You have to stay true to yourself. And don’t be afraid— even though people might say that what you’re doing isn’t cool or isn’t right—I promise you, you will not regret it if you stay true to who you are and what you do. Because there is no other reason I’m up here today.
—Emma Stone, Actress
“Hey, Cameron, your sister told me you aren’t planning on going to college next year. Is that true?” Katherine asks.
“Yeah. College isn’t my thing,” Cameron says. “I need a break from school.”
“So have you got a job lined up or something?”
“Nah. I don’t want to work for somebody else. I’ll probably start my own thing.”
“Do you have any idea what that is?” says Katherine.
“Not really. I haven’t really given it much thought.”
“Well, you better figure it out, because I don’t think your parents are going to be too happy going to work every day while you lie around on their couch.”
Cameron knows Katherine is right. He needs a plan for next year. His mom is pretty good about talking things through with him, so maybe after dinner he’ll ask her for some advice.
Are you ready to get started? You may think you’re supposed to sit around and wait until after high school or college graduation to get started on your future, but that’s not true. Whether you’re ten, sixteen, or eighty-five years old, you can start anytime. You can do research, learn new skills, and start planning for a brighter future. So why wait around? There’s no better feeling than setting goals and then achieving them. Your future is now! It helps to know what a goal really is and how to set one.
In 1968 professor and psychologist Dr. Edwin Locke and Dr. Gary Latham developed a goal-setting theory that continues to be used today.1 It’s built around the idea that a goal should be challenging and very specific in order to have the best chance of success, and it’s a great tool for igniting your spark. Based on their theory, there are five igniters:
Be clear. Write out your goal with lots of details. Decide how you will measure your success and how often. Most important, make sure your goal excites you!
Present a challenge. Is your goal hard but not overwhelming? How can you reward yourself along the way to keep your motivation high?
Make a commitment. Visualize how awesome it will be when you achieve your goal.
How am I doing? Whether you’re analyzing yourself or asking other people to give you feedback, it’s important to check your progress on a regular basis. You may need to make some changes to keep things on track.
How hard is this going to be? Don’t let your goals stress you out! If they seem too hard, then consider breaking them down into smaller goals.
Finishing projects only when you are pushed. I’ll work on my graphic design idea if my dad reminds me.
Here’s an example of how this works:
Goal: I want to run a 5K (3.1 miles) by the end of the summer. I will follow Cool Running’s Couch to 5K program for nine weeks and track my progress on their free computer application. Every week that I correctly follow the program, I will plan a special outing with one of my friends. By keeping track of my workouts, I can make sure I’m increasing my distance every week. At the end of the summer, I will sign up for a race and achieve my goal by crossing the finishing line.
Be specific with your goals. I will practice yoga three times a week for one hour for the next thirty days.
Eliza McNitt is in her early twenties and has already received over fifty film festival nominations and awards. In 2009, while in high school, she won first place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her research on honeybee colonies. O, The Oprah Magazine called her a “teen genius,” and she went on to make a film about her science research called Requiem for the Honeybee. This marked the beginning of her filmmaking career, and she has created one award-winning film after another ever since. She is a recent graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, specializing in film and television, and has started her own production company. Her short film credits include The Magic Motorway, Violet, The Ninth Train, My Ketchup Smiles, The Fragment, and Without Fire. Her documentaries include Smashing Science, Requiem for the Honeybee, and Kougie & Me. Her most recent project is a short film, Artemis Falls, which follows an astronaut as she orbits into space. To see her movie trailers, visit elizamcnitt.com. Read on to learn how an interest in honeybees led her to a career in filmmaking.
1. How did your high school science project about honeybees come about?
The turning point in my relationship with honeybees came during a visit with my grandfather who, while a chemical engineer at MIT, taught Army officers how to defend against nerve-gas attacks during WWII. Unnerving is a good way to describe what he told me about the carcinogenic properties of the insecticides that were likely to have been used on an apple I was about to eat. It wasn’t too late to wash the apple. But while pouring honey in my tea, I had an ominous thought. Don’t bees make honey from the nectar of apple blossoms? And aren’t those blossoms also sprayed with insecticides? These questions led me down a two-year path of science research, investigating the role of the pesticide imidacloprid and its role in colony collapse disorder—the disappearance of honeybees around the world.
