Teens Making Their Dreams Happen

by Rachel Stockman

"With a higher high school drop out rate than ever before, more jails being built, and the divorce rate climbing to 67%, teens need a strong support system to help them be successful," says Stedman Graham, author of Nine Steps to Success: Teens Can Make It Happen. "Believing in yourself" is the first step, according to Mr. Graham. "If you have confidence, you can do anything you want." On achieving confidence, he contends that teens must practice, study, and develop support systems for themselves. "No one can be successful unless they obtain the tools to get them there. With these tools comes confidence," he told Teenspeak.

In his book, Stedman Graham provides the antidote to a society that seems bent on despair. "It definitely doesn't have to be that way," and in his book, Graham describes surefire steps to recognize and fulfill potential. Easy to read, Nine Steps to Success is written in an accessible format, so that you can just pick it up and start reading. In Mr. Graham's entertaining handguide, teens can use such methods as multiple choice tests to help guide them through rough times and also enable them to discover where their passion lies.

In order to "make it happen," teens need to: create a vision (define a dream); develop a travel plan on how to reach a goal; master the rules of the road (hold firm to a vision without distractions); step into the outer limits (by confronting fears and strengthening faith in yourself); pilot the seasons of change (replace fear and anger with patience and flexibility); build a dream team (focus on avenues where support systems can be obtained); win by decision (develop a thoughtful approach to decision-making with personal integrity); commit to a vision (pledge to achieve the pinnacle in success).

"A vision for success is a necessity," according to Graham. "If you start with a passion and maintain that passion for what you truly believe in, you will be successful." Mr. Graham believes that if every teen worked hard for something they were passionate about, they would be less susceptible to drugs and alcohol. "If you are focused on something, you eliminate these distrations," he remarked.