Young and Famous

Over the last few years we have watched as young people have been thrust in to the limelight only to fall off the rails. This is not a new phenomenon but with the intensity of media scrutiny increasing every day the fall from grace of these celebrities has garnered more column inches in newspapers and websites as well as airtime on TV and radio shows than ever before. The main three celebrity names people will be synonymous with are Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

With big international conglomerates trying to make the most amount of money possible from its assets which for companies involved in industries like the media, creative arts and sports are its talent it’s no wonder that some young celebrities have fallen off the rails. Young talented people are being forced in to a grown up’s world with none or little preparation for it and if they aren’t surrounded by the right people making the right decisions very few people are going to look after them.

Young actors, actresses, singers etc. need to be looked after better and there needs to be more done for them. Many young and talented people are plucked from small towns and from relative obscurity to be then suddenly be thrust in front of millions of people and in to millions of homes across the world. You can’t expect a young person no matter how mature they are to be able to deal with something like that.

This is why if you dream towards a career which will see you being shoved in to the limelight you need to prepare for or at least be aware of the pitfalls and dangers of the career. You need to make sure that before you embark on your path towards your dreams that you have a support network of family, friends and business partners that you know have your best interests at heart and are not around you just because you are famous. When you have that in place remember to always look after them and treat them the same regardless of if you have ten million fans or just ten.

I believe that we need as many positive young role models in the media, creative arts and sports industries and that although the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton grab the headlines we can’t forget there are many young people out there who have been thrust in to the limelight who have dealt with it brilliantly. It is these people we need to focus on and we need to make sure that there is help and support to catch those people who may come off the rails or systems in place to try and stop them coming off the rails in the first place.

So to sum up if you are pursuing dreams which could potentially see you being in the public eye or situations of wealth and notoriety to remember it is not only your talent that you need to work on you also need to work on your strength of character as it will be this that stops your dream ending prematurely or your dreams not working out as you had planned them. Remember nothing is more important than your physical and mental well-being and if you are ever put in a position where either of these are in danger then you need to re-address the situation. You will always have to deal with people that will try and pressure you in to things like agents, managers, pushy parents etc. but remember with every decision that is made you need to be happy with it, as your happiness is the most important thing.

Push towards your dreams because if you have the ability, the talent and the belief you can go far but just be aware of the sacrifices and pitfalls that wait in your path. We should encourage the youth of today to reach for their dreams as I know there are many young people across the globe who have the potential to do amazing things we just need to make sure there is a safe environment for them to accomplish their dreams and we can’t expect the big international conglomerates of this world to do that as they only primarily care about keeping their shareholders happy.

In a message to the media don’t judge young celebrities as harshly as you do. Yes there will always be some that have made mistakes or bad decisions but they are only young people and young people make mistakes its your help they need not your judgement. If you are going to question anyone question the people around them that let them get to that state in which they find themselves. Spend some time focusing on the young and talented people doing amazing things in this world.

Before I go this week I need to remind you to vote in the Talented Young People Awards for August. The Talented Young People Awards have been set up to recognise incredible young talent and the five names you have to choose between this month are:

Daniel Radcliffe - Actor who plays Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series

Lewis Hamilton - British Formula 1 Driver

Emma Watson - Actress who plays Hermione Granger in Harry Potter film series

James Morrison - British singer/songwriter

Rupert Grint - Actor who plays Ron Weasley in Harry Potter film series

To cast your vote go to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com

And if you have a view point on young celebrities and young people who find fame then why not join in our topic of the week on this subject in our forum by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=158#158

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

The Floods - Facing Adversity

Over the last few months the UK has been hit by some of the worse flooding it has seen in recent years which has been mirrored in many countries across the globe with many people suffering from the extreme weather conditions. I can’t speak for the rest of the world but no one in the UK could have even imagined the devastation which has happened, especially during a time in which we should be enjoying the highest temperatures of the year.

