Living Your Dreams – 8 Words to Success
Posted by Denise Cooper on July 27, 2010
Last week I spoke to a group of 6th – 12th graders. They were attending a one week college preparation course offered by the Charlotte Housing Authority called Raising The Bar. I speak to a lot of executives and leaders and there’s no harder crowd than 50 pre-teen and teenagers at 4:30 p.m. on a day where the temperature is hovering around 98 degrees. Talk about a tough crowd!
As a speaker, you don’t always know when you’ve done a good job. If you’re a parent with kids in this age group then you know just how hard it is to know whether they’re listening. Parenting, teaching and coaching are acts of faith. Every time you speak to someone you are taking a leap of faith that what you have to offer is just what they need. It’s like the song… “He may not come when you want but God is always on time.”
I started the speech saying, “you may not remember anything I have to say but I hope these eight words will inspire you at the right moment to live your dreams. You see too many adults get to be old and then realize that they have bucket lists and then spend the rest of their lives trying to complete the list.” As I ended with the last of the 8 words, I thought the most exciting thing about my speech were the prizes I gave away during the speech. So imagine my surprise Devon Campbell, 6th grade, gave me a paper with showing how he used the 8 words in a story about his dream.
These 8 words to success are really true. The 8 words represent what we do now in school and out of school. Like “Ideas”. I get a lot of ideas and when I get them I start planning.
I “work” to fulfill my dream which is to become the world’s greatest game creator. All my life I been caught up in games and some people say I’m addicted to it. And even people in school gave me the nickname “game freak”. I am not very close to completing my goal yet, because I have to go to college to get my degree.
That’s why I have “passion” for what I’m doing and I made a “choice” to do this. I’ll “push” myself every day. Everyday to be the best. Dreaming about it every day. But I also know there is “value” in doing this.
Also I will “serve” others like my teachers and guardians so I can get help. I believe what you said about helping others (it will always come back to you). I will “persist” to get help so that I won’t fall behind in completing my goal. Also I do this to make my future the way I want it to be. “
Speechless I looked at Devon and thank him and asked if I could use his piece in a blog post. Speaking before a crowd of 50 kids takes courage. As a speaker you always strive to be your best because it is a gift to be before others. Your job is to educate, entertain and inspire others. When the crowd is this young, constantly moving, talking, and constantly fidgeting it’s easy to think no one is listening. Thanks Devon for reminding me what we say matters and someone is always listening.
N Joy
Denise
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