This article is useful to all. It is beneficial to those who are teenagers right now, and it is also beneficial to those who have already passed the teenage phase.
Many teenagers today have access to the internet. So there is a good chance that a young boy or girl reading this is between 13 and 19 years old. But apart from teenagers, this article is for you too if you are in your twenties. If you are 20, 24, 27, you can read it as How To Be Successful In Your Early Or Late Twenties. The principles are the same.
And if you are over 40 or 50 right now, this article is still for you. Why? Because you can teach your children. You can guide your younger brothers and sisters. You can mentor people around you. The earlier a person learns these things, the better for their future. So read with the heart of a teacher too.
Now let us go straight to the point. I will not waste time with long grammar. I will talk about things that are real, things that many people do not say, but things that work.
The first thing is this: Have the intention of being successful.
I have met many young people in schools, churches, and on the streets. What I noticed is that many of them are comfortable with being small. They have allowed distractions to remove important words from their mind. Words like self worth, destiny, aim high, purpose, excellence. Those words sound like grammar to them now.
But as a young person, you need to have a strong desire to succeed in life. You need to want to be relevant while you are still young. You need to want people to praise you for good things, not for nonsense.
When you watch television and you see a 17 year old who built an app, or a 15 year old who scored 320 in JAMB, or a 19 year old who wrote a book, you should feel fire inside you. Not jealousy. Not discouragement. But fire that says, if this person can do it, I can also do it.
Success while young can look different for different people. For one person, it might be getting the highest score in WAEC and winning a scholarship abroad. For another person, it might be learning how to code and building a simple website that helps students in their school. For another, it might be writing a short story and posting it online where people can read and be inspired. For another, it might be starting a small business selling snacks to classmates and saving money.
The point is not what you do. The point is that you do something good. You do something that makes people say, this young person is serious.
Many young people today waste their teenage years. They think youth is only for fun. So their life becomes boyfriend and girlfriend issues, parties every weekend, clubbing, pornography, wasting time on TikTok for 8 hours daily.
If you want to stand out, you must do what the crowd is not doing. The world is full of people. Millions of teenagers are waking up every day. If you do what they do, you will get what they get. And what do most of them get? Regret, poor results, wasted years.
But if you want to excel among them, you need to be different. An easy way to stand out is simple. Stop doing what they are doing. Start doing what they are not doing.
Let me break it down with real examples.
Many teenagers today do not pray. They wake up, check their phone, and start scrolling. No prayer. No thanking God for life. But you can stand out by starting your day with prayer. Even 5 minutes. Tell God, Lord help me to be successful. Help me to use my time well. That small habit will separate you.
Many teenagers today do not read books. They read captions and memes. But you can stand out by reading. Read about people who succeeded young. Read about finance. Read about skills. Go to your school library. Use free apps like PDF Drive. Read one chapter every day. In one year, that is 365 chapters. That is knowledge most of your mates do not have.
Many teenagers today do not plan their time. They just drift. Wake up late, school, come back, sleep, repeat. But you can stand out by planning. Get a small notebook. Write 3 things you must do tomorrow before you sleep. Do them the next day. That discipline alone will put you ahead of 90 percent of your mates.
Many teenagers today are afraid to start small. They are waiting for big money, big equipment, big opportunity. But you can stand out by starting with what you have. Do you have a phone? Use it to learn graphic design on Canva. Do you have a pen? Start writing stories. Do you know how to braid hair? Practice on your sister and take pictures. Start small. Start now.
Let us talk about some practical things you can do as a teenager to build success early.
First, protect your mind. What you watch, what you listen to, what you follow on social media is shaping your future. If your phone is full of music that promotes violence and sex, your mind will be full of it too. But if your phone has podcasts about success, videos about skills, messages about purpose, your mind will grow. Be careful. Guard your mind like it is money.
Second, learn a skill early. Do not wait until you finish university. The world has changed. You can learn video editing on your phone. You can learn how to make pastries. You can learn how to repair phones. You can learn public speaking. Pick one skill and practice it every week. By the time you are 20, you will have 5 years of experience. Your mates will just be starting.
Third, build good relationships. The friends you keep at 15 will affect who you become at 25. Move with people who talk about goals, not just gossip. Move with people who read, not just those who chase parties. Proverbs 13 verse 20 says, he that walks with wise men shall be wise. Find the wise ones in your school or church. Sit with them. Learn from them.
Fourth, serve while you are young. Join your church ushering department. Join the drama group. Volunteer in your community. Service teaches responsibility. Service opens doors. Many people got their first job or first opportunity because they were faithful in small service.
Fifth, develop character. Talent can take you to the door, but character will keep you inside the room. Learn to be honest even when no one is watching. Learn to apologize when you are wrong. Learn to keep promises. Learn to respect elders. These things look small, but they are what adults notice when they want to give you opportunities.
Now let me talk to those who are already in their twenties. If you feel you missed your teenage years, do not panic. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Start today. All the things I said above still apply to you. Pray, read, learn skill, protect your mind, build character. Your twenties can still be the foundation of a great life.
And to the parents reading this, please teach your children early. Do not wait until they enter university before you talk about purpose. Talk to your 12 year old about goals. Buy them books. Show them examples of young achievers. Pray with them about their future. You are planting seeds that will save them from many mistakes.
Here is a simple 7 day action plan you can start this week, whether you are 14 or 24.
Day one, write down what success means to you. Not what Instagram says. What do you really want your life to look like in 10 years.
Day two, delete or mute 5 accounts on social media that waste your time or pollute your mind. Replace them with 5 accounts that teach something useful.
Day three, pick one skill you want to learn. Spend 30 minutes watching a free tutorial on YouTube about it.
Day four, wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual and use that time to pray and read one chapter of a good book.
Day five, talk to one person older than you who is doing well in life. Ask them one question about how they started.
Day six, do something that scares you a little but is good. Maybe speak in class. Maybe post your writing online. Maybe tell your parents your dream.
Day seven, review your week. What did you learn? What will you do better next week? Write it down.
Do this every week and you will be shocked at where you are in 6 months.
Remember this truth. Success does not come by accident. It comes by intention plus action plus time. You must intend it. You must act on it daily. And you must give it time.
Do not compare your chapter 2 to someone else’s chapter 20. The person you admire started small too. The only difference is they started and they did not stop.
So my dear teenager, my dear young adult, wake up. Have the intention to be successful. Do what the crowd is not doing. Pray to God. Read books. Learn skills. Build character. Serve people. Protect your mind.
Do these things and achieve huge success. Not just money success. But success that makes God happy. Success that makes your parents proud. Success that makes your life count.
Start today. Your teenage years are not for wasting. They are for building. And if you build well now, your thirties and forties will be a testimony.
God bless you. Go and do it.
