Some time back, a reader wrote me a very well stated letter concerning important elements required to prepare a young person to one day be president. In it, they asked this question:

“…Mr. Young, if one of your students from a financially challenged family told you they wanted to be President of the United States, what would your advice to them be?”

I would first and foremost tell them that their hardships cannot hold them down unless they allow them to. Actually, given the choice between someone who has been through hard times and excelled in spite of them and someone who has gone through life with a silver spoon in their mouths and a rose-colored view of reality, I’ll take the graduate of the school of hard knocks any day. They’ve seen the lows and can relate to those going through them. It will serve them well if they can embrace early on that the struggles they have endured can actually strengthen them as leaders if they will find a way to learn from them, to better themselves in spite of them, instead of letting them work as obstacles in their path.

Empower yourself with education – but also understand that the best lessons don’t always come from textbooks. There are plenty of book-smart people who are as dumb as a bucket of mud.

Understand that leaders cannot be afraid to lead. Leaders cannot be timid, they cannot be spineless, they must have thick hides, and they cannot follow popular opinion just to be popular. Leaders oftentimes make decisions that quite likely will be unpopular — but popular is not a measure of right and wrong. But they also must have a deep-set sense of empathy.

Be humble. A president must be a master of delegation, and understand they are no better than the people working under them. In that same light, I would make sure they understand how important it is for them to be willing to assume positions of leadership when opportunities to do so arise. Work with and learn from all kinds of people. Learning how to be a leader in school, in church, in civic organizations, and such will serve a future president well, and there are many such opportunities for them right now.

Your associations count either for or against you. Fair or not, the company they keep will be judged as a window on their personal character. People will evaluate those they associate with as being reflective of the values and character they themselves represent. In other words, birds of a feather tend to flock together, so be careful with which birds you flock. Surround yourself with good people and their influence will reflect on and eventually emanate from you.

Spend time learning from our older citizens. Young people are normally impulsive to the point of being impetuous. Knee jerk reactions are normally the ones that get you in trouble. You don’t get to be old by being a fool, and the lessons learned by our elders can serve the future president well if he/she will only take the time to learn them.

Your packaging is far less important than your contents. People need substance, not entertainment. Leading the nation is not a reality show designed for little more than drama, ratings, and profit. Millions of people are affected by almost everything a president does, and that is not to be taken lightly.

I believe they must be a student of the whole of our national history, and have an acute grasp of how we are what we are today while embracing and appreciating the link between the present and the past. America is still a work in progress. You cannot lead this nation into the future if you don’t understand and embrace all that has led us to where we are today.

I would encourage them to learn the lessons provided in the Good Book. There is no better handbook to use in grasping the essence of right and wrong in regard to human nature and our accountability to our Creator, which is the cornerstone of America even existing.

And perhaps more important than any other thing, I would make sure that our future president at least understands to not be afraid of failure. For some reason, we have become afraid as a society to let our young people fail. This is a basal mistake. Failure is a part of living, and any real leader will tell you that it is also a part of leading. True leaders learn the strongest lessons and strengthen their resolve the most as a result of falling flat on their face. Humble pie served with a dollop of experience is an unpleasant yet necessary element of leadership.

You cannot appreciate success until you have experienced failure. At the end of the day presidents are merely human, too. and Lord knows, I can’t think of a single one who hasn’t had their share of stubbed toes — even if some have refused to acknowledge any of them.

If our future presidents do nothing else, I hope and pray they will inspire a new flock of leaders to work toward maximizing their potential and shooting for the stars.

After all, America is supposed to be the land of opportunity where your ability and desire can take you anywhere you want to go – even to the oval office.