002: Alternative Childhood and Alternative Leadership With Guest Shane Metcalf

Childhoods By Wonderschool

We know that having an early educational foundation rooted in social-emotional intelligence helps children to grow and develop in their early stages. However, we cannot under-estimate the impact that a robust early childhood education can have on our ability to problem solve and build solutions for ourselves later on in life, as well.

Take today’s episode guest, for example. Shane Metcalf is the founder of 15Five, an HR platform aligned to the latest positive psychology research. Though he is now the founder of a multimillion dollar tech company, life was not always easy for Shane. His experience of growing up in an uprooted, impoverished family inspired his drive for helping others to develop beyond their immediate means in order to achieve their full potential.

However, were it not for his parents’ commitment to quality early education, he may have found this pathway much more difficult to navigate. Despite a tumultuous upbringing, Shane’s mother, a social worker highly invested in her family’s local community of Taos, New Mexico, provided him with a highly progressive early childhood education through a micro-school. This early exposure to social-emotional skills helped instill in Shane the coping mechanisms necessary to propel himself through generational trauma and poverty struggles and become the successful entrepreneur he is today.

In my conversation with Shane, we’ll discuss his upbringing and life in Taos, and how his parents’ struggles, coupled with their deep love and progressive attitudes, shaped his adult mindset. We talk about the importance of promoting healthy emotional development and how so often these skills come from ensuring access to high quality early childhood education. We also get into some of the treatments for mental health that Shane advocates for and why it is so important to keep in touch with your social and emotional needs throughout your life.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• What inspired Shane to become an advocate for mental and emotional health
• The benefits of procuring a growth mindset in your early years
• The importance of smaller, diverse models of education on the emotional well-being of adults

Resources from this episode: Website for Shane’s company, 15Five

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EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.