Building my personal brand and not trying to screw it up.

It's been awhile since I posted a personal blog as I have been finding it tough to write. It's not always easy to sit down and put "pen to paper" that people would find worth reading and helpful. I like to mostly share some of my personal journey with the hope of helping someone be better at what they do.

In my last blog post I shared some personal stories of my own failures and some points on what I am doing to find success. One of the things I am working hard on is improving my personal brand in order to fix my weaknesses. For me it's finding the right mentor(s) that are not telling me how to run my personal, career or business life based on their strengths and experiences, but understanding my weaknesses and how I can fix them.

I think a mentor should treat you like a research project. Instead of telling me his life is the blueprint of success they openly acknowledge that there is no single path to success, what is right for them may not be right for you.

 Here are some things to ensure you don't screw up your mentoring relationship:

1. As an entrepreneur or career professional don't leech life lessons from your mentor but engage in with them in order to seek the answers as they are relevant to your business or career path.

2. Help your mentor learn. Mentors should be learning as they are guiding you through the process of making you successful.

3. Mentors should be uncomfortable with the status quo. Mentors should be interested in making themselves better as they are making you better.

4.  The best mentors don't play by the rules.

What are some things you are doing to improve your personal brand?

Here is my online Prezume using Prezi. Would you use this tool to increase your brand? Do you think this would capture interest to potential hires? Recruiters?

Be Vulnerable

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto

Guest Post by Brad Feld.

We are told that leaders must be strong. They must be confident. They must be unflinching. They must hide their fear. They must never blink. They cannot be soft in any way.

Bullshit.

Last night, after my first public talk on the new book that Amy and I just released titled Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur, a woman came up to me afterwards and gave me two pieces of feedback. The first was that I expressed incredible vulnerability in my talk. She thanked me for that. She then suggested that I hadn’t done a good job of weaving the notion of vulnerability into the importance of the dynamics of the relationship that Amy and I have.

She was absolutely correct on both fronts. Amy and I allow ourselves to be very vulnerable with each other. We aren't afraid of each other and – by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable – we are more direct, honest, and clear about what is on our minds. It works both ways – we are more able to hear the other person, and more able to offer feedback in a constructive way, because we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

But it doesn't stop there. I’m allow myself to be very vulnerable with my partners Seth, Jason, and Ryan. And they allow themselves to be vulnerable with me and each other. We embrace the notion of “brutal honesty” with each other – we say things as we see them, as we believe them, and as directly as we can to each other – while at the same time recognizing that the other person is open to any feedback, in any tone, in any way. Notably, we are each vulnerable to each other, which makes our communication much more powerful and effective.

I try to be bidirectionally vulnerable with every entrepreneur I work with. I try my hardest, but when I hurt someone, I want to hear why. When I let someone down, I want to hear why. When I am struggling, I talk openly about it. When I've failed, I listen to why. And I hope that every entrepreneur I work with feels the same way, or whatever their version of “being vulnerable” is.

I’m vulnerable to the broader community I engage with. I’m open about my struggles – personally and professionally. I’m not bashful about being wrong, and owning it. And, when I get feedback, my ears are always open. Sure, I get plenty of random criticism from nameless, faceless people. That used to annoy me – now I just put them in the bucked of “anonymous coward” and delete it from my brain. If they can offer me the feedback directly, in their own voice, with their own identity, I’m open to it. I’ll let myself be vulnerable in that context. But I draw the line at random, anonymous attacks, especially ad hominem ones.

The great leaders I know are vulnerable. Maybe not to everyone, maybe not all the time, and maybe not in all contexts. But the allow themselves to be, simply, themselves. Human. They allow others in. They know they can be wrong. They know they can fail. And they know they can improve. Vulnerable.

That’s part of being a great leader. And a great partner – business or personal. And it opens you up to be a greater human. Thanks to the person who reminded me of that last night.

Brad is one of the managing directors at Foundry Group, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage software / Internet companies throughout the United States. He is also the co-founder of TechStars, a mentor-driven accelerator, author of several books and blogs, and a marathon runner. Read more.

