3 Wealth Lessons from Coach Dawn Staley

/ Charisse Says/

As mask mandates continue to get lifted, I hope that you are staying safe. I’ve been reflecting on Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter last week, and this will be one saga to watch!  Overall, I trust that you are staying emotionally stable amidst everything going on around us.

On a more lighthearted note, we are in the midst of the 2022 NBA playoffs and it’s getting really fun. Typically the focus is on the players. But, there’s other people that also play a big role in a team’s success – coaches! 

Dawn Staley

I recently watched The Playbook on Netflix (Watch trailer here), which profiles legendary coaches as they share the rules they live by to achieve success in sports and in life. While the series came out in 2020, I just got the opportunity to watch it last month. The coach that stands out to me is Dawn Staley, the current coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, who won the NCAA women’s basketball championship for the second time in school history this past April. 

Coach Staley’s top lessons from basketball are applicable for living a wealthy life - I think they’re applicable for you as you continually strive to reach your full potential. 

While I won’t go into all five of the lessons, these three may particularly resonate with you:

  1. Growth takes place outside of your comfort zone. Dawn states that “Sometimes you have to take steps that make you uncomfortable to understand where you are and where you want to be.” I love the fact that Dawn puts the onus of responsibility on us to seek out circumstances of discomfort. Dawn recounts her own uncomfortable experience of choosing to attend the University of Virginia, a predominantly white school, after growing up in a predominantly Black environment in Philadelphia. Just as the discomfort helped Dawn improve as a player given the competitive basketball environment of UVA, you might need to seek out experiences that grow and stretch you in different ways. Are you ready to take a leap into a new career? Is it time to say ‘yes’ to taking action on an investment idea that’s been swirling around in your head for a while?    

  2. Create a home-court advantage. What is your personal home-court advantage? How can you get a home-court advantage? By now, most people in the country have at least heard of the South Carolina Gamecocks. If you haven’t, now you know so there’s no excuse! You can also check out this New York Times article on “It’s Clearly South Carolina’s Time. Here’s How Dawn Staley Crafted It.” The rise in the Gamecocks’ sold-out stadium games is directly attributed to Dawn’s decision to spend time in the community talking about the Gamecocks basketball program, make people feel welcomed when they attend a Gamecocks game, and create an electric home-game environment for players. Dawn’s approach has uniquely given the Gamecocks a home-court advantage. I challenge you to write down the attributes that provide a competitive advantage for you when it comes to building the wealthy life you so desire. Share those attributes with a friend and listen to theirs too.  

  3. What is delayed is not denied. Maybe you have recently fallen short in achieving a wealth goal for 2022. Don’t fret because your delay shouldn’t be your denial. Coach Staley was delayed in winning her first NCAA championship in 2015, but then adjusted her team’s outlook, continued to work hard, and persevered to win the Gamecocks’ first NCAA championship in 2017.  Just like Dawn, you can take stock of what might be preventing you from reaching your goals, make the appropriate adjustments, and believe that you can actually achieve the thing that you want. I promise you – that all of the lessons that you have learned in the failures will help you achieve your successes. 

So, I hope that you are enticed to now watch the full Netflix The Playbook series and apply the lessons to your pursuit of wealth. 

A Wealthy Girl Corner

I want to provide an early salute to all the mothers out there who are trying every day to raise and consistently care for children - Happy Mother’s Day! 

Whether your mothering role is biological or not, I honor you this upcoming weekend. As a mother myself, I count it a blessing to mother my daughter Gabrielle. As a daughter, I count it a joy to have my extraordinary mother Barbara. 

I hope you get time with all the mothers in your life, including yourself if you fall into the basket. You deserve rest, rejuvenation, and celebration!