Story characters can transform the way children think about themselves and their world.
Through the Adventures in Wisdom® story-based coaching program, characters like Wyatt the Wise Wizard™ help kids build mindset skills for confidence, courage, and emotional resilience. When children see themselves in these stories, they discover how to handle challenges, believe in themselves, and write a new story for their lives.
Since 2013, children around the world have learned 27 different mindset skills through coaching stories from WISDOM Coaches certified by Adventures in Wisdom®.
The Thoughts that Cause Kids to Struggle
Some children withdraw when life feels too hard.
Others lash out, unsure how to manage big feelings.
And many quietly carry beliefs about themselves that simply aren’t true:
“I’m not good enough.”
“I’ll never get it right.”
“Everyone else is better than me.”
These thoughts can be the seeds of lifelong struggles.
But when children are given the right tools, something incredible happens!
They change from the inside out.
That’s the heart of Adventures in Wisdom®. A place where stories, coaching, and connection come together to help children grow into confident and resilient kids.
Why are Stories so Powerful for Teaching Mindset Skills to Kids?
Children don’t just listen to stories; they experience them. A well-told story activates imagination, emotion, and memory, helping lessons stick in a way lectures or reward systems never could.
Traditional methods like pep talks, behavior charts, or external rewards can create short-term compliance, but they rarely build the inner skills kids need to thrive.
Story-based coaching reaches beyond behavior. It helps children understand how their thoughts shape their experiences and shows them how to choose new thoughts that empower them instead of holding them back.
Through stories, Adventures in Wisdom® teaches essential mindset skills like confidence, self-leadership, and resilience. Skills that help children navigate life’s ups and downs with courage and optimism.
Who are the Adventures in Wisdom® Story Characters?
At the center of the Adventures in Wisdom® program is Wyatt the Wise Wizard™ and a cast of relatable characters who face the same challenges real kids face:
- Struggling with confidence and anxiousness around trying new things
- Dealing with peer pressure or friendship issues
- Experiencing a disappointment of “failure”
- Managing changes in life
- Making a mistake
- Feeling left out or “not enough”
Each story is part of the WISDOM System for Coaching Kids, which teaches 27 essential mindset skills across five areas of social and emotional development:
MindPower – Understanding the Power of Your Mind and Why You Achieve What You Believe
InnerPower – Developing Your Inner Compass and Becoming a Self-Leader
MePower – Building Self-esteem and Confidence from the Inside
DreamPower – Learning to Live Life with Intention and Achieve Your Goals
Slaying Dragons – Building Resilience by Managing Fear, Change, Mistakes, and Failure
When you share the characters in these stories with children, they see themselves and they see what’s possible. Stories and characters are a non-threatening way for kids to learn about how to handle challenges in life.
What Can Children Learn from the Free Story, “Choosing Your BFF (Best Friend Forever)”?
One of the most popular Adventures in Wisdom® stories is Choosing Your BFF (Best Friend Forever), a free coaching story that teaches children about positive self-talk.
In the story, children meet Trudy the Tortoise and two of her friends, Pam and Nikki. In the story, Trudy struggles with self-doubt and negative self-talk. With guidance from Wyatt the Wise Wizard™ and her two friends, Trudy discovers the impact of negative self-talk and learns how she can shift negative self-talk into words that lift her up. She learns how to tune in to her self-talk and intentionally choose positive self-talk to become her own best friend.
This story shows children how the voice inside their head shapes how they feel and what they do. It’s often the first time a child realizes they have the power to choose their thoughts. That simple awareness can change everything!
How Does Story-based Coaching Create Real Change in Children’s Lives?
Stories are the entry point, transformation happens when children apply what they learn with the guidance of a WISDOM Coach®.
In a WISDOM Coaching session, each story becomes a conversation, a reflection, and an experience.
Kids might draw, role-play, or write about what they learned, helping them integrate the mindset skill into daily life.
As they begin to practice new ways of thinking, confidence replaces self-doubt, and courage begins to take root.
How Have Kids Transformed Through These Stories?
From Worry to Calm
Ten-year-old Heather was struggling with constant worry and negative thinking. She was frequently overwhelmed and doubting herself every step of the way.
Her mom turned to WISDOM Coach® Susan for help.
Through coaching, Heather learned how to understand her thoughts instead of being ruled by them. She realized that worrying was something she was doing, not something she was. And that she could choose new thoughts to help herself feel calm and confident.