Stay in the Game

Photo courtesy of  Elijah Johnston

It's easy is to have a good attitude and pursue our dreams as long is everything is going are way. But what about the difficult times when things are not going our way. It's easy to lose our passion and our dreams when we are hurt.

Many sit on the sidelines of life because we are nursing our wounds. But you have to shake off the self pity and the discouragement and get back into the game. Sometimes you have to play in pain.

I heard a story this week about a football player that had a broken hand and bruised ribs. He was a defensive linemen. The trainers wanted him to sit out but he wasn't about to sit out. He had a big cast on his arm and wearing a special vest to protect his ribs. He was all bandaged up and looked like a mummy. A reporter asked him how he was feeling. He said, "It's a little painful, but I'd rather be in the game in pain than sitting on the sidelines watching."

You can't let injury, that hurt, that failure, cause you to sit on the sidelines. Do like this player, bandage up what's hurting and didn't work out and get back into the game.

Life is hard and we can get so caught up in ourselves and live in self pity. One of the best things you can do when you are hurting is get your mind off your problems and go help someone else who is in need.

Personally, I have gone through enough personal and professional life issues to just sit on the sidelines nursing  my wounds. But I chose to bandage my wounds, continue to play and stay in the game!

Look forward to hearing from you. Share with us your story and what you are doing to stay in the game.

Take the leap and sore

Photo courtesy of the Johnston boys.

One thing I love about being a dad is watching my boys grow and discover new things. Unless it's going to put them in critical danger I always let them try and do things that are out of the ordinary. Often times when travelling, we discuss new ways of doing things, inventing a new product, starting a business or coming up with a different way to make something work better.

I always encourage them to dream, ask questions and if it makes sense just do it. So off they go and sometimes they fail and sometimes they succeed.

Discovery is a great journey. Whether it's finding a new job, starting a business or wanting to try something out of your comfort zone.

At Mentorplus.me we want to help people achieve their highest potential by giving them actionable advice. Don't be afraid to seek out someone to help you explore, dream and discover. Then take the leap and sore!

See you soon... ;)

Get some... #NewThinking.

Creating an idea is easy. Turning it into a business is hard. The startup journey for me has been one of ups and downs. I have to admit getting support and advice on your journey can either drag you down or allow you to leap in to a new way of thinking.

I am a person at times not to ask for help and think I need to do things on my own. This journey of startup has caused me to really seek out advice from my mentors or an expert. Most recently, I have been dealing with some personal issues that have caused me to seek help. So I setup a meeting with one of my mentors, Norm, to get support. I presented to Norm my issues and the actions I was going to take to resolve. All I was really expecting was to get a confirmation on these decisions. Instead I got raked over the coals about my direction. Norm asked me some very pointed questions about my thinking of which some I couldn't answer. I then proceeded to ask his advice. What I got from Norm was a new way of thinking on these issues with a fresh approach. I'm thankful I had the hour with Norm as it really put some things into perspective for me. Sometimes we just need this to formulate a new way of thinking to our problems, decisions, issues or plans.

Let me encourage you today don't go it alone and take the leap to get a mentor that can help shape you to #NewThinking.

What experiences have you had with getting advice that changed your thinking. Comment on it here or tweet with a #NewThinking. I love to hear from you and keep the discussion going!

New Thinking.

Many people continue to not achieve success. The problem is, they don’t know what is their problem. 

Most people are limited to their own experience and knowledge.

Are you SO VERY SURE of your real problem that’s obstructing you for success?

Chances are, unfortunately, you don’t.  You need a different point of reference in order to solve your “problem” to success. That’s it. That’s why you read books. Talk to people. And be humble of other people’s feedback.

Albert Einstein said it well… “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

If you need help and a new point of reference check out Mentorplus.me. It just might be the "New Thinking" you need to solve your problem. 

