Daniel Blanchard
Dan grew up as a student/athlete. However, he admits that he was more of an athlete than a student. Today he has successfully completed 12-years of college and earned 7 degrees. Dan is an educator, author, speaker and coach. Dan teaches in Connecticut's largest inner-city high school. He has written articles for the United States oldest newspaper, The Hartford Courant. In addition, Dan has written and traditionally published his teen leadership book, Feeling Lucky?. Finally, he is also a teacher consultant for the National Writing Project.
Daniel R. Blanchard; Educator, Coach, Author, Speaker
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day.
Teach a person how to fish and you feed them for a life time...
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Book Review:
Daniel Blanchard’s two decades of teaching and coaching teenagers is on full display in his empowering teen-leadership novel, Feeling Lucky?. Providing the blueprint for a “peaceful, self-assured and confident” individual, Blanchard delves into the secrets of success, being lucky, weathering storms and visualizing the future.
Divided into seven chapters, Feeling Lucky? is a reservoir of practical advice designed to help teenagers face the challenges that they will encounter on the road to adulthood. The majority of the plot revolves around conversations between the main character-the frustrated teenager-and his estranged grandfather, fondly called “Granddaddy.” Although he is an exceptional athlete-participating in three different sports-this teen is quite mediocre when it comes to academics that is until certain interactions with Granddaddy bring about a marked improvement in his grades. The discouraged teen in this story feels as though he has been cheated by life, and interestingly, the brunt of his frustration is a byproduct of his father’s “meanness” toward him and his brother.
Though Feeling Lucky? is essentially a self-help book, readers will be mesmerized by the powerful character of Granddaddy. One of the most fascinating concepts that Granddaddy preaches is the notion that everyone, throughout history, are old friends. More specifically, Granddaddy advises the teenager, “Remember, everything you want to know has already been written down by someone. All you have to do is venture out and find it.” In other words, take charge of your life by consulting the wise men of the past-people like Mahatma Gandhi-who knew the secrets of success.
More than anything else, Feeling Lucky? teaches the individual to evolve from being a spectator of life to being a part of the action in a positive way. If one thing can be taken from this book, it’s the idea of hope, and for a teenager, being able to cling to that hope means everything.
Feeling Lucky ultimately, using methods of Kaizen and visualization, allows the individual to control his emotions and regain control and authority over his/her own life. The book culminates with “Granddaddy’s Secrets: The Perfect 100,” a list of one hundred ingredients in the recipe of success. Examples include, “Planning ahead makes you a superstar,” “the root of all unhappiness comes from wanting more and not being happy with what you have,” and “you have to fail your way to success.”Daniel Blanchard’s Feeling Lucky is a must-read page-turner that has the potential to recondition the way one perceives him/herself and others.