Hi,

I couldn't help myself but refer to Easter.

Wouldn't it be so nice to jump right into the college of your dreams? Get that perfect score on a test? Be able to talk to a college counselor and feel like they're truly listening?

I know. Because I wish everything could come to me with just a little jump.

Personally, I feel like spring break just ended. How can it be that we’re already at Easter?

There are less than 30 days left of school. Most parents and students are trying to play catch-up with their material.

Instead of focusing on what I would call a strategy, most people tend to play catch-up.

Easter is a wonderful time to take a break. A time to remember that it is now Spring.

It is also a time to start making decisions. To realize what is coming in the next few months. To start reviewing what happened in Q1 and start planning out for Q2.

I recently did a recap of what we completed in Q1. It was amazing what we were able to accomplish. We enrolled so many students into our course, we published a book in February, we launched an essay retreat that has full enrollment, and we took on new consulting clients for a peak performance student program.

That of course, doesn't include the personal things, such as getting into a car accident, dealing with possibly losing a family member, and all the other hardships that happened while trying to balance work, life, and family.

The most exciting thing that we decided to do in Q1, is taking a goal that we had for our five-year plan and do it in the next 12 months.

When I think about Easter, I think about children.

I think about children running in fields collecting Easter eggs, finding ways to connect with each other and nature. I see your smiling faces. I see innocence.

So, the College Shortcuts family will be bringing smiles to children's faces around the world. We have decided to partner with World Teacher Aid. Every single purchase made at College Shortcuts.com will go towards building a classroom for children in Kenya.

When I started this company, I always knew that I wanted to be a social entrepreneur. Business is not just about making a profit. For me, it's about changing lives. It's about changing the trajectory of children's lives around the world.

It's not just for the rich, it's also for all the children that want to see their dreams become possible.

So, I hope you hug your kids tightly for Easter. I hope you enjoy this time away prior to the finishing of the school year. I hope you sit with them and start making some big decisions around what their dreams are. I hope you start to take action towards their future instead of just collecting information, possibly putting a brochure in the back of your trunk, and forgetting about it. I hope you do something, instead of just bookmarking pages and pages of blog content.

Now is the time to start making decisions for your child's future. It could be that you need to start planning for finals and how to prepare to raise their grades in the next few tests. It could be that you are trying to prep for AP exams. It could be that you're trying to prep for the next SAT or ACT. Or it could be that you are in knee deep of the college admissions process, and you know you are already behind, and you need to get started and hire that person who will help get through to your teenager.

Let's make this Easter a productive one. Let's fill the baskets not just with Easter eggs, but with a plan of action. Let's review what's been completed in Q1 and start planning for Q2 and the future. Let's fill our baskets with a game plan and execution strategy.

XOXO

Neha