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Teens & GEN Y, your future will be successful beyond your current boundaries.  Many teens and GEN Y see the difficulties and the boundaries and think: Why do we have to go through this? Your future will rock when you start to ask: How do we get through this?

Your future will rock when you combine your special talents with lessons learned from others who have overcome difficulty.  This came to me recently when a friend said,  “If I only knew these things when I was a teenager!  I could be so far ahead of where I am now.”

So here’s a list of lessons learned from my life and diverse friends on Facebook & Twitter to rock your future with success.  If you are a parent reading this post, share these with your teens and GEN Y and their friends/parents.

GEN Y Success with Lessons Learned Image by:Camera Slayer

1. Separate surviving and thriving in your mind.
   Hopes and dreams stay alive when you can live with survival skills and work for and towards thriving.  If you think that your current survival is the only life you will have, you will miss chances to thrive.
2. Volunteering to help those you live with builds bonds that grow into adult relationships.
   Many people today volunteer with charitable organizations and non-profits. This is wonderful. Yet, do you volunteer to help your family? It shows your ability to think of others’ needs without being told. It lays the seeds for your adult relationships with them. It also prepares you for teamwork in the workplace.
3. Build your network early and keep in touch.
   The more people you know and help, the more people who will be there when you need help. Sooner or later we ALL do. ~ Joan Koerber-Walker, Chairman & CEO, CorePurpose
4. Create your future self now.
   Ask yourself, “How might this choice affect me in 5 or 10 years? ~ Don Eric Weber, Executive Coach
5. Show genuine care for any job you do.
   Even if it’s not your dream job, people will remember your attitude and actions. ~ Jay Baron, Cable Techie, Canada
6. Never let disappointment discourage you.
   Consider it a chance to learn. ~ Kathi Browne, Executive Spouse Coach
7. Lead by example.
   Lead in ways of being respectful to others even if they differ from your beliefs. Value acceptance and tolerance. ~ James Sorenson, Customer Service Professional
8. Work hard at what you utterly love.
   Work hard. Embrace risk. Do something you utterly love. Be a good person. Pay it forward. ~ Ted Coine, Author & Speaker, 21st Century Business
9. Develop the habit of finding out everything about things that interest you!
   In this way, be a fanatic to build your life. ~ Joshua Symonette, former NFL Player, Professional Speaker
10. Find your strengths.
    Success follows from self-awareness of one’s strengths and playing to them. ~ Joe Williams, NASA Scientist
11. Never under estimate the power of gratitude. ~ S. Max Brown, Speaker & Radio Co-Host
12. Let your walk be your talk.
    Stars walk their talk. Super Stars let their walk be their talk. ~ Dave Carpenter, Mentor to High Performers
13. Conquer your fears with knowledge and will.
    You will achieve things you thought were impossible to do. ~ Anne Egros, Global Executive Cross Cultural Coach
14. What you do for others matters.
    In some ways, relationships beats smarts. ~ Barry Dalton, CIO
15. Show up. Pay attention & participate.
    Honor commitments or let people know you can’t, and why. ~ Roy Atkinson, IT Professional
16. Honor, regard, respect.
    Hold tenaciously to honor, regard, and respect for yourself and others. ~ Ty Sullivan, Director Marketing NYC Restaurant Group
17. Just because you think it, that doesn’t mean it’s true.
    Don’t act on big thoughts without checking other sources. ~ Jim Morgan, TeamTrainers.
18. Define Success.
    Think about what success means to you. It’s different for each person. ~ Jane Perdue, Leadership Consultant & Coach
19. Pay attention to the details.
    Also, nurture and help everyone in your orbit — friends, family, teachers, employers. ~ Pattie Roberts, Professional Writer
20. Form and live good habits.
    Habits are the most important thing to success. Take constant daily action steps toward your dream. ~ Gary Loper, Business/Life Relationship Coach
21. Use the GROW model.
    Goals, (Current) Reality, Options, Will (what will you do) from MindTools.Com. Start with identifying your goals and writing them down or verbalizing them. ~ David Brand, Coaching Fan
22. Nothing beats a forward focus, solution orientation toward life. ~ Dan Rockwell, Non-Profit Leader & a Leadership Blogger

My final tip: Get comfortable with change. When it knocks, open the door! A VP of HR told me that #1 trait they look for — flexibility and comfort with change.

Please share your lessons learned for success in the comments section below.

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, inspires success through her keynotes, workshops, and training DVDs on various people-skills topics most especially communicating across diversity. Her latest DVD on the regional differences in customer expectations throughout the USA is available here Customer Service USA – What They Expect Coast to Coast & Everywhere in Between.

Tags: future, Gen Y, life, People Skills, success, Teens, the lessons learned, work