Many of those affected by the floods all had plans and events happening in their lives, which were rudely interrupted by the unexpected devastation. One day they went to work, school or were maybe even sleeping to come home or to wake to their homes surrounded by water. Then there were those who fled for shelter in centres setup around the country to house those escaping the floods who left their properties not knowing what they would be coming back to with only a few frantically collected possessions with them.

Now it’s incidents like this that can sometimes cruelly change the direction and path of many lives as the knock on affects of the damage refuse to go away. Still weeks on and many people can’t return to their homes, can’t get the money out of their insurance companies to make their homes liveable and those who still remain in their properties still don’t know if the water running through the pipes is drinkable or when it will be.

In these towns and cities that were affected there will have been many young and talented people all working hard pursuing their dreams, all with big plans that have now been taken away by the floods. No longer is there main concern pursuing their dream, they are now only concerned with getting their life back to normality which they don’t know how long it will be until this happens.

I have come to say that it is ok to concentrate your efforts on getting your life back on track, there is nothing wrong with it and this is the way it has to and should be. This is going to be one of the biggest tests of your strength that you have ever had but if you can take the strength from this and not forget about your dream then you can achieve anything. You have to remember that things may not be going your way at the moment but it will get better and that life will get back to normal. When life is restored to some sort of normality you can’t waste more of your life thinking about it and worrying about it. I know this is easier said than done but we need to remember what happened, learn from it and use it to help us achieve our dreams. We need to also make the improvements and changes that need to be made in order to safeguard the villages, towns and cities so that young talented people can be free to pursue their dreams without the danger of setbacks. You can’t get back the time, money and possessions that have been lost but you can reclaim or for some people claim your dream for the first time and hold on to it.

Don’t let your talents and skills go to waste just because there has been a setback. Yes I know some setbacks are harder to get over than others and this is a major setback but it just means the harder you fall the stronger you can come back.

We are now in a time where we need more leaders around the globe who are going to help others in their time of need and in their times of triumph. One organisation currently recognising the top leaders in the world are the Global Youth Awards. I have been lucky enough to be nominated for this award because of all the work I do with young people. If you feel that I deserve to win the award you can vote for me by going to:

http://www.globalyouth.net/leadership/adam-sibley.html

I just want to end today by sending out the thoughts and prayers of the Talented Young People organisation to all those affected by these floods, you will always be in our thoughts.

Have you ever had to overcome adversity like those people affected by the floods? How did you do it? How hard was it to overcome? Why no tell us all about it and join in our discussion:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=144#144

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

New Technology

This week’s blog is dedicated to new technology and how it is helping talented young people around the world achieve their dreams.

Now when I talk about new technology helping young people I bet you expect me to start talking about things like the internet, video cameras, phones, TV, MySpace etc. But the greatest impact I feel is still to come in regards to technology helping young people and that is the design of the $100 Laptop as part of the One Laptop per Child Project.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6679431.stm

This project and laptop could see millions of children from the developing world have access to equipment which the western world takes for granted and help give these children a chance to build a better future for themselves.

Now I am sure many of you this week in the UK have been signing up to Orange Broadband to claim your free laptop but most of you claiming this offer will already have a computer in the house so although the spec may be far superior on it to the $100 laptop it wont have the long lasting effect that the $100 dollar laptop will.

Not only will these laptops provide young people in the developing world with new skills and a better education they will give these young children hope and encourage them to go on and achieve greater things than they ever felt possible. Technology is changing our world every day and with the changes and improvements come more chances for young people to achieve their dreams.

At Talented Young People we are always on the look out for new technologies that we can use to help young people and to help spread the word. Recently as you may have noticed we have started using social bookmarking websites like Contentpop, Blinklist, Digg and del.icio.us to help promote our news feed which seems to be going well, I’m sure social bookmarking websites are going to play a big part in the future of the internet and web promotion. On top of this you will have hopefully noticed that our second podcast is now available to download by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/podcasts

But getting back to the point at hand MySpace may be able to help you get a million people to listen to your song or a video camera may help you put a video on Youtube and have it viewed by a million people but if you can give a child a piece of equipment that helps them find a dream or gives them the opportunity to achieve things they never thought possible then you can truly change the world.

