As an alternate school administrator, I deal with many students who are at risk of quitting school or even dropping out of life. How sad for them to believe that there is little or no hope, so young! Many of them, if not most, turn to drugs to numb the pain of reality. The greatest challenge for me is to help them remove the ?thorns and weeds? and help them believe that their soil (their basic human nature) can be nourished to produce great results. I remind them that all of us are as powerful as any other human that lives or who ever has lived. They may not be as good looking, or intelligent, etc. but they better believe they are just as powerful! How we exercise this power is primarily up to each of them!

You do not need to spend a great deal of time dealing with the thorns and weeds ? but you do need to identify them first and then pull them from your life. Just like any garden that is infested with thorns and weeds, you cannot nourish and properly grow the seeds of your choice, until the soil is cleared. After that, don't waste your time with those things that were choking the soil, but rather, spend your time bringing your newly planted seeds to fruition! Too many of the youth I deal with, have not only spent much of their short lives living with thorns and weeds but have also spent too much time focused on what to do about these thorns and weeds ? just pull the darn things from your life, is my answer ? then MOVE ON planting new seeds of hope! Do not dwell on these negative things but put all of your energy into your future.

Your thorns and weeds might include: mean or negative people that don't help you grow, lack of confidence, learning disability, abusive relationships, boredom, lack of focus, laziness, complacency, etc. etc. Every garden has its own unique varieties ? but most of us can identify these items if we really want to. Seeds of your choice might include: success, ambition, hope, a new skill set, drive, belief you can do it, helping others etc. etc. ? this is also unique to you!

Make sure you identify your new seeds, just like you identified the thorns and weeds. This is a very important step that many of us forget. Not only do you need to replace these ?pulled? items, or similar ones will just grow back, but you must know what new items you wish to nourish. Just like a vegetable garden, you need to know what you have planted in order to know how to best nourish it. Some items need lots of water, for example, and others die in too much water.

It takes some effort, but it is well worth it to identify your newly planted seeds and then appropriately attend to them. Perhaps you are just tired of your current job, for example, and have lost your vision to be independently wealthy ? well, what are you waiting for, start identifying what it is you desire and tend to it. Believe in it, nourish it, be patient with it, learn how to do it, and you will reap the benefits! Decide where you want to go next, learn how from a mentor who knows, work hard to do your best, believe you can do it, surround yourself with other believers, and you will be in the first stages of manifesting what you desire.

There are some great mentors out there to get you started ? I know because I use them! Don't wait ? you deserve the best! Trust yourself that your soil is alright and that you simply need to learn how to pull the thorns and weeds!