So far, Steve Jobs has made a fairly sizable ding. He has achieved success (to the
tune of over a billion dollars) through continuous innovation and sticking to his
unique talents.
Whether your child is just starting college or is in high school, you want to give him
or her every possible advantage. Today’s youth have a lot of decisions before them.
It is up to them to determine which paths in life they will take — but how can you
help them avoid walking down the wrong path over and over again until they find
the best one?
What are your child’s unique strengths? If teens don’t determine the where, how,
when, and why of what makes them truly unique, making that ding in the universe
won’t happen. What if they knew the Distinct Natural Abilities that would give them
the edge? What if they knew their core values? What if they had a detailed plan for
the rest of their life? What dramatic dreams could they achieve?
The Heavy Cost of Detours
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average college graduate changes
jobs once every three years and changes career fields two or three times in their
lifetime. Each year American students have hundreds of majors and over 4000
colleges from which to choose. A majority of students change their major at least
once in their college careers, and many change their major several times. The
financial cost ($5,000 to $50,000+) and time lost (months to years) of these
changes are significant and show no sign of decreasing in the future.
It is not an illusion; today’s youth really are living in a world far different from the
one in which we grew up. We have heard high school and college students say:
I have to follow the path my parents want for me.
I don’t know what my unique abilities are.
Which major is best for me?
I don’t know how to measure my success.
How can I communicate my dreams with my parents?
How can I change the world?
Things change so fast, I can’t keep up.
How can I prepare for an uncertain future?
With all of the changes coming, how can I gain the advantage?
Finding the right path has benefits that extend far beyond college. While many may
find Tom Peter’s quote a little scary, it offers valuable insight on how to deal with
the challenges of the future.
Put Your Child on the Road to Success
Gaining the advantage requires uniqueness, a clearly defined path, balance, and
values that support their goals.
Uniqueness
It is not enough to be unique. All of us are unique. The first building block of
success requires knowing what their Distinct Natural Abilities are. Whether you use
our system or another, you need a process to help your child determine what his or
her distinct abilities are. An innovator and brainstormer? An organizer? A
researcher? Gifted at coming up with new ideas, or gifted at bringing ideas across
the finish line? By knowing their unique strengths, they can avoid needless trial and
error.
Clearly Defined Path
All of us, regardless of age, wish to build a legacy that outlasts us. But how can you
help your child develop that legacy? Every study on goal-setting has shown the
same thing: people who make tangible goals achieve more than those who do not.
The resources to help your child determine short, medium, and long-term goals are
out there. The key is to make the goals tangible, challenging, measurable, and-most
of all-based on their Distinct Natural Abilities.
Balance
There are elements of success that are the building blocks of professional and
personal life. The Success Elements principle is founded on the four elements of
Health, Wealth, Wisdom, and Relationships. By achieving balance in all of the
Success Elements, you can be assured that their success will transcend both
academic/work life and personal life.
Values
A core set of values provides the fuel for success. Helping your child determine his
or her core values will not only help them achieve success but will make the success
deeper and richer. The ability to communicate exactly what their values are will help
them strengthen occupational and personal relationships, as well as give them
direction in their daily challenges.
Bringing It All Together
The tools necessary for future success will revolve around Distinct Natural
Abilities, clearly defined goals, balance in all areas of life, and core values. Not
only will they (and you) get the financial benefit of reducing costly trial and error,
they will be on the path that is best suited to what makes them truly unique.
Think about how we spend many Saturdays: shopping at the mall, seeing a movie,
chatting on the phone, playing a round of golf. These activities all have their value,
as well as their time and place. However, compare the time spent and the value
received from those activities to a day where your children can discover their path to
success.
Greg Langston is the founder and President of The Langston Group http://www.
coachingresourcesnetwork.com Greg has been described as a focused
visionary leader, a creative strategist, and a gifter presenter. A student of
excellence, he runs several businesses and serves as a teacher to life and business
coaches as well as executives around the globe.