2. Did that experience impact your decision to go into film production?
Science led me to filmmaking. During a lecture in AP English, a fellow classmate whispered to me, “C-SPAN is holding a documentary filmmaking contest to inform Obama about the nation’s most pressing issue.”
“Colony collapse disorder!” I blurted out, nearly falling off my chair and interrupting Mrs. Johnsmeyer’s lecture.
I’d won first place at the Intel science fair for my research on honeybees, but the audience I was able to reach out to was limited to scientists and environmentalists—I thought this documentary competition would be an opportunity for me to transform my research into a film. I traveled to Florida and Pennsylvania to interview leading scientists and beekeepers.
I was in a bee suit holding my little HD camera in a swarm of bees when I realized I was fascinated by this. Not the sweaty suit, but the process of making a movie. There was a real adventure involved in the creation of a film. Our documentary Requiem for the Honeybee won first place in C-SPAN’s competition and was broadcast internationally.
As a competitor in science fairs, I told a narrative about my research—my hypothesis, the materials I used, how I came across my conclusion—and I realized what interested me all along was the process of storytelling.
3. Where do you think all of your determination came from to pursue your passion at such a young age?
I was never as fast as our star players on the lacrosse team. I think a lot of my determination has come from not being the best player on my sports team or the first-place winner in every competition. My parents have always supported me and created an environment where making mistakes is an opportunity to develop. I think that’s the most important thing to do, fail gracefully.
4. What advice can you give a young person who wants to be a writer or filmmaker?
Make films. Make mistakes. Be vulnerable. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received from directors like Alexander Payne is to just keep at it. If you want to be a filmmaker, get a camera and a couple of friends and go make a movie. And it probably will not be great, so make another one. And another one. Filmmaking is about collaboration and communication with your peers. And it’s important to make mistakes in order to find your voice. We live in this digital age where you can just pick up a camera and shoot, so there is no excuse anymore. I need to keep telling myself that.
5. What are some of the biggest challenges young people face in discovering who they are?
I’m still trying to discover who I am. In high school I always felt this pressure to fit in. But I never did. And I think that’s really important. I did theater, was student body president, and was competing in science fairs. I went from a Montessori school with five people in my grade to a high school of three thousand. That transition helped me realize I didn’t fit in with the crowd and eventually I just needed to embrace that side of me. As a filmmaker, the most powerful stories are ones you have a strong personal connection to. And I think that’s a big part of figuring out who you are. I still have a long way to go before I even figure out about myself fully. But I think uncertainty is an important part of this journey.
6. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I want to change the way people see film. Like every independent filmmaker, I dream of having a film at a festival like Sundance, SXSW, or Tribeca. But in ten years from now, the landscape of film will shift dramatically. I imagine a future where scientists and storytellers collaborate to create immersive, story-based work. In ten years from now, I hope to direct my first feature film and be filming my second. The best opportunities right now are in television. I’d like to be the show runner of a television show and bring science to the forefront of entertainment. At the very least, in ten years, I hope to not have to live with roommates.
You learn how to do new things all the time whether it’s intentional or accidental. It might be making an omelet, doodling in bubble letters, or assembling a piece of furniture. These are all new experiences you are adding to your skill set. Small tasks will help you learn more complicated ones in the future. For example, cooking an omelet may prepare you for making a more difficult recipe down the road since you’re now familiar with cooking measurements, reading a recipe, and how to operate kitchen appliances. Developing a skill often goes through three main stages:
1. You are introduced to a new activity. Your dad takes you out driving for the first time.
2. You are showing improvement in the activity and are making fewer mistakes. You can drive the car without gripping the wheel, hopping up on curbs, or making your father nervous.
3. The skill becomes more automatic and you don’t experience much of a change in your performance. You are confident behind the wheel of a car. Many things like using your turn signal or looking in your rearview mirror are now automatic.
Are you ready to take your skills to the next level? Then try what pros like LeBron James and Serena Williams do when they want to improve their game. They focus on the quality, not the quantity, of their practice. When you learned to tie your shoes, did you just play with your shoelaces? Of course not! You practiced how to do it step by step until you got it right. That’s quality time.
Practicing without purpose. I want to get better at swimming, but practicing the same stroke over and over again is so boring.