10 excuses why we fear giving and getting advice

I have been doing a lot of soul searching over the past year in regards to my personal and professional life. One thing that always draws me to making decisions is the importance of asking for help, advice, guidance and assistance from someone, a mentor, who has gone through similar experiences. It's has not always been easy for me to do this and at times I become very fearful of it. But as human beings we must help each other, it's in our nature to share our life experiences in order to get better at what we do.

Asking for advice begins when we start to understand the teaching on the subject. We are blessed with these tremendous online tools and resources that allow us to get information and advice at our finger tips. We are all dependent on each other for help and when we overcome that fear of asking, it opens doors to get us where we want to go.

Many people fail to seek out experts for advice because of various misunderstandings and excuses:

1. They think the concept of mentoring doesn't apply to them.

2. They don’t believe it works today.

3. They’re too embarrassed to admit that they need help.

4. They’re too proud to ask for help.

5. They’re afraid to help others because their advice might not be accepted.

6. They’re too embarrassed to confess their mistakes or failures to someone else.

7. They’re so consumed with their own needs and don’t have time to sympathize or provide help for others.

8. They have problems in their own lives and doubt that can help anyone else.

9. They don’t feel worthy to be used.

10. It’s easier to send a card or email than to engage in serious help for others.

Are you allowing to be used as an agent of help? Many people are going through difficulties and need someone to listen and give them great advice. You don’t have to be a leader or senior to be used. If you’ll allow yourself to make an effort and find someone who needs your expertise, your effective advice will accomplish much.

If your looking for great self-help, career, business,or startup advice, Mentorplus.me is a community that offers online mentoring with a social purpose by helping you do what you do... only better. Join us to EXPLORE, DREAM and DISCOVER.

What's holding you up?

Do Something Remarkable Today...

Today was a great week for Mentor+me as I am so encouraged and thankful for all the positive comments coming in on what we are trying to build and create here.  We live in a world where so many people need to be given hope and help. Especially in regards to career, self-improvement and making good business decisions. But there are lots of theories out there on how to approach. The simple fact is we just need to get going, stop talking about it, stop theorizing about it, stop stalling - "Just Do It". On that note, I'm thrilled to welcome a new Mentor+ member - Gary C. Bizzo. Gary is strategic certified business counselor, mentored over 900 business startups and business writer. He has published a bunch of articles with Evan Carmichael in Toronto on his blog and writes for the Toronto Star as a feature writer on occasion. Gary has also accepted a role on our Board of Advisors for Mentor+me. I look forward to Gary's personal mentorship as we continue to rapid growth here. Gary has already posted some great blog articles on Mentor+me : Your Dream Team - Finding the Right Employees and Critical Issues for Business Coaching. Excellent information so check them out when you get a chance. I also like to thank Jamie McClelland, Derek Smith and Chris Willard for their ongoing support as advisors as well. Please connect with anyone of them as they are all here to help. Again, thanks so much for being a part of our launch and signing up. If you haven't, well get to it and visit Mentor+me too register and setup your profile. What are you waiting for?

Online Social Mentoring - connecting for a purpose

5 reasons to give and get great advice.

Today people and business startups are hustling to make connections and network on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but what we are discovering is even though it’s nice to have a great list of friends and colleagues to develop outposts, there is a better way to get the answers you need than these larger social networks are able to provide. 

Special-interest communities like Mentor+me attract members who know that being successful is more about quality than quantity. Users looking for solutions and resources seek out advice from others with answers which is often a great starting point in developing a longer term mentor relationship. This is the easiest and most efficient way to establish an informal relationship with someone who wants to really help. 

Here are 5 reasons to give and get great advice:

1. Connecting for a purpose 

Special interest-based social sites like Mentor+me give you all the networking tools that we know and love like publishing your profile. Your profile can be found in searches by typing in a word such as “startup advice”, “need help with a career change”, “should I get an MBA?”, “what do I need to do to become a manager?” Instead of connecting with people randomly, you connect with people on specific issues in a community whose sole purpose is to help its members. This is social networking for a specific social purpose. 

