Gun Control and the Oregon Shooting

Did you hear what the Oregon shooter said?

"This is the only time I'll ever be in the news, I"m so insignificant!"

If a child grows up and feels they have no chance for success in life they can grow up and become our worst nightmare. On the other hand, if we make our children feel special it can have a profound impact on their lives and lead to greatness.

I know a lot of my  friends are tired of my posts about Future American President, but the reason why I created this project is to help children feel important. In How To Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie speaks about the importance of feeling special. If a child feel special the gun issue would be a concern.  I believe when a child grows up feeling special it can lead to a great future. The dangerous part is what can happen when  a child grows up feeling worthless.  Guess how the Oregon shooter felt about himself.

To inspire a child, it doesn't have to be our child, it can be a neighbor or a friend's child, but we all need to encourage kids to believe they have possibilities. I named my book project Future American President not because I was looking for children who want to become the president one day. I use the word president as a metaphor for greatness because if a child grows up believing they can become the president, they believe they can do anything in life.

To an adult, a picture of a child may just be a cute picture, but to the child it's a vision of themselves and endless possibilities.

Caption: Future American President

Caption: Future American President

If you believe in this message then please pledge 1 dollar today as a symbol to let others know this message is important and worth spreading. You can pledge here.

Caption: Future American President

Caption: Future American President

We have only 7 days left to bring this project to life. If it doesn't hit its 10K goal then this project will go away forever and no more books will be printed. However, we have a chance to make an impact on a child and keep them from feeling the way the Oregon shooter felt. Today you can make a difference. Please join us in bringing this project to life.

For each person who makes a pledge I will give a public thank you mentioning your name on Facebook, on my podcast and on my daily Periscope broadcasts.

Pledge here: http://kck.st/1UOLOn0

Make a child feel special here: http://kck.st/1UOLOn0

Always dream big,

Matthew

Launching LIVE right now!

We are pushing the button to Launch 

in 

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LAUNCH!

FUTURE AMERICAN DREAM

is

now

LIVE

on

KICKSTARTER.com

You can watch the launch event LIVE right now by going to Periscope and following Matthew_JordanS

Parents, Kids And The Ultimate Selfie

Why are selfie's so popular? I believe the reason is because it makes us feel good, regardless of age.

When a child looks at a picture of themselves it has an even deeper effect. What if we could take a photograph of a child and exponentially increase its power to positively affect a child's self-image.

What if the image of a child could be used to empower them to believe they can accomplish anything in life while teaching them about America, past presidents and iconic people from their state at the same time?

On September 15, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. PST we will launch the FUTURE AMERICAN DREAM project on KICKSTARTER, giving every parent the opportunity to make a "special edition" book with their child's picture on the cover of Future American President.  To receive an alert via email please click here.

The effect of having a child on the cover of a book titled "Future American President, also has a profound impact on parents and grandparents too. Imagine how you'd feel to see your child featured on eyour very own special edition version of Future American President.

We also have a few NEW surprises in store...but we are keeping those tightly wrapped under lock and key. 

To learn more about how your child can have their very own special edition book click here. To get a sneak peak into our BIG SECRET. click here.

Always dream big,

Matthew

A Family that Volunteers Together, Stays Together

GUEST POST by Andrew Rebchu

They say that kids are born with a natural ability to give and that even at a young age, they're able to grasp concepts such as empathy, compassion, gratitude, and community responsibility according to Parents.com. To teach children about generosity and philanthropy, parents ideally should introduce family volunteering as a chance to spend quality time together as well as help those that need it the most.

Something as simple as donating one dollar a day to UnaKids has made a huge difference for young kids in countries suffering from civil unrest, so imagine the impact you and your family would leave when you choose to spend your time off from work and school helping underprivileged communities. Rather than jetting off to Disney World this summer, here are a few new ways that your family can bond over some volunteer work.

Stay at a nonprofit "storybook" resort in Florida

If visiting an amusement park is what your kids are really after this summer, take them to Give Kids the World Village in Orlando. It's a wonderful resort that caters to children with life-threatening diseases and their families, a place where the staff and volunteers can provide them with magical and memorable experiences at no cost. Helping create these beautiful memories for these families will give your own kids a new perspective on life.

Go on a Reading Road Trip in the West Indies

The Sandals Resorts group started the <a href Sandals Foundation that would allow guests to participate in some community service during their stay in any other of their hotels. Projects range from community health care programs to education initiatives. Take your kids on morning outings, organized by the resort, and volunteer at schools in the area. This will give them the opportunity to see what school is like for students in different parts of the world.

Build homes in New Orleans with YRNO

A lot of construction-related nonprofits are really strict with age due to liability, but a group of teenagers defied this restriction and started their own foundation, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YRNO), that lets youths give back on their own terms. The area has plenty of distressed and foreclosed homes that you and your family can fix up while engaging with local youths to build a better city.


