Here is the month-by-month breakdown of the time I spent as a creator:

My Top 20 Projects

1. 116:15 – The Religion Teacher Email & Customer Service
2. 96:33 – The Religion Teacher’s Videos (YouTube and Membership)
3. 92:26 – Morning Preview
4. 83:26 – The Religion Teacher Products (see all below)
5. 76:75 – Coaching Flag Football
6. 70:28 – ACE Teaching Religion in Catholic Schools Graduate Course
7. 69:30 – Speaking Events
8. 55:52 – Daily Review
9. 53:31 – Weekly Review
10. 33:53 – The Religion Teacher Newsletter
11. 33:32 – Personal Finances (including purchase of a new home)
12. 33:20 – Morning Pages
13. 28:01 – Jared Dees Newsletter
14. 22:47 – The Religion Teacher Membership Website Launches
15. 20:39 – Writing & Editing Books (Theoloji 101, Catholic Did You Know?, Consulting Project)
16. 19:30 – Volunteering (Catechist, Charity Events, Charity Support)
17. 14:32 – Accounting and Taxes
18. 11:57 – The Religion Teacher Member Emails
19. 9:31 – The Religion Teacher Blog
20. 7:22 – The Religion Teacher Social Media (general)

Total Time: 985:50 Hours

(Yes, I still track every minute of time I spend during work hours. Here’s why.)

My 2025 Vision & Goals

My 2025 theme was “A Year of Products.”

The goal was to create and launch a new product every month all year long.

I came pretty close!

Here were my new products during each month:

1. The Religion Teacher’s Gospel of Luke Worksheets (Jan)
2. The Religion Teacher’s Paschal Mystery Worksheets (Feb)
3. The Religion Teacher’s AI Toolkit for Catholic Schools (Mar)
4. AI in Catholic Education Virtual PD (Mar)
5. The Religion Teacher’s Pope Activity Pack (Apr)
6. The Religion Teacher’s First Communion Activity Pack (Aug)
7. The Religion Teacher’s First Reconciliation Activity Pack (Oct)
8. The Religion Teacher’s Advent Virtual Retreat (Nov)
9. Theoloji 101: Catholic Theology + Emojis (Dec)
10. The Religion Teacher’s Christmas Activity Pack (Dec)

I considered the two virtual workshop offerings as separate products. You can see the gap in the summer. Childcare was a little bit of a challenge while I tried to balance working as a professor at Notre Dame, starting a new flag football team at my daughter’s high school, and helping our son through his health challenges. More on this below.

PROFESSIONAL GOALS:

I was focused more on full products than individual progress in words or tools, but here is an update on recent numbers:

840,560/1,000,000 words for kids (A part of my #1millionwordsforkids goal) (+27,672 words)

1,229/1,500 Resources (Videos/Worksheets) for Members of The Religion Teacher (+77 resources)

1/1 Books Published—Complete

12/18 Average Hours Worked per Week—Incomplete

PERSONAL GOALS:

55/52 books read—Complete

179/150 30-minute workouts—Complete

AN ANNUAL PROJECT REVIEW

2025 By the Numbers

Subscribers

The Religion Teacher Newsletter grew from 101,747 subscribers to 106,362 (+4,615)

The JaredDees.com Newsletter grew from 9,773 to 10,928 (+1,155)

The Religion Teacher YouTube channel grew from 45,225 subscribers to 51,369 (+6,144)

The Religion Teacher membership numbers remained relatively the same again this year.

My Top-selling Books in 2025

1. Take Up Your Cross
2. Take and Eat
3. Beatitatles
4. The Angelus & Regina Caeli
5. The Gospel According to Video Games

My Most Viewed Videos from The Religion Teacher in 2025

1. INRI? (Short) (New)
2. The Meaning of Yahweh (YHWH) in the Bible
3. The Hail Mary Prayer (Short) (New)
4. List the Names of the Eucharist (Short) (New)
5. The Meaning of Pentecost

(This list combines YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook views.)

Most Viewed Pages at TheReligionTeacher.com in 2025

1. The Nativity Story (Birth of Jesus) Skit Script
2. Lent Activities
3. Jubilee Year Lesson Plan, Activities, and Worksheet (New)
4. Catholic Worksheets
5. Ash Wednesday Lesson Plan
6. A Passion Play Skit Script
7. Catholic Lesson Plans
8. Carlo Acutis Worksheet and Activities (New)
9. Papal Conclave Lesson Plan (Updated)
10. How to Create Blank Venn Diagrams

Most Popular Stories at JaredDees.com in 2025

1. The Fish Story in the Move Soul 
2. The Tortoise and the Hare Fable
3. Joseph the Dreamer Bible Story for Kids
4. “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde
5. Two Boats and a Helicopter Story
6. Footprints in the Sand Story
7. The Legend of Saint Patrick and the Snakes (New)
8. Crossing the Red Sea Bible Story for Kids
9. The Farmer and His Horse Parable (New)
10. St. Francis and the Sheep Story

WHAT WENT WELL?

