Character building. Vision casting. Goal setting. These are life skills needed to launch successfully into adulthood. As parents, we strive to instill these qualities in our children, and yet, especially in the current economy and culture, we find that many young adults are not launching into adulthood. Although I recognize that college is a time of transition, I’d venture to say that college often just delays adulthood by four more years – and in many cases with thousands of dollars of debt.
A few years ago, I mistakenly thought launching our teen into adulthood meant sending him to college. Of course, I knew he wasn’t fully independent yet, but it felt as if we had launched him into adulthood. I’m truly grateful for much of what we did in high school as a homeschooling family, as it prepared him very well academically. But… if I could turn back time, I would have done a few things differently…
Our third son (currently in 10th grade) is on a path towards apprenticeship and trade certification rather than a university degree. We’ve been working through Kickstart: Launch Your Life, a step-by-step guide to launching life with clear vision through mentoring relationships and real-life application, and I can’t tell you how much I wish I had found this program sooner. Even though his older two brothers opted for careers that require a degree (and are doing well in their college coursework), Kickstart would have provided a better foundation in valuable life skills before they had headed off to college. In high school, we could have built stronger skills in networking and mentor-seeking, skills that have not necessarily been emphasized in their college classes, advisement, or professor & peer interactions. And although they know how to set and achieve goals at a broad level, I’ve discovered there’s a much deeper process of skill development in this area.
What is Kickstart?
Designed for young men and women ages 15+, Kickstart: Launch Your Life is a video-based study consisting of:
- 29 video (or audio) training sessions led by seven leading businessmen, mentors and education experts (Kevin Swanson, Gary Powers, Woody Robertson, Steve Riddell, Dave Tucker, Erik Weir and Geoffrey Botkin)
- A 300-page full-color companion guide/workbook (also available in digital format)
- myKickstart, a step-by-step personal launch planner (included at the end of the workbook)
- Four real-life mentoring stories/interviews
- A free mentor’s guide for adults who wish to learn how to become a mentor to young adults
As an example of the type of content your student will encounter in this program, let’s check out the session for Lesson 26: No One Owes You a Job.
This training session, along with its workbook assignment, challenges students with a countercultural idea of what it means to be employed. (As painful and unfair as it may seem, this is how businesses work, and it’s better to know this before searching for a job.) As students apply these concepts to their own lives, it will help them to recognize and accept their responsibility in increasing their value while working with a positive attitude. Instead of entitlement and complaining, they’ll learn to self-evaluate and improve their productivity. This is just one of many life skills that will be honed through Kickstart. Other topics include…
- Character & Fear of God
- Life Vision
- Calling & Vocation
- Planning, Setting, and Achieving Goals
- Time Management
- Job Shadowing
- Networking
- Finding & Engaging Mentors
- Making a Good First Impression
- Asking Questions
- Accepting Criticism
- Motivation, Discipline, and Direction
- Interviewing & Communication
- Finding Opportunities & Getting Jobs, and
- Entrepreneurship
Through these sessions, I’ve found that I’m not only learning how to become a better mentor for others (which was my personal goal), but I’m also learning how to maximize my impact in the lives of others (my family, my church, my community) through establishing better goals, better networks, and better disciplines.
To get an idea of the layout of each lesson, you can download the workbook pages for Lesson 1: Character Is Preeminent to use as you watch the entire first lesson. (The PDF sample also includes the notes and assignment for Session 2: Relationships and Life Integration.)
Admittedly, we were distracted by some of the movement and videography in this first lesson, but as I’ve listened to the sessions throughout this program, I’ve felt personal conviction, I’ve learned techniques for time management, I’ve gained a better way of looking at failure. There are just so many nuggets of wisdom in this program regarding apprenticeship/mentorship, goal-setting, time management, networking, and job seeking (all of which apply to both young men and young women). And, most importantly, it emphasizes the foundation of God’s Word in casting a vision for your life. Not only do I find this valuable for our own children, but the content is also applicable to my life as a mom of boys (aged 10+) and as a mentor of young ladies. My hope is that I will soon find some adults and teens to start a Kickstart Study Group in our community.
Kickstart is meant to be completed in nine months or less and can be used as 1/2 elective credit for high school. It is suggested that students complete 1-3 lessons (with corresponding assignments) per week with more time allocated for nine of those lessons for the more involved myKickstart LAPs (Life Application Projects). By the end of the program, student should have:
- a clear vision for their life with actionable steps to reach their goals
- 1 to 3 mentoring relationships (or apprenticeships) with wise adults
- a higher level of engagement in existing and new opportunities.
The content is relevant and practical and challenging. Even though it’s not a typical high school course (such as biology or history), it’s one of the most important courses a high school student could take. I highly recommend it for high school students, for college students, for young adults, for parents, for adults wishing to become mentors, for adults needing to re-cast a vision for their lives, or for entire families. These are skills that will last a lifetime.
Other Related Resources
Other character-building or life-launching resources you may want to check out include:
- Thoughts for Young Men: Addressing the Greatest Challenges in a Young Man’s Life. This short, practical devotional book for young men provides warnings of specific dangers that young men face and how to overcome them, as well as advice for developing an effective prayer life and conforming life habits to align with God’s will.
- Created for Work. With short, interesting, and engaging chapters, author Bob Schultz uses real-life stories from his own childhood and from his experience as a contractor to emphasize biblical principles that counter modern culture’s tendency to embrace ease and entertainment (which often results in dishonesty, unproductivity, and a general lack of work ethic). You can read our more detailed review here.
- Borrowed Future. This video shows how important it is to refrain from accepting student loans for college. If our oldest boys had not ended up with scholarships that covered their tuition, they likely would not have pursued the college path.
We have used/viewed these resources in our own family and highly recommend them!
If for any reason this resource is not a good fit for your family, Generations offers a 6-Month Money-Back Curriculum Guarantee.