© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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• Youthful rashness skips like a hare over the meshes of good counsel. William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

The feeling of invincibility is temporary, of course. People grow out of it at different rates. The reality of life comes into play sooner or later. It teaches you that you can't run on youthful energy alone. You've got to work hard and think hard. You've got to face problems head on and cut them down to size. This is most true when it comes to your physical and emotional health.

The thought of a young person drinking too much, driving too fast and wrapping a car around a tree is dramatic. But young people also damage their emotional and physical health because of the way they live while they still feel indestructible. It's the wise young person who can look a few steps ahead and gear toward proper maintenance of the whole self. This makes for a life with far fewer bumps.

In terms of physical health, which involves nutrition and exercise, the young person runs the risk of creating lifelong negative cycles. Better to maximize the energy of youth than to expend it all too soon.