Jonathan Brush is the president and CEO of Unbound, a homeschool graduate, and a homeschool dad of six. A first-generation homeschool graduate, he was director of admissions for a private liberal arts college for nine years and worked for more than ten years in non-traditional higher education.
Jonathan speaks to families and groups across the country about how to seek out and train for adventures and prepare correctly for the amazing opportunities available in the time and place that we live. He loves Unbound and Unbound students and dreams about new ways to connect them to each other every day. Jonathan and his family make their home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
The Skills Your Young Adult Needs to Live Well
Why do we think that the best way to launch children into adulthood is to tell them that, by the
age of 18, they must know exactly what they want to do for their lifelong career—so they can
then get the exact training and/or education they need to do that job? Has that worked for you or
for most of the people you know? Does that strategy make sense in a world where technology
constantly disrupts… everything? This session will teach you about the “personal triangle”: a
flexible and easy-to-understand framework to help you and your child find and focus on the
critical transferable skills you need to not just get a career but to live life well.
The Formula for Changing the World That Actually Works
‘You’re the leaders of today, and you can change the world!’ proclaims every cool youth leader, slick motivational speaker, and abundantly blessed success story on stage. Directly or indirectly, the formula is always the same: channel all your energy and enthusiasm, work like crazy, and aim to become rich, famous, and powerful to make a difference. There’s just one catch—it’s incredibly difficult to become rich, famous, and powerful. Fortunately, that’s not the best way to change the world. To truly change the world requires something both easier and harder—easier, because anyone can do it, and harder, because it demands commitment and perseverance. God placed you in this time and place with purpose—to face these challenges. Will you respond and do something that truly makes a difference?
The Success Crisis: How Misunderstanding Success Destroys Young Adults
Criticism of the current younger generation for their supposed lack of work ethic and potential for ‘success’ is commonplace. This perspective is puzzling, given that the entire formal education system and broader culture are designed and optimized to promote success. But what if thriving—defined as owning one’s purpose, serving others through healthy relationships, and living with resilience—is more important than achieving success, traditionally defined as becoming rich, famous, or powerful? What if the pursuit of success directly conflicts with what it takes to truly thrive? What if the fleeting happiness of success comes at the expense of the enduring joy of thriving? Most importantly, what must we understand and do to prepare our children to thrive rather than simply equipping them to be successful?
What Students Should Learn Before They Launch
Strip away everything else, and at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to ensure your child transitions from sleeping on your couch to becoming an adult sleeping on their own. What does a student truly need to learn between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two to prepare for ‘real life’? While academics are often the focus, a complete preparation for adulthood requires far more than academic proficiency.This session draws on over 20 years of observing young adults navigate the transition to independence and carefully analyzing what contributes to success—and what does not. This is what you truly need to know.
