Here at ASH, we are lucky to be able to welcome speakers throughout the year who speak with our students, staff, parents, and community. Author Mike Smith is one such speaker who without a doubt made an incredible impression on our ASH community during his visit on campus last Monday.

He calls himself a ‘professional teenager’ and doesn’t like the term motivational speaker. When he was in high school he hated being asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. For him, like many teenagers today, he didn’t see just one linear career path to choose from and so he created his own.
 

Today, Mike speaks to students and adults around the world. He has founded non-profit organizations, works with the homeless, owns an indoor skateboard park the size of a Walmart and next year will be opening his own school.
 

“You’ll never do a big thing in your life without doing all the little things first,” Mike told our students. After listening to Mike talk, it is clear that these achievements have only happened because he believes in the fundamental things he speaks about. He’s a big proponent of chasing what you love but stresses how important it is to be an amazing person along the way.
 

Mike told the crowd how as a high schooler he had a bucket list of 100 things to do before finishing his senior year and encouraged students to make their own. For him, the importance of doing this is for students to develop the habit of not being scared to start something. In today’s world, it can be easier for our young people to live their lives on their devices, observe others’ curated ones online and be too scared to start or try something in their own lives. He emphasized to our students, “don’t worry about the stuff - worry about the life and the adventure” you are living. “Wake up, make an impact, and fight for someone or something bigger than yourself. Try not to wish for, or talk about, but do.”
 

Mike spent the whole day speaking to the community at ASH, and also interacted with students who were lining up for a chance to speak with him during lunch. It was evident to see the impact Mike had on our students as they left his talk and as they waited to speak with him. Truly an inspiring speaker who challenged all of us to rethink our priorities and the way we measure achievements and live our lives.