thoughts than the actual task of doing what I set out to do. Don’t get me wrong, I do achieve goals and am happy with how I am tracking, but if you were to see my list of somewhat outrageous goals, you shouldn’t be surprised to see that about 40% go unachieved and will probably never be achieved. I am okay with this – for now.

I feel at this point I have the habit of writing goals I just need to work on the second half of the idea of actually achieving them! One thing I will say on this is, one of the Dad’s from Homes of Victory, sets a new goal every birthday – one where he can look back at, on the next birthday and see a difference. His aim is to build a habit out of the achieved goal as the year progresses. I must say he is very disciplined and the changes have been visible. They start off as goals and evolve into habits.

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. 

Og Mandino

I am encouraging you ( and myself) to develop more than just a new years resolution. I am encouraging you to set an achievable goal or goals that throughout the year become habits. Don’t let the simplicity of it, seduce you into turning your goals into bigger and better, becoming too big to manage and eventually never achieved.

Make setting achievable goals – your goal for 2021. Even if you only achieve one goal all year – it is better to achieve one goal, than none at all.

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Victory

Hello 2021

Happy New Year! What an exciting year 2021 is set to be. We can’t wait to see how this year unfolds.

We thought we would share, a beautiful image of summer in Australia. We have followers from all over the world, and one thing we love here at Homes of Victory is taking time out to recharge – and our choice of destination in summer is the beach. For those you in the middle of winter right now, we hope this warms your heart.

May we all remember this year to plan to recharge and include it in our family habits.

Thanks for tuning into Homes of Victory 2021, we have some exciting things in the pipeline to encourage you and support you as families.

Enjoy the start of the brand new year!

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Victory

Hey

We’ve had a whole heap of new followers lately – hello and welcome to Homes of Victory.

I’m Alicia and I’m one of the co-founders of Homes of Victory. In real life I can be a little shy, but when I write the whole creative process turns me into a completely different person.

So when I was asked to share a little more about myself here at Homes of Victory – I firstly went blank, but then I thought I would invite you in and give you a glimpse into my world.

In a nutshell, I am a mumma bear to three incredible kids who challenge me to be a better person every day. I married my sweetheart fifteen years ago and have enjoyed the adventure ever since. As a family we strive to encourage, be generous and always be on the look out for the next adventure.

Homes of Victory was developed out of many conversations I had over a period of year with friends, acquaintances and strangers. The common thread to me was two fold – without encouragement it is easy to give up, and many of us parents don’t realize other parents experience the same sorts of things – some just hide it better than others.

In case you haven’t noticed, I love people and family. I also love being a leader of people, a manager of things, being creative and especially being encouraging to those around me. The Homes of Victory platforms allows me to do everything I love.

I am so thankful for your support and ongoing kindness. Here at Homes of Victory we cannot wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

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About

about: Justin & Alicia

We are a dynamic parenting duo with three incredible kids in our lives. We have embarked on diverse careers paths including project management, product design, program coordination, innovation economy development and leading people at the same time as building a family while continuing our careers. Along the way we somehow lost sight of the goals we had before parenthood, we lost sight of who we are as individuals and as a couple, aside from children. After a couple of years of intense stress, we stopped to take a deep breath and set aside time to reset due to the growing realisation that if we didn’t make the necessary adjustments, we could risk losing each other and everything we had dedicated to achieve. Now we want to support those of you experiencing similar challenges and changes that comes with having children. We are focused on supporting parents in the season of kids (of any age), we get that it can be joyful, overwhelming, exciting, scary, eye opening and downright hard. Join us on this adventure, that in one sense is living the dream and in another sense so crazy and wild that we wish we could press the pause button… just for a minute.

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Leadership

moody teenager

On a family holiday in 2019 my husband took the time to take each kid out for a treat – just one on one time. His ulterior motive was to chat to the kids about our family values and how they were tracking. We often use our kids responses in these moments to see how we are tracking as a team. We take stock of how my husband and I can work better as a team and lead our kids… this treat time becomes almost like a performance appraisal without the kids really knowing… wanna know how it went??

Miss 9 went first. The conversation was going well with many positives and a chat about how we as parents can be silly but also strict – when we need to. My husband asked Miss 9 if she had any other questions… “ Yes, why do you behave like a moody teenager?”. A little stunned my husband responded with – “I like to be silly and have fun… “ no Dad, the times you get moody”…. The silence was followed by a nearby stranger stifling a laugh… Looking around to find the source of the laugh, the kind stranger looked at Miss 9 and said, “you need to listen to your Daddy, he is saying some very wise things”. Miss 9 smiled and said “I know.”

A great conversation with the stranger ensued and it turned out that he missed these kinds of opportunities with his kids and wife who now live in another country. He recently left his high flying corporate job to work with families in this space… connecting and thriving – while enabling parents to also thrive under the stress of the season of kids.

Now to Mister 7… he was up next. While eating ice cream… the planned conversation began … his response “ Look at that bird Dad, if he doesn’t move he will be smashed by the tram…”

Trying again, the conversation continued about how in the family it’s okay to be silly and at times we need to be strict… “I don’t think that bird values his life Dad”… not one to give up easily, my husband tried again… “ yes Dad I love you and everything is good”… sweet… performance appraisal complete… although we both think the bird was more thoroughly analysed.

Next was Miss 3… she arrived home after her walk with Dad yelling,” I did dancing and (jump) and(jump) and (jump) I touched a dine-saur (deep breath while jumping) and it tried to eat my body”… so there you have it success all round….

On a serious note, we can sometimes sail through the routine of life and forget to take stock of how the kids are feeling. Are they enjoying family life, are they getting the rest they need, the attention they need. Why are we mentioning this when the focus of this blog is parents in this season.

