Pathways to Success for Youth is Born ...

by Trish Jacobson

When I was first introduced to Jack's work at his live Breakthrough to Success event in August 2010, I was at a crossroads in my life and considering a career change. I knew what it was like to earn a good paycheck as a consultant in the business world and was tired of struggling to make ends meet in the nonprofit sector. I loved my work, but didn't see how I could continue doing it for so little.

But after the first day of the event, instead of outlining my own blueprint for success, I found myself going back to my hotel room after a long day in the training room, unable to sleep, inspired and enthusiastically writing new curriculum for my fall classes and incorporating Jack's success principles into my existing lesson plans. This continued for the entire seven days of the event! I knew in my  heart and soul that I was onto something and I knew that young people needed to experience this work. And I had forgotten all about my original motivation for attending BTS. Passion clearly took over and there was no turning back!

My service territory in Carroll County, NH has one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the State of NH and NH has the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the entire US. Clearly we are doing something right. Our services include comprehensive sexuality education in the schools as well as a reproductive health clinic for teens and a peer education outreach program. In my 15 years of working with teens in the Mount Washington Valley, I have noticed that the young people who experience unintended pregnancies often report limiting beliefs, lack of vision for their future and low self esteem. The same seems to hold true for kids who are abusing substances or are involved in the juvenile justice system. The success principles, combined with an asset building approach to service, provide a wonderful framework for decreasing risk behavior, enhancing self esteem and promoting success.

Jack Canfield has been teaching the principles outlined in his book, Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, to adults interested in personal development, leadership development and business success for many years and participants have been getting profound results including increased income, improved work environments, more satisfying relationships and more love, joy and fulfillment.

"Why aren't we teaching these principles to our young people", I wondered. 

On the final day of the event, I knew I was not alone. In his closing remarks, Jack stated his desire to get back to his roots, back to the classroom and young people with his success principles work. He talked about his days teaching high school, long before his Chicken Soup for the Soul success. As he spoke, it was as if a power beyond me lifted me up out of my seat and escorted me to the front of the room. My heart pounded as I waited for him to close the session. Then I heard myself introduce myself and tell him that I would be helping him with his desire to bring this work to young people. His response was, "I look forward to that."

I went home and immediately began teaching the principles into my health classes. I  implemented a pilot curriculum in middle and high school health classrooms as well as in my clinic's peer education training program.

In 2013/2014, with the support of a few local grants and private contributions, I developed a larger vision to bring this work across the United States and beyond. 

In the summer of 2014 we raised $9000 and brought a team of seven young people to Breakthrough to Success. The goal was for them to assist me in developing and expanding the curriculum by beginning to train teachers, youth service providers, parents and youth leaders in the model.

The Pathways to Success for Youth Team was born. We are now working on a funding plan to help us bring it to the next level. The Pathways to Success for Youth curriculum for both classroom and online audiences is mapped out and key stakeholders are lined up for next steps. We are currently working on a funding plan to support the development of a video series along with print and electronic materials for student curriculum and teacher training.

It has been a long road since I first began incorporating the success principles into my work and began to expand the vision. But the momentum is building and it is just a matter of time before we are able to make the leap. In the meantime, we just keep taking the next right step.