Preparing Youth for Work

Keeping It REAL: Skills for Life

To the best of my ability, I embody the values I teach others. Fortunately, being aware of my imperfections is one of those values. I in no way pretend to be perfect at any of the REAL Life values, but I strive to do the best I can. And that’s all any of us can do.

REAL Life

Resilient

Empowered

Authentic

Limber

Resilient is to stay engaged and maintain a positive attitude no matter what gets in your way.
Empowered is to be liberated, independent, and confident, and able to get things done.
Authentic is to be aware of yourself, know your strengths and your imperfections, and to communicate genuinely and transparently.
Limber is to be flexible in mind and body, to be creative, resourceful, and able to switch gears quickly and seamlessly as the situation requires.

Keeping it REAL is hard work, every day. I don’t pretend it’s easy. I have been through the test on all four components of REAL Life over the past couple of years (not to mention my whole life) as I published my first book. Trust me, I’ve had to overcome numerous obstacles, receive countless corrections, flex in more ways than I had ever conceived of, and work independently as a writer and promoter of my book. It is no easy task.

But that is the whole point: real life is not easy. We need to be resilient, empowered, authentic, and limber to succeed in life, no matter what we do.

I offer the tools on this website, along with my book, Flying Without a Helicopter: How to Prepare Young People for Work and Life, to help you develop the life skills to succeed in your journey of life.

I wish you the best,

Joanie Connell