Today's guests are a mother and daughter pair with a fun and interesting story to share. Mom made her living for 18 years as a speaker and trusted author of dozens of traditionally published books – she says the best part was that she and her husband were able to raise their 3 kids together, all of whom grew up to be entrepreneurs and amazing achievers… one of her children is also joining us, a designer and illustrator with clients like Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Publishing, and Pinup Girl Clothing – today I am excited to welcome, and introduce you to Connie Neal and her daughter Casey Robin!
The Notes
Connie shares about when she was first inspired to become an entrepreneur.
- Author Ray Bradbury came and spoke at her school which helped Connie realize that you could actually get paid to do something creative like writing.
- Connie’s dad was an entrepreneur but he was not very successful and struggled with gambling so money had a very unhealthy connection in her mind.
- An especially hard moment was when her parent’s lost the house and she came home from college to a padlocked house with all their belongings inside.
- At this point she had become a Christian which affected a lot of
- Instead of being homeless, she was living on campus at Pepperdine University and had a very strong desire to become a writer.
- She worked at her writing and sent out proposals for 10 years.
- Things were going really well until they had a family crisis which caused she and her husband to lose their jobs and they had to move away.
- She was pregnant with one of their children and had to go through a treatment program to ensure that the stress of their circumstances would not cause her to lose her baby.
- When she reconnected with someone she worked with in that program, she got the opportunity to write the devotionals in the Life Recovery Bible because she was able to draw upon her own experience.
Casey shares what she remembers of this same traumatic time frame.
- Casey actually has very little recollection of any details surrounding those events.
- She remembers spending extra time with her grandparents in Northern California.
- It was later when she was older when her mom was telling their story in public speaking settings that she learned all that had taken place.
- Casey loved running the book table for her mom’s events.
- Casey shared her first experience as an entrepreneur selling finely packaged river rock to her neighbors.
Connie talks about a tool she implemented while raising her kids- “The Dream Box”.
- The idea started when her kids wanted learn how they could set and reach goals (aka how they could earn chocolate kisses).
- Each child came up with goals or dreams they wanted to achieve and Connie helped them break down the steps they would need to reach it.
- Their other daughter Neal wanted to go to Africa at the age of 15 and ended up paying her own way through the Dream Box System so she could go help build wells for people to get access to clean water.
- Connie had no idea their children would all become entrepreneurs.
- And so the Amazing Dream Box Adventure course came to life, just many years later.
Connie shares why she was inspired to create the Amazing Dream Box Adventure course.
- Connie went back to school to get a degree in creating online courses
- She exposes the myth that if we were good parents, we would just always know what to do instinctively.
- There is a challenge that social media presents-that kids are tempted to chase the thrill of getting “likes” and “followers” instead of finding their true value.
- We need to respect parenting enough that we need to retool because we don’t have the levels of support that we used to have in extended family for example.
- Kids need to have a foundation of a community of real people who love them unconditionally.
- We have to have a window into their world to know who they are portraying themselves to be online.
- The course addresses all these needs and challenges.
Casey talks about her current journey of being an entrepreneur.
- She is a full time illustrator and designer as well as a fashion designer and animation director.
- She travels around to promote herself at big conventions like Comicon or Wondercon.
- Connie and her husband have supported these efforts by dressing up as a My Little Pony family and even getting in character at trade shows!
Casey talks about how the whole family supports one another in their individual business ideas.
- Encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit in your children comes with big risks of being disappointed, even devastated.
- They experienced this kind of devastation first hand when Connie’s son Taylor developed a seizure disorder where he lost all ability to remember and write music.
- Casey and her sister helped Taylor brainstorm to determine what other talents and passions he could use to drive a business.
- They helped him come up with a line of blended teas complete with Casey’s artwork for him to sell.
- Casey is also collaborating artistically in a 30 day movement fitness challenge to promote Neal’s physical training business for people who aren’t inclined towards traditional fitness activities.
Connie shares some closing thoughts about the role of guilt in parenting.
- She proposes that guilt is not necessarily always something to be dismissed.
- Sometimes the guilt is a gift that helps redirect us towards what is most important.
- It took her some time to identify the difference between the guilt comes from neglecting moral obligation and the guilt that is not necessarily grounded in any truth about our choices or motivations.
Meet Connie Neal
Connie Neal’s passion is to inspire parents and caring adults to guide their kids to set worthwhile goals and learn make their own dreams come true. While she was doing this with her 3 kids, she made her living for 18 years as a speaker and trusted author of dozens of traditionally published books. Her books have been featured in Time, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, PBS, and Christianity Today. She also edited and contributed to 5 Bible projects, with one — The Life Recovery Bible –.selling over 2 million copies. She says, the best part was that she and her husband were able to raise their own 3 kids, all of whom grew up to be entrepreneurs and amazing achievers. Cheering on their endeavors is one of her greatest joys in this season of life.
Connie holds a BA from Pepperdine and a Master’s degree in Education, specializing in Instructional Design for Online Learning. She works as instructional designer for a top research university, helping instructors create online courses. You can find her online course – The Amazing Achievers’ Dream Box Adventure – at AchieversStudio.com or contact her at DreamBoxAdventure@gmail.com.
Find Connie Neal
Meet Casey Robin
Casey Robin is a designer and illustrator. Her clients include Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Publishing, and Pinup Girl Clothing. In addition to her illustration and design work, Casey teaches workshops and curates gallery shows. She has taught for The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles and The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Casey Robin has made pictures for film, books, toys, and fashion. Her favorite things to draw are cats, mermaids, and adorable girls. In her spare time, she is developing a trilogy of illustrated novels retelling the myth of Medusa.