I’ve just sat with 23 youngsters age 15 to 17, who’ve all spent time in Young Offenders’ Institutions, served periods of Probation or been obliged to do Community Service and listened to a well known Motivational Speaker who came along especially to speak to them.
These kids are all, without exception extremely bright and very “Street Wise” from whom I learn much more than I’m certain they do from me.
This Guy spent an hour Talking at them
When he finished he invited questions – there were none and I wasn’t interested in massaging his already over-inflated ego so he made a rather fast exit.
When I asked my young friends for their comments, I found myself agreeing with what they were saying:
- He didn’t even ask what we were interested in – how did he expect to motivate us if he hadn’t a clue what we wanted to do?
- He was talking a load of crap about Positive Mental Attitudes and wanting us to talk with a smile in our voices – if we acted like that with our mates they’d think we were taking the piss!
- If I started talking to men making eye contact with a smile in my voice, I’d get arrested again for being back “on the game.”
- One youngster hit the nail on the head when he commented: I bet he says exactly the same thing everywhere he goes – he didn’t even look interested – he made me feel as if he was doing us a favour by just coming.
They agreed to define what they, as a Group thought motivation actually is – I haven’t messed around with their words because I don’t consider I have the right:
- Motivation is about caring enough for something we want to achieve.
- No matter how many times we fall on our ass, it’s about getting back up and then finding out why we fell in the first place.
- We’ll regularly become the subject of amusement to others who will think we’re mad and want us to fail so they can say: “I told you so.”
- Once we become strongly motivated we can, very quickly learn to choose our friends and those we associate with wisely because we’re fed up mixing with Losers who want to drag us down to their level.
- Motivation is about setting one goal at a time – the first thing we think about when we wake – the last thing on our mind before we finally sleep.
- It’s also about knowing when and who to ask for help or advice when we think we’re about to fall down and assessing whether that person is worth going back to for more help or advice.
- Motivation is about cautiously surrounding ourselves with a small number of like minded people each of whom are also striving to change their lives.
- Once we have these people around us, by just meeting together regularly we will learn so much by filtering and feeding from each others thoughts and ideas.
- We all have a choice: to at least try this motivation thing and repeat Cliff’s favourite saying as often as we can – “Actions speak louder than Words.”
This exercise took us almost an hour during which time I witnessed 23 of tomorrow’s adults unconsciously sub-dividing into Team Leaders, Thinkers and Doers yet forming a bond that would eventually enable some of them to walk away from the a life style that had brought only trouble.
Conclusion
Look, I’m the farthest thing you’ll ever meet from a goody two shoes – I’m from the streets and these youngsters know that no matter how successful I am, I’ll always think like a back street boy – fast, on my feet but with a lot more logic than I used to apply.
If only a couple of these kids can turn their lives around and eventually motivate themselves to get their shit together – they are more than capable of achieving – providing they set their initial goals in small steps.
Only they’ll know when it’s time to take longer strides!
Time, patience and dedication are 3 things that few young and older people have now-a-days which is why when so many of them fall, they discover they’ve never actually learned how to get back up again and wallow in self pity.
I don’t profess to be an expert on this subject and look forward to your positive and / or negative comments.