Shortform Videos — I went all-in on shortform videos in late November and December. I created an Instagram account for The Religion Teacher in July with plans of making vertical whiteboard videos. They did okay. I shifted to prayers and they did better. But on a whim, I created a quick video about the INRI inscription above Jesus’s head on the cross. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that kind of reach. It went on to become my first 1M view video. I followed up with a consistent flow of videos that did very well on Instagram and Facebook as well as YouTube. The Religion Teacher’s website traffic from Google has been steadily decreasing so I’m grateful to God for the inspiration to start making these videos. I’m finally able to reach a broader audience with some of my favorite topics to teach. This will continue to be my top priority as we head into 2026.

New Products — The “Year of Products” became a really effective theme. I longed for the simplicity of 2022’s theme, the “Year of the Worksheet,” when I would sit down to work and know exactly what I needed to accomplish each day. If I made a worksheet in a day, I was a success. This year I woke up each day focused on one project until completion. I added a new principle to my list: Product > Productivity. The tendency is to do work for work’s sake. Instead, all productivity was directed towards a product. Again, though, God was at work. Where else would these ideas come from? I started working on a product dedicated to the Pope in February. I created and scheduled a video about the Papal Conclave that (no joke) released on the day that Pope Francis died. I quickly completed and published The Religion Teacher’s Papal Activity Pack that same week. Next I created resources for First Communion and First Reconciliation, which I can’t believe I had not made before. These along with the AI Toolkit made a big impact for my audience this year.

2025 Products

1. The Religion Teacher’s Gospel of Luke Worksheets (Jan)
2. The Religion Teacher’s Paschal Mystery Worksheets (Feb)
3. The Religion Teacher’s AI Toolkit for Catholic Schools (Mar)
4. AI in Catholic Education Virtual PD (Mar)
5. The Religion Teacher’s Pope Activity Pack (Apr)
6. The Religion Teacher’s First Communion Activity Pack (Aug)
7. The Religion Teacher’s First Reconciliation Activity Pack (Oct)
8. The Religion Teacher’s Advent Virtual Retreat (Nov)
9. Theoloji 101: Catholic Theology + Emojis (Dec)
10. The Religion Teacher’s Christmas Activity Pack (Dec)

Flag Football Coach — This was my most unexpected role this year. My daughters’ high school started their first girls flag football team and I became the head coach. The experience was incredible. It was a special group of girls with the most positive and supportive team culture I’ve ever been a part of. We finished in the top five in Indiana according to MaxPreps.com. I am so grateful for the experience and for the opportunity to share those memories with my oldest daughter during her junior year.

Bennett’s Strokes and Surgery — After some thought, I’m putting this in the “What Went Well” category. Long story short, our four-year-old son had a stroke. He has Moyamoya syndrome. He had brain surgery to cultivate new blood pathways to his brain. He lost the use of most of the right side of his body, but neuroplasticity in kids is amazing! After almost daily therapies, he was back and better than ever by the end of the year. I’m putting this in “What Went Well” because we were surrounded by so, so many prayers. I received more than 700 emails from subscribers to The Religion Teacher. Friends and family were putting him on prayer lists all over the world. We were just floored by the amount of support. As of January 2026 a large number of new blood vessels have formed throughout his brain because of the surgery and he is doing better than ever! This kid is going to thrive!

Other successes in 2025:

• The Gospel According to Video Games rose to a surprising top five in backlist book sales without very much promotion.
• My second summer as a professor at Notre Dame went well, and I’m so grateful for their support during Bennett’s surgery.
• I did more speaking this year by offering and accepting invitations to give virtual presentations to schools and parishes.

WHAT DIDN’T GO WELL?

SEO Traffic & Newsletter Growth — There are so many business books out there about change. I still consider myself young. I guess I never expected those lessons about change would apply to me. That’s for older businesses, right? Well, AI changed everything. I am getting about half the amount of traffic from Google that I used to get to my websites. My newsletter list is growing at a slower rate and revenue was down. Bottom line: I’m reaching less teachers and catechists than I did before. (This is why I was so pleased by the potential of the Reels and Shorts. I wonder what would have happened if I kept making TikTok videos in 2019 . . .)

