My Biggest Fear For This Generation Of Youth
When I look at the youth of today, my heart hurts. And it’s not for reasons that many of you will suspect. It’s not because so many are getting into drugs, immorality, following the wrong crowd and throwing away their life. It’s because very few young people today have a powerful voice speaking into their lives, blowing fresh wind from heaven onto their future. My stomach starts to hurt when I think of the creative genius youth of this generation who are turning to alternative things with their talent simply because no one cared enough to speak life and believe in them.
Inside juvenile homes and prisons sits some incredibly talented young people with the wrong product and lack of leadership. Do you have any idea the amount of courage it takes to sell drugs and break rules and push past everything they’ve been taught to get caught into a horrible legal mess? Think this through! The SAME amount of courage it takes to follow your dreams, break rules, break out of false boundaries and borders everyone has created for you to create the life of your dreams! It’s the same- but some people choose the wrong product and end up in prison. If these youth had someone who believed in them and choose a product that was in demand in the marketplace they’d be on the cover of Forbes Magazine.
When I see young people hanging out with the wrong crowd because they are afraid of being lonely and their home is not a safe place to be, I think of all the adults I’ve coached through the years in our classes who still hang out with negative, impoverished thinking people because they are afraid of being alone and to step out and speak up!
That girl walking the streets at night is chasing survival. Many have been kicked out of their homes, or worse yet, ran away because their home life wasn’t safe and the attention of a pimp who claimed he loved her is easier than living alone in a bedroom with parents who really don’t care. Many of the kids we see getting into trouble have given up on life because they’re sick of hearing their adult parents scream and yell about money, long hours at work and the boss they hate.
Not every child is in trouble and not every young person has turned to drugs, immorality and other big problems. There are the quiet ones who sit in class everyday, getting straight A’s, who are cutting their arms and back and belly, because the self hatred is so deep they don’t know how to live without pain. Their central nervous system is so overtaxed with the pressure to perform, the expectation of incredible grades, being the star athlete or even the ‘mini me’ their parents want to created, that the pain of the razor helps to numb out the feelings for just a little while.
What is the difference between a young person who cuts and an adult who drinks into numbness? There is no difference. It’s all rooted in pain.
My biggest fear for this generation of youth is that no one will rise up and call them up into their destiny! That the adults of this generation have given in, given up and live in such a weakened state of weariness everyday, that the next generation of adults will be even worse.
I’m looking for youth who are serious about business. This is not an online reform school. It’s not a place where someone with a bad mouth attitude and a rebellious spirit will be welcome. But I am looking for the WILD ONES who dream at night of running a multi-million dollar business by the time they are 21! I am searching for the dreamers, the ones who believe that miracles still happen and they believe in the bigger picture and the silver lining of hope deferred!
And behind the youth that we mentor, we are looking for parents who will STEP UP and chase their dreams too! This is not a class for parents who are hoping to accomplish something through their kids, it’s a class for parents who BELIEVE in the dreams of their children and are willing to go the long haul with them.
It will require a firm commitment on the part of both the student and the parent. There will be a release contract to sign that states that you will allow your child to be mentored by us and you will not interfere, or interact in the classroom forum. You will support, cheer them on and believe in their dreams.
If we don’t lay aside our own stuff as adults and we aren’t willing to get past our own fears, limitations and challenges, the youth that we see right now will be a shadow compared to the trouble that will await us. I believe in a BETTER generation, where Moms and Dads are working with their children and everyone in the family is believing in their dreams. Where challenges are handled TOGETHER and life is something everyone chases, daily, to the best of their ability. I believe in a brighter future and a better way.
I’m taking action. Next week we will open the doors to 150 students only in our Young Entrepreneur Mentorship. Be ready!
A better future awaits us!
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
