How to Become Influential and Highly Successful: The Young Adult Success Manual

By Evan Roberts

How to Become Influential and Highly-Successful: The Young Adult Success Manual, explores eight keys to success through a personal story of achievement. Readers are introduced to a unique success philosophy while experiencing the ups and downs of a high-school athlete attempting to qualify for state in his respective sport.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evan Roberts
• Release date: Jul 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9780996646307

Evan Roberts

Evan J. Roberts is the author of How to Become Influential and Highly Successful: The Young Adult Success Manual. Evan wrote this book to teach teens how to find their unique purpose and achieve the extraordinary. Evan was inspired to write this book because of the many experiences he witnessed as a classroom teacher: some good and others not so good.As an educator and mentor, Evan has worked with 1,000's of teens. He has coached young adults in the classroom, on the playing field, and in developmental groups. He has taught them how to establish a positive self-image, live with purposeful urgency, use their creativity, and solve the riddle of what it takes to become a success in life.Evan enjoys fiction and non-fiction writing, spending time with his family, and being a resource for others. Visit http://www.influentialandhighlysucces.com to learn more about Evan's writing, youth coaching program, workshops, and live events.

Book preview

How to Become Influential and Highly Successful: The Young Adult Success Manual was written as the answer to a very important question. What type of message could capture the spirit of our youth and help them to maximize their full potential? For years, this question persisted in my mind as I taught inner-city youth in Chicago. I would routinely observe, with disappointment and dismay, talented youth who were seemingly just content to wander about without really knowing their purpose or place in life. I was motivated to identify why this was occurring. More important, I was determined to create a message that would teach young people exactly how to live successfully, and with purpose. That journey led me to thousands of pages of ideas, principles, and strategies of some of the most successful and respected people in the world. Their wisdom, combined with an analysis of my own life, provided me with the idea to create this work. I am truly grateful for the giants who have stood before me, and the empowering ideas that I have been able to synthesize into a singular message!

A work of this magnitude would not be possible without the help of many, many people. Without them, the message within this book would lack the significance it currently enjoys. My deepest and most heartfelt gratitude goes out to everyone who had a hand in bringing this work to fruition. First and foremost, this book would not have been possible with-out the spiritual foundation of God guiding my life. Thank you for inspiring me to look within for the answers to life’s questions. Thank you to my mother and father, Evelyn Roberts-Joseph and Oscar Joseph. Your encouragement, support, and love for Darius, Taurence (Munchie), Ayana, and I was truly a blessing. The sacrifices that you have made can never be repaid. I will always remember the lessons that you taught explicitly and implicitly. The character that you instilled within me has made all the difference in my life. I love you very much! Thank you to my wife, Leslie Roberts, for your love, support, and patience as I completed this project. You are my motivation that drives me each and every day. Thank you to my son, Gavin K. Roberts. You are an unbelievable young man. Your birth has been a tremendous gift and a major inspiration in my life. I love you eternally. Thank you to Gary and Jody Reid for accepting a wide-eyed, driven, and daring young man into your family. I will be forever grateful for the young woman you raised. I love you both. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Sharie, Jamon (T.J.), Jasmine, and the rest of the Davis family. Thank you to the Roberts family. I love you all.

Thank you to all of my teachers, mentors, coaches, and teammates. The success that I have experienced was directly influenced by our relationships. Each of you has had a substantial impact on my life. Thank you to all of the courageous teachers at Burnside Academy. Mrs. Paul, you had a pro-found influence on my life. Thank you to all of my elementary, high school, college, and graduate school teachers who made an indelible impression on my life. I am extremely grateful for the coaches who contributed to shaping my character. I’d like to especially thank William and Tina Cummins, Brett Geijer, Willie Williams, Ron Stewart, Coach McNabb, Jim Dye, Derrick Hardy, and every wrestling coach who has ever worked with me. I’d also like to thank my training partner and good friend Mario Dew. The late night jogging leading up to the postseason made all the difference! Thank you to the entire Dew family for embracing me. Thank you to my teammates Antonio Jackson, Steve Benford, and all of the wrestlers from the 1993-1997 teams at Hillcrest High School. It was definitely an amazing ride. It would not have been the same without all of you! Thank you to Patricia Welch, Rich Piatchek, and Lisa Wunar for all that you did to support our wrestling teams. Your commitment to Hillcrest and our athletic programs had a huge impact on my success. Also, thank you to all of the athletes and students who I have personally coached. The old saying that you don’t really know something until you begin teaching it is true! Thank you for the opportunity to contribute in a positive way toward your life. Your success and what you can achieve are immeasurable. Thank you to all of my past and current teaching colleagues, administrators, and school communities. You have made my life very rewarding and I am grateful for having met and worked with you.

Finally, thank you to my business family. Your friendship, inspiration, and commitment to personal development have made a substantial difference in my life. Since childhood, I have been convinced that the power of the human spirit is remarkable. It is untamed. It is a dominating force for those who choose to unleash its power. Special acknowledgements extend to all of my business associates who have continued to unleash the power of their human spirit and that of others! Thank you to my lifetime friend and business partner Mark Goode. The energy that you have for entrepreneurship and empowering others is a gift. Thank you to my business mentors Novik McFarlin, Audrey McFarlin, Christa Way, and Michael Jude. Your leadership and example has been my guidepost. We really are empowering human potential! I’d also like to thank the master motivator: Jerry D’Rhino Clark. I have learned so much from you and will be forever grateful that fate brought you into my life. To quote one of your programs, If I have seen farther, it is only because I have stood on the shoulders of giants! Thank you to all of the personal development greats. Your insights and wisdom have transformed my life. The speed of the team has, and always will be, the speed of the leader.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Introduction

At what point in time does the phrase you have potential become an insult? I initially heard that question over a decade ago, and I wondered just what it meant. Today, I can say unequivocally that not only do I understand the point, but I agree with the sentiment. Generally speaking, everyone has the potential to become great in life. In our own unique way, each of us has qualities, skills, and talents that make us very, very special. This is why no two people are ever exactly alike. All of us have different abilities. We have the potential to achieve greatness because of our unique abilities.

Nevertheless, you and I both know that there are people, however talented they may be, who repeatedly fail to accomplish anything of significance. So, I want you to consider the following question, How do you maximize your talents, so that you can make a profound difference in your life and the lives of others? When my wrestling coach asked, When does the phrase ‘you have potential’ become an insult? he was challenging our team to realize that talent (potential) is overrated. When you hear, You have potential, you should respond in this way: Thank you, but I never let my potential get in the way of putting in the necessary hard work that it takes to become great! Do you get the idea that everybody has talent to a greater or lesser degree? If so, that’s a great starting point! However, talent alone doesn’t guarantee success. There’s something else that’s infinitely more important than talent. That something is what I am going to share with you within the pages of this book.

You’ve picked up this book because you want to discover the secret to becoming successful. There are probably several other reasons why you chose this book:

You are anxiously seeking much more significance from your life.

You’ve been underachieving, but you know that you have what it takes to become a major success in life.

You’re tired of people doubting your abilities or putting you down, and you want to prove that you have what it takes to stand among