You can talk about new technology and how it affects your life in this week’s forum topic by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=129#129


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

Volunteering

Today’s youth have the stereotype of being a non caring, self obsessed breed. The truth is that although there may be many who are like this there are a growing number of young people out there who do great things for other people through volunteering. The number of young people giving up their time on a regular basis to volunteer is growing and I for one hope continues to grow in the future.

The amount young people can get out of volunteering is huge. With a world which is focused on academic skills and grades volunteering gives young people the chance to learn vital life lessons and skills which can’t be taught in the classroom. I believe that regardless of what you want to achieve in life you need to spend a period of time as a volunteer as working as a volunteer can show us how fortunate we are and what changes that we can make to individuals, groups and the world.

In the classroom you work in a world of theory but in volunteering you get to be involved in a practical world and see changes that are actually happening because of the work you have done. Now you may be saying the time that you give up to volunteer could be time used to pursue your dream but the amount of energy and experience you can gain through volunteering outweighs the time you no longer have. Being able to give up your time to help others is a great skill to have.

Volunteering can open up a world of possibilities and opportunities which wouldn’t have been open to you if you hadn’t got involved. If you are not old enough to get a paid job or if you don’t have the experience to get the job you want volunteering can gain you the experience which you can use towards your career. In the short term it may seem like you are working for no money but the extra money you can sometimes make by having that experience outweighs it by far.

The face of volunteering has changed, volunteering opportunities use to be very limited but now many organisations are working in the UK to promote volunteering and create a million and one new volunteering opportunities including anything from media to arts to sports. There never has been a better time to get involved in volunteering as there are now great opportunities and great support networks out there to guide you.

One organisation who are really making a difference in the volunteering world are the Youth Action Network. The Youth Action Network is the national organisation with unique experience and expertise in the Youth Action approach to volunteering. Look out for future publications from them which will feature a piece we wrote on volunteering and the arts. For more information on them go to their website:

http://www.youthactionnetwork.org.uk/

Like this blog why not get involved in our topic of the week on the forum:

What volunteer work do you do, are you looking at getting in to volunteering and what do you get out of volunteering?

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=118#118

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

Summer Holidays

Although you wouldn’t believe it with the weather we are currently having in the UK many young people up and down the country are now either on summer holiday or starting to make plans of their upcoming summer holiday. You may still be doing your exams but I know summer holiday is in the back of your mind. For many it will be there last summer holiday they ever have before they leave education and for some they may not have a summer holiday as it’s now time for them to find work.

The summer holiday is the longest period that you are away from the structure of schools and education. For six weeks or more you are left to your own devices and it is up to you to make your own timetable and decide what you want to do and where you want to go. This leaves many young lost and confused as they are use to being told what to do and having there day mapped out for them and because they don’t know how to organise themselves they spend most of the summer holidays on the sofa watching TV. Many young people will only do things if they are told to or they have to like school and the moment they don’t have to do anything they will choose to do nothing.

A great summer comes from great preparation and a want to do something meaningful with your time off. The summer holidays should be a time to recharge your batteries ready for the next year of education and a time to let off steam but don’t be the one that goes back to school or college on the first day back and when asks what they got up to this summer says not much. There are so many opportunities open to you regardless of your situation or what you want to do you just need to find them and devote time to them. The summer holidays is a time where you can learn about what you want to learn about or practice what it is you want to get better at.

Now some of you may be spending the summer stressing about exam results but don’t as stress isn’t going to change the grade you get. Use your summer to learn about yourself, the world and to gain skills. Before the summer holiday starts set yourself some targets that you want to achieve by the end of the summer and make a plan on how you are going to achieve them. Be experimental, try new things, join new clubs, if you’re old enough try a small part time job. Just do something which is going to help you get closer to achieving your dreams. Do everything you can to make this the summer of your life.

