A Warrior for the Next Generation

Dani Johnson has for years been coaching and teaching her clients how to become successful. Along the way, she has discovered that their biggest roadblock to achievement is that they never were taught how to succeed. In her new book, Grooming the Next Generation for Success, Johnson shares from her own experience and perspective to help adults learn how to succeed and help their children to become successful. To discover why her message is changing people’s lives, watch video below.

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Spiritually Equipping the Next Generation

Our kids must know that God has a future, a hope, and plans of success for them (see Jer. 29:11). Equipped with that knowledge, they can be empowered to take risks, walk by faith, and declare this message of hope to others. Faith is enormous for every human being’s chance for success. Lack of faith is one of the biggest causes of failure in adults. I’m not talking about religion; I’m talking about faith.

Please don’t get the two confused. They are very different. There are thousands who are not religious, but have faith in whatever they are doing, and they have experienced huge success. And on the other hand, I have come across countless religious people who have no faith in what they are doing and are consequently filled with worry, doubt, and hopelessness and have no vision. This kind of attitude cannot be passed down to our kids.

They need to know how God speaks, that He uses at least five methods to speak to them and is not limited to any one method. He speaks individually, through creation, through other people, and through circumstances-and all can be tested through His Word. All they have to do is pray, and according to John 15:7, answers will be given.

God really does speak to our children. So they should ask; He will hear and answer. “My sheep listen to my voice…” (John 10:27). A child has the capacity to hear His voice. The Scripture doesn’t have a footnote that says sheep are only adults.

Our children have been taught to hear the voice of God through any means He desires to communicate and to seek His direction. We teach them to see situations that others would call “coincidences” as being confirmations from Heaven. For example, Roman asked for a guitar three years ago when he was 8. (He is the most persistent of all our children and the biggest salesman ever.)

“I want to play the guitar.”

“That’s awesome, Roman. Good for you, but Mommy is not buying a guitar!” He was very persistent with me, so I thought, he’s just picking an instrument because his older sister has a guitar and his older brother has drums.

He was tireless in asking for a guitar. Over and over, it was “Mom, when can I get a guitar?”

Well, after much persistence, I finally said, “Here’s the deal. I think you might want to ask your Father in Heaven because $200 is a lot to spend on a toy for an 8-year-old. So you might want to pray. If God really wants you to have a guitar, then you will have a guitar; either He will change my heart or a guitar will come from another place. You know Mommy hears from God, right?”

“Yes.”

“If God tells me to buy you a guitar, then I will buy one. So stop asking me and start asking the One who is your Provider. I am not your provider, God is.”

He prayed every night for a week until my friend, Paula, randomly called. I hadn’t heard from her in months. She lives in the Bay Area, and we live in the mountains.

“Hey, I was cleaning out my garage and found two guitars that my sons totally lost interest in. Would your boys have any use for them?”

I almost dropped the phone. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m going to be up there this weekend, and I’ll just drop them off at your house.”

Paula walked in with two electric guitars that were just what Roman wanted. He cried like a baby. It has been three years; he has not lost interest in his guitars, and I don’t have to ride him to play them. He plays weekly and receives lessons at school, so no time is taken away from the house.

So that was definitely God. God built the faith of our son by answering his prayer, and faith is hugely important for success. This has been monumental because now he knows when he wants something to go to God, not just Mom and Dad. Now whenever he comes requesting something else, he knows the answer. At this time, he wants a snowboard, and I’m not buying a $500 snowboard for an 11-year-old. Can I afford it? Yes. Am I doing it? No. Sorry!

“I don’t know why you’re asking me. Why don’t you pray and ask God? Your brother, Cabe, asked for the same thing when he was about your age, and he received the same answer. Why don’t you pray and ask God? Someone gave Cabe the bindings, the board, the boots-everything, and that’s the board Cabe is still using. So I don’t know why you’re asking me. You’d better start praying.”

“OK … OK.”

I reminded Roman of the guitars God gave him. “You prayed, you asked, and He gave. Not me; He did it!”

This builds their faith in Him, not in their parent’s bank account or in a Sugar Daddy. So keep reminding them again and again how God answers prayers. It’s important; otherwise, what happens when Roman is 35 (and God forbid) he loses his job? Who should he trust as his Provider then? Do I want him to freak out and get on antidepressants because he can’t provide for his family? Of course not.

So it’s important for Roman, as well as our other children, to learn this lesson now. If they don’t learn it now, it will be difficult to learn as an adult. At that point, they will have to unlearn all the wrong behaviors acquired as kids and then train themselves to step out in faith, trusting an invisible God to be their Provider. That’s who I want them to go to for provision.