Successful youths are aware of these skills and practices.
Every youth including myself wants to be successful. Therefore, we must be aware of the necessary skills and practices that will uplift us toward success. It is not about sitting down or working blindly hoping that one day you’ll be successful. Instead, it is about equipping yourself with the necessary tools, reading related books, learning from others (not copying them) and practicing and executing your way. I’ve put down some of the skills and practices that young people should consider having if they want to be successful and meaningful to the society.
The mantra: “As a man, I need to struggle and suffer for me to survive”. This is not a wrong thing because even in the Bible, it is written that man has to toil and sweat for him to eat. Dan Oduor — The executive director, Rockkenya.org usually say:
The hidden secret that young boys and men don’t understand is the difference between hustling to survive and learning to hustle to survive. Most people hustle to survive instead of first learning to hustle to survive.
We (young people) need to learn the skills of the craft by both doing regular practice and having a coach/mentor to take us through the necessary steps needed to attain success.
Genesis 3:17 — And to Adam He said, “Because you’ve listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life”.
Being submissive to instructions and authority. Most young boys and men don’t want to follow instructions given by authorities of different institutions that they may find themselves in. This inner ego results in young people being sent away from these institutions which are meant to shape them into responsible citizens and leaders. After being sent away and with no place/person to provide them with support — either financial or mentorship, they find themselves engaging in criminal activities within the society and blaming certain individuals and institutions for their failure in life.
Choosing of the mentors and the celebrity lifestyle. Most young people including myself wants to be a celeb. This leads to us choosing celebs, some of whom didn’t even follow the right channels to getting their wealth and living the luxurious lifestyle they show us on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms.
As young men and boys, we tend to copy their lifestyle — from clothing, walking style, language, to names. This copying messes us up. Instead of focusing on our own life and following our passions and dreams, we try to copy another person’s entire lifestyle. This leads to us losing focus on our dreams and following someone else’s dream. In most of the cases, young people do come back to their senses but late enough for them to pick up from where they left with their dreams to pursue it. At the end, you’ve not become a celeb you wanted, at the same time you haven’t pursued your initial long-time dream and passion. Be yourself because no one else can be you but you.
Trust and network. Since we are not showing the public our true selves, it is becoming hard for the public to trust us; either with financial support or mentorship. Although I believe that it is important for us as young people to start our businesses at a younger age, there is one big drawback; our trust to the society. We have brightest and freshest minds and this means that we have great ideas which can solve the world’s largest problems. But if the society can’t trust us, we are not in the best position to execute our ideas. Because through the society we get our first product testing, feedback and initial capital and funding for our ideas. Therefore, as young people, we need to work on our personal brands to reflect and speak on behalf of ourselves.
Our network is another great element for the growth of the youths. As it is said, “Your network is your net-worth”. Creating and growing a good network defines where you are and where you are going as far as your success is concerned. It is high time young people to start surrounding themselves with the right people because time is ticking and we need to start eating the fruits of our success at an early age. I mean to start your race early, finish early, and be the winner.
Willingness to learn and grow. As a young man, you may think that you know a lot and that you no longer want more comments/feedback. You are totally wrong; there are a plethora of lessons, comments and feedback that you’d be given, either negative or positive. It is upon you to internalize and take into account the feedback that will help you and leave those that won’t. Before internalizing, allow every feedback from all groups of people. Then filter later. Also, never take any feedback personal. Allowing feedback helps you to learn and grow. Through feedback, you’ll get new insights that will enrich your initial idea or plan. This point goes in handy with point №2 about being submissive to instructions and authority.
Winners are those that make the most mistakes, learn from the mistakes and rectify them.
Leadership, responsibility and principles. Success is never achieved in one step. Throughout the road to success, there are a lot of decisions that need to made and for the right decisions to be made, good leadership must be maintained. Let’s learn leadership skills early so that we don’t get stuck so many times on the road [to success]. Let’s take away unnecessary obstacles on the way. A good leader is responsible and governed by principles. The principles are dependent on the field of operation of your business, organization or institution.
Thanks to Dan Oduor — The executive director of ROCK Kenya for contributing to the above points.
