In this solo podcast episode, Brian Johnson revisits the theme of helping young people earn prestige, drawing on Dave Yeager’s book 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People. He argues that prestige is a core motivator for youth development and that parents, grandparents, teachers, and leaders must act as “wise mentors” by simultaneously holding high standards and providing high support. Johnson explains the pitfalls of being an “enforcer” (high standards, low support) or a “protector” (low standards, high support) and urges mentors to add the missing element to become fully effective. He quotes Yeager to emphasize that respecting young people’s capacity to meet challenges fuels equity and growth. The episode ends with a call for listeners to assess where they fall on the standards‑support spectrum, to see the hero in themselves and in the youth they guide, and to visit heroic.us for further resources.
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Hi, this is Brian.
Welcome back to another Heroic Plus One.
In our last Plus One, we talked about the power of helping our kids earn prestige. I used Eleanor's first trophy and first cash prize as the context to share that wisdom. Today, we're going to revisit that theme and discuss Dave Yeager and his wisdom a little more. I repeat, 10 to 25. The Science of Motivating Young People is a really good, important book. Parents, grandparents, teachers, leaders, etc., check out the notes. Now, as we discussed, earning prestige is a really important part of a young person's development. We as wise mentor parents need to get really good at helping our kids create that. Why? Because in short, if we don't, they're going to go somewhere else to their peers to get that sense of belonging.
How do we do it?
We need to become wise mentors.
How do we do that?
In short, we hold both high standards and high support. We let our kids know just how much we believe in them and that we're excited to support them in becoming all they're capable of becoming by helping them hold high standards and loving them up throughout the process. If we have high standards but we're jerks about it, we're enforcers. This will alienate us from our kids. If we have low standards and high support, we're protectors coddling our kids, and they won't respect us either because we're not helping them earn prestige. As Professor Yeager puts it, and I quote him again, here's the takeaway: when you hold young people to high standards and make it clear that you believe they can meet these standards, you are respecting them because you are taking them seriously. Young people rise to meet the challenge because being respected is motivating. Further, you lift up all students and see greater equity. Today's Plus One. Where do you fall on the 2 dimensions of standards and support? Know this, I quote Jaeger again, enforcers can build on their high standards by adding more support. Protectors can build on their care and concern by adding higher standards. Both are half right, and so both just need to add one element to get all the way right. Here's to raising the next generation of heroes, Hero. And remember, in the faces of men and women and boys and girls, we see heroes. And don't forget to see the hero in the mirror. Hey, this is Brian.
Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. If you enjoyed it, please hit subscribe so that the best of the show keeps landing in your feed. Then head over to heroic.us. That's heroic.us, where you'll find the full library of wisdom I've created over the last 20 years, as well as the app, advanced training programs, coaching, and everything else we've built to help you optimize your life, actualize your potential, and live heroically. It is day 1. We are all in. Let's go.
