Sowing the Seeds of Innovation: Blockchain Education for Future Leaders
Elizabeth Sullivan brings a refreshing outsider perspective to Simply CyberCon 2024. She's not a coder, engineer, or developer -- she's an author who decided the blockchain and cybersecurity space needed children's educational content and set out to create it.
The Why
Sullivan's argument is compelling: industries that successfully onboard kids early win in the long run. Toy doctor kits created future physicians. Construction sets inspired engineers. Light-Brites taught circuitry basics. Dr. Seuss taught reading fundamentals that we remember decades later. Coding leveraged Minecraft and Roblox to create after-school camps for five-year-olds.
Blockchain and cybersecurity? Almost nothing exists for kids. When Sullivan searched Teachers Pay Teachers for blockchain curriculum at a fifth-grade level, she found fewer than 30 results -- half of which were just crossword puzzles.
The How: Five Chops a Day
Borrowing from John Maxwell's tree-chopping metaphor, Sullivan committed to just five minutes a day toward her goal. This micro-commitment approach produced 17 children's books in about a year and a half. The books cover blockchain basics, proof of work, proof of stake, ledgers, layer one, layer two, and more.
Her practical tips for execution: use micro-moments (drive time, waiting at kids' sports practices) to think and edit. Don't set rigid timers -- aim for five minutes but let flow state carry you when it happens. She designed books on Canva, purchased commercial image rights from depositphotos.com, and self-published through Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark.
The Cyber Security Connection
Her book Tech Shield Camp was inspired by a friend explaining red team, blue team, and purple team roles during an Uber ride. She realized if she could inspire a child to want to be in cybersecurity, it could change that child's trajectory.
Who Should Watch
Content creators, educators, and anyone thinking about writing a book or creating educational material. The self-publishing walkthrough (KDP, ISBNs from Bowker, Canva for design) is genuinely useful. Tech professionals who want to give back through education will find the 'five chops' framework motivating.
Key Takeaways
Search Teachers Pay Teachers for gaps in your niche. Use micro-moments to build toward big goals. Self-publishing is simpler than you think: print file + cover file + ISBN + KDP upload. Don't let what you're not stop you from becoming what you need to be.