New Berlin Leadership Conf
April 17, 2002
Loosen up
Bummy
David...Basketti
Chilocothe
I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life working with teenagers. I love teenagers more than any other age group BUT … There’s always one problem that plagues nearly all of you. The thing that keeps you from becoming a leader..
I’ve seen hundreds of young people with such promise.. climbing this mountain then they’re stopped right before they get to the top by one thing..
They can’t Loosen Up! To be a Leader……………. LOOSEN UP!
Watch 3rd graders get off a bus.....energy, fun...war! Watch 5th-graders: pushing, kidding, laughing...mayhem, blood Watch adults...no more pushing and shoving, but smiling and talking to each other... anxious to get on with things.... Watch 80-year-olds... nearly all smiling....friendly. slower, but happy. Watch teenagers....God..where are we now? How long is this gonna last? Is this gonna be boring? Do they have anything to drink? AND MOST OF ALL: What do they think of me? How do I look? Is something gonna happen that we can go back to school and talk about? TIGHT! UPTIGHT! NERVOUS! SELF-CONSCIOUS!
Want to know somebody’s anxieties? Look in their purse...or billfold.. Or the bag you brought for tonight… Prepared for everything....Me....draft card...comb!
Imagine.. Somebody has buried $100,000 in your back yard. It’s for you and nobody else… He has a map on how to find it. .. But you don’t want to go get it because it doesn’t look cool to dig holes in your backyard. It’s yours! $100,000!
Want to be a leader? Simple. Be the only one in your group who is NOT constantly afraid of looking bad, or stupid, or uncool. DREW..singing
Tony Campello: Kids: what they have. Teens: what they do. Adults: who they are. Most of you are stuck in the “What they do” stage. I’ve got to DO all the right things.
“For most teenagers, who they are depends upon who the most important people in their life think they are.”
How do you loosen up? First, ask yourself the question:
Who am I trying to please?
Hiney The Mule
Self-conscious: mind on self. Constantly conscious of yourself.
2nd Resolution if you want to Loosen up……., Get Your Mind off yourself.
Billie Jo: false hair color, fake nails, eyebrows plucked and new ones drawn on, artificial eyelashes.. undergarments gave her a lift.. “Oh, I could never be an actress!” Honey, all you ever do is act! Every waking moment asking herself.. “What do people think about me?”
PLAY GIRL.. COSTUME HIDES TAN AND BELLY
If you want to loosen up, get your mind off yourself. Becky Smith................ Dale Carnegie: “You will make more friends in one day by being truly interested in other people than in an entire month of trying to get other people interested in you.” Whether getting a boyfriend, getting a job, or running for President.
How I got my job: My testimony… Interview: prepared.. “What questions do you have about Triopia?”
Mr. Rogers
- If you really want Loosen up, Don’t take yourself so seriously…..
Sarah takes notes on everything… everything I say in class, she writes down and reminds others.. Sarah’s locker looks like the inside of a space capsule.. Sarah has pills, ointments, and medicines for diseases that were wiped out 100 years ago, just in case they come back!.. Sarah makes two copies of everything. Sarah reminds us of what we said yesterday. In short, Sarah drives us crazy! Old Fashioned Day.. no rules… Sarah had a nervous breakdown.
, Loosen up!
Go barefoot more often eat nothing but ice cream for an entire day tomorrow, wear your underwear backwards McDonnalds..”Have a Nice Day” Why? Do some serious coloring Ask the priest to serve pizza at the next communion. Biggest grouch in your school “I Just want you to know that I feel great!” Feel free to dream.. Bill Gates.. “I have enough computer geniuses. What I need.. what the world needs.. is more dreamers.”
Boy who knew how to loosen up: Matt, Kim, baritone.
Loosen up! Jeff W... free spirit....robbed Walmart singer
4th Resolution: Stop judging people. You go to school with some real jerks, right? You go to school with some goody-goodies who get all the breaks, right? You frankly aren’t too crazy about some people in this room right now, right? That’s cool. That’s alright..
Don’t judge people too quickly… Church lady Uptight: Roger Ebert
And finally....get interested in what makes people tick. In other words, get your mind off yourself.
There are people in this room that you would absolutely love if you’d just get to know them. Some of you have gone to school for years with people whom you know hardly anything about.
Before you got here, you’ve run through today several times.. How you plan to act.. Who’s going to be there? Will they like me? What if I’m left out?
So Let’s do it. Here. Let me show you how it’s done.
Stand up....month of birth. (say Hi) Live on a farm. Cannot stand anchovies sleeps in only their underwear Used to take one large step into bed Used to cover up all but a place to breathe Has ever faked being sick so you wouldn’t have to go to school Were talked into coming here? Wearing red underwear...blue, green, grey, pink, purple, white NONE?
Puppy story.
End: Somewhere in this room there’s somebody who’d love to get to know you. What’s stopping you? The most precious things in your life are friends. What’s stopping you from getting more? Loosen up and let ‘em!
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