Speaker 1 (00:00:07) - Welcome to the Sparky Life podcast with Lia Lamela. I share with you my electrical journey, experiences and insight through engaging banter with those I've met along the way. If you're interested in trade tales, an industry fraught with excitement and risk. Subscribe and be notified every Thursday when trade tales continue. My guest today is the host of Unlock Your Child's Potential, a podcast which helps moms teach lessons not taught in schools. I would venture to say this Sparky Life guest Billy Ivanova has created a school for moms. What does this have to do with skilled trades? Stay tuned to find out. But I'd like you to hear first from Billy.
Speaker 2 (00:00:59) - Okay. So I'm Billy. Actually, my full name is Belinda Ivanova, but I'd like to introduce myself as Billy. A little more than a decade ago, I worked as a cabin attendant, but then I had my three girls. And my main purpose in life became to be a nurturing parent, to have a loving relationship with my girls and just give them a good childhood, a happy childhood.
Speaker 2 (00:01:26) - And now my mission is to raise them to be good humans. And because this is close to my heart. I started a podcast called Unlock Your Child's Full Potential, where I help moms fill the gaps that are left by the school system and teach their kids the lessons that are going to prepare them for real life. Because in my opinion, the traditional education system is ill equipped to prepare our children to succeed in life. They focus mainly on remembering facts that are easy to find in Google. They they teach them to read and write. And so math problems. But other than that, I think that school is just a place for kids to meet friends and develop their social skills, which is even more important than the rest of it. But still, there are so many other lessons we can teach our kids. For example, personal finance, like what is an asset? What is a liability? Well, how can you calculate your cash flow, personal cash flow and so many other things? Financial literacy is not just for people in business school.
Speaker 2 (00:02:46) - It's part of everyday life, that's for sure. And so are many other things, by the way, like having a morning routine or a personal growth plan and developing a winning mindset. And these are lessons that, when taught early in life, can give kids Head Start in life. That's why I'm so passionate about helping moms teach the lesson to their kids.
Speaker 1 (00:03:14) - Well, I think it's a beautiful passion to have and much needed. I'm a big fan of your podcast. I think what you're doing is incredible. Did you grow up in Bulgaria?
Speaker 2 (00:03:28) - Yeah. Okay. Born and raised and still here. Even though that I had an aspiration to live in the States, but life decided otherwise.
Speaker 1 (00:03:39) - Oh, who knows? You never know where you'll end up. Life's crazy, right? That's right. When you were growing up, what was your relationship like with your parents?
Speaker 2 (00:03:51) - I think I had a happy childhood. And still, I think there's a lot of room for improvement. So I decided to be a better parent, more, more intentional.
Speaker 2 (00:04:06) - I ask myself questions like, What are the qualities I want my kids to have once they grow up, what skills I want them to have. And then I set my parenting goals. I don't think my parents had that in mind.
Speaker 1 (00:04:23) - Well, the reason that I wanted you on the podcast because you don't necessarily have a skilled trades or in construction, although I would argue that being a good parental figure is a skilled trade. The reason I wanted you a part of this podcast was because I am always talking about how the foundation of civilization is trade careers. And I know, especially in the United States, how these type of career opportunities are not looked at in a positive light. And I love how important your approach is to wanting your children to find their full purpose. And we spend so much of our life working 40, 80 hour work week. The majority of our waking hours are spent at work. So that being the case, ideally you would want to work in an environment, in a career path that you are in love with, that you're passionate about, that you enjoy doing more often than not?
Speaker 2 (00:05:43) - Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:05:45) - How is it like where you are? Is is college primarily the focus in most high schools? What are the career path opportunities?
Speaker 2 (00:05:58) - Yes, mostly we go to the university. That's how we call it here on college. But still the same thing. And when I was in high school, nobody mentioned there's another way. Yeah. So I didn't know what what I want to do with my life. What do I want to work? And it just was popular to get a degree in economics. So that's what I did because I said and that's what a lot of young people do, they just postpone the decision, that decision. What am I going to do with my life by going to college and learning more general stuff? Hoping to to get clear on what they're going to choose later, because that's a that's an important decision that comes very early in life. And very few are those who actually know what their true passion is.
Speaker 1 (00:06:59) - Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:07:00) - Now, later, like a decade later or more, I think it's wiser to just take a break like 1 or 2 years and try a few things like get an apprenticeship or just a job and try to figure out what you're really, really good at, what you enjoy doing and what you would like to further pursue, and then maybe go get a degree that's going to be useful in that field once, you know, because I went for economics, I got my bachelor's degree and I didn't use it.
Speaker 2 (00:07:40) - The best thing that happened from that was I met my husband there.
