Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Remember, reader. I am only 3 years old. So, be sure to consider the source when you read this.

That being said, I do think I know something.

Yesterday I hit a big milestone. I mean I had been trying to do something for nearly a 3rd of my life time. And finally I could. I was sooooo happy. I bubbled over with glee. The smile nearly broke my face. I couldn’t help but clap my hands, stomp my feet and say ‘Amen!’ and be happy because I knew I had done it.

The big event? Well, actually there were two in one day.

Facing your biggest fears

Conquering your fears

Second, I climbed the winding steps up to the bouncy bridge. Yeah! That, too, was three times taller than me. AND, I had to step across from the steps to the bridge. That space was nearly as wide as I am tall. But, it seemed bigger!

Speaking of steps. Here are my 5 steps to good self esteem and big accomplishments.

1. Try stuff that is too hard to do sometimes. And keep trying till you can do it.

2. Take little steps until you can take big steps. My daddy says if I picked up a calf every day, I’d some day be able to pick up a cow. I am not sure why anybody would want to do that, but it makes sense.

3. Always have someone there to catch you when you make a mistake. But you don’t want them to be too close, cause then it is not so scary.

4. Listen to your daddy. The other day at the farmer’s market someone asked my daddy if he was my grandpa. I think the guy meant that my daddy looks wise for his age. Or maybe my daddy is just old. I am not sure. I do know that my daddy knows stuff.

5.  Always celebrate big accomplishments with people who love you. My daddy clapped his hands, stomped his feet and said ‘Amen’ louder than I did. You would think he went down the big slide. I know when there are people like him cheering for me and celebrating my accomplishments with me, then I can’t help but want to do big things. And THAT makes me feel pretty good about myself.

Those are my secrets to good self esteem and big accomplishments. How do you do it?

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.