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Inspiring students and helping them to achieve their goals can be challenging.You must know that some students work jobs to support their families rather than spend their money solely on clothes and frivolous activities. They are also caught up with problems such as homelessness, poverty, social acceptance and sexual abuse, and find it difficult to 'keep their heads up' in school. In such cases you can do several things to get them to focus their energies in a positive manner.

Teachers and counselors who have the ability to inspire is a very powerful gift. Inspiration can be compared to a magnet for its ability to influence movement among other metal objects. This is based on three things: respect, position and relevance. Just like a magnet, inspiration is about influence. When you inspire people, you cause them to be self-motivated to reach their dreams. Therefore, your ability to inspire is based on how much respect the student has for you, the amount of interaction you provide the student and the relevance of your accomplishments to his or her life.

Inspiration begins with building respect. You have to win over their respect to make them listen to you. You may start your initial dialogues by finding out about their dreams and aspirations. When you show interest in their lives they feel you are on their side. Then you can talk to them about your experiences that are similar to theirs. But the key is to get students to understand that they have something in common with you. This places you in a position to inspire them in your environment.

Positive examples are important for inspiration. Try to become a role model for them, they will always be in a learning mode when they interact with you. Everything you do and say will give them more reasons to view you as a reliable resource and influence in their lives. So, it's a good idea to talk about the things that interest them and expose them to your accomplishments that are in line with their goals. This helps students to believe that their dreams are possible when they feel hopeless, and they feel that they are not alone and that they have an advocate representing a model of success.

Talk to students about what is relevant in their context. It is best done by those who are closer to them in age. So, you should try and assess each student's goals and position in their career track, and mold the training and interaction to provide each student with the environment needed for his or her next steps. Inspiration is maintained by progressing students through their achievements one step at a time.

Inspiring children can be challenging, especially when students are inspired by things not directly related to their career goals. But if you build strong relationships with your students you can lay the foundation of respect. Then you can help your students to set goals and focus on them.