Speaker 1 (00:07:44) - Oh, that. That was the reason. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:07:52) - Yeah. But what I see the problem is that going for higher education without knowing why is that you get it's expensive and get into debt and then you get a degree. You're much more likely to stick with a job that you don't love that you might be miserable with just to pay off the loan. Yep. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:08:18) - Well, I agree with you on many points that you've just made. And one of the things that I feel that's such an important thing to address is that. The overall concept of what you're speaking of is schools, education, academics. There is a general lack of knowledge for how to live life, but very important topics like finance and cash flow and what's an asset? Understanding APR understanding, mortgage and rent. These are things that we are always going to have contact with throughout our life, and they're typically not involved in academics or collegiate careers unless you are specifically studying finance.
Speaker 2 (00:09:18) - Even so, even so, I studied finance and nobody talked about your mortgage.
Speaker 1 (00:09:24) - Oh, there you go. There you go. I stand corrected. There you go. So even with specializing in finance, there's a gap. Obviously I'm an electrician. I'm very passionate about skilled trades. I know from personal experience how much skilled trades has to do with life, how to live life, how to be successful in life, the type of career path you're taking when you invest in a trade career are things that you are always going to need. If you go into, you know, auto mechanic, guess what? Everyone's got a car. We need to know how to change our tires or change oil or take the maintenance of your car. And if you know these things, if you if you're knowledgeable, you're less likely to have issues in the future. You'll be more independent. Being able to properly take care of a vehicle that takes you all around the world, everywhere you go is going to set you up for success.
Speaker 1 (00:10:37) - When you study carpentry, everybody needs to be living in some kind of a facility that is typically built.
Speaker 2 (00:10:48) - Yes, you can do something with your own hands, right? I agree. And then if you decide to like have a business or something, be a business person, then you can do it around your skill. I agree that that's always an asset.
Speaker 1 (00:11:03) - Yes. So when I came to this realization, I was like, why are skilled trades not being introduced to children as a potential option? Or why is there a huge gap? Because some people are introduced, but it's so few and far between. It's just a very small percentage that gets to hear about skilled trades, that gets to hear about construction careers and all of the opportunities that that brings. And the majority is generally kind of ushered into academics. And like you pointed out most of the time, without any real clarity on what exactly they're going to study anyway.
Speaker 2 (00:11:50) - Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:11:51) - That being said, what do you think about skilled trades and construction careers?
Speaker 2 (00:11:58) - I didn't know that construction careers are suitable for women.
Speaker 2 (00:12:02) - Actually, I thought that just for men. And after listening to your podcast, I realized, okay, there's a whole world out there that I don't know about, but I really don't have enough information about that. And now that I know, I think we can introduce that to our kids. Just it's a possibility. Kids should know that there are many possibilities, and as parents, we are uniquely suited to recognize our children's strengths and weaknesses and their interests. So maybe we can just guide them to a profession that they might be suitable for. So even though the traditional model is the higher education and that's what the school presents, that we still can just share with our children the information that we have, the information that made us think that trades are good opportunity so they can make their own decision and we can share our observations. Like, I see that you like to work with your hands. I see that you have a hard time sitting behind the desk. Maybe trades could be a good, good opportunity for you, so just have an open conversation with them and let them know what you think and why.
Speaker 2 (00:13:31) - I think that the financial side of things is also very important. It should know that it's better to start your life without a pile of debt. Yeah, even if you plan on helping them, they still should know that it's expensive. Also that actually trade careers are high paying jobs. I didn't know that then. Yes, even as a starter salary, it's still very good. Yes. Yeah. So all these factors play a major role and kids, if they have all the information, they can make a wise decision. I really believe in that. And if we've done our job as parents to raise independent thinkers, I think that's that's going to be helpful for them.
Speaker 1 (00:14:22) - I think you hit the nail on the head. It's about being able to give the information. And if it's not being talked about, if you don't even know it exists. How do you even know if it's an option, right?
Speaker 2 (00:14:35) - Yeah, exactly. Another thing that is very important kids should know about stories. The stories of people that have already done it and are being successful and are actually fulfilled by choosing that career path.
Speaker 2 (00:14:51) - So kids need these role models. And even if not in person, even if it's a book or a podcast or something like that, kids get inspired and they can relate to people who have done it. So that's another way of introducing traits to them.
Speaker 1 (00:15:09) - Yeah, that's that's a great idea. Some parents are going to be in a position where their children are primarily going to public school, and more often than not, in public school academics are going to be pressed. And I remember when I was in high school, everyone your junior senior year when you're about to move on to college, they're asking you what university are you going to? What college are you going to? And if you didn't have an answer to that question, the social pressure was just so intense and you felt like you needed to not just get into college, but to go to a well-known school or school that was considered acceptable, like to go to community college even was frowned upon. Yeah. Did you have that similar experience in high school or.