2. People are experts in their own life experiences 

People tend to want to speak to individuals they understand or who speak their own lingo. If people have had experiences like: having a great career in marketing; a career change; a personal crisis such as a health issue; or had success with a a startup business, then this gives people an opportunity to connect with the things that are important to them. 

3. Raise your personal stock 

Members are rewarded for engaging in the community, whether you are a Mentee earning a way to “Mentor” status based on your contributions to the community, or you are a Mentor who engages in online relationships and is recognized as a thought leader in your area of expertise. 

There are all kinds of benefits to this, some of which include: professional advancement, speaking opportunities, self-promotion or just plain bragging rights. Sometimes you might not get the respect you deserve in the workplace or your personal life, but among your Mentor+me peers you will be given the respect you appreciate. 

4. Personal and Professional Referrals 

Tapping into an online community like Mentor+me  is the most efficient and effective way to find peers who are similar, enabling a wealth of useful information to be shared. 

This type of support group can keep peers up-to-date on a news article or latest technique for accomplishing a task. Peer recommendations carry a lot more weight then a Google search result. 

5. Advice you can trust 

Face it, when making a decision we often seek out advice from people who have gone down the same path. Mentor+me focuses on the people you want to reach and engage. 

Mentor+me is online mentoring with a social purpose by helping you do what you do... only better!

Mentor+me Launches

Today marks the beginning of what we believe to be an evolution in your career, personal and business acceleration. Mentor+me is a new web & mobile application that leverages social networks to connect industry leader mentors with people who want personalized and actionable advice.

Although we've officially launched, the mission has only just begun. As with any beta, the feature set will evolve as the community grows. We are in the middle of recruiting a great selection of mentors who want to help. As we are just beginning to open the site to members, we will quickly grow the amount of participation. We need YOU to sign-up and help promote the site to all your colleagues and friends. Please register at mentorplus.me.

Here are only a few of the cool features the site offers:

• A featured set of mentors available for each special interest group.
• Search and request advice from an expert. 
• Exclusive collaboration tools such as email, chat messaging, video chat and scheduled live events with special speakers.
• The latest in Career, Personal Achievement, Business and Startup news.
• Free access to The #Mentor+ Daily -- Top curated mentoring, career, business and startup content from around the world.
• M+ Library of recommended reading materials brought to you by Amazon.com.
• Doing your own research? Create your own poll to get membership feedback.
• Earn reward points for every time you engage in activity on the site. You will be able to see "My Stats" in your own profile. These points will be used to change your ranking and achievement on the site. Ex. Mentee to Mentor.

For now, take time to explore the network, share your thoughts on the IDEAS page, evaluate and join the groups and forums available. Your feedback is very important, so we will do our best to make improvements on a regular basis.

Please join us in our mission to impact one billion people, worldwide, in a positive way, over the next 10 years (2022). So let the journey begin... Don't go it alone -- EXPLORE, DREAM and DISCOVER. Again, go to mentorplus.me and accept your personal invitation.

See you soon.

"There is no passion to be found playing small." --- Mandela

3 KEYS TO NOT LIVING YOUR LIFE WITH REGRET

During my personal and professional life journey, I have experienced the news of  my two son’s chronic diseases, the tragedy of a failed marriage, the loss of a job and home and the death of a parent to cancer. Along the way, I had the experience to be influenced by some great Giants(mentors) in my life. These people shaped and to continue to re-shape me to the person I am today. The common theme that has come out of their advice is do things that help discover your passion. Although I find myself at times doing things the hard way I follow their advice and ...

SO I EXPLORE...

I have done a lot of crazy things in my life but the past year for me I have journeyed into one of the riskiest decisions of my adulthood... I decided to become an entrepreneur. Over the past few years, as I came to a turning point in a number of personal and career situations I realized that my passion has always been to serve people. I love to see individuals excel and be successful especially when they come out of their own trials and tribulations. I believe adversity makes us stronger.

