Enterprising teens

Teaching Perseverance to Kids: Natalie Cook’s Five Ps

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Cathy Howitt with Natalie Cook in a lesson about teaching perseverance to kids

Teaching perseverance to kids is one of the most important parts of helping them develop a mindset for success, because every child will face setbacks, rejection and moments when things feel too hard.

A baby learns to walk by falling over many times. An entrepreneur learns to succeed after stumbling along the way. In this third part of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps series, we look at her fourth P: Perseverance — perseverance on our children’s part, and perseverance on ours as parents too.

Kids working together on a computer while learning perseverance and problem solving
Perseverance grows when children work through challenges, solve problems together and keep going when learning gets difficult.

Teaching Perseverance to Kids Through Real-Life Setbacks

One of the best ways to teach children perseverance is to let them see adults handle setbacks in a healthy way.

For example, Cathy and I have learned that in the business of referring people to an opportunity, many people will simply not be interested. With enterprising teens watching, how do parents set an example to persevere when people say “No”?

The mindset for success is to celebrate the “No.”

After enough “No” responses, a “Yes” will inevitably follow. One of my mentors, David Wood, says to do the Happy Dance whenever you get a “No,” because the rejection has only moved you one step closer to the “Yes.”

Perseverance for Kids Means Learning to Handle Rejection

Your kids, whether entrepreneurial or not, are going to like seeing that Happy Dance.

It becomes a practical, memorable way to help seal the behavioural pattern of success in their mindsets. Being able to overcome rejection in business, rejection from friends and even rejection from family is paramount when teaching perseverance to kids.

The lesson is simple but powerful: rejection is not the end of the road. It is part of the road.

For entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens, this matters. A child who can hear “No” and still keep going has a much stronger foundation than a child who believes every “No” means they have failed.

Changing the Language Children Use About Perseverance

Our vocabulary also plays a huge part in our ability to persevere.

In our family, “Can’t” is a swear word and is not allowed to be used at any time. “Can” is encouraged.

Many people, including kids, are quick to give up when the going gets tough. They say, “I can’t,” rather than “I can.” The little kids in my family actually believe “can’t” is a swear word, right up there with the other big four-letter words!

This might sound funny, but it is also a powerful family rule.

When children repeatedly say “I can’t,” they begin training themselves to stop. When they learn to say “I can try,” “I can learn,” or “I can have another go,” they begin building the internal language of perseverance.

Teaching Perseverance to Kids With “That Was Easy”

Another phrase to abandon is, “It’s too hard.”

Natalie Cook showed us a little trick she used to change her perception of what is hard. She bought a toy button that calls out, “That was easy!” when you press it. Natalie would strap this toy button to her volleyball net pole.

Whenever she did something very well that was also very difficult, she would run up to press the button:

“That was easy!”

Try it for yourself. Press the button below.

Being the best in the world at your sport certainly has its challenges, and my kids would love to try out one of those buttons.

But whether or not you have the button, the point is not to keep telling yourself, “That was hard.”

A child’s brain listens carefully to repeated language. If the phrase is always “too hard,” the child begins to expect defeat. If the phrase becomes “I can try,” “I can learn,” or even “that was easy,” the child begins to rehearse a different identity.

Natalie Cook’s Example of Perseverance

Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey is a strong example of perseverance in action. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, which makes her a powerful role model when teaching children about commitment, setbacks and long-term success. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.

Children often see the medal, the success or the final moment of victory.

What they do not always see are the early mornings, the missed shots, the injuries, the disappointments, the training sessions and the moments when an athlete has to choose whether to keep going.

That is why perseverance is such an important lesson for kids. It teaches them that success is not just about talent. It is also about what they do after things become difficult.

Why Perseverance Belongs in the Mindset for Success

These tactics — celebrating the “No,” changing our language, and reframing hard things as achievable — can all increase the level of perseverance in kids and help keep them on a successful track.

But perseverance becomes easier when children also have direction.

That is where the next P comes in: Plan.

A plan gives perseverance somewhere to go. It helps children understand the next step, not just the final dream. Without a plan, perseverance can feel like pushing in the dark. With a plan, children can see that each effort is moving them forward.

Make sure you have a look at the short video above that we made of Natalie Cook giving a special message to our kids. Can you spot the blooper?

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 3 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.

Where to Next?

How do you help your children persevere when things get tough? Leave us a comment and share one strategy that has worked in your family.

Entrepreneurial Kids: How to Teach Purpose and Success

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
Natalie Cook diving for the ball at the Sydney Olympics beach volleyball final

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.

Natalie Cook gold medallist sharing lessons for entrepreneurial kids
Natalie Cook, Olympic gold medallist, shared powerful lessons about purpose and success.

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.

Cathy and Trevor with Natalie Cook after a talk about purpose and success
Amy, Cathy, Natalie, Tracey, Kym and Trevor after Natalie Cook’s inspiring talk.

