​Top 10 Ways to Get Your Student Loans Forgiven
 
With the climbing cost of education, student loan debt is becoming a bigger burden with each graduating class. Luckily, however, there are a few ways to reduce, or even eliminate, your student loan debt.
 
Consider these career strategies to shrink your student loan debt:
 

1. Join the military. Serve Uncle Sam and you can eliminate up to 100% of your student loans. The amount of forgiveness depends on the type of student loan and where you’re stationed. If you’re considering joining the military, speak to a recruiter and ask for more information.
   
   
2. Become a nurse. Due to the demand for more nurses, nurses are eligible to receive 100% forgiveness for Federal Perkins Loans. Nurses also enjoy high salaries, especially considering that it only requires two years to learn become a registered nurse.
   
   
3. Work with the disabled. Many organizations offer this student loan forgiveness program. If you provide early intervention services to the disabled, you may qualify for up to 100% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans.
   
   
4. Become a faculty member at a Tribal university. The government has labeled a few colleges and universities as tribal schools. These primarily serve Native Americans or Alaskan Natives. If you teach at one of these schools, you can have up to 100% of your Perkins Loan forgiven.
   
   
5. Join the Peace Corp as a volunteer. You can have a great experience in a new country, help others, and reduce your student loan debt at the same time. You can earn up to 70% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans.
   
   
6. Join AmeriCorps VISTA. This is similar to the Peace Corp, but serves challenged areas of the U.S. Again, loan forgiveness can be up to 70%. Perhaps not exotic as the Peace Corp, but you can potentially stay close to home.
   
   
7. Become a teacher. There are many places in the U.S. in desperate need of teachers. Most of these areas serve lower-income neighborhoods. Teach for five years and you can eliminate up to $17,500 worth of Federal Stafford loans. However, Plus Loans are not eligible.
   
   
8. Become an educator. This program is much broader than the program aimed solely at teachers, and will forgive up to 100% of Federal Perkins Loans. You can be a speech pathologist, school librarian, staff member at a pre-kindergarten program, or even a teacher. Other professions can also qualify.

 

• Depending on the position, you may have to work for a certain number of years or have an advanced degree.
  
  

1. Become a firefighter. If you’ve considered becoming a firefighter, there’s good news. You can receive up to 100% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans after serving a few years.
   
   
2. Become a police officer or corrections officer. The firefighter plan also applies to police officers and corrections officers.
   
   

Many career options offer partial or complete student loan forgiveness. There’s a common theme to these programs: you must be providing an important service to those in need. You can gain valuable experience and enjoy the knowledge that you’re helping to improve the lives of others while you get rid of your student loans.

​8 Ways to Encourage Individuality in Children 
Every child is unique. Many children are also very self-conscious and unsure of themselves. This can stifle individuality before it even has a chance to develop.
 
There is a lot that parents and teachers can do to encourage a child to be comfortable and aware of their individuality.
 
Your child has many special qualities. Are you sure you’re aware of all of them?
 
Help your child to be who they are meant to be: 

1. Ask for their opinion and use it. Kids become more confident when they know their opinion matters. Ask your child if the family should have pizza or hamburgers for dinner. Or if you should go to Colorado or Florida for vacation. Or if you should plant daisies or tulips in the flower beds.
   
   
   • When they see that their opinion matters, their willingness to express their individuality grows.
     
     
2. Be highly supportive of their interests. Whether it’s dancing, drawing, or basketball, show them that those activities matter because they’re important to your child. Once again, you’re teaching them that their opinion is important.
   
   
   • Help your child to be great at what interests them. This might mean helping them to join a team, taking a class, join a club, or get a tutor or coach. They’ll love you for it, and love themselves more, too.
     
     
3. Make a list of your child’s strengths and preferences. Find ways to help your child leverage those things. Combining your child’s strengths and preferences is a great way to ensure success, build confidence, and foster individuality.
   
