I'm proud of you. Why?

Joel Green is a former professional basketball player & National Director of Nike Sports Camps. Joel had a challenging upbringing, growing up in an abandoned house in North Philadelphia. His cousin was murdered, he had a knife pulled on him, and he stood just 10 ft from another shooting. Years later, he tragically lost his older brother. In a profound moment in our conversation for The Mojo Sessions (link below)  I asked Joel, if I could give him a quiet moment with his brother one on one, and he could ask him one question, what would he ask? Joel said "I would ask him if he was proud of me and what he was proud of." How often do we hear people say "I just want to make my parents or someone close to me proud." Perhaps we should be letting people know, those closest to us, that we are proud of them daily... so there is no doubt. The second part of Joel's answer is the profound moment. It's easy to tell somebody you are proud of them, but we must know what we are proud of them for. That takes observation, watching, listening, thinking, pondering, and appreciating with gratitude what it is  that makes that person special, so when they say, "What are you proud of?" you are able to look them in the eye and tell them specifically. There's so much power in this simple act. Not just I am proud of you - we want to know what they are proud of us for. When I asked former Navy Seal, Andrew Paul what he believed were the most important things to say to a child he said "I love you and I'm proud of you". Enough said. GB
LINK to the conversation with Joel Green https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mojo-sessions/id1530154809?i=1000610062444