LEAP

We’ve just finished an amazing week with 170 high school and college age young people from all over the U.S., Canada and South Africa who attended the LEAP Youth Leadership Program. (www.LEAPfoundation.com) Founded by Dr. Bill Dorfman and myself over a year ago, LEAP’s mission is to expose young people to ideas, techniques and systems of success that will help them get a significant lead in life. (Pictured from the left: Leeto Khoza - South Africa, Steve Anderson, Kevin Carroll - speaker, Bill Dorfman, Kim Fineberg - Tomorrow Trust South Africa, Kim Palelo - South Africa.)

For 6 days, we enjoyed introducing these young people to successful mentors and success ideas they can use in school, their future careers, and in life to get ahead. Consider it a success university.

My two favorite highlights of the week happen near the end. Friday afternoon, we introduced all the students to 52 mentors who came in for the afternoon to answer any questions the students had about their respective professions and what has made them successful. Based on the concept that it is a lot easier to copy genius than it is to create mediocrity, this mentor session was stunning. So impressive were the group of mentors that attended that the mentors themselves decided that they had been slighted because they did not have the same opportunity the students had to “work the room” and get to know all the other mentors! What a thrill to watch the light bulbs go on in the student’s minds as they applied the principles they learned all week as they met face-to-face with people who had done it and asked them relevant questions so they could learn from their experience. In the words of one student, Tanner Roeller, a recent high school grad from Texas, “I always thought that success was out of reach and too difficult to attain. Now that I know the secrets of success, I know it is attainable for me.”

Early Saturday morning, the students gathered for the LEAP speech contest where each student presented a prepared speech in front of a group of 8 to 10 other students. The students then voted the best speech to be presented in front of all the LEAP participants, mentors and many parents. What a thrill to listen to the discoveries that had been made during the week, the commitments that had been made, and the life changes that these students made this week. After listening to these students, it was easy to conclude that LEAP is a game changer for these young people. It gives them principles to live by that will take them to the top.

My thanks to the many charitable donors who make this program possible and to the parents and other sponsors who send their students. LEAP is a non-profit education foundation made possible by the generous donations of so many people who want to make a difference in the lives of youth. Thanks for making this week possible.

LEAP 2010 is already scheduled for August 9-14 at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. Details can be found at www.LEAPfoundation.com or by calling 877-855-5327.