Hours Worked Per Week — I hoped to increase my average number of hours worked per week, but numerous challenges continue to make this difficult. Bennett stopped napping in the afternoon at the start of the year, so I lost that work time. Summer childcare was a much bigger challenge and even greater after Bennett’s stroke and surgery. The Fall semester was better, but snow days, sicknesses, and schedule changes still make consistent work schedule a difficulty.

New Home Renovations — We moved into a new home at the beginning of the year and immediately worked on numerous repairs on the house. We never made it to the fun renovation projects, though, so we have a lot of work ahead of us. We are looking forward to turning our home in a place for hosting and fellowship.

Theoloji 101 — Normally, I would wait until the spring to launch a new book, but I didn’t want to finish 2025 without publishing at least one book. Plus, it was the Year of the Product! I was really glad to be able to get this book out into the world. I wrote it in 2021! Despite the fact that I worked in book marketing for years, I have not dedicated the time necessary to see these books succeed at launch. I’m much better at backlist systems than big attention-grabbing splashes. This is something I need to work on in the future.

WHAT DID I LEARN?

I end each day reviewing a list of Writing Rules and Principles. “Principles” was my theme in 2023. It was inspired by a process inspired by Ray Dalio’s book. I ended that year with 31 principles, but this year I continued to add to the list to make it up to 51. I’ll post the list below and then share the principles that really stood out to me this year as lessons to be continually learned.

That’s the thing about these principles. I have to continue to revisit them and remind myself of the wisdom within them. In fact, I end each day picking one principle that best described my day so I constantly reflect on this list.

Writing Rules: Work & Creativity 

1. One page a day 
2. Write what you know. 
3. Write what you want to read.
4. Heck yes, or no. 
5. Fast first drafts. 
6. “And the bad version is…”
7. Plan tomorrow, today. 
8. Steal structure. 
9. The Milestone Method 
10. The Person Principle / The Only Rule
11. The Dickens Formula 
12. Be Narrowly Prolific
13. One Project, One Person, One Page 
14. Stuck? Walk away. 
15. Template. Set. Go. 
16. Stories: “But therefore” not “And then”
17. Tiny habits even tinier. 
18. No worries. What’s next?
19. The Pareto Principle (The 80/20 Rule) 
20. Stories: First, Last, Worst, Best 
21. Be uncommon among the uncommon.
22. The 90% Perfect Rule 
23. Medium Rare Stakes 
24. Remember: Jobs to Be Done 
25. Context is the Key 
26. If it isn’t practical, pitch it. 
27. Create assets, not ideas. 
28. Do One Better
29. 1% Better Every Day
30. Outwork everyone.
31. Be the bear riding a unicycle. / Purple Cow
32. Turn failure into feedback.
33. Answer Asked Questions
34. On opportunities: Say yes now, learn later.
35. No Zero Days
36. Figure out what works and do it.
37. Immediate Outreach (vs. Should Send Someday)
38. Invert, always invert.
39. You can’t top a pig with a pig.
40. Happiness = Progress
41. Ride your own railroad.
42. Product > Productivity
43. PAS: Problem, Agitate, Solution
44. Clear not clever (titles, headlines, teaching, writing, etc.)
45. Let them.
46. Apply your Rally Cry
47. Blueprints vs. Idols
48. Daily Sprint, Monthly Marathon
49. Speed of Light Standard
50. Stories beat Statistics
51. Serve the song.

Looking at these principles, here were my biggest lessons learned in 2025:

Product > Productivity — Creating a lot of random things can feel productive, but narrowly focusing on a product every day channels that productivity into something meaningful. This is similar to Principle #11: The Dickens Formula, which is 1 + 1 = 2. Dickens serialized his novels, so he sold them twice: once in a magazine and then again as a book. (You better believe that the shortform videos I’m posting every day will also be available as a book in the future!)

Daily Sprint, Monthly Marathon — With the emphasis on products, I had to narrowly focus on finishing just one project at a time. Instead of a little bit every day, I spent hours on only one thing. I started keeping a post-it note on my desk to remind myself of the one product that I was sprinting on that day. It is similar to Principle #13: “One Project, One Person, One Page.”

Figure out what works and do it. — This is from Charlie Munger (may he rest in peace), who learned it from Lee Kuan Yew. (I heard it on David Senra’s Founders Podcast. In fact, many of my new principles come from the lessons learning in Founders.) Right now, shortform video is working. Fifteen years ago Google SEO was working. It isn’t working anymore. It has taken me awhile to adapt. This principle is similar to Principle #15: Template. Set. Go. I don’t come up with new ideas every day. I find or create my own template like a starting block in track so I know exactly what I will make and how I will make it.

