Specific Goal Statement: To persuade my audience that they can overcome the obstacles they face and succeed. I am here because I think that today's young people are talented and intelligent individuals. Many young people simply need to be motivated and given a fair chance to succeed. Young people need mentors to help them find their way and stay focused. Mentors play a complex role in your life and are a sort of liaison between your parents or guardians and your educators. This is why I come before you today to speak. When I was your age, I faced many challenges and was fortunate to have mentors and motivational speakers come to my schools and neighborhoods and talk to me. As a youth motivational speaker, it is imperative for me to address the issues and challenges you face today and will continue to face for the rest of your life. As you know, I am neither a baseball player nor a famous athlete. I'm not a famous actor, artist, or person with millions in the bank. I'm not an ex-convict who's going to tell you not to follow the same path as me. However, my biography is quite powerful. Everything I've been through has made me the strong man I am today. I knew that education would be the key to my success. I developed the hunger and desire to succeed at a young age. I had so many reasons to become a statistic or fail. Any of these reasons would have been just excuses. I simply refused to become another negative statistic and that was a conscious choice I made. One of the words I'm going to cover for you today is the word statistics. We become a b...... of statistics in the middle of paper......of decisions. We can no longer blame “the man” or anyone else for our problems or failures. The only man who can hold you back is the one in the mirror. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a whole new era. We are in an era that saw the first black president, President Barack Obama, proudly enter the White House. As President of the United States, he is one of the most powerful men in the world. He gave us all hope. He proved that in this country we call America; There are endless opportunities for anyone who believes in themselves and is willing to work hard. No matter your past or current situation. As a speaker, I can only try to instill dynamism, tenacity and motivation in you. It must already be a part of you in some way. Your success and level of success in life depends on it.