Fun with Character: What’s In Your Wallet?
You will recognize this phrase from the Capital One commercials. There are several versions on YouTube that you can show the class if they are not familiar with the commercial. Then begin the exercise by telling this story: A long time ago (before cell phones), a rich and famous man took a trip in his car. He had traveled far, was thinking about other things, and didn’t pay attention to his gas tank. He ran out of gas. Since it was very late, he decided to walk back to a hotel he had recently passed. When he went in to get a room, he realized he had forgotten his wallet. He tried to convince the hotel clerk that he was rich and that one of his assistants would bring him his wallet in the morning. The clerk didn’t believe him and sent him on his way. The rich man walked back to his car and spent the night there. In the morning, he went back to the hotel and called someone from his office to bring his wallet. The point? It doesn’t matter how much money you have if you can’t get to it. The same goes for skills and talents. The human brain is capable of so much more than what the average human uses it for. If you don’t spend time recognizing and developing your skills and talents, you will not have them when you need them. For this exercise, give each student a piece of paper with a wallet outline drawn on it. (Look for the link to download the PDF.) They are to write down a skill or a talent that they have and would like to increase, or one that they would like to develop. They will also need to write down a few things they would need to do in order to develop that talent. Sometimes we hold dreams or wishes inside and do not act on them. This exercise will help to turn some of those into goals on the outside.
BONUS CHALLENGE: Write Your Own Jingle
Since two of our activities have dealt with slogans, here is an added challenge for the students this month. There are a lot of TV Commercials with jingles and slogans that can be used to describe Authenticity. Let the students suggest slogans all month long. Find a place in the room where they can be posted. Here are a few examples: Got Authenticity? (Got milk?) Pardon me, Do You have any Authenticity? (Grey Poupon). Choosy mothers choose Authenticity (Jif).
To process this activity, ask these questions:
Did you remember the commercial?
Did you enjoy the story of the rich man without his wallet?
Did you have to think hard to come up with an item to “put in your wallet” or did it come easy?
Had you ever thought about the steps needed to get to that goal before?
What character qualities do you need to help you in the steps to your new goal?