   
4. Accept your child for what they are. Give up whatever vision you might have of the perfect child. You’re not programming a robot. You’re raising a unique human being. Encourage their uniqueness and leave your own preferences at the door. You can change yourself all you like if you want a project.
   
   
5. Give a lot of freedom when allowing your child to select clothes. Clothing selection is a harmless way for your child to express himself. Meet the school’s dress code, but other than that, get out of the way. If your child likes to wear mismatched socks or colors, great.
   
   
6. Encourage your child to be assertive. An assertive child is much more likely to express their individuality freely. Help your child to be more assertive and share their opinions and preferences openly. Encourage your child to speak up and give their opinion. Teach your child not to allow themselves to be mistreated.
   
   
   • Every child should respect themselves and appreciate their own value. You can help make it so.
     
     
7. Avoid making comparisons. One way to damage your child’s individuality is to make comparisons between your child and others. Comparisons don’t bring about positive results. What one child is or isn’t doing has nothing to do with your child. Comparisons are for buying cars or a new lawnmower.
   
   
8. Show your own individuality, too. Your child knows if you’re holding back. They’re always watching you. Be brave and show the world who you really are. Your child is likely to follow your example. It’s an opportunity for you to both grow together.

 
Everyone struggles to feel comfortable enough to be 100% authentic, including adults. The best time to begin creating this comfort is in childhood.
 
Help your child to show their unique nature to the world. Without a parent’s help, most children fail to develop the courage and comfort to be themselves. There’s much you can do to help your child develop fully.

​5 Excuses That Derail Success
 
No matter how impossible you might think something is to accomplish, there’s someone out there getting it done anyway. Most often, excuses are a way to justify fear of failure, fear of success, or a lack of resolve. Excuses get in the way of success and living fully.
 
By overcoming your excuses, success becomes much more likely!
 
Avoid letting these excuses sabotage the life you desire:
 

1. I don’t have the right education. A surprising percentage of the most successful people never completed high school. It’s true that education is required to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, but education isn’t required in many situations.

 

• Our society places a high emphasis on education, but it’s not always necessary. Motivation and commitment are far more valuable than education in most cases. How committed are you?
  
  

1. I don’t have enough money. Many of those wealthy in the present were poor in the past. Some of the biggest companies were started in a one-car garage. Money certainly makes things easier, but it’s not always necessary to get started.

 

• A lack of financial resources is a convenient excuse to stay stuck in your current situation. The world is full of money. If you don’t have enough money to move forward, find a way to acquire more.
  
  

1. I don’t have enough time. With careful planning, you can find time in your schedule for your priorities. How much extra time do you need to achieve your goals?

 

• You might need to eliminate some of the activities that aren’t as crucial to making your dreams come true, such as club meetings.
  
  
• If you regularly overextend yourself by saying Yes every time someone asks you to do something, practice politely saying No until you can sometimes make that your answer.
  
  
• Delegate some of your responsibilities.
  
  
• Cut down on watching television. You’d be surprised how much you can get done during the time you usually spend watching shows on TV or the internet!
  
  

1. It’s too late to get started. Do you think life has passed you by? An 80 year-old man climbed Mount Everest successfully. People over the age of 60 have graduated from medical school. Is it really too late? It’s possible that your age or life circumstances can make success more challenging, but it’s unlikely that it’s too late.

 

• What can you do today to take that first step?
  
  

1. I don’t know how to get started. There was a time when Tiger Woods didn’t know how to play golf and Warren Buffett couldn’t even spell “stock.” It might be true that you don’t know how to get started. That just means you require some education.

 

• There’s never been a time in history when more free information was available. You can find anything you need to get started online or at the local library. And there’s no law that states you can’t sit in the bookstore all day and read to your heart’s content.
  
  

If you feel that success is eluding you, thoughtfully consider the possibility that you might be making excuses. You might discover that what you thought was stopping you all along was really you! Now that you know, you can get past your excuses and on the path to success.