Jim Morrison said: “The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.” When we refuse to accept children the way they have been wired, we kill them subtly by trying to turn them to something else. We must help children to find, discover and express themselves, instead of trying to change them. Some children end up in the wrong career because they are simply a product of manipulation, whether from their parents, the society, the school system or their circle of influence. Many talented and gifted children have been ‘wasted’ through forced careers! Children that are product of manipulation don’t end up living a fulfilling life. Wealth flows to people that are consistently living in alignment with what God has created them to be. Ben Carson said, “Children are the greatest natural resource in the world. Our God-given job as parents is to develop those resources to their greatest potential”. Designing the future of a child is beyond parental ‘jurisdiction’. I want to use this platform to specially advise parents in the words of Thich Nhat Hanh; he once said, “You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.’’ Parents should avoid the temptation of forcing their children to fit into their own design but rather provide them with a platform to stand out with their uniqueness. The greatest gift parents can ever give to their children is to provide them with a platform to be themselves. Parents are meant to nurture the uniqueness in their wards. The greatest parental sin and abuse is to manipulate our children to live a life that is not theirs. Don’t make your children the best version of yourself, make them the best version of themselves. This is a very common mentoring error that must be avoided by all parents. Our parenting skills will always take a wrong turn anytime we set out to manipulate our children. Our work as parents is to nurture the individuality and uniqueness in our wards and not to beat them into the shape or picture that we have in our minds. We are responsible as parents to help our children discover their gifts, use their unique abilities, unravel their hidden talents, and help them fire up their passion. The world is in dire need of kids that can solve problems with their gifts and talents. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: LIVING BEYOND PARENTAL MANIPULATION! The amazing story of mega star Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true ‘’rags to riches’’ tale of a penniless immigrant making it in the land of opportunity, the United States of America. With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would ever believe that an ordinary body builder from a small village in Austria would become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and one day be the Governor of California! Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947, near Graz, Austria. He rose to fame as the world’s top body builder, launching a career that would make him a giant Hollywood star and later, the governor of California. His father, Gustav, who constantly ridiculed Schwarzenegger’s early dreams of becoming a body builder wanted him to become a police officer just like him. Regardless of his father’s intimidation, the young Arnold held tenaciously to his dream and would not allow his father mold him into what he was not. On several occasions, he vehemently refused to tread the path that his father had laid for him. As an escape for all the ridicules at home, Arnold turned to live his passion: body building and the movies in a foreign land. He eventually became a fugitive for his passion, an intense passion that would later bring him to international limelight. His sojourn into body building brought him both fame and fortune. In all, Schwarzenegger would win five unprecedented Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia crowns during his body building career. Arnold, with his great physical strength and sense of humor, catapulted himself into the top echelon of acting world and has become one of the highest-paid action film star in Hollywood, with several films to his credit. After years of blockbuster movie roles, Schwarzenegger went into politics, becoming the governor of California (2003 – 2011). Arnold ran as a republican in 2003 in the California recall election that ousted the incumbent Democratic Governor, Gray Davis. He was re-elected in a land slide in 2006 elections. In 2012, he returned to his acting career, starring Jean-Claude Van-Damme, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone in the star–studded film, ‘The Expendables’. Within just one week, the movie had climbed to the No. 1 spot at the box office bringing in nearly $28.6million. His foray into politics has made him an active and respected member of the Republican Party with the hope of becoming a possible future Republican presidential candidate of the United States of America. The legendary actor has this to say in one of his speeches in 2001, ‘’My own plan formed when I was 14 years old; my father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was, and my mother wanted me to go to trade school.’’ It is not schooling or certificate that made Arnold who he is today, it is his own personal attempt at discovering himself when everybody wanted him to be something else! I wonder what the world would have lost if Arnold ended up becoming a police officer that his father wanted to mold him into? Parents are meant to trigger the journey of self-discovery in their children and not to mold them into their own desire. This is the greatest parental sin that has continuously ravage the world, leaving us with many children that had been sentenced to a life-time of identity crises.