This article steers slightly away from my typical market news and updates, but in my work as a real estate broker, it’s inevitable that I begin to talk all things life and family with my clients. I love sharing any resources that may be beneficial, and so I hope you find these insights, articles, and books helpful when you enter the adventure as a parent of teenagers and young adults.

The baby book What to Expect When You Are Expecting, didn’t address the topic of teenagers. And maybe because many future parents would reconsider their decision if it did.

We have one son in college and another in high school and are hopeful that our many years of instilling in them the values of hard work, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, and honesty will shape their futures.

Here are a few great articles if you are launching your own teenagers into the world.

• Build Your Own Institution by Don Dalrymple
• How To Be Useful by Don Dalrymple
• How to Prepare Your Child For The Real World by Ashley Logsdon

We also often discuss the books, The Slight Edge and Success for Teens, Using the Slight Edge:

The concept of doing the small things every day that move you in the right direction, leads to success. But not doing the right things or doing the wrong things, leads to a downward spiral.

You are either growing or shrinking!

Personality and Career Profile Surveys

We also have taken advantage of smart people around us and have given our children aptitude and personality tests which help them to know their strengths and weaknesses. Darren’s mom, Barbara, is trained in the DiSC system.  Growing up, we used the language of the DiSC system to communicate why some people were motivated to address the details and others were happy being carefree! Suffice it to say we have a household full of salespeople, not engineers.

More recently, we have worked with Don Dalrymple who uses the Culture Index to build business teams. Using these tools and sharing them with our young adults gives them a head start into the world. Why spend years training to be a doctor when your natural skills and interests should have you selling the medical devices? Many of these resources can be found online, and it’s not only fun, but useful to have this information. Let me know if you’d like me to introduce you to Barbara or Don if you’d like a more personalized review with your teenager or young adult.