Back in March I was asked to be the keynote speaker at a September event for Girl Scout leadership from Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho held at Camp Four Echoes on Lake Coeur d a’lene. I was asked to present ideas for teaching and modeling leadership to girls and specifically to G-I-R-L scouts (stands for Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker and Leader). In preparation I spent quite a bit of time on the GSA website AND I enjoyed every minute. I was a Camp Fire girl when I was young, but since then I have primarily been focused on Boy Scouts—four sons will do that to you, ha! While all of these organizations are similar and dedicated to building character and doing good in the world—I knew very little of the official GSA mission, promise and law.

Anyway, the more I learned the more impressed I became. I decided that I wanted to focus on 7 virtues or traits—compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship and citizenship —that the GSA stands for and that I aspire to develop in myself as well. I created a Story Starter project inspired by the book, 7 Women by Eric Metaxas — I chose 7 women in my life that represent these traits for me and hand-wrote an entry in my little book for each one. Watch the video above for a quick overview.

My hope is that Girl Scout troops and church groups and others can be inspired to do something similar with youth, because there is so much power in choosing personal mentors (of all kinds), learning about them and connecting their lives to our life. When we take this kind of action it changes us. We are able to better identify with traits that are inside of us and then develop them. Whether you use my product or another, this is a project that can have great meaning.

I’d love you to share this idea with anyone that you think would enjoy it—AND, here are some images to pin or grab and use if you can.

I’m SO GRATEFUL for outstanding organizations like Girl Scouts and others who are still actively building the lives of others—in today’s world, this is such a great thing!