PREPARING FOR YOUR TOMORROWS - PASS ON TO YOUNGER SIBS, COUSINS and FRIENDS

PLANS FOR THE LIVING

DREAM- begin to state your dreams and future goals to parents, WRITE THEM DOWN; BELIEVE in them.

PLAN- What do you need to learn, do, understand in order to have those dreams become

realities?

Who can you talk to that is already LIVING that dream job? Go online and

RESEARCH the pros and cons of that profession. What did they need BEFORE they became that person?

            Interview people. Ask questions. Visit their job sites.

            What are the bad/good aspects of their job?

Believe it or not, someone you KNOW knows a person in the field you dream of living. Call them up and state your interests and build a relationship with them.

STUDY-

            Whatever you plan to be, you must study. Whether it’s in HS, College, a Trade or Technical school, there are years, months or weeks of study necessary.

            Begin to set a study schedule to maximize your time, allowing for all your research and extra-curricular activities (Football, Martial Arts, Singing/Dancing Lessons, a JOB, baby-sitting, hanging with your friends)

WORK HARD-

            To get from Dreams to Living them, you must commit to working harder and harder everyday.

PLAY HARDER

            Once you’ve dedicated yourself to these plans and outlines for studying and working, it’s time to really enjoy your free time.

ENJOY THE LIFE YOU’VE ALWAYS DREAMED!!!

Getting Started:

Make 5-Year, 10-Year, 15-Year and 20-Year Plans

            Use proactive language:

I will go to NYU/Stanford/Penn State working towards a degree in_____________________

            I will play the drums in the band or play on the ____________ team

            I will talk to my councilor/advisor at least once every month, becoming aware of any forms, tests I must take or scholarship applications and study abroad available to me.

            I will volunteer at The Boys’ and Girls’ Club four days a month and/or WORK three days a week.

            I will save $80 per month toward college/senior trip/Summer travel-study program.

             Remember, when you complete three years of a foreign language AND pass the Regents in that language, you will NOT have to take any more language courses in university (potentially up to $6,000 SAVED)* For NY scholars where Regents Exams = College credit once passed           

Be specific—

1. Why do I want to be a____________?

2. How long must I study certain subjects before getting to this goal?

3. Who can I talk to in order to better understand this job?

4. Who offers PAYING summer internships in this field?

              Further Questions during or after studies

5. Where will I live?

6. How can I

RECOMMENDATIONS For College and Scholarships

3-months prior to applications are due, ask teachers and coaches, etc for recs.

USE YOUR Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens**, by Sean Covey book to remind and revise your plans.

** Now FREE PDF downloads of entire book.

                                                “Keep the End in Mind”

FINANCES

Teaching young adults how to plan their monthly, weekly and daily finances.

Too many young teens have no clue how to build credit, or how to plan for the future, financially.

                                                            Savings:

Invest Money in Educational Funds, EE Series Savings Bonds or MONEY MARKET ACCOUNTS.

Many of these you must be 18 years old to start or have a parent or adult as guardian of the account.

                        Educational Funds such as Coverdales offered through CityGroup’s Primerica, are those that you put away money with your SS #. As long as you use this money for a university or trade school or other educational services, THERE ARE NO TAXES. If you happen to withdraw money for other reasons, there’s a 10% tax taken out. You cannot withdraw money until you are 18, and NO ONE else-except guardian SO BE SURE ADULT/GUARDIAN IS TRUSTWORTHY.

                       

EE Series Bonds-

                                    Lower returns, but SAFER than other investments.

            MONEY MARKET ACCOUNTS-

                                    No risk, often works exactly like a savings account. You can take out anytime,

WITHOUT any hidden fees or costs.

                                    When I started my Money Market (MM) eight years ago it was dollar for dollar.

Today, with interest rates at 2%, my money earns 2% every year. Compare this to a regular bank

saving’s accounts:

            BNY                                                                                                MM Account

            $1,000                                                                                                $1,000

Monthly fees= $5 x 12= -$60                                                                        no monthly fees

accounts that go below $2,000 = -$50                                                no charges for withdrawals

Total Annual fees =  -$110 + withdrawals fees                                    1K  x .02

                        _________                                                                        ____________

Totals             $890                                                                                    $1,020

Required BUSINESS majors must read Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat and Hot, Flat and Crowded. My nephew, Troy, just graduated from Morehouse College with a Business Degree, where this first book was mandatory reading his sophomore year. He interned at three different financial institutions, landing a job (contract signed Sept. 2010) from his last, best offer.

Download or view portions of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki, to learn more about the best ways to make your money MAKE even more money. His videos can probably be accessed through PBS.org as well.***

Poli-Sci and History Majors should read both Obama’s books: Dreams From my Father and Audacity of Hope; The History of the World: 1492 to Present, by Howard Zinn and Ronald T. Takaki’s A Different Mirror: A History  of a Multicultural America

While Obama’s first book is more an autobiographical look at RACE, his second deals with his rise through bureaucratic systems as a community organizer in Chicago as well as his political climb toward the US Senate. 

Also John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage are great analytical accounts of four trailblazing senators who went against their party, constituency or society’s standard beliefs to vote logically and ethically for what turned out to be the correct call.

Anything by Studs Terkel - (Pulitzer Price Author, Historian) American Dreams: Lost and Found (1983) Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Difficult Times (2003) The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream (1988); Race: What Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992); Hard Times (1970) and Working (1974).

Anything by Noam Chomsky - (150 + books, considered one of the “Fathers of Modern Linguistics” and Analytical Philosophy)

The Power of Intention, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

***Recently, I've been reading debunkers to Kiyosaki's ethics or methods. While's I've NEVER actually read this book, I've watched a couple of his presentations on PBS over the last decade. Much of what he says is sound, and I've used a few of his overall ideas to end debt and "Pay Myself First"! 

“But once you become active in something, something happens to you. You get excited and suddenly you realize you count.” ~ Studs Terkel


“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.” ~ Noam Chomsky

Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/noam_chomsky.html#ixzz1OspSsv6F.Lloyd Alexander