Inspiring true champions is the essence of Veronica Karaman’s life and the reason why she has become a successful life coach, speaker, teacher, motivator, and author.

At the age of five, Veronica began her golf career and her quest to become a champion. At this early age, as her father placed a putter in her hand, she knew that golf would become her closest friend. She found out later in life that golf would also become her worst enemy when she failed.

Success in golf, achieving all A’s in academics, and striving for perfection, were all things that she worked diligently at accomplishing. She graduated as the valedictorian of her high school and graduate school classes, and won many golf tournaments. However, all the trophies and triumphs were not enough to fill the void and the loneliness in her heart. Her father’s death when she was fifteen only fueled Veronica’s determined pursuit to become a champion.

At the height of her college career as a scholarship athlete at Duke University, she realized that being a champion is not a trophy you achieve, but an identity you realize based on who you are. She also discovered the foundational tools of a true champion are unconditional love, acceptance, dignity of soul, an authentic heart and a warrior spirit.

This discovery over time helped set her free from 17 years of chronic fatigue and the deep emotional damage that occurred when she substituted her need for nurture with a relentless drive for achievement when her father died. The captive freed, the true champion in her came forth. After five years of quitting golf, Veronica experienced her career highlight in golf. After winning the qualifying tournament, Veronica went on to play in the 1989 Women’s U.S. Open.

In addition to being a professional tour player and instructor, for the last 20 years Veronica has mentored and coached students of all ages and abilities to become academic champions, freed to excel with joy.

In 2004, she became a certified life coach through Transformational Leadership Coaching, Inc. Through True Champion Coaching, Veronica combines her background in peak performance and coach training, life experiences, and the revelation of true championship to help other captives become true champions themselves, on the course, in the classroom, and in life.

For more information, visit Veronica Karaman Ministries.

Listen in as we talk about Veronica’s groundbreaking program God’s Way to an A.  

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There is a great coaching telesummit coming up next week. We are going to be addressing some of the top trends in leadership coaching for the future. I will be speaking on the topic of coaching and leadership development for Generation Y.

Learn More Here

As we have been saying for the last year…those companies who start early by reaching out to high school students (even middle school students) will be the ones who attract young talent in the future. The article, High Schools Add Classes Scripted by Corporations, in the Wall Street Journal today is reinforcing this concept. (If you cannot link to this article, go to the Wall Street Journal homepage, and scroll down to the article by the title of High Schools Add Classes Scripted by Corporations).

This brings to mind the process that the American Junior Golf Association now offers young talent to be noticed by college coaches who would normally not know about them at a very young age. My son, Jack, will be playing for the University of North Carolina starting in Fall ‘08, and it is really amazing how this whole thing happened. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the AJGA and their staff of volunteers for providing the opportunity for our son to be spotted by some of the USA’s top college coaches.

When Jack was age 14, he qualified for the US Junior Amateur, and before that time, there were only a hand full of the coaches from NC who knew a tiny bit about Jack (we are not sure, but we think maybe 2 or 3 NC coaches knew that Jack was a young talent to possibly watch). But after this event, the majority of college coaches knew him by name, location, what his game was like and what he might be interested in doing (the buzz starts going around after this event). Jack had a great showing at the US Junior, and was then able to start playing in several AJGA tournaments. Over the next two years, select college coaches (who liked his game) were following him at most tournaments. While they could not talk to Jack or officially recruit him until September 1, 2007, it was obvious who was interested in him, because they always showed up as he stepped up to the tee. Over time, both the player and the family members start building a loyalty to the coaches who keep showing up (even though you have never talked to them). You know simply from their presence they are interested, and you start asking your friends and network about them, following what they are doing in the newspaper, watching their team scores online, and when it comes time to make a verbal commitment, you already know who will be a good fit for your son. It is really magical, and as I said, the process began for us when Jack was a freshman in High School.

So…as a parent who has experienced early recruiting, there is something to this article in the Wall Street Journal. If you are an employer, please take the time to read this article, and then consider how college coaches go about recruiting young talent…your presence early on can mean huge things for your company later on down the road.

Penelope Trunk and a host of other young, sharp professionals have opened BrazenCareerist.com.  I perused the site this morning after a long biz trip, and it was great to read what so many young careerists are saying (not just about career but about life, Generation Y and the future). 

You can check out the list of bloggers here.  I see a few familiar faces… Ben Casnocha, who is featured in the Millennial Leaders book.  and Jaclyn Schiff of EmployeeEvolution.com.  Great job folks and great stuff!  This looks like it is jam-packed with ideas and wonderful advice for everyone.  But…if you are a Gen Y, please check this site out.  You are going to land on a gold mine of fresh perspectives and ideas for both career and life.

“The world has changed, and it’s not turning back.”
~DK of MediaSnackers

The “new media” — Internet, mobile technology, interactive television — has redefined mass communication. While older generations are trying to learn, adapt, and basically keep up with youth in this area, Gen Y’ers are taking to all these formats seamlessly. Blogging, podcasts, and vodcasts (video blogs) are supplanting traditional channels. The speed with which these messages are delivered feeds right into the Gen Y desire for instant gratification.

But with all these advances happening overnight, training in the technology has become a must. MediaSnackers, a UK based company dedicated to helping organizations work with young people to generate new strategies and operations in social media, has risen to the challenge, incorporating the “quick bits” learning and processing style of Gen Y.  The company works with young people to train them to use the new media, as well as instilling a sense of responsibility about the global impact of their efforts.

