Never settle for less than you can be! Just one of Tony Robbin’s many quotes that has stuck in my mind.

My son Sam has just finished taking his GCSE mocks. For the first time in his life he has to start to thinking about making decisions about his future. It is a scary time for him, simply because he has so much to choose from. He is a lucky boy!

With my children I have always allowed them to make their own career choices once they have reached the magic age of 16. My advice has always been ’study the options, make an infomed choice and go for it. You can always re-direct if you feel you want change your mind. You can never make a “wrong” choice. It was right at the time that you made it’. My daughter Amy changed direction 3 times before she settled on her career path. She lost nothing, is still only 21 and has gained a huge amount of life experience along the way.

Sam is a bright boy although he doesn’t enjoy the acedemic part of school. He is a typical boy really. A bit lazy but a joy to be a Mum to. His skill and passion lie in the wooden boat industry. At first it would seem that to go for that would be an unwise choice as the market is so narrow. But I am a great believer in ‘niche’ markets and to become a specialist in any niche gives an advantage over the average Joe. Some may say to Sam that he should concentrate on a general skill working with wood, then he will have more choice, but I don’t agree.

I think if Sam is passionate about becoming a wooden boat builder, he should ‘go for it’. Anything else will never be good enough. So Sam, go in the direction your heart takes you. Never settle for less than you can be, and after all, as I read in my Jack Canfield book this morning:-

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you will land amongst the stars.”