By Lawrence FunderburkeJanuary 15, 20256 Minutes

In the first installment of this three-part series, we’ll explore what’s wrong with our young males, where they’re falling short, and how we can help them.

January is National Mentoring Month, a time caring adults should be reaching back at the start of the new year so that the next generation can move forward in it. But movement without progress is the definition of insanity, expecting a different outcome while using the same, outdated routine and tired playbook of a one-size-fits-all approach to address the boy crisis (aka male malaise). To generate a breakthrough in momentum for our boys, we need a holistic game plan that is customized and individualized for each child. It’s time for us to get serious; the return we expect is linked to the investment we make in our young (and even seasoned) males. Our boys, across every racial demographic and economic stratification, need all the help they can get inside and outside the classroom. Yes, outliers do exist in every sample. Some of our young males are excelling academically, but most of them are failing inspirationally. They haven’t given much thought about their future, let alone what it takes to maximize their current potential. And without a sense of purpose, their potential will remain untapped, with society suffering the consequences and footing the bill.

A young man without purpose is akin to a ship without a rudder. Like that vessel, he will be at the mercy of shifting winds in a punishing sea, traveling somewhere but going nowhere.

In my conversations with hundreds of men on this subject — CEOs, coaches, commentators, consultants, and collaborators — here’s what they have to say about our young males:

All valid points made when assessing the boy crisis. In general, our young males lack vision, confidence, and discipline in varying degrees. In this first installment, I’ll address the vision epidemic.

Whether you’re rooted in an organized religion or fall under the agnostic camp, you’ll likely agree with this Bible verse: “Where there’s no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Far too many of our young men, notably in urban and rural centers of the country, can’t see past their front door. They have sight, but vision eludes them. And without vision, which is future tense, they’re bound to live (and get caught up in) a distracted life. Hellen Keller said it best: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Sight is what is seen in the present moment. It can fool or fuel a person, depending on how a situation or circumstance is viewed. But for our broken boys, they see themselves as damaged goods. Nothing more, nothing less. For them, that’s why a vision upgrade precedes a confidence boost or discipline protocol. They must go up to a better place before they get out of bitter space. A newfound perspective, under a mentor’s tutelage, can produce change in the life of his mentee with the right currency (which is where confidence and discipline come into play). With the wrong method of payment, no change will take place.

“You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In closing, a philanthropist once asked me, “Why have our young men lost their ability to dream?” I responded, “It’s hard to dream big without the down payment of vision present. And when purpose is absent, our males will wallow through life without a sense of direction for their unique place in the world.” I added, “They’ll exist, but they won’t be living.” Now, dream delayed doesn’t mean vision denied. Joseph, of biblical acclaim, had a dream at the age of 17 that was tied to his purpose-centered destiny (which didn’t come to fruition until 13 years later as second in command of Egypt under Pharaoh). Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963; he was 34 years old. That speech compelled many whites, Dixiecrats and Republicans, to deal with the historical stench of bigotry and racism in America. Develop the vision first, experience the dream second. The younger, the better. Mentors, the best tutorial on vision forecasting for your mentees is the one you’ve seen take shape in your own lives. Using your life story as the backdrop, show your mentees, in colorful detail, how you were able to bring a vision or dream into reality. Help them picture success in movie-reel form, one pixel or frame at a time. Lastly, remind them of this fact: emotional saliency can serve as their motivational cheerleader — every faith step along the journey.