The 4 Reasons For Growth

As written in A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D., to move from poverty to middle class or from middle class to wealthy, an individual must give up relationships for achievement (at least for some period of time).

Four reasons that a person leaves poverty are:

1 - It is too painful to stay

2 - A vision or a goal

3 - A key relationship

4 - A special talent or skill

To move up a level - from the bench to a starter, or from a starter to all-conference, an athlete must be willing to give up relationships for achievement (at least for some period of time).

To help athletes move up a level, we must help them create a vision for themselves and where they can go, we must teach them the knowledge and skills needed to get to there, and we must inspire them, through creating key relationships to work for those goals consistently and with the rigor that growth requires knowing that it will be difficult, and sometimes painful, for them to fully realize their dreams.

To help athletes become the best that they can, we must be able to create a vision, we must have the necessary teaching skills to grow them, and we must know how to build meaningful relationships that will allow us to inspire growth through work.  If we are lacking in these areas, we must be willing to grow as coaches and teachers so they we can be all we need for those that we lead.