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10 Ways to Help Young People Pursue Dreams

I’ve had several conversations in recent weeks with young adults either in school or in the early days of their careers. They’ve been looking for advice from me. I guess they perceive I’ve had some success. And they obviously think I have experience. (That’s a kind way of acknowledging that I’m getting old.)

Here are some quick thoughts that might help you if you’re on the front end of your journey in life.

If I could sit down with Millennials, this is what I’d share. These are some of the basic steps that allowed me to pursue my dreams. Here are …

10 Simple Practices to Help You Experience Your Future Dreams

1. Get responsible while you’re still at home.

Don’t rely on mommy and daddy to bail you out. Don’t let them try to get you out of a bad grade. That’s your challenge. Own your schedule. Own your priorities. Own your financial responsibilities. They may help, but the goal is for you to leave home knowing how to navigate life without mommy and daddy having to step in if there’s a problem.

2. Get a job while you’re in high school.

Any job. You need to learn how to show up on time, make a boss happy and work hard to earn a paycheck … even if you don’t enjoy the job. That’s life. No matter what you will do later, you need to learn how real people work real jobs in the real world.

3. Get a degree, but don’t leave with a lot of debt.

No one owes you an education at an out-of-state school. Even if the government makes it easy for you to borrow all the money you need, go where it’s cheaper. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Work your way through school. Too much debt will prevent you from pursuing your dreams.