The post My 2025 Annual Project Report appeared first on Jared Dees.

The following fable originated in ancient India or Greece. It appears in a collection of ancient Indian fables called the Panchatantra.

The Tortoise and the Geese Story Summary

A tortoise and two geese live beside a lake, but the lake dries up. The geese carry the tortoise with a stick between their beaks as they search for a new home. They warn the tortoise not to speak, but he doesn’t listen. When villagers point, laugh, and jeer, the tortoise can’t take it. He opens his mouth to speak and falls to the ground.

The Tortoise and the Geese Fable

A tortoise and two geese lived as friends beside a lake, but the lake dried up.

The geese decided they needed to leave and find another lake, but the tortoise was too slow to make the journey alone.

“Take me with you,” said the tortoise.

“How?” said one of the geese. “You cannot fly.”

But the other goose had an idea. The two geese would hold a sturdy stick within their beaks, and the tortoise latch on with his mouth in the middle.

“But you must not speak, or you will fall,” the geese said.

The tortoise agreed and they went on their way.

As they approached a new lake, they flew over a village. The people looked up and saw the tortoise in the sky. They laughed loudly and made jokes.

“He thinks he’s a bird!” shouted one of the villagers.

“Have you ever seen such a funny sight?” said another.

The tortoise grew angry with the jeers. He couldn’t take it any longer.

Finally, he shouted back, “You . . .”

But when he opened his mouth to speak, he let go of the stick and fell to the ground breaking his shell.

The Tortoise and the Geese Story Moral

Here are some possible morals of the story:

• Pride will be your downfall.
• Ignore the insults of others.

The Tortoise and the Geese Story Questions

1. Why did the tortoise fall to the ground?
2. If you were the tortoise, what would you have done instead?
3. What are some things people say to you that hurt your feelings? What lesson does this fable have for you when people make jokes about you?
4. What are some connections between this fable and social media or text messages among peers?

Download the Tortoise and the Geese Fable

Download a printable PDF version of the story to share with kids:

The post The Tortoise and the Geese Fable for Kids appeared first on Jared Dees.

Read the fable here: The Miser

A Summary of the Miser and His Gold Story

A Miser buried his gold in a secret hole in the ground where he could go and count his treasure. A thief saw him digging up the treasure one day and stole the gold. The Miser came and saw the gold was stolen. Someone passed by to ask what happened. When the Miser explained that his treasure was stolen from the hole, the passerby asked him why he didn’t keep it in the house to spend it when he needed it. The Miser couldn’t think of anything to buy with the money, so the passerby threw in a plain rock and said, “If that’s the case, bury that stone instead. It’s worth just as much as the treasure you lost.”

The Moral of the Miser Fable

According to Aesop, the moral of the story is “a possession is worth no more than the use we make of it.”

Questions about the Fable of the Miser

1. Why did the passerby say that the regular stone was worth just as much as the gold?
2. Do you have any special or expensive possessions that you hide away or keep safe somewhere? Why is this so important to you?
3. Based on the lesson of this fable, what would you say to someone who had saved a lot of money without any reason to spend it?
4. If you had to spend the money that you had today, what would you buy and why?
5. Instead of spending money, you could give it away to someone who needs it. What charities do you or could you support with money your family has earned?

The post The Miser and His Gold (Aesop’s Fable): Summary, Meaning, & Questions appeared first on Jared Dees.

According to a legend, Saint Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland. While the story is only a legend (Ireland was never known to have snakes) we can still learn an invaluable lesson about faith by reflecting on it.

Saint Patrick traveled across Ireland preaching and teaching about Christianity. Everywhere he went, however, the people whispered in fear. The fields and forests were full of evil creatures slithering along the ground. Even speaking of these snakes made the people tremble in fear.  

One day, Saint Patrick climbed a hill overlooking the sea. He thrust his staff into the ground and raised his arms in prayer and proclaimed:

“I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, and summon the powers between me and these evils. May God’s shield protect us and save us from the snares of devils. Be gone! Amen!”

Suddenly, a great wind blew, and the earth shook. Hissing snakes slithered from every direction rushing by the hill and sliding into the sea. Saint Patrick took up his staff, bowed his head in prayer, and returned to a nearby village.

The people there rejoiced! The snakes were gone! They showered Saint Patrick with praise and glory shouting, “Patrick has saved us!”

“This was not the work of a man, but the work of God. He alone deserves all glory and praise,” the saint replied.

“Then we are grateful to God! For the snakes are gone for good,” cried the crowd.

