“A particularly big problem we’re seeing with girls now is that they are refusing to go after anything if everything isn’t perfect.” I often ask adults who serve youth what issues they see young people facing. Jen, an executive of a girls organization, had a quick answer to my question, as if she looked inside…
“What am I doing? What am I doing?Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m doing me, I’m doing me I’m living life right now, man And this what I’ma do ’til it’s over, ’til it’s over” In 2010, rap artist Drake had teenagers and adults around the globe belting out three electrifying words from his hit song…
People who realize their potential make risk-taking routine. Say the word risk. Yep, right now … Doesn’t it sound a little vulgar? Like a curse word. “Risk, please.” Did you hear it? The -sk ending makes the word come off as both tough and a bit harsh. Add an “s” to make it plural, and…
Your fears have to eat, and you get to decide what to feed them. Fears can be unrelenting like a three-year-old running around the house begging for a snack. Fears are not satisfied until they eat. The question is, what are you feeding yours? For most of my 16-year marketing career, I worked in the…
It’s time to quit when the thing you’re doing is causing you to quit on yourself. I felt the edge of the sofa cushion starting to give out. I had been sitting there for a length of time I can’t remember with my torso arched over my thighs and my elbows pressed into my knees. My feet…
Somewhere over the course of my research on courage, I read a story about two military leaders in battle. Both were faced with a decision to advance or retreat against the enemy. One leader knew he and his men would not win, but he didn’t want to return home, dead or alive, labeled as a…
I recently asked 125 National Society of Leadership & Success conference attendees what they wanted the courage to do. Nearly a quarter of the respondents, 24.5%, wanted the courage to stand or speak up for themselves. This was the most popular response. And, it got me thinking. Of all the things we can fear, why…
Summer is almost here, and several media sources are compiling their lists of top places to visit. I thought it would be fun to compile my own summer GO list for you. Ready. Set. GO! Go For It. You won’t know until you try. Go slow. Don’t expect to get where you’re going overnight. Go…
Competence is usually related to tasks like dribbling a ball, coding a website or Milly Rockin’ in the shower – not acting courageously. However, if youth want to resist social pressures around them, such as substance usage, bullying and underage drinking, they will need certain competencies. Courage requires competence. Having skill and being able to…
About seven family members rushed into my cousin’s dorm room after her graduation ceremony to clear it out for a final university inspection. I assigned myself to taking down inspirational quotes and pictures of pop stars from her walls. My cousin used self-adhesive hooks to help decorate her space, and I was trying my best…