If you really think about it our lives are like running our own enterprise. We balance what we do between two major departments - Personal and career. The success in one department determines the success of the other. If you want to take it to another level... how profitable the personal determines how profitable our career department or vice versa.

AND DREAM...

I discovered in others and my life journey that people sometime live their life with so much regret. They are not happy with their career and thus personal life suffers. People are just looking for so much hope today. Maybe why so much success of all the reality TV shows?

I want to be a part of the solution now and know there are others that want to do the same. I believe that as the baby-boomer generation gets older that there is and will be a ton of help from people willing to share their professional and personal life experience. I want to bring these individuals of diverse generational groups together in way that makes it easy and simple to get personal and actionable advice. Hence, the reason for Mentor+me. This will be unlike any other social or professional network as it will provide the  successful advice you need in your career and personal life.

The career, job training and self-improvement market is a Multi-billion dollar industry world-wide and close to 200 Million people would be willing to enter into a mentoring relationship. Imagine if these people were able take 5 people and mentor them. That would be 1 billion people that would be impacted.

Mentor+me is a social networking site that connects industry leader mentors with people who want personalized and actionable advice.

THEN DISCOVER.

Mentor+me  is a dedicated community that will ensure that you Don’t go it alone. For mentees, if you are looking to improve your job performance and career growth, expand you personal network or just see what others are doing to become successful then we are here for you.

As a mentor, this will enable you to be recognized thought leader. If you are a person that has something to say or add-value and have the ability reply to calls for help then this platform is for you.  Mentor+me will help you grow your personal network from a diverse community group.

So now Facebook has connected you with your family and friends… LinkedIn has connected your with your collegues…  Mentor+me  now helps people become a mentor(s) and/or a mentee(s) and helps both to achieve their highest potentials.

Please join me as we begin to help you make your life the best ever and help us impact a billion people by 2022. Let's do this!
Sign up today at thementorplusproject.com.

Why you will fail to have a great career...unless?

It was a Thursday night a few weeks ago and I was heading to Toronto to my first advisory board meeting regarding The MENTOR+ project. This was a very important meeting  as I really wanted to dissect our next moves and have a game plan over the next few months.

I have had the privilege working with these great mentors/advisors the past number of months. They are generous, kind and brilliant individuals but what has made them so successful is their passion. My mentors at the meeting spent a great deal of time talking to me about options, being flexible and the sacrifices I have to make in order to be successful. Some people would have left this meeting discouraged and given up because of the fear of failing. But what made me feel good was that I left the meeting more encouraged and motivated to keep moving forward. A confirmation that I wasn't afraid even the slightest to fail.

I think about The MENTOR+ project 24/7 and love to talk to individuals who are passionate in helping others reach their highest potential. So it's fitting that I found this TEDx talk by Larry Smith who shares on one of the key aspects of having a great career.

Here's a small bio of Larry Smith:
Throughout his three-decade career at the University of Waterloo, Larry Smith has inspired legions of students to take up the mantle of economics with his passionate and homespun tales of economic wizardry. A renowned story-teller, teacher and youth leadership champion, Larry has also coached and mentored countless numbers of students on start-up business management and career development strategies.

Highlights of Larry's talk and why I want a great career:

• Good jobs are now disappearing.
• Good jobs are high workload, blood sucking, high stress, soul destroying jobs and then there are those in between.

If you want a great career you have to pursue your passion but most decide not to do it because:

1. In order to have a great career people use the excuse that its a matter of luck.
2. Great careers are made for geniuses.
3. People with great careers are weird. So nice and normal people don't have passion?
4.  If I work hard I will have a great career and success. Are you sure? As all the evidence says the contrary.

Passion is your greatest love not your interests. Passion is beyond your interests. 

• You need 20 interests and then you might find your one passion. 
• Your passion engages you more than anything else in comparison with all your other interests.
• You must look for alternatives so that you find your destiny. Find the highest expression of your destiny. Does that scare you? If you settle for interesting then it's a missed opportunity.
• You will FIND your passion and still fail because your not going to DO IT. 