We believe the kids will reflect the reality of the family. If as parents you’re stressed it will be reflected. If you’re moody and tired… it will be noticed… the list goes on. The next conversation on my husbands list is a with me… even though they can be tough at times the outcome is always amazing. New goals are set, clearer values are developed and it’s like the whole team is now set for the next year.

Who’s next on your ‘to have conversation with’ list?

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Victory

Revive the roots

Hey just checking into see how your end of 2020 is going? Here in Australia along with other countries around the world, COVID is popping up again, and making life a little hectic and stressful. Like everyone touched by COVID, our Christmas plans are becoming more vauge as final decisions cannot be made yet. Life has it’s way of throwing curve balls at us, but at the end of the day its how we respond.

We get it that, we are sick of responding in a half hearted positive way as our energy is sapped with the trying part. We get it that so many changes to what we planned, what we dreamed of, what we are working towards – is draining. We are coming to the end of the year exhaused and wanting to nap.

During this time of uncertainty, take a moment to remember what you are thankful for. List them out. Even if it is one thing. Write it down. Remember it during this time.

Also, take time to rest, not just your body but your mind. Do something that allows you to rest – walk, sleep, exercise – whatever it is – rest.

Lastly, we want to encourage you at the end of the year – to revive your roots. The strength you have found during this year – needs to be acknowledged, the hard days you’ve got through, the unexpected fun days, the changes you’ve made to your family life, the changes to your role at work, the changes to your employment – all needs acknowledgment. These influences have contributed to foundational changes in your ability to deal with stress, change and flexibility due to cirumstances beyond your control – Hooray. See it for what it is. Your roots are going deeper, your capacity has enlarged and you’ve gained life experience that perhaps other generations will never know.

End this year, knowing you’ve grown, you’ve changed and your stronger for it.

We would love to know how your year has gone for you and what skills you have picked up along the way…

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Victory

why: victory

 you are just as important as any other factor in the family equation  

Justin and Alicia – Homes of Victory

Hello & Welcome.

Homes of Victory is a platform for families using leadership and management tools to create a family blueprint going forward. It is designed to support you and enable you to design the home life you want, while living with a victorious mindset in the middle of the craziest season of life: kids.

Even though at this time in history our whole world seems like it has upended, we decided to stick to our plans and launch homes of victory to bring hope and encouragement.

We started Homes of Victory out of our love for people and families. We wanted to create a space where we can encourage and provide a framework of not giving up, in a day and age where it is so easy to. We ourselves have experienced layers of stress in our family to the point where we literally didn’t know what to do. This was the grim reality for us at the time. However, we committed to working through the obstacles so that we would come out the other side better and stronger, rather than separately and in despair. We understand every situation is different and every person handles life’s challenges differently. What we also understand is, life is challenging like an obstacle course but we can learn from it and if we decide to be in it together, then lets be in it the best way possible.

Their is always a solution – we just need to find it.

Homes of Victory

Throughout this blog, we will post a series activities designed to do with the one you do life with, that combines to create a family blueprint. In doing so you will be designing and living the family life you want – through the thick and thin. Creating a family blueprint going forward.

Lastly, this is not a parenting blog, nor it is a blog about children, it’s about the parents in the family who often neglect their own relationships in favor of ensuring their kids are okay and life is ticking over. We’re here to say that you are just as important as any other factor in the family equation.

 

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Victory

Victory in the making

We thought a great way to end the year here at Homes of Victory is to revisit out top 5 posts. Each day this week we will be re-posting your fav posts.

They are in a nutshell:

  1. Why: Victory
  2. Manage and Lead
  3. About us: Justin & Alicia
  4. Moody Teenager
  5. Brave and Leadership trait: Patience tied in the number 5 spot.

Please enjoy these posts if you haven’t already.

x Homes of Victory

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Victory

Habit Kickers

It’s that time of year when we are winding down, getting a little bit reflective about the year it was. Can I just pause here and emphasis the words ‘ the year that was’. No one could have predicted what would occur globally in 2020, nor could we have predicted the type of year we as individuals and families would have.

One thing we do, to take control in a way of life – is to set goals. Goals help us focus, help us navigate the noise of life and find success. Here at Homes of Victory we have shared often about goal setting, how your family measures success and living in victory. This post flips that concept on its head, as we start to reflect on the year that was, and look at habits we may have formed, habits we have quietly agreed to – habit unlike goals that may not be the best for us.

I know this year, I have been guilty of dropping the discipline a little by drinking way too much tea, eating way too much chocolate and cheese, and watching way too much Netflix while ignoring every type of exercise ( pretty sure I’m now allergic to sweat) and the ever-growing number of baskets of washing that needs folding… It doesn’t seem like much, but my thinking behind it, is a little dangerous/ unhealthy/ alarming… for want of a better word. I keep saying to myself, it’s ok, if I need to stop because I can and I will. It’s okay, I will start to exercise when I want to – I rarely do – well not like I used to. These habits cannot be broken by one thought – I’ve realized as time has kept ticking, the days have kept passing, that breaking my Covid habits may not be as easy as I would like it to be. 

Habits are one of those things that can be positive or negative. Habits – happen little by little. When my kids were little and I was trying to get them to sleep all night in their own beds, I read that after three nights a habit was formed. Never worked with my kids by the way… Another theory floating around is it takes 21 days for it to become a solid habit and another 90 days to become part of normal life. Either way, there are somethings about habits – whether positive or negative that we need to remember at this time of year – especially as we take time to reflect on the year that was and the year ahead:

Habits need:

  • Commitment to be formed and broken.
  • Time to be formed and broken.
  • Discipline to be formed and broken.

What habits have you formed this year that are positive?

What negative habits have you formed this year?

Think about the actions you need to take to make negative habit more positive?