Joys of Mentoring

I recently was invited to a leadership camp with 22 young people (15 and 16 year olds) as a mentor for them. It was a compliment to be asked. It was even more satisfying to see their growth over the few days.

We played a lot of team building games and did various "trust" exercises that bonded the group to a tight-knit unit. We also overcame a lot of fears and built their confidence and personal identity with positive experiences, with activities such as abseiling and ropes courses. Plus we did goal setting and vision boards to get them hope and direction for the future.

All in all it was an awesome long weekend and I feel privileged to get to know and become friends with these young adults. There were tears, both of fear and of joy when the fear was beaten. There was a break down of walls and breakthroughs to new beginnings.

I learnt that while it is great to achieve personal goals and succeed, it is infinitely more fulfilling to help others reach their dreams. That knowledge is a wonderful gift, but to share that gift with the next generation is a whole new level. I think that this is the difference between an expert and a true leader. The willingness to share and empower others with the skills, talents and gifts that you have been blessed with, and to use these gifts to improve the world of others. Because I found that when you do this, your world also expands in ways that you have yet to imagine.

We also watched the movie Pay it Forward. Anyone that hasn't seen it I would thoughly recommend it as a beautiful story with a very strong positive message on how one person can make a huge difference. Anyway, as I was watching the film, I decided to make an effort to use this message to make a difference somehow. At the time I wasn't sure how, I just had the trust that some opportunity would present itself for me to help someone else somehow.

Over the course of the camp it came clear that one young girl shares my passion for photography and wants to make it into a career. We talked and she was eager to learn as much as possible. So now it is organised that the next event that I have to attend and shoot in a few weeks, she will be coming as my assistant. The look on her face was absolutely priceless, as she realised that her dreams were getting closer. That was reward enough to know that this was the right thing to do.

If you ever get the chance to use your skills, wisdom and experiences to go further along the path to their goals - Go For It because it is truly a win-win situtation. Plus think of the legacy you could leave behind in the world and a loving leader.

Abseiling blind

Hope for the future - an awesome group of young adults

Joys of Mentoring

All the Good Things

Image by Art4Inspiration

What would the world be like if when we met we only talked about the good things and recalled the positive about each other?

I posed this question to a group of young achievers that I mentor as the precursor to a session on positive communication. We then went around the group and had to public say one thing that we liked about ourselves. I was quite taken aback as many of the teenagers struggled to find something positive they were comfortable sharing about themselves.

After a brief discussion, the group as a whole realized that most of their day to day conversations were centered on their troubles and who or what caused them. These troubles or problems may even leak into our thoughts or our dreams as we rest and sleep, and we often spent a great deal of time pondering over them and allowing them to grow - this is time we can never replace.

We are all so aware of our own faults, deficits, inadequacies and problems, as well as those closest to us, when we really need to be focusing on the positives.

Imagine how you could influence somebody when you began a conversation with "I know something good about you", or "I heard something wonderful about you." When we speak to ourselves and others in this positive way, it opens the door to feeling better, for increased self esteem and confidence and offers an opportunity for us all to share joy.

Why not try it today and see where your conversations lead you?

All the Good Things