But Saint Patrick rebuked them saying, “Yet the snakes remain in your hearts. Turn away from sin and temptation. Do not let fear keep you away from the Lord, for he is the one who will banish the pain and poison within your hearts.”

Reflection Questions

• Why didn’t Saint Patrick take credit for the miracle?
• What fears are holding you back in life?
• What are the “snakes” (sin and evil) that need to be banished from your heart?

Download and Print the Story

Download a printable PDF version of the story to share with kids:

The post The Legend of Saint Patrick and the Snakes appeared first on Jared Dees.

This ancient Chinese parable expresses the balance between good luck and bad luck or happiness and unhappiness. After hearing the story, we should reflect on our own reaction to events. Was it good luck or bad luck? We’ll see.

This story was recently made popular among children in an episode of Bluey called “The Sign.” The most famous version comes from Alan Watts whose recording you can watch or share with kids below.

I wrote this children’s version of the parable for you to share and discuss in class with kids. Read it aloud or download and print the story below.

The Farmer and His Horse
(or The Old Man of the Frontier Lost His Horse)

Once upon a time, an old farmer living on the frontier lost his horse.

His neighbors in the village said, “What bad luck!”

The old man replied, “Maybe. We’ll see.”

The next day, the horse returned with five more wild horses.

The neighbors came and said,” Wow! What good luck!”

The old man said, “Maybe. We’ll see.”

The next morning the old man’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses, but the horse threw him off, and the boy broke his leg.

The neighbors said again, “What bad luck!”

The old man replied, “Maybe. We’ll see.”

The next day, soldiers arrived to take young men off to war, but the old man’s son didn’t have to go because of his broken leg.

The neighbors said, “What good luck!”

And do you know what the old man said?

Reflection Questions

• Were each of these events good luck or bad luck?
• What are some of the bad events in your life that led to something good?
• Based on the story, how should you react to good or bad events?

Download and Print the Story of the Chinese Farmer

Download a printable PDF version of the story to share with kids:

Here is the popularized version of the story as told by Alan Watts:

The post The Farmer and His Horse: A Parable for Kids (from Bluey’s “The Sign”) appeared first on Jared Dees.

This story teaches kids a lesson about perseverance. Most of us learn to quit too early as young people. Read this story together and talk about the ways we should keep going even after we fail. 

Three Feet From Gold: A Story about Perseverance 

A man moved out West to mine for gold. He bought a plot of land and got to work. He put his entire life savings into the machinery he needed to find that gold. At first, it was a success. He found some gold! Then he borrowed money from friends and family to strike for more gold. 

He went back to work, but there was no more gold to be found. He spent two more years of digging without success. Finally, he decided to quit. He sold the equipment and the land and took a train back home. 

The new owner kept digging. He struck gold just three feet from where the first man stopped. He made millions of dollars because he chose to keep going. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Why did the first man quit? 
2. What are some activities people your age give up too early? 
3. What are some activities in school and sports that require hard work even after failure? 

The greatest success comes just one step beyond the feeling of failure. 

A much longer version of this story first appeared in Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think and Grow Rich. In his version of the story, the man’s name was Darby and the point of the story was the lesson he learned from the experience. Darby got home and started selling insurance. This time he would never quit because he realized that desire can be turned into gold. He repeated to himself, “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say ‘no’ when I ask to buy insurance.” He became one of the top insurances salesmen in the country. 

I also came across the story in Nick Saban’s book, How Good Do You Want to Be?. His version of the story is much shorter and he originally heard it from his dad. 

Here is a popular meme that expresses the point of the story well: 

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THIS STORY AND QUESTIONS

Download a PDF of this story along with the questions for reflection or discussion.

The post Three Feet From Gold Story for Kids appeared first on Jared Dees.

I first came across the metaphor of the field mice and the antelope in an old book by James Carville and Paul Begala. They shared a story about Newt Gingrich using the field mice and antelope analogy to apply to politics. Tim Ferriss recently re-shared this story as well on his website. I’ll be honest, I’ve thinking about this metaphor ever since.

Here’s a brief summary of the field mice and the antelope metaphor:

1. Every day, a lion goes out to hunt field mice.
2. But the lion can’t live on field mice. She spends all her energy hunting mice and eventually starves to death.
3. Instead, a lion needs antelope. Hunting antelope requires more speed and strength, but they can feed the lion and the entire pride.

So, ask yourself at the end of each day:

Did I spend today chasing mice or hunting antelope?

I’ve been asking myself this question at the beginning and end of every day. I thought it would be helpful to turn the metaphor into a fable for kids.

The Field Mice and the Antelope Fable

A young lion went out to hunt for food. She spotted a field mouse scurrying through the grass.