Speaker 2 (00:16:04) - The expectations were set by my parents. First of all. And yeah, everybody went to the university. So yeah, my social circle was definitely like that.
Speaker 1 (00:16:19) - What would you tell parents who want to introduce different options and educate their children on all the different? Because it's not just traits. There are other paths. You mentioned apprenticeship, which I am again a big advocate of, not just for skilled trades but for other professions as well. So how do you combat that social pressure?
Speaker 2 (00:16:45) - It all comes down to confidence and children's ability to think for themselves and investigate rather than follow blindly. And this takes a lot of intentional parenting. But I would I would point out to my kid that the popular way is not always the right way. That being different is actually sought after and it's something to be proud of. I would give them an example of how the most successful people are not the ones who followed what and did what what is expected of them, but rather did their own thing despite being misunderstood and ridiculed.
Speaker 2 (00:17:34) - So they they can be confident in their own path and just follow what they believe in. I wouldn't just let them be pressured that way. So, yeah, it all comes down to confidence.
Speaker 1 (00:17:51) - When you say confidence, I also think of parental support to hear you just describe what you just said. I'm envisioning myself. If I were me in high school, hearing my parents say that to me, that would give me confidence. Having that kind of support from you would because children. Right. Peer pressure, they're they're easily malleable. They have no introspection. Like they're kids. Right. So you can so easily be picked up with the current, so to speak, and be maybe brought down paths that aren't right or potentially dangerous. So to have such a strong parental figure supporting you and backing you in that way, that's really powerful.
Speaker 2 (00:18:42) - Yeah. And it got and also it's very important that they can they will be able to hear you because and this is the, the important part, like having a loving and trusting relationship.
Speaker 2 (00:18:55) - So you're able to give guidance when it's needed. So many teenagers around that age, they just don't want to hear.
Speaker 1 (00:19:02) - Yeah, that's for sure. I remember being a teenager.
Speaker 2 (00:19:08) - Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:19:09) - What kind of advice would you give to parents to help build that relationship? What are some skills?
Speaker 2 (00:19:16) - This is all I talk about in my podcast, actually. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:19:22) - And that's why I love your podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:19:26) - The main thing that is that we just talk openly with them and listen because so many times they just want to be listened to and without being judged and without us reacting, it takes a lot of practice to hit a pause button and just listen to everything that they're sharing in order for them to share. If they feel you're there to support them and they can still do their own thing and come back to you, that's it goes a long way.
Speaker 1 (00:20:01) - See, when you said intentional parenting, it didn't. I didn't really it didn't click. I didn't fully understand what you meant. But when you just said what you said right now, I was like, holy shit, talk about intentional You expressing how you have to control your reactions, how you have to make sure you're not giving this message of judgment.
Speaker 1 (00:20:25) - That's that takes great introspection. That takes great skill. So as a parent, valuing your self growth and your ability to be a master of your self will reflect. How your relationship is with your child?
Speaker 2 (00:20:46) - Yes. Correct. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:20:48) - Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:20:49) - Must work on ourselves and then model the behavior that we want to see in our kids.
Speaker 1 (00:20:55) - That is. They're not kidding when they say being a parent is one of the most hardest jobs out there. Oh, yeah. I'm going through my mind what it would take to not split reaction. You know, your face. It's so easy to to let things slip. They say microexpressions and a child is going to pick up on that for sure. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:21:19) - They're so sensitive. And you know what? It's not perfect every time.
Speaker 1 (00:21:24) - No, of course not. We're human, right?
Speaker 2 (00:21:26) - Give yourself and just try again. And what I find is very important just to apologize. When I was a kid, my parents didn't apologize when they messed up.
Speaker 1 (00:21:38) - Same. I hope my mom's not listening.
Speaker 2 (00:21:45) - They didn't know better. But now we know. And I. I see my kids. They understand. Once I explain. Okay, I'm learning to be a parent, too, you know? Yeah, we are in this together. So I messed up. You messed up. We apologize and try to be better next time. It's a process.
Speaker 1 (00:22:08) - That's very impactful way to connect by being vulnerable like that.
Speaker 2 (00:22:15) - Yeah, I think so too.
Speaker 1 (00:22:17) - Now because the podcast is about construction careers. What tool is in your tool belt with all your life experience and everything you've learned along the way, what's something that you carry with you daily that you utilize to help achieve your goals?
Speaker 2 (00:22:39) - Okay, so, um, I'm not sure if that qualifies, but according to my life experience, the answer to any question one might have is hidden somewhere in a book. So I love to read books and I love to read the I love to read autobiographies of successful people.