Deliberate practice is when you practice a very specific activity in order to improve your performance. Each activity is broken down into the smallest segments so you can master each individual step. It’s important to have a way to measure your progress and to know if you are doing each step correctly. Then it’s time to practice, practice, practice.
For example, if you wanted to improve your tennis serve, you would first need to break it down into parts—body position, ball toss, grip, back swing, reach, overhead swing, and the finish. Then you would pick just one of these elements to work on at a time and track your improvements. For ball toss, you could figure out how high you want to toss it, the angle, and where you want it to land. You might set your goal at a hundred tosses a day and keep a tally of how many tosses land in the right place. Tossing a ball up in the air a hundred times may not sound like a lot of fun, but deliberate practice is meant to get you results.
What if you’re not an athlete? How can you incorporate deliberate practice into your life? Musicians, dancers, and artists have been doing this for years. Even someone who wants to get better at playing the video game Minecraft could use it to focus on strategy instead of mindless gaming. Every activity involves skills, from sports, art, or public speaking to making friends or planning a party. They all have steps that can be broken down and perfected. Doing this will take your performance from good to great!
Use deliberate practice to increase performance. I’m going to break my piano piece down into small sections and work on one at a time until I get it right.
James Anderson is the seventeen-year-old founder of Thinkspace, a student-led space in schools where students can learn coding to create applications and websites. The spaces are cool, high-tech, and a great place to hang out. Over four hundred schools have expressed an interest in creating their own Thinkspace. James has been featured in various publications like Wired, CNET, and ZDNet. His latest ventures include speaking at TEDxTeen Conferences and creating a new digital retail experience with his Zest application. To find out more about his food and beverage ordering app visit http://zesthq.co. Read on to learn how he took his passion of coding to the next level.
1. Where did the idea for Thinkspace come from?
I was always frustrated by the dull and uninspiring computing rooms in my school, which hindered creativity and productivity instead of promoting it. Ever since the age of seven I have been coding and building various projects of my own, so I wanted to bring the opportunities I had to other people. Teachers didn’t know how to properly code themselves, and the resources weren’t there to build real-life products that could potentially be in the hands of millions.
I had been fortunate enough to visit the headquarters of large tech companies like Google and Facebook—their office environments are fun, welcoming, and spacious. I began to wonder what it might look and feel like to have these beautiful environments inside schools. That’s when Thinkspace was born—a space in schools around the world where students can come and learn how to code, modeled to look and feel just like the funky offices inside some of these large tech company headquarters. It’s incredibly fascinating how if you change the environment students are working in, it can drastically change their mind-sets. When I founded Thinkspace with my partners Ollie Bredemeyer and Kamram Malik, I was amazed to see people from all walks of life coming in and enjoying turning their dreams into digital products that could be shared with their peers—but more importantly, with the rest of the world. Some of these people would have previously slated those who coded, calling it “uncool” or “a waste of time.” Because we changed the environment that these activities took place in, it completely changed the way they think about coding. That was certainly one of the most rewarding parts about founding Thinkspace, and I think it can be applied to so many other areas of school and education as a whole.
2. What advice would you give to teens who are trying to find their passion?
My best advice to young people with a passion, talent, or idea, wanting to take it to the next level, is to do what you can with what you have. You have to start small and build from there. That’s what I did with Thinkspace—initially it was just a space inside our own school, then we realized that we could turn this project into an organization and expand to the rest of the world. We never set out with the intention of building an organization or making money (which we don’t anyway, since Thinkspace is a nonprofit)—we simply wanted to make coding fun, accessible, and free for everybody. Remember that virtually everybody in this world who has ever been successful was once a beginner and started from nothing, with nothing.
3. What obstacles did you run into when you were first starting out?
It was very difficult balancing education and starting a business at the same time. Before long, I realized that I couldn’t successfully juggle both—I had to sacrifice one; otherwise everything would be at risk of failing. I chose to drop out of high school in 2014, a year before everybody else would finish. This was scary and difficult but also one of the best decisions I have ever made. Since dropping out of school with little qualifications I have been much more vulnerable, which I think is mostly a really good thing because it gives you some perspective on life and allows time to plan where you want to go. The places I have traveled and the people I have met in my time outside of school have been hugely inspiring to me and have given a unique insight into life that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.