She chased it down, she caught it, and she ate it.

She saw another field mouse.

She chased it down, she caught it, and she ate it.

And then another. And another.

She spent the entire day chasing field mice.

At nightfall she lay down exhausted and still quite hungry. She had eaten dozens of field mice, and none seemed to satisfy her hunger.

She looked up and saw another lion running past the field mice to hunt an antelope.

The lion chased it down, she caught it, and she ate it.

With a smile and a full stomach, the other lion walked away happy.

Did you spend today chasing mice or hunting antelope?

Reflection Questions

1. What are the small projects and tasks you should stop wasting time on today?
2. What are the big projects and goals you should pursue instead?
3. What are the distractions during the day that take you away from what is important?

Download a PDF of the Story for Kids

Download a PDF of this story along with the questions for reflection or discussion.

The post The Field Mice and the Antelope Fable & Reflection Questions appeared first on Jared Dees.

Have you ever heard the expression, “the lion’s share,” as in “the lion’s share of the work” or “the lion’s share of the money”? It is an idiomatic phrase that originates in one of Aesop’s fables.

Read The Lion’s Share Fable here.

Although we might hear the phrase often to describe a large responsibility, the actual parable has a different lesson. Let’s look at a short summary and some reflection questions.

The Lion’s Share Fable Summary

The Lion, Fox, Jackal, and Wolf agree to go hunting together and share whatever they find. The wolf finds a stag and calls his companions to share in the food. They arrive and the Lion divides the stag into four equal parts, but claims three parts for himself and dares them to claim the fourth share for themselves. Why? Because he is the King, the strongest, and the bravest. The other animals went away hungry.

Aesop’s lesson: “Might makes right.”

In Phaedrus’s Latin version of the fable he warns, “Partnership with the mighty is never trustworthy.”

The Lion’s Share Fable Reflection Questions

1. Why did the animals join together as partners?
2. Why did the Lion claim the majority of the food for himself?
3. If you were the Fox, Jackal, or Wolf, how would you respond to the Lion?
4. What are some real-world examples of people taking the lion’s share of something? (Hint: money, food, possessions, etc.)
5. How can you stand up to the real-world lions who take more than their fair share?

The post The Lion’s Share: Fable Summary & Questions for Kids appeared first on Jared Dees.

The Parable of the Two Wolves is often attributed to the Cherokee American Indians. It has been featured in various movies and TV shows. Here is a short kid-version of the story for kids.

The Tale of the Two Wolves

A grandfather sat his grandson down for a short, life lesson:

There are two wolves. These wolves are always fighting.

One wolf is light and goodness. He is full of joy, hope, faith, and love.

The Good Wolf makes us happy.

The other wolf is evil. He is full of hate, fear, envy, and sorrow.

The Evil Wolf makes us sad.

The grandson thought for a moment, then asked, “Which wolf wins?”

“The one you feed,” he said in reply.

The Two Wolves Story Reflection Questions

1. How do we feed the Good Wolf?
2. How do we feed the Evil Wolf?
3. When is it easier to feed the Evil Wolf instead of the Good Wolf?
4. Which wolf is winning the most in your life lately? Why?
5. How will you feed the Good Wolf for the rest of your day?

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THIS STORY AND QUESTIONS

Download a PDF of this story along with the questions for reflection or discussion.

The post The Tale of the Two Wolves: A Story for Kids appeared first on Jared Dees.

Here is the month-by-month breakdown of the time I spent as a creator:

My Top 25 Projects

1. 114:06 – The Religion Teacher Email & Customer Service
2. 92:21 – Morning Preview
3. 82:18 – ACE Teaching Religion in Catholic Schools Graduate Course
4. 64:28 – Daily Review
5. 55:42 – Goals to Gold (Book)
6. 54:37 – The Religion Teacher’s Videos (YouTube and Membership)
7. 52:38 – Weekly Review
8. 49:40 – Personal Finances (including purchase of a new home)
9. 48:51 – The Religion Teacher Membership Website Launches
10. 41:38 – Jared Dees Newsletter (previously Formative Fiction & Bible Breaks Newsletters)
11. 37:00 – Speaking Events
12. 32:57 – The Religion Teacher Newsletter
13. 21:58 – Volunteering (Catechist, Charity Events, Charity Support)
14. 14:42 – Untitled Sunglasses Fable (Book)
15. 12:47 – Accounting and Taxes
16. 12:43 – The History of the Universe in 100 Questions (Book)
17. 11:21 – The Gospel According to Video Games (Book)
18. 9:07 – Jared Dees YouTube Channel
19. 7:11 – The Religion Teacher’s Advent Mini-lessons
20. 14:37 – Jared Dees Worksheets & Stories (including ToolsTeach Worksheets)
21. 10:33 – The Religion Teacher Social Media
22. 6:38 – The Religion Teacher Live Presentations
23. 5:32 – The Religion Teacher’s Gospel of Luke Worksheets
24. 4:13 – Just Plant Seeds (Book)
25. 2:54 – The Religion Teacher Blog