Speaker 1 (00:23:03) - Oh, cool.
Speaker 2 (00:23:04) - Yeah. And I like to look for the common denominator. I like to see how people succeeded because they struggled in the beginning and not in spite of it. And that's so inspiring.
Speaker 1 (00:23:15) - Yes. Yes, I love that. It's funny. It that's very. What's the word? It's almost like an oxymoron because on one hand we're talking about academics not really fulfilling, very important needs in learning about life. But I agree with you that books reading books and I guess I guess the difference here is I'm not talking about a textbook, Right? Oh, yeah, right. I guess I think that's that's the driving factor here. Because immediately when I think of book, my mind goes to academia. But we're talking about books that are life changing, educational in the way of, like you said, someone's story, listening to what they went through and how they accomplish their goals and picking up on patterns.
Speaker 2 (00:24:12) - Yes, exactly. And that's why I think that you have to know what you want and follow your own interests.
Speaker 1 (00:24:19) - And isn't that so darn difficult? Yeah, really. It's incredible how hard it is to know. What do you want?
Speaker 2 (00:24:33) - Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1 (00:24:35) - It's a simple thing, but the more and more I think about it and I think about the stages in my life and my journey, I can't tell you how many times I didn't have a fucking clue or I thought I knew and sure, shit, I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (00:24:51) - I can definitely relate to that. Yeah, that's why we should just let our kids have their own lives, their own problems, their failures, and just learn from their own experience. We can solve everything for them. Just be there to support them.
Speaker 1 (00:25:09) - I love that. I love that. Just being there to support them, I think you're right. I think that's the most authentic, integral way to connect with your child because you're never going to be able to fix everything. I'm sure I have. I don't have children. Hopefully one day I will be blessed with children. But as I think of my relationship with my parents, that feels.
Speaker 1 (00:25:37) - The most impactful and everything I think about of my behaviors and speaking to peers. You want to please your parent, you want that approval. So if you have support, that is.
Speaker 2 (00:25:55) - So freeing.
Speaker 1 (00:25:56) - Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, wow. That's setting somebody up to really soar. Billy, thank you so much for being here with me. It was awesome. Lots of fun.
Speaker 2 (00:26:11) - I loved it.
Speaker 1 (00:26:11) - Tell everyone where they can find your podcast, any social media, how they can connect with you.
Speaker 2 (00:26:18) - Okay. My website is unlock your your child's full potential.com and there you can find links to my podcast and listen to anywhere podcasts are found and I'm also on Instagram at your child's full potential but you can find that on the website to.
Speaker 1 (00:26:38) - And I can tell you guys personally, I don't have children, as I just stated, but even not having children, listening to Billy's podcast has impacted my life because I love to hear about how a parent would want their behavior to reflect on their child. And you go over mindset psychology.
Speaker 1 (00:27:04) - You talk about so many different topics that revolve around how we exist in this world. And so just listening to that dialect alone, just listening to that is transformative.
Speaker 2 (00:27:20) - Thank you, Leah. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:27:22) - Yay. All right. Thank you so much, Billy. This was fun.
Speaker 2 (00:27:29) - Yeah. Yeah. I'm so happy that it went well, in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (00:27:33) - Yeah. Good. Good. It's always a good time.
Speaker 2 (00:27:38) - Yeah, that's right. Yeah. We're always having fun. Thank you for having me.
Show Notes
Are you a parent struggling to teach your children important life skills? Do you feel like traditional education systems are not enough to prepare your child fo...
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Timestamps
Unlock Your Child's Potential [00:00:59] Billy Ivanova discusses her mission to help moms teach their children important life lessons not taught in schools, i...
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Tweets
🎧 Ready to hear about the importance of teaching life skills to children and the limitations of traditional education systems? Check out this episode of Spa...See more and tune
Titles
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Links & Mentions
Topics:
Podcast and website:Unlock Your Child's Potential podcast: https://www.unlockyourchild.com/(00:00:59)Unlock Your Child's Full Potential p...See more and tune
Short Post
Title: "Why teaching life skills to children is as important as traditional education"
In a world where the focus on traditional education is high, it is impor...
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Newsletter
Hey there, my fellow podcast enthusiasts! In this episode of Unlock Your Child's Potential, I had the pleasure of speaking with Belinda "Billy" Ivanova, who sha...
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Keywords
Skilled trades, Unlock Your Child's Potential, life skills, traditional education systems, personal finance, career paths, parenting, vocational careers, academ...
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Quotes
Billy, 00:02:46, "financial literacy is not just for people in business school."
Speaker 1, 00:17:51, "having that kind of support from you would because child...