Entrepreneurial kids need more than a good idea or a burst of enthusiasm — they need a strong sense of purpose that helps them keep going when the path becomes difficult.
This lesson became very clear to me after hearing Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook speak in Perth. Natalie is a five-time Olympian and one of Australia’s most inspiring beach volleyball champions. Her message about success, purpose and the mindset of high achievers was powerful not only for athletes, but also for parents raising entrepreneurial kids.
Why Entrepreneurial Kids Need a Strong Purpose
Natalie Cook is a wonderful example of the connection between sport, business and personal success. She won Olympic gold with Kerri Pottharst at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and went on to become a respected speaker, leader and businesswoman. You can read more about her Olympic journey on the Australian Olympic Committee’s Natalie Cook profile.
When Natalie spoke in Perth, she explained that professional athletes and successful business owners have many things in common. Both need discipline, courage, focus and the ability to keep moving towards a goal, even when the obstacles are real.
Her message was captivating, humorous and very useful for cultivating a mindset for success in entrepreneurial kids — and, just as importantly, in their adult counterparts.
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for Success
Natalie built her talk around what she called the Five Ps. These were principles that could apply to children, athletes, families and business owners alike.
Over a series of posts, I wanted to share these Five Ps and connect them to the way we raise enterprising, confident and purpose-driven children. I will also be adding one extra “P” of my own at the end. After hearing Natalie’s five, I wonder if you can guess what mine might be.
For this first part, we begin with one of the most important foundations of all.
Entrepreneurial Kids and the Power of Purpose
A person who truly reaches for success has a mindset that carries with it a very strong “Why,” or purpose.
Your “Why” must be stronger than your “Why not?”
If it is not, you may not have enough purpose to muster up the will to make your goals happen when barriers appear. A strong purpose gives children something deeper to hold onto. It turns a vague wish into a reason to keep trying.
Your “Why” has to be specific and close to the heart. It does not need to be complicated.
A friend of mine is driven to succeed because she desperately wants her mum to be happy and not have to work anymore. Another wants to buy a villa in Tuscany so that she can reconnect with her Italian family roots and create a sense of belonging.
These “Whys” are very different from saying, “Why not?” They are clear purposes, not poor explanations.
Teaching Purpose to Kids Through Real Conversations
Your “Why” will often come from one of two emotions: pain or pleasure. Usually, pain is the stronger of the two.
Think about the rags-to-riches stories we often hear about well-known success mentors and creators such as JK Rowling, Colonel Sanders, Sylvester Stallone, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Susan Boyle and Richard Branson. Their difficult experiences helped shape a strong “Why,” and that purpose became part of what carried them forward.
For entrepreneurial kids, this does not mean they need to experience hardship before they can succeed. It means they need to understand what matters to them. They need to begin asking deeper questions about contribution, growth, family, freedom, creativity and the kind of life they want to build.
I recently carried out a “Why” exercise with my son, Jai.
We had just returned from a career pathway meeting for his upcoming senior class. Every pathway the school presented seemed to end in landing a j-o-b — just-over-broke. Whether the route was through university, technical school or straight into the average 40-year career, the end result sounded much the same.
There was nothing for an enterprising teen to really grab hold of.
Worse still, because the students were nearing the end of high school, the pressure was on to make a choice. It felt like a limited choice, based on hastily presented ideas rather than a deeply considered purpose.
The result was confusion. Jai seemed torn between going to university with his mates because it sounded like fun, or leaving school with his cousin and going to make money in the mines.
This inconsistency told me that Jai’s “Whys” for both of these career paths were too vague.
Questions That Help Entrepreneurial Kids Find Their Why
So, we got to work.
We discussed why these two ideas sounded interesting to him. We talked about the difference between a strong “Why” and a casual “Why not?” We also explored why “Why not?” is unlikely to carry a person through the hard parts of either choice.
Then I asked Jai to ponder three questions:
- How do you want to contribute to this world?
- How do you want to grow as a person?
- How do you want to be remembered when you pass?
These are big questions for a teenager. In fact, they are big questions for adults too.
But they matter.
If we want to raise entrepreneurial kids who can think for themselves, create opportunities and build meaningful lives, we need to help them move beyond surface-level choices. We need to help them understand what drives them.
Purpose Comes Before the Plan
Many children are asked what job they want before they are asked what kind of life they want.
They are asked what subjects they will choose before they are asked what they care about.
They are asked which pathway they will follow before they have had time to discover the purpose behind the pathway.
This is why purpose matters so much. A plan without purpose can become a list of tasks. Purpose gives the plan energy, direction and meaning.
For entrepreneurial kids, purpose is not just about making money. It is about knowing why they want to create, serve, solve, build, lead or contribute in the first place.
Next, we continue the journey in Part 2: People and Passion, where we explore how the right people and passions can help shape entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens.
Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series
This article is Part 1 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.
- Part 1: Purpose — you are here
- Part 2: People and Passion
- Part 3: Perseverance
- Part 4: Plan and a Kids Mindset for Success
Where to Next?
- Explore more ideas for raising entrepreneurial kids
- Read about Justin Herald and business inspiration for kids
- Visit our family enterprise stories
We are always looking for feedback on our entrepreneurial kids articles. What is your “Why”? Leave a comment and share the purpose that keeps you moving forward.