Total Time: 904:52 Hours

My 2024 Vision & Goals

I started the year thinking I would focus my time and effort on becoming an author of middle grade books. I wrote down (and soon abandoned) this vision for the year:

I spent this year mastering middle grade books. My 1,000 words a day went toward middle grade writing. I read middle grade books every day and analyzed each one. I built connections with other middle grade authors and studied the successful people to create templates and blueprints for my own work. I scheduled my first school visits as a middle grade author and I nearly doubled my email list sharing to inspiring stories and fables for kids 8–12. 

As I was reading and writing middle grade fiction, I realized something important about myself: I enjoy reading and writing non-fiction much more than fiction! So, I started returning to non-fiction by writing a middle grade collection of stories about some of the greatest track & field athletes of all time. I published this book as Goals to Gold then started working on a series of history books and videos beginning with the history of the universe.

Then at some point towards the end of the year, I wrote this at the top of my goals sheet:

Don’t change the world. Just get one WOW! out of a student each day.

This led to the development of new whiteboard videos and a new focus for the Jared Dees newsletter. I wanted to help teachers WOW their students.

But the response wasn’t as good as I hoped. I spent a lot of time on things that weren’t making a substantial impact.

More on this below . . .

Personal and Family Vision

By the way, I also wrote this family/personal finance vision:

Happily living in a new house without a financial worry.

We didn’t list our house or prepare to sell it, but friends of friends came in and made us an offer.

We moved into a new home on the second-to-last day of the year!

PROFESSIONAL GOALS:

(I updated and changed my goals multiple times throughout the year, but these were the primary outcomes I was trying to achieve this year.)

812,888/1,000,000 words for kids (A part of my #1millionwordsforkids goal) (+171,908 words)

1,152/1,500 Resources (Videos/Worksheets) for Members of The Religion Teacher (+43 resources)

3/4 Books Published—Incomplete

$952/$3,000 saved in business expenses in 2024—Incomplete

PERSONAL GOALS:

52/52 books read—Complete

144/150 30-minute workouts—Incomplete

AN ANNUAL PROJECT REVIEW

2024 By the Numbers

Subscribers

The Religion Teacher Newsletter grew from 94,352 subscribers to 101,747 (+7,395)

The JaredDees.com Newsletter (previously two newsletters) grew from 8,569 to 9,773 (+1,204)

The Religion Teacher YouTube channel grew from 37,500 subscribers to 45,225 (+7,725)

The Religion Teacher membership decreased this year.

Top-selling Books in 2024

1. Take Up Your Cross
2. Take and Eat
3. Beatitatles
4. Just Plant Seeds
5. The Gospel According to Video Games

Most Viewed Videos from The Religion Teacher in 2024

1. The Meaning of Yahweh (YHWH) in the Bible
2. The Meaning of Pentecost
3. The Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer
4. The Meaning of the Sign of the Cross
5. INRI Meaning on the Cross and in the Bible

Most Viewed Pages at TheReligionTeacher.com in 2024

1. The Nativity Story (Birth of Jesus) Skit Script
2. Lent Activities
3. Catholic Worksheets
4. Ash Wednesday Lesson Plan
5. Catholic Lesson Plans
6. Advent Activities
7. Stations of the Cross Activities
8. The Religion Teacher’s Saints Worksheets
9. How to Create Blank Venn Diagrams
10. Rosary Activities

Most Popular Stories at JaredDees.com in 2023

1. The Fish Story in the Move Soul 
2. Joseph the Dreamer Bible Story for Kids 
3. Two Boats and a Helicopter Story
4. Crossing the Red Sea Bible Story for Kids 
5. Footprints in the Sand Story
6. Jonah and the Whale Bible Story for Kids 
7. The Birth of Isaac Bible Story for Kids 
8. “Noel” Poem by J.R.R. Tolkien
9. Ash Wednesday Story for Kids
10. Jesus Calms the Storm Story for Kids

WHAT WENT WELL?

The Religion Teacher Newsletter – We hit a new milestone this year: 100,000 subscribers. It’s hard to imagine that the number of people who receive my newsletter each week could not fit into Notre Dame’s football stadium. Although the list did not grow as fast this year as in previous years, it continues to be a welcome resource every Sunday for religious educators around the world.

