We’ve all heard the old saying: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
As coaches, mentors, and parents, our job is often framed as simply leading young people to opportunities, showing them the “water.” But the truth is, opportunities alone don’t guarantee growth. What truly matters is making the horse thirsty-helping young people develop the desire, conviction, and discipline to take in what will sustain and grow them.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
1. Conviction: The First Sip of Thirst
Conviction makes you thirsty. It’s what happens when you hear the truth-sometimes unwelcome, but always liberating. The Bible tells us, “The truth will set you free.”
At first, conviction feels uncomfortable. None of us like being told where we’ve fallen short. But when the truth is spoken by someone who truly cares, that same truth awakens us. And here’s the key: real conviction isn’t just about being corrected; it’s about knowing that the truth-teller will walk with you in change.
For youth, this means hearing honest feedback about their effort, their habits, or their choices, but also knowing they are not left alone. Conviction creates thirst for better because it connects truth with care.
2. Commitment: Thirst Requires Work
Whether you chase meaning or settle into meaninglessness, life requires commitment.
I learned this lesson watching my aunt survive while unhoused on the streets of Atlanta. Even there, discipline was necessary-finding safe corners, building a small community, and staying alive required focus and resilience. To live without purpose demands effort, just as striving toward greatness does.
This is what we must pass on to young people: thirst isn’t about chasing ease, it’s about embracing the reality that nothing worthwhile is free. Drinking requires effort. Laziness requires effort. Either way, commitment and discipline are unavoidable. The choice is not whether you will work-it’s what you will work for.
3. Calling: Thirst That Leads to Life
Conviction and commitment stir thirst, but calling gives it direction.
We live in a society that defines wealth in narrow, capitalistic terms. If young people aren’t taught to define wealth and success for themselves-rooted in their calling-they will end up pursuing someone else’s dream. And that leaves them among the living, but not alive.
True thirst is born when young people recognize that their greatness isn’t optional; it’s embedded in who they are. They must be guided to see that their gifts, discipline, and purpose are meant to bring life not only to themselves, but to everyone around them.
Final Word
To “make the horse thirsty” means we:
- Speak truth with care so conviction awakens desire.
- Model discipline so commitment becomes natural.
- Point toward purpose so calling defines success.
I’ve learned this through my own thirst-becoming a better husband, father, and leader not because it was easy, but because I realized the cost of being ineffective. My failures didn’t just hurt me; they hurt the people I love. That truth made me thirsty for change.
Every young person has greatness in them. Our responsibility is not to drag them to the water, but to help them thirst for it-to make them want to drink deeply, live fully, and walk in their calling.