My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [88]
For you to truly master all that you’ve learned, you must share it with someone else.
Here’s how to spread your wisdom by becoming a mentor:
1. Know what you know. Identify what you’re good at that others might want to learn. Consider aspects of your life in which you’ve succeeded, such as living on your own, overcoming tough stuff, graduating from school, working with diverse people, leading a team, or moving to a new city. You aren’t expected to know it all, only enough to help someone less experienced or less confident make it through the confusion.
2. Open yourself to mentoring someone younger or older. The saying “The teacher will appear when the student is ready” is accurate. Be wise enough to notice when someone you could help is ready for your assistance. You can speed up this connection by joining an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters, volunteering with groups that promote mentoring (such as Junior Achievement), or by visiting a local school and signing up as a mentor. If you want to help someone older, volunteer at a nursing home or community center that serves the elderly. Someone is waiting right now for you to help her make her life a little better.
3. Take it slowly. You don’t have to magically fix your mentee’s home life or solve all his financial problems overnight. Most people, regardless of age and accomplishments, simply want someone to genuinely listen. If he needs advice he’ll ask for it. You know how confusing life can get. At those toughest moments, most of us just want someone to listen and remind us that it will be okay. Knowing that you care about your mentee is often more meaningful to him than any advice you can share.
4. Grow with them. As you get to know your mentee, identify one or two areas that you both agree are most important to focus on. These could include school, ethics, work, leadership, relationships, health, or spirituality. Recommend books, give her challenges, and help her learn the lessons she will need to know to get where she wants to go.
If you’re still sitting there wondering “When am I going to use all this information?” or “When should I get started?” then it’s time you answer your own question by acting on your biggest dreams immediately. No matter how far away your Future Picture may seem, it will move closer as soon as you take action to reach for it. The difference you make by applying your education in your own life and the lives of others is your real-world report card.
OKAY IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
There is no doubt Mysha could have become a teacher at a calm, suburban school, but she wanted more. She wanted to make a difference and feel alive in the process. There is no doubt that Anita, too, could have made a good living working at the tech company, but she also wanted more. She wanted to run her own school and take control of her future. There is no doubt that you could settle down along your current path and be okay, but you also want more.
Why do you want more out of your life? Because on some level you know that okay is not good enough!
Okay is not challenging or meaningful. Okay is not making the most of your talents, dreams, abilities, and creativity. Okay is doing the minimum and getting the minimum in return. Okay was not good enough for Mysha or Anita, and it absolutely should not be good enough for you—and you know it!
How many times have you thought, “If I don’t do this now, I may never do it.” The question is whether you are going to act on it. Time is passing by whether you choose to make the most of it or not. It’s your choice. Choose to make the most of what you have by refusing to settle for okay and instead following your Future Picture wherever it leads, whether that is South Central Los Angeles or Mount Everest.
MAKE YOUR FUTURE PICTURE YOUR PRESENT PICTURE