Monday, October 28, 2013

The Kauai Children's Authors Guild interviews best-selling author, Noah St. John about his Book of Afformations





I recently had the chance to interview best-selling author and speaker, Noah St. John, about his new book, Afformations. I was introduced to Noah and his book shortly after the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild asked the Mayor of Kauai to designate a day for literacy on Kauai. Prior to Read Across Kauai Day being designated by the Mayor, the the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild members had been working on ways to help with literacy efforts on Kauai. First, we researched joining a national literacy organization and opening a Kauai Chapter, but Kauai is so small and special that the Guild members wanted to take a more personal approach to meet the needs of Kauai Students. It was at that time that I asked the Guild members, “What if we could get a day devoted to literacy right here on Kauai?”

Shortly after I asked this very important question, we requested a Proclamation from the Mayor and the things began to fall into place for Read Across Kauai Day including the receipt of a pledge for donations that will begin to make this event a reality. All the authors got fired up and began to come up with all kinds of ideas about making this day a success and we began to receive additional support. I was beginning to ask myself, “why was this so easy?”

Now you may be asking, “what does this have to do with Noah St. John and his new book?” Well, Noah is part of national group of authors that I also belong to and I had the pleasure of attending a webinar that was recently hosted for Noah by book marketing guru John Kremer. In the webinar, Noah was talking about how had used affirmations for years, but they never seemed to work and then one day he had an epiphany and he discovered what he calls “Afformations”.

What he found was that when you continue to write and say all these affirmations, like: “I am rich”, etc., you’re mind does not really believe it, but if you instead ask the right questions like: “What if I could?” then your brain automatically begins to search for the answers. This really struck me, because quite by accident, without knowing Noah or anything about Afformations, I had done just what he suggested. I had asked our the members of the Kauai Childrens Authors Guild, “what if we could?” Not only did I get my brain seeking answers, the whole group began to seek answers about how to help with literacy efforts on Kauai.

So, I wrote to Noah to tell him about my story and to ask him a few questions about why this had worked so well for our group and this is what he said:

Noah St. John- “What you did right was activate the embedded presupposition factor of your brain, which happens when you ask a question that the brain seeks an answer to.
This is the essential reason that Afformations are so powerful and so amazingly effective – because your brain is always asking and searching for answers to questions.”


Monika Mira- “If this worked so well for us, how can other folks here on Kauai use Afformations with their efforts to help the community or help their businesses succeed?”

Noah St. John- “Tell all of your friends in the community to go to www.Afformationsbook.com and share the teaching of Afformations with everyone they know – parents, teachers, and students.
Kids especially love Afformations because their brains aren’t filled with years of “head trash” like most adults. That’s why we have a mission to have every student in America be taught Afformations as part of their regular curriculum – because it will teach them how to use the most important tool they will ever have: their own mind."

Monika Mira- Well there you have it! A cool new tool to help you succeed. I have embedded a little video below where Noah talks about what Afformations are and how he discovered them, and folks from all over are getting results. Check it out, see what it can do for you or your efforts to help others. I sure hope that our group can continue to use Afformations to make Read Across Kauai Day a success!




Saturday, October 12, 2013

Princess Kaiulani Keiki Festival Hosts Kauai Authors

The Annual Princess Kaiulani Keiki Festival will be held in Hanapepe Town on Saturday October 18th, 2013. This very special event celebrates the life of Princess Kaiulani and the culture of Hawaii.

The festival includes a full day of Hawaiian cultural activities, performances by local hula halau, celebrity story readers, a main street parade, children's arts and crafts,  and of course a visit from the princess.

For the last few years, the festival has also hosted the Kauai Children's Authors Guild. This year, children can enjoy listening to local authors reading their books in the Storybook Theatre. The children will be able to interact with local authors and the authors will also be available for book signings. The Kauai Children's Authors Guild members will also be able to discuss their goals for Read Across Kauai Day that will be held on February 28th, 2014.

This event is produced by the Storybook Theatre of Hawaii. For more information please visit www.storybook.org or email director@storybook.org.


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Hurray for an official Read Across Kauai Day!

The Kauai Children's Authors Guild is elated to announce that Kauai Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. has issued a Proclamation designating February 28th, 2014 as Read Across Kauai Day. Members of the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild were recognized for initiating a huge project to support literacy on Kauai.  The designation of this day was requested in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education and literacy. 

"Literacy is so important." states Guild Member, Susan Dierker. 

Here are some startling literacy statistics:

  • According to 2009 NAEP results, 33% of 4th grade public school students are at or below the "Basic" level and 26% of 8th graders performed at or below the "basic" level.
  • Two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. 
  • Over 70 percent of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.
  • According to UNESCO, two-thirds of the adult illiterate population are women.
  • According to NCES, 26% of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14 % of children who were read to less frequently.
  • Only 53% of children ages 3-5 were read to daily by a family member (1999). Children in families with incomes below the poverty level are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty (UNESCO).
"After reading statistics like these, you just have to take action when you are in a position to be able to help," says Guild Member Monika Mira.


As a result, the Guild members came up with the idea of having a day designated to literacy right here on Kauai. The concept for the event, which corresponds with the date of the national Read Across America Day, is that Kauai authors will be reading books to Kauai’s preschool and kindergarten students. The authors will also be distributing books to these children on the day of the event. Children who participate in the event will  be sent home with information about the program and encouraged to read the books with their parents. The goal for the first year is to raise enough money to put 500-1000 books in Kauai’s student’s and teacher’s hands.

Any business or organization that is interested in sponsoring books for children or for a classroom is encouraged to contact the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild. Schools, libraries and educational organizations that would like to request a visit from an author should also contact the Guild.