4. What have been the most important things that have led to your success?
We have been incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a small army of people who have believed in us from the start. A friend of mine, Richard Knox-Johnston, started iwantoneofthose.com in 2000 and then later sold it for over $14 million. He has since dedicated the rest of his life to helping young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality, and for that I have the utmost respect for him. Richard has been by our side through the extreme highs and extreme lows of the start-up life which has been invaluable to our success thus far. Others like Richard Branson, Stephen Fry, and Dick Costolo have supported me on my personal journey and helped spread the word through the immense power that is social media. This was one of the greatest challenges: how do we get an idea that started out in one school to spread around the world? Through the insane amount of press coverage we received and the generous support from our backers, we managed to reach over 15 million people on the launch of Thinkspace, resulting with over four hundred emails from schools interested in building their own.
5. What are you working on at the moment?
Most recently, I cofounded Zest with my sixteen-year-old business partner George Streten—using our mobile app, you can order and pay for food and beverages from carefully curated independent cafés and restaurants before you arrive, at the tap of a button. Zest currently operates across Central London. We have partner stores in seven of thirty-two London boroughs, and our goal for the end of 2016 is to launch in all thirty-two boroughs. We’ve received an investment from one of the UK’s biggest retailers, John Lewis, and support from Stephen Fry, Finn Harries, Joanna Shields, and others.
Do you want to know what a real workday is like for a particular career? Then find an internship where you can get experience working in the field. You will gain valuable work skills and get an inside look at the pros and cons of that job. Through this on-the-job training, you will get exposure you wouldn’t gain in the classroom. Take the opportunity to get to know your coworkers and learn about their jobs as well. You may find a mentor who can help guide you as you start making future plans.
Making your goals too hard. I will learn to code a video game by next month.
If you can’t find an internship or can’t commit the time, then set up a look-see. This is when you shadow a person for a day so you can see a job in action. Most people are flattered to have someone interested in their career field and will be more than happy to answer your questions. You can contact the company directly to inquire about shadowing someone, or talk to your school guidance counselor about help setting up a look-see. Either way, you won’t believe how many people are eager to help you when you take the initiative.
Spotlight
Rachel G. Fox, Day Trader, Fox on Stocks
Do you know the difference between technical and fundamental analysis when it comes to looking at company stocks? Seventeen-year-old Rachel Fox can tell you! This actress, indie rocker, and college student is also the voice behind the Fox on Stocks blog. Her stock trading philosophy focuses on the effect pop culture events or people have on company stock prices. For example, the success of The Hunger Games franchise could lead her to researching the stock share prices of movie studio stocks and merchandise manufacturers. So far, her research has paid off. She consistently has double-digit profits, and she hopes other teens will follow in her footsteps by opening their own stock trading accounts. Her blog is a wealth of information for people who are interested in learning more about the stock market. She has created videos to start people down the path of learning the core concepts behind money investment. To learn more about how she outperforms the market, visit foxonstocks.com. By igniting her spark, Rachel has inspired a whole new generation of people to take an active interest in the stock market!
It’s never too early to start asking yourself where you’re going. You can start by developing your after–high school plans. Are you going to college? Getting a job? Or starting a business? A lot of options open up for you when you become an adult. Be prepared to take advantage of the possibilities.
If you have fun doing what you do, then you will be more productive. You will spend more time thinking about it, learning about it, and doing it. Focus your goals around those things that bring you enjoyment. The most important things that happen to you will be the result of effort, so invest your time wisely. Gaining new skills and improving your performance are great motivators. Use deliberate practice to get yourself to the next level, and set yourself up for a bright future.
Constantly work on new skills. I’m going to have my dad show me how to change a flat tire on a car.
Deliberate practice is an excellent way to increase performance and be rewarded for your effort. If you’ve ever seen the show The Voice, then you’ve seen deliberate practice in action. During their coaching sessions, the competitors are often asked to practice the same note over and over again until they can hit it just right on a consistent basis. You can try this at home with your own goals. Deliberate practice works with anything where performance can be improved. Write down something you would like to improve, and then break that activity into steps. For one week just practice that one step. By the end of the week, you can decide if you’re ready to move to the next step. You don’t need to have a coach like Adam Levine or Blake Shelton to ignite your spark. You can be your own talent scout!