The Seed Tree Group

Are you truly ready for opportunity when it comes?

In this episode of The Entrepreneurial Mindset podcast, I dig into what it means to be prepared—not just in theory, but in the systems, habits, and mindset that make readiness a way of life.

Here’s what we cover:
The Readiness Mindset: Shifting from "if" to "when" opportunity comes and why it requires front-loaded preparation.
Systems Over Goals: Inspired by James Clear, we explore how strong systems, not lofty goals, keep us prepared.
Skill and Habit Development: Like an athlete training for the unknown, we discuss building skills that align with your vision so you’re ready for any challenge.
Financial and Emotional Readiness: Opportunity often demands investment—of money, of courage. We break down how to cultivate both, so you’re equipped to take bold, calculated risks.

This episode is all about thinking and acting like an entrepreneur in every area of life. Because when opportunity comes, preparation is the difference between seizing it—or watching it slip by.

Listen to the full episode to start building a readiness mindset that keeps you prepared, no matter when opportunity knocks.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entrepreneurial-mindset-with-stephen-carter/id1705947651?i=1000677402401

I’ll never tire of Max stories.

A couple weeks ago, I was speaking in chapel at Vail Christian High School and I told Max’s story—a story about grit and growth mindset and having a vision, then working harder than anyone else to achieve it.

After chapel, a young lady came up and explained that her own dream is to attend the The Culinary Institute of America and go on to work at The Alinea Group just like Max did.

I reached out to Max to connect the two of them, and Max sent back a picture of himself and Chef Achatz blowing the famous Alinea balloons underneath “The Bean.”

So often we focus on frustrations or the problems with certain generations, but when I see students like Max and I meet students like the young lady in the audience, I realize that the future is filled with people who are chasing their dreams with the determination and follow through to see them happen.

And that inspires me.

A little over a year ago, I met an awesome go-getter named Ezekiel Rochat—we were both at an experience hosted by Path for Growth and we had just finished an amazing session led by Alex Judd.

When I asked Ezekiel what his business was, he explained that he built websites for small businesses and that he had built the website for Path for Growth. I immediately explained that I loved the website and it was one of the things that drew me to the experience.

Our conversation then turned to bourbon (which made sense since Ezekiel is in Tennessee and I’m in Ohio, so we have a rich, vast bourbon country between us) and I explained that recently I had become enamored with the double oaked bourbon from Woodford Reserve.

The next night there was a bottle of double oaked Woodford Reserve at my table with a note. There was no ask, no solicitation, no business card—just a bottle of bourbon and a note that said he enjoyed meeting me.

Two months later, I hired Ezekiel to build a website for my company, Seed Tree Group, and the result was better than I expected!

But even more than that, I became fascinated by his entrepreneurial spirit and his true desire to build into the lives of others—I saw in him the attributes we are working to build in our students through entrepreneurial education.

When I asked him to record a podcast episode with me, he jumped at the chance, and we had a great time talking about pivoting, movement, and experimentation, all from the entrepreneurial mindset. Check it out on Apple podcasts!

Wait, wait, wait - forest bathing and entrepreneurship?

I agree, it it is strange (and even the phrase “forest bathing” was wild to me when I first heard it) but here’s the why:

We don’t just teach entrepreneurship at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy—we teach the entrepreneurial mindset, which means we help students radically transform through the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2).

This also means we don’t teach the entrepreneurial mindset in a vacuum—we teach it in our culinary arts classes, in our financial literacy classes, in our horticulture classes, in our marketing and sales classes, and it is woven throughout much of our programming at the school (even our elementary students are walking through this in meaningful ways).

We decided to offer an alternative to the traditional health class by creating “elevated wellness” which harnesses the power of the entrepreneurial mindset and helps students understand the need to live lives of balance and purpose—not to give in to the unceasing demands of hustle culture.

As part of this class, we constantly look for ways to engage our students. Thanks to the efforts of Kate Caccamo, Andrew Ivanovics, and Erin Barnhill, our students benefit in many ways—including goat yoga and now, forest bathing, which is a practice of connecting with God and nature by immersing all of your senses in the experience of the forest.

When we take time to ground ourselves in the beauty of God’s creation, we come back refreshed and ready for healthy growth.

The future of education is bright indeed!

This was a super cool email to get from a certificate graduate of our entrepreneurship program here at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy:

"I just wanted to reach out and let you know that thanks to the Entrepreneurship experiences at CHCA, the entrepreneurship classes I am taking in college feel very familiar! Again, I hope you and the CHCA community have been well, and thanks for a great entrepreneurship program!"

