You’ve no doubt heard the old saying; “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Let’s take a moment and examine both sides of this conversation.

The metaphor of feeding someone and that sufficing to get them through one day, and one day alone shows that people can ONLY be helped so far.

No matter how you slice it, this is a restrictive, demeaning, and highly manipulating mindset that is fueled by a poverty mentality.

Now, I’m aware that there are a lot of well intended people out their who want to help, however intentions are better focused on “helping people help themselves!”

If all we do is help people and do things for them all the time, then they rely on us, which is not only unhealthy for their development of skills, it also makes them psychologically weak, confidence deprived, and quite literally puts their very future at risk.

The principle whereby we rely totally on the support, guidance, handout, and even nurturing of someone else, for too long a period, is typical of far too many governments, families and institutions.

To build a rich, powerful, purposeful and sustainable business, family or society, this “give a man a fish” nonsense has to stop!

Let’s look at the flip side, where we ‘teach a man to fish’.

Not only does the man become self-sufficient and becomes able to survive without being provided for, but he has a sense of achievement and fulfillment which is priceless.

How good does an angler feel as he pulls a fish from the water?

Much better than when one is placed generously in front of him, merely to eat.

Sure it may be good, for a while, to be provided for, but human psyche is bigger than that in a healthy human being.

People need to be valued for who they are and what they are capable of achieving.

We help them best, when we ‘teach them HOW to fish’.

By teaching people life, money, and self-management skills, we validate them for who they are and the contribution they are able to make.

By exposing them to best practices and challenging them to demonstrate a strong work ethic, their confidence grows as does their contribution back to society.

They know they are useful and valued and with this confidence they do more. They learn that to stretch themselves is good. That they have within themselves untapped resources which show off the potential they have always had, now released.

Indeed ‘teaching them to fish’ realizes not just the material potential they have, but catalyses even bigger capabilities in them. Their development muscle has been stretched and exercised, so it becomes bigger and more capable.

If you’d like to learn “how to fish”, then check out the 100 Day Challenge. It’s truly a game changing experience!

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by Gary Ryan Blair in 100 Day Challenge |December 1st, 2011 |Comments: 1