Your mind is your power

Owner, founder, and lead consultant Patrick Zuniga, also a middle school teacher, ventured on the challenging journey of establishing My Mind My Power from scratch in 2017. As part of a theory, Patrick observed that social media could significantly influence people's perspectives and understanding of the world. He believed an individual could not create such an impact, but an educational company might assist educators in recognizing the power of positivity and its connection to the growth mindset.

Patrick launched his sole proprietorship, My Mind My Power, while pursuing a master's in education from the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!) and this was challenging. Despite his teaching skills, he knew that being a sole proprietor made his degree less important to the company's reputation. He excelled at teaching literacy using third-party reading tests and state exams, but the internet saturated the market with learning tools and instructional advice. Huge consulting businesses had far more capital to invest in these endeavors, and therefore, he enhanced his skills to better adapt to the changes in public schools. In terms of marketing, he became a member of local chambers of business, sought advice from professionals, and established connections beyond the realm of education. He focused on favorable local media presentations and PSAs due to limited consultation time. He enjoys teaching local businesses leadership, emotional intelligence, and motivation. Patrick is an excellent teacher, but he struggles as a business owner. Having completed his doctoral studies and finding humor in the irony of being a doctor of education but not having business cards, he recognizes the need to improve as a business owner.

Patrick is proud of earning his EdD at Creighton University while teaching at a Title I school. He included positive psychology and emotional intelligence in school workbooks for works like Hatchet, Farewell to Manzanar, The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol (the last two are public domain and are presumably easy to access), and Endure by Tommie Harris, which inspired him to integrate his experiences as a teacher and football coach to combine emotional intelligence and state literacy standards. He wants to create more workbooks, but he needs more time to do so. He thinks that some people interested in supporting projects like these should work with local schools to create small classroom libraries for teachers. Patrick plans to offer some of his workbooks, literacy worksheets, and other instructional support after guiding My Mind My Power and ThinkingTasks.com through a digital makeover.

The digital makeover of My Mind My Power and ThinkingTasks.com entail rebuilding, rebranding, and rebooting. A friend with expertise in business website design is assisting in the restoration process. Patrick first focused on non-cognitive traits through My Mind My Power and then provided instructional aids through ThinkingTasks.com, making the rebrand somewhat difficult. COVID-19 also affected his branding, which increased the rate of offered free and for-purchase resources. Despite his efforts, Patrick suspects the direction change may have impacted the company's online presence. He also independently created pandemic PSAs emphasizing honesty and involvement and realized this work may have impacted the brand. Recently, Thinkingtasks.com was unlisted and Patrick plans to rebuild his website on which he can offer literacy worksheets, reading workbooks, and educational tools now that school goals and student desires may be shifting. He may be mistaken, but seven years of strict planning on a shoestring budget, coupled with low sales, convinced him that the company had not yet begun. My Mind My Power's reboot allows Patrick to focus on extending the company's offerings and reach. Despite limited time and resources, the positive PSAs that My Mind My Power produced can still be accessed through My Mind My Power’s YouTube channel.

When it comes to leading the company, Patrick as a leader proposes observing organizational gossip, disagreements, rumors, and in-group/out-group dynamics. Other indicators precede them, he says. The "faculty room" in education and the "coaches office" high school football foster relationships, and as an authority in these surroundings, Patrick studies emotions. He runs a sole proprietorship, but his views come from his expertise as a recognized educator or coach, not as an administrator or head coach. High-EQ leaders can spot abnormality or negativity in others without counseling or psychology. Leaders should show basic sensitivity, support vulnerability, act as peers, and provide interim care. This belief-based approach contributes to the complexity of leadership by addressing warning indicators and fostering support.

Teacher-leaders experience challenges such as turnover, fatigue, high student expectations, and stress related to extracurricular activities. Patrick and other educators face challenges in allocating time and resources for gatherings focused on sharing theories, ideas, and innovations. Despite feeling stressed, instructors typically comprehend and categorize these issues. Patrick, a Title I teacher, gained insights into teaching and learning through his doctoral studies. The district provided professional development for instructors before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which assisted with his knowledge acquisition as well.

Patrick's dissertation examined Title I school circumstances. Human services educators emphasized "contrived collegiality" as negative experiences and professional friendships as positive interactions at schools. He suggested providing professionals with time for organic talks with friends to improve wellness. The dissertation also stressed the need for recognizing professionals and asking simple questions to develop trust and communication in organizations, improving the workplace. Patrick believes a skilled servant leader who seeks optimal results is crucial to leadership. As an example, he explains that Jedi Master Yoda let Luke make mistakes and said, "Do or do not, there is no try." Luke sometimes tries but fails. Patrick also mentions Tom Hagen from The Godfather and The Flash in similar conversations. This approach occasionally prompts discussions about historical leaders and figures who exhibited similar traits.

Besides, healthy collaboration creates a positive atmosphere, compassion for others, and healthy relations. Positive people boost one another's performance by promoting fruitful conversations and early arrivals or late departures. Patrick says he loves watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson compete, calling their opposition exciting. He mentions the rivalry-friendship of boxers Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward as well. Positive people can encourage each other, creating beneficial discussions, he says. For him, arriving early or remaining late shows cooperation, and socialization among coworkers generally indicates cooperative success. Understanding the effects of collaboration requires attention to workplace human relationships. Analyzing these interactions can reveal cooperative effectiveness. Patrick uses the example of a talented ski-boat driver to illustrate how collaborative success requires effective contributions from all members, much like a boat driver managing its wake. The driver operates smoothly with excellent crew work, benefiting everyone, and by tracking changes, we can see positive developments "in the wake" of the effort, demonstrating successful partnership.

Patrick views the printing press, transcontinental railroad, and telegraph as examples of unstoppable innovation in the face of competition today. He emphasizes self-awareness and mental empowerment as his goals for success. "The Count of Monte Cristo" inspired him to flee a self-imposed mental prison with the support and encouragement of family and friends. Patrick studied self-concept, cultural transmission, media influence, positive psychology, and emotional labor from 2016 to 2024 to help others deal with negative experiences he went through or closely observed. The person vs. self struggle in literature impacts everyone, says Patrick. Surpassing AI and ML seems impossible. Despite AI's capabilities in medical diagnosis, some individuals still prefer human doctors due to the phenomenon known as "white coat syndrome." Humans are vital in leadership situations, especially plane crises. People must always perform to the best of their abilities because certain tasks will always require humans.

Patrick's University of Kansas "final portfolio" (https://pzun12.wixsite.com/website-3) shows how he used his self-empowerment theory to prevent past mistakes. The word "individuality" now features a flame at the bottom. Patrick could reproduce this using an ice cube. Fire causes destruction, but icebergs create ice floes, which greatly impact society, according to a perspective-shaped theory.

After 20 years in secondary school as a teacher, Patrick hopes to publish books and build his website. His personal struggles and experiences as a teacher served as the inspiration for Patrick's short stories "The Misadventures of Zoom and Hot Sauce" and "The Garden Spider." He has also authored brief worksheets on American history. After retirement, he plans to write about his education, self-empowerment theory, coaching football, and other unusual life stories. Patrick says, "What we envision for ourselves, we can achieve!"