We are delighted to present you with one of John’s most recent books, Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn for Teens. This book is a follow up from the very successful ‘adult’ version, which has given us the opportunity to add the following programs into our Youth Development:
A Teen Keynote
A Presentation on Turning a Loss Into a Win
What is this resource and who is it for?
This is a keynote presentation on the idea of learning from loss. It is designed to be delivered in a single session of approximately one hour.
The lesson can be presented to a large group of teenagers (eg: at a school assembly).
A Teen Message Series
This consists of Three Interactive Sessions on Turning a Loss Into a Win
Who is it for?
The lessons can be presented to a small to medium group of teenagers (5-50 students) either as a stand-alone or over three sessions. Each can range from 20 minutes in length to over an hour, depending on the amount of interaction that is encouraged
Lesson 1
Losing Doesn’t Make You a Loser
Definition of success; It’s not always about winning; Examples of successful people with losses; The negative emotions of losses; 6 traps of failure;
Failure’s not final.
Lesson 2
The Spirit of Learning
Introductions and definitions of Humility and Pride; The differences between pride and humility and examples; Readiness to change; You’re not the expert; Make the most of your mistakes.
Lesson 3
Progress, not Perfection
Introduction to Improvement; Responding to Failure; Choosing improvement; Leaving your comfort zone; Daily improvements and How to’s; Progress, not Perfection.
Below you will find an excerpt from the book, which includes the 11 Pillars of Learning we will explore fully in our Youth Leadership Program;
Not everyone learns from his losses. A loss does not turn into a lesson unless we work hard to make it so. Losing gives us a chance to learn something, but many people do not seize that opportunity. And when they don’t, that’s when losing hurts.
It’s hard to learn when we’re feeling down, because then we have to do things that are not natural. It’s hard to smile when we are not happy. It is difficult to respond with a good attitude when we’re numb with defeat. How will we face others when we are humiliated? How do we get back up when we are continually knocked down?
If you really want to become a learner, you need to change the way you look at your losses or mistakes and develop some important qualities that will help you respond to them. I hope this book will be of value to you, teaching you how to learn from your losses. Most of us need someone to help us figure out how to do that.
I believe that by developing the qualities below and practicing them in your own life, you can learn to move forward from mistakes and use what you learn to grow and succeed:
- Humility: The Spirit of Learning
- Reality: The Foundation of Learning
- Responsibility: The First Step of Learning
- Improvement: The Focus of Learning
- Hope: The Motivation of Learning
- Teachability: The Pathway of Learning
- Adversity: The Catalyst for Learning
- Problems: Opportunities for Learning
- Bad Experiences: The Perspective for Learning
- Change: The Price of Learning
- Maturity: The Value of Learning
Saint Ignatius Loyola, one of the world’s greatest educators, once said that we learn only when we are ready to learn. Emmet Fox, noted twentieth-century spiritual leader, said that difficulties come to you at the right time to help you grow and move forward by overcoming them. “The only real misfortune,” he observed, “the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.”
If you’re like most people, you’ve suffered some loss in your life. Are you ready to learn from it? I hope you’ll join me in looking at how you can turn losses into opportunities, and how you can see failures from a different perspective. This program and book can help you now and will continue to do so as you grow into young adulthood. Everybody messes up. You only need to learn how to move on from it.