Larry uses an example of an excuse on human relationships...

• I want be a great friend, great parent but I will not sacrifice them because of great accomplishments. So suggesting you want a great career sounds somewhat unrealistic.
• Do you think it's appropriate to take children as a shield? What about if your son or daughter came to you, who is great in math, but says he wants to be magician. You say to them that is tough life, not much money, no security, etc.
• Are you going to say to them, I had dream to but I was afraid to pursue it? Do you want to use your family and see them as your jailers.
• Instead you could say go for it son... just liked I did! So the sins of the parent are visited on the children.
• Many seek refuge on their kids preventing them from pursuing their passion.

Some closing thoughts on "UNLESS":

Many are afraid to pursue their passion because they are going to fail. Instead of saying unless...

Or there are those that say..If only I had? Instead of saying unless...

Enjoy the video below, I hope it finds you more passionate than ever about your career! It did for me.

New Level… New Devil

Dealing with our fears of judgment + building a trusting Mentoring relationship

Co-authored by Greg Johnston and Chris Sherwood

I must admit that I have struggled with feelings of intimidation being around teachers, leaders, authority figures or anyone in a position of influence or power or who may have more knowledge than I.The main reason is that I have feared others’ judgment - judgment of my experiences; my successes, as well as my failures; my knowledge (or lack thereof); my clothes; the cars I have driven... pretty much any aspect of me as a person (or who I am not) or my character. It has taken me years – a lifetime, in fact – to overcome these fears… and at times I still have them.

And yet, with having my own fears of judgment, one might think that I would be sensitive to others who may consider me to be their teacher, leader or authority figure and who may struggle with the same fears. Sadly, I cannot make this claim. At times, it is I who has been the one to judge – something for which I am ashamed to have to admit and something that I find difficult to understand about myself.

Whether knowledge, power or influence actually exists in hierarchies or not, it is the perception that they do and that we may reside on a rung lower than another that is the impetus for such fears. Irrespective of whatever rung we may consider ourselves to be on (assuming that we do), it is the belief that there are rungs and that they do in fact exist in levels that drives our behaviours one way or another… hence the focus of this blog "New Level… New Devil".

What are your thoughts on power and authority? 

 Do you perceive yourself to be near the top of the ladder, and if so, how does it feel being there? Does it evoke feelings of superiority? Conversely, do you perceive yourself to be near the bottom and if so, do you struggle with feelings of inadequacy? Either way, have you ever stopped to think about where you are on your hierarchical ladder and the feelings that you have with being there? Perhaps it is more important to ask whether there is a ladder at all? For if there were no ladder, could we even be capable of generating feelings such as superiority or inadequacy?

Irrespective of where any one of us may be, do we not all need support from others and do we not all have responsibility to serve others who also need our support? If you just answered “no” to the preceding questions and you are not a plumber, perhaps you may answer them differently the next time your pipes are leaking water into your home. The bottom line is that none of us can get through life on our own – an axiom that is simply undeniable.

So that we can be more aware of our actions and the driving forces for them, it is important that we stop to reflect on what our individual experiences are regarding the various social hierarchies that exist around us and how we perceive ourselves to fit within them… if we do at all, perceive ourselves to fit within them, that is. It is also interesting to consider what the impact is on our society with respect to our collective experiences of both judging and being judged. If fears of judgment can hold us back individually, how might we be held back collectively by the same?

Personal Experience

Over the past few months I have had the privilege of meeting a number of individuals regarding The MENTOR+ project, many of whom are or have been Senior Directors within Fortune 500 companies. For people in these positions to succeed in growing their billion dollar businesses, they have to be able to lead large numbers of employees – in some cases hundreds or more. Simply put, these are people who define overachievement, so was little ol’ me intimidated to meet them? You betcha… I was petrified! Would they like my ideas or would they laugh at them and think them to be stupid? Before each meeting, I had to wrestle my fears of judgment to the ground and make the conscious choice to not give in to them. If I didn’t and chose to forgo the opportunity to meet, my fears would have gotten the better of me… and this MENTOR+ Project in which I believe so passionately may have gone nowhere. However, I have had to get to the point of asking myself "What's the worst thing they are going to say? NO?" So, what's there to worry about… in this case, nothing.