Why not get involved in our forums and let the world know what you have planned for your summer by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105#105

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

Wimbledon

In the UK we are currently in the middle of Wimbledon fortnight. This is normally a time for us Brits to get our strawberries and cream, cheer on another British tennis player in their attempt to win the big one and going out and playing tennis ourselves at local courts. Well this year all we have left is strawberries and cream as yet again we are left with no British stars left to cheer on and this year we are living through some very unusual weather for this period even by the UK's standard with floods breaking out all over the country so no ones playing on the courts.

The UK have over the years lost their power and dominance in many sports that it once had, many of which originated from the UK. The problem with our national sporting success has been discussed and debated at many levels with many people blaming the lack of sports and PE at school, the amount of green land which is being built on and the national media coverage of the dangers facing young people in this country when going out in public.

Some people say it is the lack of funding that is the reason we are not creating the line of stars we once were but to me it doesn't matter how much money you put in to a sport unless you have young people that want to do it and our skilled at it. In my opinion the problem comes from the British attitude of negativity and pessimism and the attitude of resenting people because they are better than you or at least trying to do their best. If we are going to create new sporting stars we have to encourage them all the way from when they start a sport to the moment they finish playing the sport.

When it comes to tennis specifically we have a big shortage of achieving players. Every year when Wimbledon comes around it encourages many young people around the UK to go and play or learn tennis and during Wimbledon fortnight tennis courts around the country are normally full of people young and old emulating what they have seen on TV. Just this year because of the weather this hasn't been true. The LTA and the tennis organisations are going to have to work harder this year to promote the game.

The other problem this country has is that football is way and above any other sport in the popularity stakes so it is very hard to get young people interested in other sports, in to schools and facilities to play the sport in parks etc. So my answer to this problem is to match funding with encouragement and to actually work with young people and find out ways from them on how to best coach them and nurture them. As with personal investment anything is possible.

If you would like to have your say and voice your opinions on why the UK aren't creating enough top sporting stars. Then you need to go to our forum and view our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=76

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

The National Association for Gifted Children

It's seems as though the media are only interested in pushing stories which are negative when it comes to young people and the image of young people. It's always the young people who are up to no good or the schools that are failing that grab the headlines. With the amount of negative press young people get on a local and national basis many people now believe that the youth of today are a group of lawless trouble makers who have no interest in doing well at school or having good careers.

The NAGC are a group who are working hard to push, help and encourage young people to achieve more than what others might think they are capable of. Instead of focusing on the negatives they are an organisation who understand that some times the reason why they aren't excelling is the lack of support, encouragement, correct environment and the fact that they aren't being challenged.

The NAGC understand the importance of a support network and that it's not just the child that has to play a part in order for them to achieve. They break situations down and understand the individual roles that the parents and the teachers have to play in the development of young people. The NAGC understand how different situations and environments affect the chances young people have to succeed and most importantly they know that when a child acts out in class it's not always because they are a trouble maker.

We need more organisations like the NAGC working with children within our schools as the children within the schools who are out future and have the power to change the world. It's so easy to deal with the misbehaving kids and forget about those and not give attention to those at the top of the class as just because a child is top of their class it doesn't mean they are reaching their full potential or being challenged it just means that they scored the highest on a couple of tests or assignments.

The Talented Young People organisation is very proud to support the NAGC and will do all we can to help them and promote them as we believe that this is an organisation that has the power to help mould the future of this country and is one that doesn't get enough credit for the work that they do.

If you are in school or a parent of a child in school I definitely recommend that you go to:

http://www.nagcbritain.org.uk

And see if they can help you.

Whilst you're at it why not join in our topic of the week, this week's topic is "What do you think we can do to help young people?"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=65

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/