Author Bio: Andrew Rebchuk
Andrew is an 11th grade sociology teacher that introduced several community service programs at his school. He plans on taking his son on his first family volunteer vacation this July.

The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Recently I've watched a select group of parents as they received something very unique and special. As each parent received this item I watched their expressions and their faces (and sometimes their tears) told me that we had something very special.  The comments from mother's, father's and even grandparent's have been wonderful to hear and thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

 I had an idea but  to bring the idea to life it needed a bit of tweaking. We are now about 60 days away from it being ready to share the perfect Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, birthday, every day gift with the world. So what's the perfect Mother's Day gift? One that will make her heart smile every time she looks at your gift, and become more precious as time passes.

Stay tuned and always dream big!

The Story Behind the Image_Cover Shoot

When working on a magazine or book project, the cover is one of the most important elements because it is the first thing people see. When I started working on my latest book project, Future American President, I thought long and hard about the image for the cover. I wanted a powerful image that people could see from a distance easily and also a memorable image that would stay in people's minds long after seeing the image.

I spent weeks doing research in Barnes and Noble looking at books at a distance, asking myself which ones stood out from the shelves and what made them work (or in some cases not work.) I came to the conclusion that nothing was more powerful than the image of a single person looking directly at the viewer. Now that I had my idea, I had to find the right subject. 

I photographed a little boy when he was an infant, just a few months old, and I watched him as he became older and saw the effect he had on people, even at a very young age. As a baby he wasn't able to do much, but l created an image that I love and that image hangs on my walls today.

Baby Cloud

I felt in my heart this child, who was now seven years old, would make the perfect cover subject, so I contacted his parents, whom are both celebrities, and asked them if I could photograph their son for the cover of my book. They were elated and we set up a time to do the photo shoot.

When I arrived at their house, I told them how important the cover was for this book. They knew about the project from the very beginning and watched as I traveled from state to state. I set up my lights, did my meter readings and started to photograph my young subject. I had the image in about ten minutes and felt great about all the shots, even though I shot very little. After the shoot I was sitting with both parents, when suddenly, the mother says to me, "Matthew, you know I love my son and I think he is very handsome child, but I can't help saying this. As a mother, if I were to walk into a store and see a book titled "Future American President" I may stop and look at it, but if that same book had the picture of a girl on the cover with the words "Future American President" I would stop, take a look and I would definitely buy the book because that IS the future. We've had 44 little boys grow up to become the President of the United States. Your book is about the future and dreams and aspirations of a nation. 

By the time we finished our conversation I knew the mother was right and that I had to continue my search to find the perfect little girl for my books cover.

Cover subject - Future American President

Today, I am proud to present the cover image for my book and the story behind it. I am also very excited because in a little over 60 days, on July 6th, 2015 every family in America will have the chance to put their child on the cover of Future American President.

Stay tuned for details or send an email to mjs@matthewjordansmith.com saying you'd like a special edition book featuring your child on the cover. We will send you updates as we launch the special edition versions. 

Always Dream Big

My Big Secret

Many people missed my "big announcement" a week ago on Facebook and Twitter. I will share it a few times this week to ensure the secret gets out. If you missed it, here it is and feel free to share it.

I have held a big secret for two years now. Secrets are hard to hold on to at times, but this one made me smile deep inside my soul. I have told almost everyone I know that I spent two years photographing children from 100 families across America for a project I call Future American President. Well, I did travel to every state in America and it was wonderful to meet strangers in this manner. Yes, Zendaya, the Disney star from Shake It Up, is in the book, and she wrote the books forward. Yes, President Jimmy Carter wrote a special opening note exclusively for the book, and yes, as some of you have guessed, my secret is about a child. The secret I have kept all this time is..................

I have only photographed 99 families for Future American President, not 100 as the book says on the cover. 

My "Big Secret" is  I have saved the last space, the 100th spot, for you and YOUR child. I have saved space for you to have your child on the COVER of my new book, Future AmericanPresident. 

I have made a Youtube video to explain how you can have a custom book that feature your child as the face of Future American President. Please share this link with every parent or grandparent you know - http://bit.ly/SquvzM

Future American President will make a powerful gift for your child this Christmas season for parents and grandparents. Not only will it help to empower your child but it will also help inform as the book is filled with educational elements to keep your child going back to it for years to come. For example, instead of having a traditional table of contents at the start of the book, I have sequenced the book in order of how each state came into the Union, showing children how America was formed. 

They will also learn about past American Presidents and where each was born. In the Presidential map of America, they will be able to quickly learn where each American President was born along with the years each served in office. Future American President is meant to inspire and educate. There are other elements in the new book, which comes out fall of 2014, but you can only pre-order the book with your child on the cover until June 30th, 2014.

Order your personalized copy of Future American President here: http://igg.me/at/YourChildsCover/x/8035330
 

Always Dream Big!