However, there are other cases where the answer to the question, “’What’s the worst thing they are going to say?’ isn’t just a simple ‘No!’” In some cases, as in some employment situations, one’s fears of judgment from asking this question may be realized in negative ways and thus, a cycle of intimidation is often perpetuated and at times opportunities for both employee and employer may be lost.

Judgment affects us all… it affects people at both the top of the so-called hierarchical ladder and also the bottom. With judgment comes fear of failure, but also fear of success. What is the solution? Mentoring relationships built on trust. Having these provides opportunities for us to deal with both our individual, but also our collective fears.

So, here are 4 things to consider:

• With respect to the position(s) you hold, consider where you fit in the hierarchy and how it feels being in that spot. Do you feel powerful or powerless… or, depending on your circumstance, do you feel both? 
• Reflect back to a time when you felt judged and how it felt to be so. Now consider whether you could be judging someone(s) else. 
• Do you have any good ideas that you haven’t taken action to implement? If so, what is stopping you? Would sharing your ideas put your well-being at risk? If so, are there other options?
• Are you in a role with decision-making authority for others? If so, how do you approach it? Do you consider the role a privilege or a right; an opportunity to serve, or an opportunity to be served? 

JUST ASK...because:

• everyone has the capacity to be a mentor; and 
• we were born with the inherent need for support (a.k.a. mentorship) from others; and
• we often fear being open with our real thoughts and feelings; and
• sometimes our fears are based on legitimate risks to our well being; and
• none of us exist in isolation; and
• we have access to information, but so often it is hard to know what is accurate and what is not; and
• we live in a world where it can be difficult to know whether someone is truly qualified to provide the support we need; and 
• even if we do know how to tell if someone were qualified, being able to access them could be impossible; and
• all too often, people in positions of authority use their position to serve themselves and not others and so good ideas are often squelched before they ever have a chance to see the light of day; and
• collectively, we all – and I mean ALL – suffer from peoples’ unrealized opportunities; and
• there is a huge need for systems that can help to fill the huge gaps just identified… hence the MENTOR+ Project.

MENTOR+ Project Update

Searching for and pulling together individuals who would be willing to serve as advisors to The MENTOR+ project or as members of the inaugural Board of Directors has been somewhat of a challenging task, but we are making big strides. At first I thought I am never going to get the people I need to take this project to the next level, but as I met with people and discussed with them my passion for this project, many individuals said “YES!”...and of course some said “NO!” I am thankful to everyone who took time to meet with me and especially so to those who have agreed to be involved more formally to help move this project to the next stage of its development. I will be announcing very soon who these individuals are, so keep your eyes peeled.

Please sign up on the website at The MENTOR+ project so you can get updates on the status of our development and announcements on how we are doing. M+ will be a platform where people can be more open, more creative, more courageous, more supported, more helpful, more interconnected, more democratic… more… MENTOR+ more…

M+ will help individuals achieve their full potential and together it will help us all achieve our collective potential. Make the decision today to become a part of breaking down the barriers that hold you back and that hold us all back.

Don't worry about being judged just ASK and move forward!

PEOPLE - PROCESS - PASSION

Rolling in the deep? Be a Giant to someone.

From watching the Grammys, I wanted to find out what “Rolling in the Deep” means, so I did a little investigation. The following description was the one I liked best, one which is based on old fashioned and poetic language: "Rolling in the Deep is what a ship far out at sea does. The image is a small ship tossed on a very deep, dark ocean". The lyrics conjure an image of the man alone in a deep sea of despair like a lonely ship rolling in the waves of the deep ocean - Rolling in the Deep. I know that I have been in many situations where I was rolling in the deep and it wasn't until I asked for help from a Giant – a mentor – that I could begin to make decisions that would help me to get to calmer waters.

