Teenage years are when an individual needs to learn that taking advantage of others, to get ones needs met, is an inferior strategy compared to creating advantage for others, and then trading value-for-value. Every child depends on their parents, or society, to meet their basic needs. But, as we mature, we realize that we will bankrupt our valuable relationships with others if we are always seeking to gain a value advantage when interacting with them. Instead, what we need are skills that allow us to create advantages for others and then a means to trade those advantages.
Each person is gifted with unique talents. To discover your talents, pay attention to your interests. Cast as widely as possible for interests by getting other people to share with you things that interest them. You have to feel with your gut instincts to discover things that might hold your interest. Each interest that you pursue knowledge of, then practice, and eventually develop to a professional level, (where other people will pay you to do it for them) has not only become a skill, but also an economic option that you know you will enjoy doing, while you are creating value for others.
This cycle of skill development is the closest definition I have been able to muster for Spiritual Growth and Development on an individual scale. Each interest that we can discover hidden inside of ourselves is like a trailhead marker, pointing to a challenging hike that will ultimately lead us to a sublime outcome--knowing and understanding ourselves better and gaining additional economic options for our lives. The more economic diversity that we can develop for ourselves, the more security we have in dealing with changing economic times. I always enjoyed driving. I earned a commercial driver's license. When I moved here, I drove an airport bus for eight months until I found my current job.