She began using her “Power Goggles” to reframe anxious thoughts, and her meltdowns disappeared.
Her mom shared, “She’s back to being the bright, cheerful, confident child we remember. She even asked to keep going with coaching because she loves it so much.”
This is what happens when children discover the power of their minds!
Read more about Heather’s journey with a WISDOM Coach® here.
From Fear to Confidence
Ginny is an equestrian who was struggling with self-doubt at horse shows. Despite talent and passion, her confidence crumbled under pressure.
WISDOM Coach® Judy used stories from the MePower and DreamPower segments to help her understand the power of her thoughts and inner dialogue. They worked on positive self-talk, visualizing success, and recognizing that nervousness doesn’t mean failure. It just means growth.
Ginny shared, “Working with Coach Judy has given me my self-confidence back, and hope for the future, with a plan of how to get there.”
She started placing in competitions. But more importantly, she started enjoying them again.
Read more about Ginny’s story with a WISDOM Coach® here.
From Shy to Self-expressed
One WISDOM Coach®, Debra Ann, runs empowerment workshops for tweens. At first, many of the kids are shy or guarded. But through story-based coaching, fun activities, and tools like music, crafts, and movement, they come alive.
They start sharing. Laughing. Opening up.
One tween said, “I love talking about my feelings and learning how not to feel hurt. I wear my ‘Power Goggles’ now instead of my ‘Victim Goggles’!”
Their parents notice the difference, too.
“Deb’s workshops helped my daughter open up in ways she couldn’t before. These are the skills kids should be learning in school.”
What is the STORY Coaching Process?
Every Adventures in Wisdom® session follows the STORY Coaching Process, a five-step model that creates structure, safety, and transformation. STORY is an acronym for each of the five steps:
S – Share a Coaching Story
Children experience a story that mirrors something they’re facing, like handling mistakes or standing up for themselves.
T – Talk About the Story
The coach uses guided questions to spark insight and conversation. Children reflect, connect, and apply the lesson.
O – Organize an Activity
Through drawing, role-play, or hands-on games, children deepen their understanding of the skill. The conversation and activities are designed to support the child in applying the skills to their own lives and helps turn information into transformation for children.
R – Review with Parents
The child shares what they’ve learned in their sessions and then takes a WISDOM for Home sheet with them to continue the conversation between sessions.
Y – Yes! Confirm the Learning
Each new session begins with a quick review of the previous skill using a Wise in Five activity to reinforce learning and celebrate growth.
This process isn’t just effective. It’s empowering. Kids learn how to think critically, choose supportive beliefs, and create a new story for their lives.
Who Becomes a WISDOM Coach?
WISDOM Coaches come from all walks of life. They are parents, educators, counselors, life coaches, and volunteers. What unites them is a heart for children and a passion for personal development.
Some lead workshops.
Some coach one-on-one.
Some offer sessions online, supporting kids around the world.
They all use stories to do something powerful: Help children build mindset skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives.
WISDOM Coach® Luvashnee shares, “What an inspiration to be on this journey of helping little people with developing an empowering mindset to live fulfilled lives.”
How Can You Help Kids Write Their Next Chapter?
Maybe you’re a parent looking for support.
Maybe you’re a teacher searching for tools or a change.
Or maybe you feel called to become a coach yourself.
Whatever brought you here, know this:
- You don’t need to have all the answers.
- You just need to care and to start with one story.
Because every time a child learns to shift a thought, stand up for themselves, or say “I can,”… a new chapter begins.
And someone like you helped write it.
Adventures in Wisdom® is a movement to empower children around the world through stories, mindset skills, and caring adults who show up with heart.
So if you’re ready to help a child rewrite the script of self-doubt and discover their inner strength…
Start by downloading a free coaching story today.
Because transformation begins with one story. And one story is all it takes to change a child’s life.
Click here to get started and receive your FREE coaching story
Ready to become a Certified WISDOM Coach®?
Learn more about our program HERE
Renaye Thornborrow is leading a worldwide mission to bring life coaching to kids. Since 2013, Adventures in Wisdom® has certified hundreds of coaches in over 30 countries, helping them create a business they love as a life coach for kids, while helping children build the mindset and skill set for resilience, self-esteem, achievement, and self-leadership so that they are confident and prepared to thrive in life.
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Adventure well, my friend!
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