Not finding leadership they created it

For several weeks now we’ve been watching the movement of the American youth, as they take on the challenge of the gun law legislation in the USA.  In the first 16 weeks of 2018 there have been 20 school shootings that have resulted in loss of life or serious injury.  The worst of this year occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 unsuspecting students and adults were slaughtered. 
 
In the aftermath of that shooting, there have been youth led protests and marches across the United States which have rippled over into all parts of the world.  In the protests, youth as young as 11 have begun to demand that society take a deeper look at what is happening as a result of the current gun legislation and imploring adults to do something about it before any more young lives are lost to the senseless gun violence that is becoming all too common in the lives of today’s children. 
 
One of the lines that stuck out for me in the midst of watching all of these things take place across the nation was one commentators remark that “not finding any leadership, they have created it.”  What a powerful statement on the potential and the passion that these young people are exhibiting.  What promising hope they give us for a better tomorrow, in spite of the damaged world that we are handing down to them.  Given the tools, resources and support, I believe that they offer us hope of a world that is more compassionate, that is safer, that is greener and that is more inclusive that the one we see today.  They are our future, so how to we help them to create the best one possible?
 
With my children’s books, I attempt to reach kids in the early years and ask them to think about diversity, inclusion, friendship and belonging.  I believe that the earlier we can get kids thinking about those things, the stronger their belief in a world that includes those qualities will be.  The more we are able to help children to know that we all need to feel that we belong is instrumental in having so many of today's challenges resolved.  If we can look at one another through eyes that see our similarities rather than our individual differences, there is a chance some of these attacks could be stopped.  If some of the outcast individuals that commit many of the crimes had a stronger sense of self worth, would they act the way they have?  It’s not the answer to all of the worlds problems, but at my core I do believe that it’s the start of something better.
 
Then I think about the Youth Leadership Camps that we are working to create through  Mark McGregor Leadership, I can only imagine how far these impassioned youth could take the world if they had the tools and inner strength our camps offer.  What if these young people had the resources and skills offered to them when they are 18 years old, and still have the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to make their world all that they believe it can be?  What if they were given the opportunity to better understand the power of coaching and were able to lead others to follow the dream they see of what is possible in the years ahead?  What if at 20 years old they had the opportunity to really be supported to dedicate intense and intentional time towards understanding their own values, vision and to know what their mission in life was at the beginning of the journey, instead of learning those things closer to the end?  What if?
 
It’s true that so many people have never had the opportunity to think about that until they reach their 40s or 50s and only begin to think about those things when a personal crisis occurs.  They’ve burned both ends of the candle for so long that yes, they’ve accumulated the material things that our society conditions us to believe we need to have to be effective, contributing members of the economic based world we live in.  But in the accumulation of ‘stuff’, how many of us have lost ourselves?  As coaches, it’s very often those people that come to us in hopes of making sense of lives that no longer make sense.  They followed the rules, got the job, the house, the wife, the car but in exchange they gave up many of their dreams, passions and have never accessed or used the innate gifts that they were born with. Although they have acquired all the material possessions that we are driven to 'need', the efforts to do so have sabotaged their marriages, relationships with children and in many cases their connections to their own selves.   As their lives edge closer to the finish line than the starting point, they now seek to understand who they are.  Why are they here? What is their true purpose and is there still time to live that purpose in a meaningful way?
 
The answer of course is yes!  It’s never to late to start, to reflect, to hit the reset button and begin anew.  But in that same vein, it’s never to early either?  Our greatest hope for the Youth Vision Camps is that we can take our own decades of struggling, learning and finally truly understanding, and share what we’ve come to know with those that are beginning their unique journeys.  Imagine one of these passionate, fiery young adults having the opportunity to truly know what their values are so that they can create a life that reflects those values at all times.  What might happen if they know what they’re passionate about, and instead of following the herd and getting the Bachelor of Arts degree, because that what seems sensible, they were encouraged to dive into that passion with tools and support to see what might be possible? To follow their hearts?
 
Vision Camps are created in hopes that we can take our years of knowledge and ‘pay it forward’ to the youth that attend, so that they can be fast-tracked to where they want their lives  to head.  They've been designed to help them to begin the journey with the end in mind, by understanding the importance of vision.  Help them to know it’s okay to question the status quo,  that there is always more than one way to get to where you want to be in life, and to know that it’s okay to question the way it’s always been...because the way it’s always been isn’t necessarily the right way. 
 
Every generation has rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the generations coming up behind them, wondering how they are ever going to survive in ‘our’ world as we’ve created it.  It’s time for that to stop, because ‘our’ world is going to be handed over to tomorrows leaders, so instead lets help them to be as strong, equipped and supported as they can be, because it isn’t just our world that they hold in their hands....it’s our future.