This young lady is in a class with my friend Mark Lacker at Miami University and she is and will continue to be a rock star.

There is a misconception that if students experience entrepreneurship education in high school, they will be inclined to not go on to college. The truth is, they will be more prepared for whatever they do whether that be college or something else--entrepreneurship education that is based in teaching the entrepreneurial mindset transcends subjects and majors and provides students with life skills for success in all areas.

The future of education is bright indeed!

Redefining Failure is one of the core attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset. When we understand that TRUE failure is NOT TRYING in the first place, it completely changes how we approach new ideas.

One of my favorite quotes details how regret for the things we did or tried will fade over time, but regret for the things we never tried will last the rest of our life. Inconsolable regret--that's what we are trying to avoid.

So, what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Many Years Ago...

"Stephen, will you consider overseeing a coffee program here at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy?"

Let me think about that...a chance to hang out with students and colleagues while brewing amazing coffee and talking about the entrepreneurial mindset? Sign me up!

If you look closely, you'll see a copy of a vocabulary quiz in my hand-- a relic from my days in the English classroom.

That quiz has not aged as well as my friend Kevin Salkil (also featured in this epic picture).

Early on in my flagship class, Foundations of Entrepreneurship, students work in small groups to determine their core values.

Not the values of society, or the values of their parents, or the values of their friends.

Their core values.

And it's one of my favorite classes.

The students use a 52-card core value tool as a means to whittle down to the five or six primary drivers in their lives and then they start to examine how they spend their time in relation to these values.

We spread out over the campus of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy yesterday to make this discovery as part of the creation of a personal growth plan.

This will lead to a deeper understanding of directed growth mindset and how it connects to goals and habits. Ultimately, how this creates what we call The Entrepreneurial Mindset.

Business growth requires personal growth, and having core values in your business means little if you haven't identified core values in your own life.

The future of education is bright indeed!

My workout music is Stephen Covey.

There, I said it. I'm a nerd. But every year I re-read (or re-listen to) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and every year I get more and more out of the book.

Today, while working through the "Think Win-Win" section, the following gold nugget stood out: "So often the problem is in the system, not in the people . . . you have to water the flowers that you want to grow."

Wow.

Imagine what that kind of thinking could to to organizations.

Let's Go!

You know those handwritten notes you sometimes get that are so moving you keep them forever?

I got one the other day AND it was accompanied by a shirt. Here's why this is so cool:

Last year I had a chance to work with Greenbrier Christian Academy as they started an entrepreneurship program under the direction of the illustrious Mr. Wilson (and I do mean illustrious--a truly dynamic, kind, purpose-driven individual).

In a single school year, the students worked through the foundations of the entrepreneurial mindset, launched a business, and turned a profit. Oh, and learned some incredible life lessons along the way...

Mr. Wilson and his awesome co-workers came to the CHCA Entrepreneurship Symposium last March to get some inspiration to grow the program even more (adding a coffee cart may be next on the agenda).

In the spring of last year, the students at Greenbrier launched a business in the selling school spirit wear t-shirts and profited over $3,500. The students designed, marketed, and shipped the shirts all over.

One even made its way to Cincinnati, OH.

As I work with schools to start entrepreneurship programs that teach the entrepreneurial mindset first and foremost, the biggest discovery has been the benefit of collaboration. Students work TOGETHER to launch a business at the school and in doing so, they come to understand the true nature of teamwork.

When I say, "The future of education is bright indeed" it is because of students like this.

Let's Go!

As I work with teachers and school leaders to "create a culture where the entrepreneurial mindset can thrive at your school," one of the key action items is the intentional use of language.

After all, language creates culture.

What are the 6 or 7 words we can commit to saying (and then repeating over and over and over) in order to be intentional about a culture that encourages the entrepreneurial mindset?

Here are a few key words to consider:
1) effort (focusing on this instead of talent in order to encourage the growth mindset)
2) abundance (moving from scarcity and fixed to abundance and growth)
3) flourish (living in a state of joy and supercharged growth while pursuing passion and purpose)
4) transform (Romans 12:2 says it all)
5) follow-through (a key component in developing grit)
6) collaborate (what Malcolm Gladwell called "THE skill of the 21st century")

I've written about this in a recent newsletter that you can access here: https://lnkd.in/ghwmZ8qf

What are some words you like to use to foster this environment?

Let's Go!