This month I had the opportunity to chat with Yvonne Godfrey about how young people can have the best chance of passing a driving test. She is the founder of MIOMO (Making it on my Own) which is a course that equips young people 16 years+ to become independent for adult life.
Darren:
Yvonne, you have worked with hundreds and hundreds of young people as they leave school, helping equip them for life. What tips can you give them to help them pass their theory and practical driving tests?
Yvonne:
The first is to manage yourself well. You need to be good at time, energy and space management. Plan your week before you start it. Say NO to the unimportant so you have room in your schedule for what is important. Allocate time for when you will learn your theory and to do the hours of instruction and practice behind the wheel. There’s no short cut to getting good results.
Darren:
Yes – we see that some people don’t take the test seriously enough and then they waste money through having to take it a second time. Also, fear, doubt and worry seem to be a big factor in stopping young people get their driving licence. What would you say to people who identify with this statement?
Yvonne:
Have the right attitude to win over fear. Be very willing to learn – be humble. Your driving instructor gets the most reward from helping you understand what you don’t know or what you can’t do. Pretending you have got it nailed is a bad strategy – it makes you look silly and gets the instructor frustrated.
It’s really important to push through whatever is holding you back from getting your licence, because having it will give you so much more independence and control over your life. At some stage you are going to need to be able to drive – if not now you will in the future. Having your licence also shows that you have achieved a goal by learning new skills and overcoming fear, which looks really good on your C.V.
Darren:
You had a pretty tough time growing up; you were separated from your mother when you were only 10 and then went dairy farming with your father and brother, and yet today you are a happy and successful person. What’s the secret to dealing with hardship?”
Yvonne
Use hardship to unleash your greatness. I think my hardship helped me to solve my problems and to tackle difficult goals. When things get tough most people want to reduce the size of their problem. But, the late Jim Rohn said, Don’t wish life were easier or your problems were smaller – wish you were bigger.” This is a better approach. Grow yourself by regularly reading, watch and listening to positive material.
When you grow your sense of responsibility, you can appreciate the rules in life that are there for everyone’s benefit – such as road rules. You realize that you need to be aware of other people on the road. You don’t just have to be on guard for your mistakes, but potentially for theirs as well.
Develop the mindset to become a host in this world having empathy for the needs of others rather than wanting to be a guest or to be served by others. Imagine if everyone took this attitude, we wouldn’t have any road rage!
Darren:
With your concept of being a host in the world rather than a guest, how important are people skills for young people today?
Yvonne
Relationships are everything. Communicate to connect. The people giving you opportunities will likely be a lot older than you. They often tell me that they can’t understand young people when they speak. So, my advice is to listen very carefully to the question before you speak – then speak clearly. Finish each word properly, speak a bit slower if you tend to rush, and look up so your voice will project. This will be really important when you go for your practical driver’s test. Having good communication skills will mean that not only will you listen to the instructor and examiner more carefully, but you will answer so that he or she understands you.
Darren
Okay – let’s finish off on money because I know young people never seem to have enough of it and so many end up getting into debt.
Yvonne
You bet we can talk about budgeting and being good with money – you can master money in one easy step. But before we do I need to alert your readers to how the advertising world is tricking them into getting into debt! They do it by making you believe that something you want is a need that you can’t live without. Eating out, buying gadgets, label clothing, fancy cars and drinking at bars are all nice but you can live without them.
Here’s my advice: Pay for your ‘needs’ first (which should include some savings) and what’s left over is your disposable income that you can spend on your ‘wants’. For example, if you own a car, you need to allow enough money to pay for the WOF, registration, insurance, regular maintenance and fuel. This should be factored into every paycheck so that you have the money when you need it. [you can find out how much it really costs to get your licence in this guide.]
To learn more how you can get more confidence and skills to pass your licence and become independent check out MIOMO the 4-day programmes running in Auckland this summer:
December 15th – 18th 2015 and January 18th – 21st 2016
Darren is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and the NZ Motoring Writers' Guild
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