As the young graduate approached the lectern, he began to talk about a teacher at the college, who did not know it, but had a tremendous amount of influence and support for him graduating and speaking on this day. He said to the story of of how he would ask the young man what direction he was going in his studies at the school. Initially it was engineering. The teacher would answer, “that’s a brilliant choice and a good direction to go. ” Then the young student approached the teacher and declared that he had changed his mind and was thinking of going for a job in the medicinal field. The teacher had the same answer. With passion he would say, “that could be a excellent choice and a good direction to go”.

The young speaker paused, and with a grin on his face and a chuckle in his voice, he announced that he must have approached that teacher 100 different times with one hundred different career choices, and that teacher would always answer with the same reply.

You see, although that teacher gave the same reply all of the time, he was permitting this young man the ability to search and find the best course and direction for his life on his very own. His response was far from being an incessant and dull reaction to his ever changing career choices. His answer claimed way more than that. He was announcing that I will be able to support you in whatever direction you choose. Where ever you go and whatever you do, I will support and encourage your call. I believe and trust in who you are.

As a pa, I cannot recollect how many times I have had to bite my tongue, ( if you knew me, you would know how hard that can be ), and let my youngsters select the direction for their own lives. God has given them to us all for just a short time. We mold and shape their characters to be the way that God made them to be. Intensify their strengths and lead them to follow a vocation that will be inline with who they may be. That’s really a trail that will lead on to happiness and a fruitful life.

But many times, us folks can be a very heavy weight, that just pulls our kids down the incorrect trail. A path of dissatisfaction and elimination. Just look at how high the teen suicide rate has climbed and sky rocketed over the last couple of years. Each day fourteen teens take their own lives. Sometimes it’s the only control that they can exhibit over their lives.

As our kids grow older, we should be slowly, little by little, letting go of that rope we use to keep hold of them so strongly with. As they progress and learn responsibility, let more of that rope go. Give them more room to select for themselves. After all, how else will they learn?

I think that is the reason why we have so many juvenile and rash youngsters in our society today. They are part of the, “gimme that”, society. Each thing their tiny heart desired, they were given. The world was their tiny play thing and they could have anything they wanted.

These children grow up and find out the world isn’t theirs they’re going to be forced to work for what they want. These are the youngsters that may fail miserably, or finish up filling our already crowded prison systems.

Do you love your children? Don’t give them all those stupid toys that stifle their minds and repress the natural growth of their imagination. Try giving them you. Spend some time and start to know who they may be. What are they good at? What do they like? It is your responsibility to guide them while you have them. They will one day leave your house and make a trail in this world that is going to be all their own.

Will you play a giant roll in that? Will they stand at that lectern at their graduation one day and say, that the largest influence and support they received in their lives came from their family and you? The mates and folk support we got, or didn’t, can make all of the difference in the world. It could be the gold that shines thru us or the coal that darkens us for all time.

We all need to be loved and supported. To grasp that someone loves me and will stand by me and support me, irrespective of what road I select. To trust in me and who I am. This is the family support that we all need. This is your roll and mine as parents, grandparents, and guides for this generation.

Now, I don’t mean just your financial contribution…What I mean is what will your kids, grandkids and so-on remember you for? What did you do to make a difference in this world? Their world. We know that at this time is very different than how our parents lived and VERY different than the environment our Grandparents lived in…Our kids will be saying the same thing to their kids I am sure. What can we do to leave a lasting impression and a great watermark on our family as our own legacy? The way I see it, our personal watermark is our legacy. Not everybody can leave a billion dollars to our kids and their offspring like Bill Gates or, but we can leave a great amount of knowledge, values and the ability to make a difference in this ever changing world, one that is changing at warp speed may I add…

It is time to build a foundation again. One that our family, our kids and their kids and so on can live by. Perhaps this is the code…the family code. The code that gives our kids a place to belong, instead of someplace else. For instance, a gang. This is why kids join gangs- to belong…to have direction! The family unit has gone to hell in this country. Kids are looking for direction and have absolutely none at home. Think about it. For years the family demanded their offspring to continue their “brand” or their Personal Watermark. Now, kids are making it up as they go along…with little or no direction, so now they are looking for somebody to give it to them. This means gangs, or organizations that validate what they know, which is NOTHING… It is steeped in desperation.

It is time for us to step up and stop leaving our responsibilities to somebody else. Stop allowing our kids to be lost, without direction or a Personal Watermark. We as individuals used to be proud of our heritage…now our kids don’t even know what that means….

It is true, many of us will buck our family values and insist we know better at about the age of 14, however, if we as parents and adults give our kids the foundation and direction (our family or Personal Watermark) they will inevitably return to it after they go out and flail for a period of time. This is nature.

It is proven that the first 3 years is the most important in a child’s life for the legacy (Personal Watermark) imprint…We all need guidance and influence. What are you doing to influence the most important people in your life?

Your purpose dictates your influence on others as well as your own life. Your Personal Watermark is your legacy. How will you develop your Personal Watermark? What will your kids say about you? What will they feel about themselves?