The Religion Teacher’s YouTube Channel – The YouTube channel also showed consistent growth. I increasingly hear from people that YouTube is the place they first found me and that the videos I create are the most useful tools I make. I also experimented with YouTube Ads this year. I turned on ads with some hesitation about what people might say. I didn’t hear a single complaint about the ads and the income was higher than I expected.

The Angelus & Regina Caeli Book – I put this book in my “didn’t go well” category last year, but it has turned out to be a great backlist title. I re-published it hoping that it would be a consistent seller with a better title, subtitle, and cover and so far it is reaching the audience I hoped for it to reach.

Speaking – I was able to do a little more speaking this year. I did a number of virtual events that went well and the in-person events were wonderful. I always appreciate the opportunity to meet and work with people face-to-face.

WHAT DIDN’T GO WELL?

Revenue & Expenses – It is hard to admit, but financially this was the worst year for the business since before COVID. I saw a big dip in memberships, product sales, and book sales across the board. I can think of a lot of different reasons for this dip, but the most important outcome here was a big motivation to increase focus for 2025.

Professor Dees – I taught a graduate level course at the University of Notre Dame this year for the ACE program. I really enjoyed the “Teaching Religion in Catholic Schools” course and getting to know the first-year teachers, but I underestimated the time commitment. It was a great experience, but it took me away from a lot of projects and parenting duties. I’ll never forget how much my teenage daughter laughed when one of my students called me “Professor Dees” in the dining hall.

Goals to Gold Track Book – I loved writing this collection of stories about the lives of great track & field athletes, but I didn’t make time to promote it during the summer nor did it fit well with my core audience. I loved the research and the writing, but the lack of success shows the need to validate ideas before publishing them.

Book Launch-less – I would say that the book launches for the three books I published this year were unsuccessful, but that wouldn’t be true. The truth is that the launches just didn’t exist. I didn’t do outreach or any effective launch beyond the newsletters. I’m not sure what I expected to happen. Why spend so many hours writing something without dedicating just as much if not more time promoting what you created?

Jared Dees Newsletter & YouTube Channel – Towards the end of 2024, I had a vision of expanding beyond religion into history with my “Jared Dees” newsletter and YouTube channel. The response was not as great as I hoped despite my enjoyment of the research and writing. Open rates for emails decline or remained flat and the YouTube channel of whiteboard videos only experienced limited reach.

WHAT DID I LEARN?

I would say I learned three main lessons in 2024:

1. A clear theme is better than a clear vision. I wrote a long vision statement again this year, but I still haven’t recreated the success and focus of 2022’s “Year of the Worksheet.” That narrow focus on just worksheets led to so much productivity and enjoyment of the process. In 2025 year I’m trying to return to that simplicity with another theme: “Year of the Products.” This is much more concrete than the long vision statement about becoming a middle grade author that I wrote for myself in 2024.
2. Teaching takes a ton of time. I enjoyed being a professor this year, but between the planning and grading, I spent more time than any other project I did this year and it was only a one-credit course. I could have spoken at a half-dozen events for about the same amount of time and a lot more income.
3. Product-Audience Fit. I wrote a book of track & field stories for kids then started a book about the history of the universe. I loved the work. These are topics that really interest me, but they aren’t the reason people signed up for my newsletters. For those projects to be successful, I would have to create a new audience. It is better to find work that fits with the interests of my current audience. Just Plant Seeds, on the other hand, had a lot of success. I received a number of bulk book orders from schools, parishes, and dioceses. This book was a much better product-audience fit.
4. Publishing is not launching. I worked in book marketing for years. I know this. There are two parts to every book launch: author’s audience and outreach. I launched to my newsletters, but I didn’t do the much harder work of reaching out to influencers and organizations to share the books. That is what sets apart a launch from an announcement.
5. Buying a house take so much time. I forgot how much time it takes to buy a house. I’m not even talking about the moving and packing. The number of phone calls and applications and steps to buy a house and secure financing took a lot of time away from the time I needed to work.
6. Messy goals lead to messy results. I changed my goals multiple times through the year. I broke one of my writing rules of “One page, One product, One person.” Instead, I worked on multiple products for multiple different people. I still created one page a day and that kept me productive but productivity and purpose are not the same things.
7. Less time eventually leads to less income. I’ve increased my time as a dad and decreased my time at work. This was an unexpected side-effect of working from home. I need to be much better about finding time to work and getting help from babysitters. This challenge has been growing in the last couple of years. The health issues my son had towards the end of this year showed how much I rely on his preschool time to get work done.

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