Category: Mentor

Categories
DareToBe Decisionmaking Leadership Mentor Walking Leader

#DareToBe Tweet Chat – Session: 051716

On Tuesday, May 17, 2016 the #DareToBe Tweetchat hosted by Andrea Sanchez (@asanchez16) took place.
The #DareToBe topic was QUESTIONS (QUESTIONING, QUESTIONED)

The following are Andrea’s ten questions and my answers.

Q1: What image comes to mind when you think of the topic “questions?” #DareToBe
A1. That old slogan from the Nat’l Enquirer “Enquiring minds want to know.” #DareToBe

Q2: Four-year-olds ask a lot of questions. Why does our questioning decrease as we grow older? #DareToBe
A2. We curtail our amount of questioning because most don’t want people thinking of them as a 4 yr old, unfortunately. #DareToBe

Q3: A side effect of not asking questions is _______________. #DareToBe
A3. not getting to know others and how they think, behave, how they are. #DareToBe

Q4: Give an example of a time when you wished you had asked more questions. Why didn’t you? #DareToBe
A4. before joining the Army. I wished I had asked how to do more in my brief time (I thought I was doing a lot already) #DareToBe

Q5: Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. –Voltaire/ Agree or Disagree? Explain. #DareToBe
A5. Agree. The questions determine what point of view and how deep the thought process goes #DareToBe

Q6: What benefits come from asking questions? #DareToBe
A6. The major benefit is learning more from both the question and the answer #DareToBe

Q7: The key to asking a good question is ________________. #DareToBe
A7. The key to asking a good question is expecting an even better answer #DareToBe

Q8: Is there such thing as a dumb question? Explain. #DareToBe
A8. There is such a thing as a dumb question when it is intentionally asked with malice. #DareToBe

Q9: At times questions create stress. How can we make others feel less threatened by questions? #DareToBe
A9. By explaining the question in as much detail as possible. Don’t bore them but explain that rationale behind the question #DareToBe

Q10: In today’s fast-paced world answers are often rewarded more than questions. How can we shift the focus? #DareToBe
A10. By expecting people to ask questions that are polar opposite of “Who are you wearing?” type questions #DareToBe

Q11: Tomorrow I will dare to ask about ________________. #DareToBe
A11. Tomorrow I will dare to ask about things I don’t usually ask. Starting with more WHY questions. #DareToBe

I invite you to join us on Twitter every Tuesday evening at 8PM Eastern / 7PM Central. Look for the #DARETOBE hashtag.

Categories
blog DareToBe Leadership Mentor Walking Leader

#DareToBe Tweet Chat – Session: 051016

On Tuesday, May 10, 2016 the #DareToBe Tweetchat hosted by Andrea Sanchez (@asanchez16) took place
The #DareToBe topic was WISH (WISHES, WISHING, WISHED)

The following are Andrea’s ten questions and my answers.

Q1: What is a wish? #DareToBe
A1. A wish is a desired want or need that is not yet fulfilled #DareToBe

Q2: Wishing is often linked to children. Why are some adults uncomfortable making them? #DareToBe
A2. This adult is NOT uncomfortable making them. I wish for a lot but I know that if I work hard I can get what I want #DareToBe

Q3: You can make your wishes come true by _______________. #DareToBe
A3. You can make your wishes come true by setting goals and working to make them come to fruition. #DareToBe

Q4: A genie has granted you three wishes. What are they? #DareToBe
A4. 1. Health for my family  2. Success in Education 3. Ability to travel on a whim #DareToBe

Q5: Have you ever had a wish come true? What was it? #DareToBe
A5. Go back to Berlin and walk where “no man’s land” was. I did. #DareToBe

Q6: We’ve heard the phrase “dream big.” Is there such thing as too big? Explain. #DareToBe
A6. One can never dream too big. One person’s big is another’s not so big. That’s where others can come in and help make dreams come true #DareToBe

