Teach them to break out of their shell by nurturing a creative-thinking mindset
The world is constantly in need of new entrepreneurs, there’s no doubt about that. Entrepreneurs create jobs, lift living standards, introduce innovations and create competition in the industry.
For years, our education system harps on the importance of an academic achievement. The belief has always been, “If you don’t achieve good grades, you won’t succeed in life.”
But this is a limiting, obstructive mindset. Our children end up knowing only how to score well in exams, but lack the ability to think creatively. They are afraid of coming up with new ideas, and fearful of striking it out on their own - the opposite traits of what makes a successful entrepreneur.
Inculcating an Entrepreneurial Mindset
While the Government has made inroads by introducing a few entrepreneurial programmes for children, there’s a lot more that can be done, and that starts from the home. To nurture the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in Singapore, we need a total mindset change, parents and kids alike.
Many Singaporean parents are constantly worried about their children’s future. They hand-hold them, shielding them in a bubble so they won’t suffer any setbacks throughout their lives. This creates an environment where children are afraid of thinking out of the box, or to voice out their opinions for fear of failure.
Instead, you need to teach your children to embrace the challenges of life. They need to embrace the idea of taking risks and facing any challenge that comes their way.
While our tertiary education system offers excellent courses in business administration and management, this doesn’t naturally translate graduates into great entrepreneurs. The youth should be nurtured from a young age to identify problems, generate ideas and develop solutions. These design-thinking programmes can start even from pre-school, and should be considered as part of a larger entrepreneurship module.
Failure is part of success
It might be hard to get away from the stigma of failing at something, especially as many of us were raised to stay away from risky endeavours and opt for “safe” jobs. But times are changing, and if we don’t encourage our children to innovate, they will be left behind in this rapidly changing world.
Tell your children that failure is not the end of the world. Every successful person has failed before, but they did not stop there. They stood up and tried once more, time and time again.
Bill Gates watched his company crumble, Steve Jobs was booted from his own company, and Sir James Dyson developed 5,126 failed prototypes before finally succeeding. Your children can draw inspiration from these tech entrepreneurs who experienced failure. Learn and accept the shortcomings, but continue to pursue their goals no matter what.
Support your children to come up with creative new projects and ideas. Let them develop those ideas further, and encourage them on their achievements. This will enhance their self-confidence and put them on the path of design-thinking.
Help Your Children Take Charge of Their Future
As technology continues to play a growing role in our lives, it’s imperative that we teach our children to harness the power of tech to take charge of their future. How about making a trip to SMARTgenAsia?
SMARTgen Asia is the first of its kind event in the region to experience the coolest technology that will shape the way you live, work and play. It will be hosting a 2-day power-packed inspiring seminar for youths and parents to learn from Singapore’s top tech movers and shakers who will not only share the secrets of their success, but how they challenge conventional wisdom.
Also at the event are panel discussions aimed at motivating and inspiring youths and parents to tackle today’s biggest topics revolving around innovation, success, technology and entrepreneurship.
Join us and prepare your child for a 21st century career. Get valuable advise from top industry players from Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, TripAdvisor, Uber and more...
Visit our website for details and other event highlights! We hope to see you at SmartGen 2018!
#SMARTgen #TheFutureisNOW #GetAGripOfOurFuture #SmartGen#TheFutureisNow
#OurChildren#Ourfuture
Reference: Want entrepreneurs? Don't be afraid to fail.
Don't miss these...
Prep junior for success ― Teach him how to fail!