“Some men dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and
do them.”
– Unknown
During my
time in Scouting, I have kept one thing centered in my mind, these young boys
can grow to be great men. I really
believe the old thinking that you can be anything you want to be. I recently heard a commentator say that studies
show a growing number of adults today do not believe their children will have
the same advantages as they had. That
may be true, however, there will always be those who rise to the top and change
the world as it is. Always has been;
always will be.
I also know that it is what we
help our young people to believe that will shape their future, not what we give
then or do for them. We need to help out
young people to learn three main principles in becoming success-minded people.
1) Learn all you can learn
Adults as well as children have
come to the conclusion that all education comes from school. If they are going to learn, they have to
learn it in school and the more school somehow equals more education. That is not how learning happens. Our "education"
should begin from early childhood and end at the grave. As Albert Einstein said, "Intellectual
growth should commence at birth and cease at death." We learn from every experience we have, every
person we meet, every book we read.
When we teach people that all
education comes from school, we limit them in their experience and actually
stop the ability to learn. I believe in
formal education and support schools and higher education, however, they are
only a part of learning - a small part.
The person who learns how to learn can achieve anything they want to in
life.
2) Do all you can do
When learning is stopped or
limited, so is a person's ability to grow and become what they dream to
be. If you are taught that your
education stops when you are out of school, you will find your education very
short in deed. Sadly, many people
believe this and settle in life for far less that they are able to
achieve. We must help young people to
understand that they were born to be extraordinary and to do extraordinary
things.
Excellence does not happen by
accident. It must be a habit that a
person chooses to have in their life.
Aristotle said, " We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,
is not an act, but a habit." This
habit comes from learning never to settle for mediocre or just right. One of the most damaging things we have
taught our children is that there are no winners. This forces everyone to the lowest point, not
the highest. There are winners and it is
up to us to teach our children to be a winner.
To do that we must follow the advice of author Zig Ziglar who said,
"You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare
to win, and expect to win."
3) Be all you can be
It all leads back to the old
teaching, you can be anything you want to be.
Tell this to our young, believe it of our young and help then see it in
us as well. Never think you are too old
to set the example of success. Children
learn their habits from us, so let's set good habits for them to learn. Be a person of good character who does not
just talk about honesty, integrity and good morals but we display them. Be a person who works hard and takes care of
themselves rather than depending on the government or the kindness of
others. Be a person of faith and show
the reality of Christ in your life.
Our young people will be the
leaders of tomorrow. Not maybe our
leaders, WILL BE our leaders. If we want a better tomorrow we need to give
them a better today. Help them be all
they can be and teach them to care for others more than themselves. It is a simple, but profound truth, to quote
Zig Ziglar once more, "You can have
anything in life you want, as long as you help other people to get what they
want."
You
matter! You matter to the world and to
yourself. Remember to be your best, love
God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.
John Patrick
Hickey is an author, speaker, Life Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from
John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your
church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.
© 2014 John
Patrick Hickey
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