Q7: If you want something you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done. Agree/Disagree? #DareToBe
A7. True, True. I want a Ferrari, then I have to have the money to afford me the purchase. #DareToBe

Q8: Is there an unhealthy side to wishing? Elaborate. #DareToBe
A8. Too much of a good thing can be bad. In my case, all that travel would be draining and stressful #DareToBe

Q9: Wishes only work when ________________. #DareToBe
A9. Wishes only work when you work to make those wishes come true. #DareToBe

Q10: Give an example of how wishes come true all the time, even when you haven’t wished them. #DareToBe
A10. When one individual is genuinely kind to another #DareToBe

Q11: Tomorrow I will dare to wish for________________. #DareToBe
A11. Tomorrow I will dare to wish for more patience, peace, and prosperity. #DareToBe

I invite you to join us on Twitter every Tuesday evening at 8PM Eastern / 7PM Central. Look for the #DARETOBE hashtag.

Categories
blog Change Decisionmaking Entrepreneurship Followership Leadership Mentor Motivation Walking Leader

ON MENTORSHIP

The Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines Mentor as “someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.” Mentorship is the art of being a mentor.

WHY IS MENTORSHIP IMPORTANT?

When it comes to moving forward into the future, looking back to the past is the usually the best thing to do. Sure, we are told to be bold and take that step into the uncertain future. However, what happens when we are taking a step on a path someone else has already taken? That is not good.

Simply, we are walking down a beaten path. While the beaten path is great to take when going down to the corner market for a gallon of milk, it is most certainly not the best to take when you want to do something new and exciting. When you want to blaze a trail into the unknown.

Having a Mentor is one way to avoid taking the path others have taken time and again. Thus, the individual being mentored can spend more time moving forward and less time walking where others have walked.

Mentorship has been around for ages. Ever since Homo habilis (early man) took his son out to hunt for the first time. Dad showed his would be hunter son which stick to use on the menacing Mastodon and which stones to use on the Saber-tooth tiger down by the watering hole. Then when the son grew up and had a son of his own, he passed on not only Dad’s tips and tricks to hunting Saber-tooth tiger but he added what he learned on his own. The when that son grew up, the entire process of teaching how to hunt is repeated and each time just a bit more is added. That process makes every subsequent generation better at hunting and thus here we are. Humans. Top of the Food Chain.

WHO SHOULD BE A MENTOR?

If you have something to teach, Teach!
If you have something to share with others, Share it!
If you find yourself with followers, Lead!
When you find people turn to you for answers. You are a MENTOR!

In essence, what I am trying to say is EVERYONE should recognize they are a mentor. No matter what your vocation is (if you have one) and no matter where you are in life, you will always have someone looking to you for advice, guidance, or direction.

Important to remember, when you open your mouth to say something is NOT the time you become a mentor. You become a mentor the moment some has come to you seeking that advice.

WHO SHOULD BE MENTORED?

If you have a question, someone must be answer it.
If you do not know how to do something, someone must teach you.
If you find yourself looking for direction, someone must show you.

In essence, what I am trying to say is EVERYONE should be mentored. No matter what rung on the company ladder you find yourself, you need a mentor. You need to remember that you cannot do everything that you want to do all at once. Better men and women than you have tried. Some succeeded but most failed. That is why; you must seek out their knowledge and wisdom to help avoid those mistakes. Therefore, if you fail the damage might not be as bad or big as those that failed before you. You will have learned something for the next attempt.

While all of us have something to give and share with others, we also have much more to learn from others. I leave you with bit of advice: find a mentor and be one for others.

David Guerra is a US Army Veteran, Author, Small Business Starter, Leadership Advocate and Action Taker.
You can follow David
– on TWITTER: @daveguerra
– on SNAPCHAT: daveguerra
– on INSTAGRAM: dave_guerra
– on FACEBOOK: fb.com/TheDavidGuerra