SYRACUSE – Teen life coach Jeff Yalden arrived in the area Thursday to help lift the spirits of Wawasee High School students and the community. Yalden, motivational speaker, author and coach on the MTV show “Made,” was invited by Principal Don Harmon to present his life-affirming program following the recent deaths of two students. For almost two hours he talked to students and their teachers about acceptance, friendship and love. “I’ve watched our community and families in shock,” explained Harmon. “He talks about the positive.” Yalden and Harmon met about 15 years ago at Yorktown High School in Muncie where Yalden appeared as a motivational speaker. “He made a huge impact on that high school,” Harmon said, “that when we had our second unfortunate loss I went to his website.” Yalden is a big man in a Harley Davidson shirt, bald, with earrings, tattoos and a long goatee – “a cool, rockin’ beard” in his words. “I look like the kind of guy you’re parents tell you not to talk to.” He said he tries to relate to young people through his appearance, and that if he dressed more conservatively, they would react to him differently. His point to the audience is that it is character that matters, not appearance. Yalden, a resident of Cape Cod, Mass., is married to an English teacher, has two grown daughters, and spends most of his time traveling to schools, camps and other youth gatherings to spread his positive message. He drew from his own life, told stories about his family, and periodically raised his voice to a shout, all to drive home his main theme, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” He spoke of choices, “Take time to think;” the meaning of love, “Time;” and the importance of having a good attitude. These positive thoughts came as a result of a difficult life. He shared his own background as a kid with abusive parents, a student struggling in school with learning disorders, then a married teenager with children by his early 20s. These early years included time in Marines, divorce, depression and anxiety. “I still have a hard time waking up and getting out of bed every morning,” he confessed. “But it’s gratitude for the little things that keep me going.” He wanted his listeners to understand that life is sometimes difficult for everybody. He advised the students keep their lives purposeful, meaningful and fulfilling, and to remember the little joys that happen every day.
