Help your children and younger siblings to succeed when young

I praise God so much that He’s enabled me to read a number of good books this year. Apart from that, I’ve learnt a lot from videos, blog posts, webinars, documentaries, podcasts etc. One thing that stood out when it came to parenting was this:

Many successful people started young

A video I watched stated that the younger you start succeeding, the higher your chances of future success. Basically, success becomes engrained in you. And unless you allow someone or something to take it away, it can stay with you for life.

Let’s look at some examples

Steve Jobs landed a summer job in HP at 12! This guy was worth $10 million by 23, $100 million by 24 (as he once stated in a video interview).

Bill Gates started at 13 over at Lakeside School, Seattle. Actually failed a little bit in some things but kept at it till he became the richest man (and has stayed on top 5 richest for the longest time).

Evan Spiegel had an interesting story as the youngest billionaire.

You all know the story of what Jesus did when young. And what I shared of King Josiah who became an excellent king at 8!

The list goes on and on. Let’s get back to you, parent

In some of their stories, their parents (or guardians) actually encouraged their success when they were still under 15! They pushed their talents. They nurtured their children’s dreams.

Unfortunately, most parents use a lot of time and money suppressing their children’s natural gifts and talents. You’re only proud when your child becomes number 1 in the exams, and not when they win the race, hit difficult notes in their singing or have some breakthrough in how they play football.

Why are you okay with your child leaving home at 4am and coming back home at 9pm?

See, you have your own picture of how your child will be a 6 figure banker, doctor, lawyer etc.

But what if they’ll be a 10 figure basketballer like Michael Jordan (worth $1.65B)? Or a millionaire racing driver like Michael Schumacher (worth $800M)?

Or not necessarily a billionaire, but someone who even does more and inspires growth in the society like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Billy Graham, Apostle Paul or even your local pastor?

Nurture their natural giftings…BUT…

…hehehehe.. Before you get me wrong, let me clarify a few things:

1. Not everyone will succeed young. Colonel Sanders (the KFC guy), Morgan Freeman, Leo Goodwin, and many others got their big breaks while advanced in age.

2. We still need some of these kids to be lawyers, doctors, bankers and all that. This post doesn’t negate the need for formal jobs and education. Let them top their classes and read.

Here, I’m just encouraging you to be more open minded and help your children and younger siblings to succeed in something while still at a young age.

They may just join the list of many who succeeded young and kept at it for life!