As you have seen over the last few months I have been playing around with the website ‘YouTube’. Well now I am slowly going back and uploading footage from the past TV interviews, so maybe in another ten years I will have some stories for the kids.

This first video takes us all the way back to 2002, where Brent Williams and I were interviewed on Sunrise, regarding our first book for teenagers titled ‘The World at your Feet’. It was our first ever experience of being on LIVE television and I must say that I was totally freaking out… While they where doing the count down (3, 2, you’re on the air) I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest it was beating that hard and fast.

The good news is I survived and since then it has got a whole lot easier!

Please enjoy and feel free to leave me a comment in the section just below. I’d be keen to hear your thoughts.

Well it is Monday and we have just finished our biggest Empower U program – over 200 participants and another exceptional experience.

Why I am writing to you now is that over that last 12 months I had over a hundred emails from people wanting to learn more about the work that I do with teenagers.

You can check out the website, you read some of the publicity articles and even view the Empower U pictures in the photo gallery… however, nothing can compare to the feelings and emotions of actually being there and physically present at the program.

Considering that you have to qualify to come along (you need to be aged between 13 to 21), my co-presenter at the program Brent Williams whipped together this short video to give you an up-close and personal experience of what it is like at the program. Please take a look!

Every January we run a 5-day Live In Camp with 30 brave teenagers. This includes a fire walk, high ropes course, raft building exercise, netball challenge and that’s only the beginning! Other highlights were that we played Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow101 and another game called Leverage until 3am! Along the way, participants set goals for the years ahead, overcame negative beliefs and discover important leadership skills.

It truly was a life-changing experience for the participants, who were able to listen to some amazing speakers and learn so much about themselves and the others around them. One of the best aspects of the camp is the chance for everyone to make life-long friends who are uplifting and offer support for their future.

For me personally, this is one of the most rewarding things I do and I totally love sharing the experiences and making a contribution to the next generation. I’m already looking forward to next year’s camp.

So much has happened over the last week which explains why I have been a little bit slow in putting up this post, however from 25th - 27th August we ran another Empower U seminar at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. This time we had over 180 energetic teens, and the atmosphere at the end of the event was electric. (Here are a couple of pics).

One of the quotes that we leave the participants with at the end of the program is “Do the thing you said you would do… Well after the mood you said it in has gone”. I think this is a piece of advice that all us need to hear from time to time. How often do we go along to a seminar, get all excited and motivated, set all these huge goals and make all these big commitments to ourselves. Then we go back to our everyday lives, and over the following days and weeks that awesome feeling begins to fade. Then we start to compromise, even justify our current position and even at worst, totally give up on the goals we set for ourselves. So herein lies the true measure of a successful person. Are you able to “Do the thing you said you would do… Well after the mood you said it in has gone”.

Just arrived back home from Singapore a few hours ago having run another one of our Empower U programs. This time there were around 130 young people in attendance, aged between 13 to 25. Over two and a half days the participants went from being reluctant, shy and self-conscious people, to emerging as respectful, confident and self-motivated individuals, ready to go out and make a difference in the world.

One of the processes we do at the programs is a ‘board break’. This is where each of the young people get given a piece of wood and after a closed eye process they write down on the wood their negative beliefs or any past experiences that they feel has been holding them back. Then after some important mental coaching, they each confront their fears, using their hands to break through the piece of wood.

It’s an unforgettable experience of each of the young people and one that I really love!

In Singapore now having a fabulous time! We have just completed two seminars with 180 teenagers at each one. It is pretty special to know that you are making a difference and helping people to realise their potential.

At the end of the 2 and a half Days, which is how long the programs goes for, we will literally mobbed and had a crowd of people around us wanting our autograph. It is quite surreal actually and sometimes I need to pinch myself and say is this really happening?!

They say a picture tells a thousand words, so to find out what the Youth Development program is all about, take a look at the “Empower U” section of the Photo Gallery. Or go to http://www.TomorrowsYouth.com.au.