Read an Excerpt
A LETTER TO ALL TEENS FROM LOU HOLTZ
Because of today's social climate, your ability to know how to make good decisions becomes more important than ever before.
To My Teenage Friends,
You have more choices and decisions before you than any previous generation.
Because of the increase in the number of families with both parents working, and the increase in the number of single parent families, you are being asked, on your own, to make important decisions that have adult consequences earlier than any previous generation. I imagine a number of you already perform adult functions, like providing care, supervising, and cooking for a younger sibling. You are to be commended.
So often the good achievements of young people go unnoticed while bad actions like school shootings, drug overdoses, or a teenage killing over a pair of sneakers make the headlines today.
Why would a teenager take such extreme actions that tarnish the reputation of an entire generation, you may ask? Some of these incidents may involve drug use, or a lack of respect brought on by low self-esteem. Some actions are beyond comprehension.
However, we do know that when a young person performs actions such as these, they are stealing future opportunities and chances from themselves.
Because of today's social climate, your ability to know how to make good decisions becomes more important than ever before.
The nature of making good decisions and leading successful lives remains the same as when your parents and grandparents were your age. How to make those decisions and understand some of the important things of life is what I hope to pass on to you.
I will share some simple and easy-to-apply rules for success that I have used myself. Believe it or not, I was once a teenager, too. In fact, I wasn't a good student and I wasn't a good athlete. My gift was common sense, something I have been fortunate enough to have possessed my whole life.
I'm going to share with you a game plan for life that I hope will help you to understand what is important and how you can make good decisions in the future.
I believe this is a formula for success that you can use from this day forward.
My prayers are with you as you try to be all that God intends for you.
Coach Lou Holtz
Author Biography: Lou Holtz was head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1986 to 1996, winning the National Championship in 1988. Holtz is now the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. In 2000, Holtz became the first coach to lead four different schools to top 20 finishes (North Carolina, Arkansas, Notre Dame, South Carolina). Holtz is a master motivational speaker and a former analyst for CBS Sports. Lou Holtz and his wife Beth are parents to four grown children. This is his third book.