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.

Purpose quote for entrepreneurial kids learning their why

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:

  1. How do you want to contribute to this world?
  2. How do you want to grow as a person?
  3. 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.

Where to Next?

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.

Enterprising Teens: People, Passion and Success

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Jai thinking about people and passion as an enterprising teen

Enterprising teens need more than a career pathway or a good business idea — they need the right people around them and a passion strong enough to keep them moving forward.

After my son Jai and I discussed the first of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps, Purpose, I asked him to make a timeline of his life. I wanted him to focus on his surroundings, but more importantly, on the people who would be with him.

Jai thinking about the people and passions that support enterprising teens
Jai thinking about the people and passions that could help shape his enterprising teen journey.

Why Enterprising Teens Need the Right People

Natalie Cook’s second P is People.

Attracting the right people in life is key to building a successful young entrepreneur. But whether Jai chose to be an enterprising teen or follow a different path, what mattered most to me was his mindset for success in whatever direction he chose.

So, I asked him to imagine where he would like to be sitting five years from now — and with whom.

Then ten years from now.

Then forty years from now.

I asked him to picture what was around him, who his associates were, and what made those people so valuable to him that their presence would still be visible in his future decades later.

People quote for enterprising teens learning about success

What Natalie Cook Taught About People and Success

Natalie Cook’s career is a powerful example of what the right people, passion and support can help create. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, making her a strong real-world role model for enterprising teens. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.

Natalie discussed the value of surrounding herself with the right people while training to become an Olympic gold medallist. Around her were coaches, mindset mentors, professionals and peers whose encouragement lifted her up rather than criticism that tore her down.

This is a powerful lesson for enterprising teens.

The people around our children influence how they think, what they believe is possible, and the standards they quietly begin to accept for themselves. Friends, mentors, coaches, teachers, family members and business role models can all shape a child’s confidence and direction.

As parents, we cannot choose every influence our children will meet. But we can help them become more conscious of the people they allow close to them.

Helping Enterprising Teens Choose Positive Influences

It is important for enterprising teens to spend time with the sort of people they would like to learn from, grow with and, in some ways, emulate.

This goes beyond simple peer pressure. Children and teenagers absorb attitudes, habits, language, confidence and expectations from the people around them. If they are constantly surrounded by people who complain, criticise or limit possibility, that can become their normal.

But if they are surrounded by people who encourage, create, question, build, serve and keep learning, that can also become their normal.

This does not mean they need to abandon old friends or judge others harshly. It simply means they can learn to ask better questions:

  • Who encourages me to become better?
  • Who helps me believe more is possible?
  • Who lives with values I respect?
  • Who makes me feel more confident, creative and capable?
  • Who would I love to learn from?

These are not just business questions. They are life questions.

Enterprising Teens Learn Success by Helping People

One of the things I love about business and enterprise is that, at its heart, it is about people.

It does not matter whether the enterprise is large or small. It could be a child’s first market stall, a family business, a service project, a creative idea, or a future company. When young people learn to be genuinely helpful to others, their chances of success increase.

Helping people gives enterprising teens and adults an energy that attracts the right people into their lives. It teaches them that business is not only about making money. It is also about solving problems, creating value and building relationships.

This is a lesson children can begin learning very early.

Why Passion Matters for Enterprising Teens

Natalie Cook’s third P is Passion.

People are naturally attracted to those who have passion for what they do. Passion gives energy to an idea. It helps a young person keep going when the excitement wears off and the work begins.

Natalie has spoken about the importance of loving the process, not just the outcome. That is a valuable message for enterprising teens, because the process is where most of the growth happens.

Success is not only found in the final result. It is found in the practice, the learning, the mistakes, the conversations, the courage and the small daily decisions that eventually become a life.

Passion quote for enterprising teens developing a mindset for success

Jai wanted something he could stick with for the long term.

Having him visualise himself, his surroundings and his companions far into the future helped him reach a place that felt more connected to his own passion. It was something apart from what others were expecting of him. It was a desire that felt less likely to fade with time.

His spirit was guiding him, rather than the social conditioning of school, friends and family.

People and Passion Come Before the Pathway

This is one of the problems I see with the way many teenagers are asked to make career decisions.

They are often asked to choose a pathway before they have deeply considered the people they want around them, the kind of contribution they want to make, and the passions that might sustain them over time.

For enterprising teens, this matters.

A pathway without people can feel lonely.

A pathway without passion can become heavy.

But when a young person begins to understand who inspires them, who strengthens them, and what lights them up from the inside, their decisions become clearer.

That does not mean every choice becomes easy. It means the choices begin to come from a deeper place.

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 2 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.

Where to Next?

If you could enlist three people in the world to personally be your friend and mentor, who would they be? Mine would be Richard Branson, Robert Kiyosaki and Michael Clouse. Leave us a comment and share who would be on your list.