Robert Kennedy once said “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can change a small portion of events…It is from numberless acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.” Mentors can impact the world with their own unique gifts, strengths and life experiences. How can we help others develop and use their gifts to help create a better world? We’ve added a second blog on Thursday every week to give you the tools to help develop the next generation of serving leaders in your community.
Here’s why, when you explore the biographies of great men and women you find a unique characteristic that they all share. They all have at least one person who believed in them long before they believe in themselves. This individual sees the person as all they might be. They know the impact this individual can have on others in our communities. In our society today, we are not taught how to support others through our unique mission in this world. Every Thursday, I hope to provide you with the tools and stories that can help you develop others.
If it takes only one person to change the direction of your life then why do so many people miss the opportunity to make a difference? If you want to change the world you must be first willing to change yourself. This process can be extremely painful for you and the people around you. I find change is the only constant in our world; many of us just don’t want to change. I have found that we all need at least one constant in our world, someone that reminds us of who we are and, as importantly, who we might be. We all need people who will love us unconditionally. I choose to call these people mentors. Without mentors, the world would be deprived of all you might be. We want to provide you the tools you need to develop stronger leaders.
There is a well-known saying that when the student is ready, the teacher arrives. I have found the opposite is true; when the teacher is ready, the right student arrives. I believe that if you want to have an impact on the world you must be prepared to do it through helping other people.
So what makes a good mentor? Is it something that everyone can do? I find that great mentors are great mentors by choice, not chance. They are willing to put themselves out there so the right students can find them. You never know when life provides you an opportunity to help someone else. Things are changing, today we have many tools that can help you reach out to others in your community and around the world.
So how do you become a person of influence? First, you must be willing to look in the mirror. Are there things that you can do that others would like to do? Are you willing to risk personal failure to help others reach their goals in life? Are you willing to make mistakes while helping others? Malcolm Gladwell believes it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at what you do. I believe that you can do it in less time but you must be willing to risk failure more often than others do. I also believe you can accelerate your learning curve significantly by teaching and sharing what you’re trying to learn. Something powerful happens when you put yourself all in while learning and doing.
Learn more about Robert Kennedy and his lasting leadership legacy. You might enjoy visiting his website and seeing how he impacted the world
We’ve decided to add an additional blog on every Thursday at Developing Serving Leaders. We plan to begin sharing ideas and stories and that can help you grow and reach out to others. See you next week on Tuesday, when we talk about how to increase the impact of your important conversations.