Watching ADELE take home six Grammys reminded me of how much of an impact one person can make when they share themselves and their life issues with others. Through the music on her album “21”, Adele shared how she was so deeply affected by a personal loss that so many others of us have also experienced – the loss that happens when breaking up with one’s partner. Through her own pain and the power of music, Adele was able to help others cope with their pain. And although she did not necessarily have this intention at the time she wrote her music, she nevertheless became a powerful force for others who needed this.

In my life, both personally and professionally, when I have been down, I have had some great Giants come along and pick me up off my feet to help me get back on track. They may have observed in me and my situation things that reminded them of circumstances they had previously been in. By sharing their own stories with me, they tried to help me, not by telling me what to do, but instead by getting me to see things through a different set of lenses – the lenses of experience. The value of this support to me has been immeasurable.

Most mentors are passionate about helping others, especially when they see people suffering and when they believe that they can do something that can help to relieve it. In these situations, a mentor who shares their journey with a person demonstrates empathy and compassion, which reminds them that they are not alone. This simple act can change a person’s life forever.

Here are 4 characteristics of a great Giant:

Be a great communicator.
Cultivate a mastery of language and expression. You have the ability to be an effective communicator and to use it in a way that can entertain, educate, and inspire people every day.

Use your words to encourage.
At one time in my life, criticizing others and launching attacks on my opponents was the only way I could stay in control of situations, but invariably, the consequences were negative. No doubt this approach left others feeling unhappy, but it also did the same to me, causing an inner turmoil that was difficult to resolve. Giants need to be highly attuned to the feeling of others, but also to themselves so they can measure their responses by remaining calm in stressful situations.

Master Criticism.
Being a Giant means tapping into the "better angels of our nature", to use our strengths in service for others – a purpose that is much higher than ourselves and whatever personal gain we may think we will achieve. This means being able to listen to others and what they think and feel about us.

Discipline to build character.
To actually be a true Giant or Mentor requires actively engaging in a process of self-reflection and a willingness to sculpt one’s character into one that focuses outside of itself. It first means taking an honest look at yourself and being able to acknowledge both your strengths and the areas that need work. By acknowledging your strengths, you can use these to help others who could benefit from them. Helping others is one of the most powerful ways to shape your character and to finding your true purposes in life.

One of the objectives of The MENTOR+ project is to bring Giants – aka mentors – together with individuals or organizations that are in need of exactly this type of guidance. We are currently building an online social community platform that will make that much easier.

Please join me in helping build a life story for yourself and others. I am excited and passionate about the M+ community and what it will have to offer. Sign-up and be one of the firs beta-testers. BE A GIANT!

Helping to release people to their highest potential.

Why the MENTOR+ project?

Greg Johnston, M+ 

Becoming successful at anything takes dedication and hard work, but even then sometimes it helps to have guidance from others who have been there - people who have achieved the things you want to achieve.

Through his own personal and professional journey to find success, Greg Johnston has truly come to understand the importance of positive intentional mentoring relationships. Looking back, when Greg needed the support of others who could relate to his issues, provide answers to his questions, or just offer wisdom to help him get to the place he wanted to go, Greg found solutions from his mentors... a advocate... a Champion!

So, Greg thought to himself, “Why shouldn't everyone be able to find the support of a mentor(s)?” This led Greg to create The Mentor+ Project – a disruptive social online community that matches mentors with mentees through a truly innovative social networking platform that is professional and informative, while also being simple and fun to use! "It is unlike any other mentoring platforms out there today."

Whether you feel that you are the mentor someone could be looking for or the potential mentee who is seeking knowledge from others, you need to visit The MENTOR+ project and become a member! Sign-up today so that we can keep you updated on our upcoming BETA launch and any other future developments. As an added incentive over the next while we will be holding contests that will be open to all the members or followers.Winners will receive prizes that could even include a special introduction to our Mentor Mogul.

Join us in the journey it's going to be AMAZING!