Tips for Teens

Continuing with The 7 Pillars of Manhood, strength is up next. Strength is very important (and I'm not just talking about the ability to bench press 250 pounds-although, if you can bench 250, good for you!). You must have strength in these four areas: Mental Strength A strong mind is one of your greatest assets. Making smart decisions, setting goals, and staying out of trouble takes a lot of intentional effort and it begins with a made up mind. Doing the right thing, even whe

If you follow college football, you know the Florida State Seminoles are pretty hot right now. After 27 straight victories, they know a few things about winning (and crab legs...j/k). I'm pretty sure their team goes into each game trained, prepared, rehearsed, and ready for battle. Before they get on the field, they run sprints, plays, and drills. They watch film and study their opponents. They know the opposing team's weaknesses and favorite plays. Most importantly, they hav

Some of you read the title or saw the pic and immediately thought "work out every day? Ain't nobody got time for that!" Hold your horses for a minute. I'm not talking about working outphysically every day (although that's not a bad idea). Check this out: just over a month ago, our school took a group of 64 young men to Leadership Academy at Outdoor Odyssey (LAOO) to develop their leadership potential. We teach these young men to be Ethical Protectors and to be balanced in the

I think we would all agree that when we're in pain, it sucks! The bottom line is that if you live long enough, you will endure some type of mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual pain. Whether the pain is the result of an accident, loss, caused by health conditions, or just poor decision-making, pain is inevitable (if you're riding on "cloud 9" right now and you're doing well, good for you but be sure to bookmark this post because you may need it at some point in life). I

This is the final topic of the Fruit of the Spirit. It has to do with self-control. "Boys will be boys" and "it just happened..." or "we were just having fun and then things got out of control" are all phrases I hear teenagers say when things go wrong. I had a chance to talk with a teen a couple of weeks ago about getting intimate in relationships and what to watch out for. He said "sometimes you can get caught up in the moment and things just happen". I was like "yeah, you'r

The weather in Florida is usually beautiful. Sunny summers (and most winters), beautiful beaches, and semi-tropical climates make some of what I consider the most gorgeous scenery God has ever created. But there comes a time that Florida has all of it's natural beauty snatched away. It's called hurricane season. From June 1st to November 30th, Floridians are on watch for anything brewing in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as there is a hurricane on the way,

If you put a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 up against a Toyota Prius, we all know that the Aventador will spank the Prius left and right, in the short run. The Lamborghini is designed for performance. It can accelerate with lightning-fast speeds and handle the corners with so much G-force, you just might break a rib. It also looks more aggressive and to the average sports car enthusiast, the Aventador would be the choice (assuming both were free of charge). The Aventador is

One thing that bothers me is laziness. Someone waiting for the next person to do everything for them is a drain. Another thing that gets under my skin is when a person half does a job or does it carelessly. You've probably experienced that disgruntled customer service rep that doesn't want to be on the job. Or you may have been partnered with with someone on a group project that's known for being a slacker. It's annoying right? No one wants to receive someone's half best or w

My family loves to play cards. Their game of choice is Spades and when we play, it gets pretty ugly and loud but it's so much fun. I don’t play Spades that often but when I do, I play to win. Sometimes I’m dealt a good hand and sometimes my cards are a bunch of junk. Either way, I have very little choice in the cards I’m dealt but I have to play my hand the best I know how and hope my partner has something good to help us win the game. As you know, there’s always a life analo

I'll be honest and say I have been thinking about this tip for nearly a week and I never thought I would need it the most this week. Life is tough sometimes and if you have never experienced the ups and downs yet, keep living. You will be disappointed, have friends that let you down, make poor decisions, and things sometimes seem to turn out for the worst. You have to keep moving and never give up. If you know that you have God-given dreams, goals, and passion, stick to them

I was talking to my cousin and her husband the other day and we got into this conversation about setting goals and having a vision. In the conversation, I told them that if my goal is to get to New York, I need to make sure I count up the costs, have a mode of transportation, and have a road-map (or GPS) for starters. Then I need to hit the road (that's if I'm not flying). I have to go through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina...you get the point. I'll have to stop alon

Imagine you've just been given the opportunity to play in a national championship basketball game and you have the choice of selecting four teammates to play with you. You’re representing your state in the National Teen Basketball Association (yeah, I know I made it up but it sounds pretty good right?) and up for grabs is top prize of $1,000,000 and the recognition of being the baddest b-ball team in the nation. So, who do you pick to play on your team? Well you pick people t

This is the final tip in defining what makes a man. Every 15th day of the month is special to me. Why? I'm glad you asked. It's PAY DAY! Yep, I get paid once per month on the 15th of every month. It's awesome because all of the work I put into the previous month is exchanged for a nice check. But how I work determines how I get paid. If I decide that I don't want to work full days or take off here and there, you better believe my check will reflect it. The same is true wit

I firmly believe that it is man's responsibility to lead. God designed us to take charge of our families, communities, and individual lives. We are called to protect and provide for all the responsibilities we have been given. One of the great young leaders in the Bible was David. David was a young boy that showed great courage in leadership as he represented Israel to fight against the Philistine giant, Goliath. David killed Goliath and went on later to become the King of