Freedom of Stress

After high school, whether the next step is pursuing college or work, true success requires mental wellness. Mental wellness requires minimal stress. Since stress lives on a continuum between truth and pretense, learning to live one’s truth is the foundation post-high school success.

Far too often, the discussion of post-high school success centers around gaining admission to a prestigious college/university or landing a job at a recognizable company. This mindset is widespread, yet has somehow been ignored as a factor influencing the current youth mental health crisis. Whether attending a top school or starting a career at an elite company, it is only after addressing the core causes of stress that we can expect improvement in the state of youth mental wellness and real post-high school success.

Stress, the conflict between who we are and who we pretend to be, is the precursor for mental illness.

Many youth feel compelled to meet the expectations of their parents and obey societal success norms. When this is incongruent with their own personal passion, internal stress results. Some navigate this conflict by temporarily camouflaging their truth, allowing the tension to build quietly for years and sometime their entire lives. The stress builds as they rely on the promise of delayed gratification — that one day they will be free or can retire and begin living in their true passion. For others, this conflict overflows, visibly presenting itself as depression/anxiety.

Understanding our youth mental health crisis is not difficult, but requires a high level view of human nature. While admission to a top college is great for some, for others is spells heightened intensity of the stress endured while in high school. Similarly, Fortune 500 employment after high school graduation is perfect for some, while others process it as the start of a lifelong journey of painful labor that reminds them of the misery they’ve watched their parents experience for as long as they can remember.

A Fresh Approach

Our youth education system has evolved into a competition-based, cycle of stress. Society strongly encourages the pursuit of admission to elite/ivy league schools upon high school graduation as the path to personal success. Many institutions report students changing majors at least once during the 4-year period for as many as 75% of its students. Many of these have already admitted stress and negative feelings experienced during high school. Rather than addressing their existing trauma, we often encourage them to pursue admission to the most competitive, prestigious, and often stressful colleges that exist. We fail to encourage them to even identify their passions and “who they are”, while forcing them down a road that has been chosen by their parents and societal recognition. The effort to treat the resulting youth mental health crisis with increased investment in mental health awareness, diagnosis, and treatment has been beneficial to many, but has not resulted in a measurable youth mental illness trend reversal.

Data confirms that when we identify and incorporate the student’s passion into their post-high school education or work, the path becomes infused with a joy that can lead to a lifetime of mental wellness and true personal success. This is exactly the mission of the Passion Identity Education model. Our professionals coach students toward continued education at the worlds’ most elite colleges, match them with top jobs, and help them start businesses that match their passions. Our world-class team of professionals has done it all at the highest level. They hold Ivy League degrees, have risen to top positions in corporations and the arts, and are serial entrepreneurs who have built and sold multiple businesses. Our team is fully committed to helping your child do the same, with a foundation of identiying, developing and living their passion to make the world a better place, while enjoying a mindset of passion, joy, and mental wellness.

The main idea of PIE is simple. Rather than addressing youth mental health crisis as a response to the competition-based model that is prevalent in our current society, PIE takes a preventative approach by ensuring that passion sits at the foundation of all post-high school endeavors. Whether the step following high school is college, work, or entrepreneurship, success is achieved immediately, because it ensures that passion drives each day. It stresses that the ideal school or job is not dictated by national college or company ranking, but by how well it matches the passion of the student. The consequence is improved individual performance and societal contribution. Everyone performs better and carries less stress when they enjoy what they are doing. It leads to true personal and societal success.

If, as a parent, you think you know more about what will bring your child true passion than they do, please stop reading and close this page now.

… If you are still reading, congratulations, because you highly value your child’s true passion and are a part of a growing adult segment of … youth mental health crisis abolitionists!

(Passion Identity Eduction (PIE)

Passion Identity Education (PIE) is a 3-step process that begins with empowering youth to explore and embrace their most authentic selves. Ironically, this is a foreign concept to many youth who are taught to be ultra-focused on family and societal expectations of who they should be. This process of envisioning an authentic life closes the gap between who they are and who they pretend to be. It is the key to stress reduction and a life of mental wellness. Finally, the youth is matched with an experienced personal PIE consultant to guide them in constructing a practical and satisfying path to a life of passion. This youth-centered path can range from admission to a prestigious college/university to being matched with and elite corporation to starting a small business. PIE consultants have done it all at a very high level.

Many of us live lives full of stress and conflict because it is difficult to constantly live in a state of pretense. Living in this manner means burying our authentic selves and smothers our freedom. It strips the world of the opportunity to benefit from of our true potential and natural genius.

More importantly, this conflict slowly decays our essence and can ultimately be quite self-destructive. The resulting depression, anxiety, self-medication, and poor choices can lead to relationship difficulties, mental illness, alcohol/substance abuse and engagement with the criminal justice system.

We often attribute these behaviors to our past traumas, including genetics, environment, class, racism, sexism, and more. However, PIE consultants guide teach us to get to know ourselves, honoring our authentic selves, living authentically, and practicing self- acceptance. When we learn to remove blame accept responsibility for our own lives, we unveil the excellence that has been dormant for years.

Once we learn to distinguish between who we are and who we and who we try to appear to be, we have taken the first step toward living our passion. It is only through discovery of this passion that we can begin reducing stress and pursuing an unapologetic life of purpose and joy.

This means understanding our core values, accepting our unique self (strengths, flaws, passions), setting boundaries, and making choices aligned with our inner compass rather than external pressures. This involves self-reflection, honest expression, and letting go of some of the people-pleasing associated with social media, peer groups, and even the expectations of our parents, teachers, and trusted respected societal figures. 

It can be challenging to treat ourselves with compassion and accept aspects of ourselves and life we can't alter. But once this skill is mastered, mental wellness and a joyous professional life lie ahead. 

PIE Consultants are graduates of ivy league schools, top professionals in their fields, and successful serial entrepreneurs. So, if college is truly your passion, PIE professionals can help you gain admission to your the right school. If joining the workforce or military is right for you, PIE experts will guide you to that match. If a new business is your passion, PIE serial entrepreneurs can engage you on that path.

What separates PIE team from other counsellor and coaches is that we only work through your true passion. College admission purely based on desired prestige is not our approach. Landing a job to earn money to impress others is not our philosophy. Grooming entrepreneurs who are simply chasing wealth is not our sweet spot.

But if you understand the value of building a career on a foundation of passion and joy that enriches your life and society, then Congratulations!! You’ve come to the right place and we are so glad you are here. Our fees are reasonable and need-based full/partial scholarships are available.