The company’s founder is as unique as the organization itself. DK — that’s his entire moniker — knows how Gen Y’ers learn, what they expect from technology, and how the new media unleashes their creativity. The colorful UK native works within the gap between the Gen Y’ers, who are embracing this technology at the speed of sound, and their confused managers, who are still stumbling with new media.

We had the privelege last year to interview DK of MediaSnackers for The Gen Y Project (Check out their impressive 2008 pro bono project here). DK has very generously opted to not have his chapter appear in our book but to be given away as a bonus chapter to help each of you in supporting Generation Y in their development in the future.

Download the bonus chapter featuring DK of MediaSnackers here.  This is a great chapter, so thank-you DK!

Listen to the interview with DK for The Gen Y Project:

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If you enjoyed this interview with DK, you are going to love the book Millennial Leaders.  Pick up a copy today through Amazon.com.

Some really nice podcasts from Deloitte on Gen Y.

I. The Authentic Edge: Getting It Right with Gen Y

Summary: There’s a new kid on the block, a member of a rising breed of innovative young talent entering the work force and radically reinventing the way companies do business. They’re called Generation Y, and they have a brave new idea of corporate responsibility and the meaning of work unlike any generation before them. Business leaders who want an authentic edge in recruiting this generation of workers must learn to listen to them in a fundamentally different way.

Highlights:

• When we refer to “Gen Y,” who exactly are we talking about? (1:47)
• Why do companies that offer compelling skills-based volunteer programs appear to have a recruiting advantage? (7:18)
• What were the important findings of the 2007 Volunteer IMPACT Survey? (12:55)
• What first step would you urge a chief executive officer to take? (32:44)

II. Develop, Deploy, Connect: Harnessing the Power of Generation Y

Summary: Our industries are facing a talent crisis the scope of which we are only now beginning to understand. The skills shortage and aging work force, combined with the increasingly sophisticated and global nature of business, have made talent recruitment, retention and management imperative. Representing the manufacturing, real estate and financial services industries, our professionals discuss strategic and innovative solutions that focus on harnessing the power of Generation Y.

Highlights:

• Is the talent crisis really as bad as it sounds? What’s happening in the manufacturing, real estate and financial services industries that’s raising such an international alarm? (2:02)
• How would each of you assess Generation Y’s image of your respective industries? What strategies are being developed to attract, recruit and align with Generation Y? (8:42)
• How are companies re-thinking their recruitment policies? (16:01)
• What are some talent management strategies representative of the Develop-Deploy-Connect Talent Management Model? (32:55)
• Is there a silver bullet for Generation Y strategies? (39:47)

Yes — I have taken the descriptions directly from Deloitte site.

Stanford students are skipping class and developing Facebook apps…. and as a result are generating some $$ to pay for the tuition. See the story This is an interesting story because a Stanford teacher asked his students to break into small groups and create Facebook apps. And one of the winning groups dropped out of school and decided to start their own company, demonstrating true entrepreneurial spirit

Penelope Trunk, author of the irreplaceable career handbook, Brazen Careerist and YAHOO Finance columnist gives anything but standard advice to the next generation of workers. Trunk, an expert career advice columnist, has been providing indispensable guidance to 20 and 30-somethings for the last five years.   During this special Y-Talk interview, Trunk will outline the best strategies for next generation workers to get to the top in the business world without necessarily climbing the corporate ladder that their parents’ generation clung to.

Visit the Brazen Careerist Blog: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com  

Buy BRAZEN CAREERIST from Amazon.com:

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Stanford students are skipping class and developing Facebook apps…. and as a result are generating some $$ to pay for the tuition.

See the story

This is an interesting story because a Stanford teacher asked his students to break into small groups and create Facebook apps. And one of the winning groups dropped out of school and decided to start their own company, demonstrating true entrepreneurial spirit

Sun Dec 30, 4:08 PM ET:  YAHOO News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of Americans visited a library in the past year with many of them drawn in by the computers rather than the books, according to a survey released on Sunday.

Of the 53 percent of U.S. adults who said they visited a library in 2007, the biggest users were young adults aged 18 to 30 in the tech-loving group known as Generation Y, the survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project said.

“These findings turn our thinking about libraries upside down,” said Leigh Estabrook, a professor emerita at the University of Illinois and co-author of a report on the survey results.

“Internet use seems to create an information hunger and it is information-savvy young people who are most likely to visit libraries,” she said.

Internet users were more than twice as likely to patronize libraries as non-Internet users, according to the survey.

More than two-thirds of library visitors in all age groups said they used computers while at the library.

Sixty-five percent of them looked up information on the Internet while 62 percent used computers to check into the library’s resources.

Public libraries now offer virtual homework help, special gaming software programs, and some librarians even have created characters in the Second Life virtual world, Estabrook said. Libraries also remain a community hub or gathering place in many neighborhoods, she said.

The survey showed 62 percent of Generation Y respondents said they visited a public library in the past year, with a steady decline in usage according to age. Some 57 percent of adults aged 43 to 52 said they visited a library in 2007, followed by 46 percent of adults aged 53 to 61; 42 percent of adults aged 62 to 71; and just 32 percent of adults over 72.

“We were surprised by these findings, particularly in relation to Generation Y,” said Lee Rainie, co-author of the study and director of the Pew project. In 1996 a survey by the Benton Foundation found young adults saw libraries becoming less relevant in the future.

“Scroll forward 10 years and their younger brothers and sisters are now the most avid library users,” Rainie said.

The survey of 2,796 Americans was conducted by telephone from late June through early September and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. It was funded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, an agency that offers federal support for U.S. libraries and museums.

(Reporting by Julie Vorman; Editing by Bill Trott)