12 Lessons I Learned in 2012

1. A mentor is looked uponas a Giant. 4 Characteristics of a great Giant:

1.     Be a great communicator

2.     Use your words to encourage

3.     Master Criticism

4.     Discipline to build character

2. Trust is a function of two things: Credibility and Behavior*.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it." -- Warren Buffet

*Footnote: Screwed this up more than a few times this year. Ouch!

3. People don't buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it. Build something that solves a problem.

4. If you want to have a great career, pursue your passion. Passion is your greatest love, not your interest. Passion is beyond your interest. Many people don't pursue their passion because they feel they are going to fail. You have to say, “I might fail UNLESS”...  Say “UNLESS” to yourself more often.

5. "The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do." -- Richard Branson. I think I'm crazy, butI’m not sure if I’ve changed anything yet.

6. I am passionate about business, including marketing and product development, but when I get a chance to invest in someone's life it's payback like no other.

7. Life is a process. It's a series of steps. Whether it's your career profession, business, startup, or personal journey it's all about the steps you take to achieve your highest potential. I have gone through enough adversity to look back and say that it's only making me stronger and preparing me for the things to come. That's what makes me getup everyday and continue to explore, dream and discover. Take the STEPS!

8. Doing a startup is hard. PERIOD. I spent over a year planning The Mentor+ Project and waiting for the best time to launch Mentor+ME. No time is the perfect time. JUST DO IT!

9. Stop the fear of asking for advice. People are willing to help.

10. Don't do what you love. Do WHAT YOU ARE based on you strengths and personality.

11. Successful people may not always be the smartest individuals but it's the people,community and opportunities around them that may determine their extraordinary accomplishments.

12. "Center yourself around those that are going to lift you higher." -- Oprah Winfrey

Share something you have learned in your life: it just might help someone. No matter what happens along the way it's important to finish well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you the best year ever.

Coming up my goals for 2013!

The Story of Success

I'm reading a very  interesting book from Malcolm Gladwell (Blink and Tipping Point) called Outliers: The Story of Success. This is how Gladwell explains what an Outlier is:
""Outlier" is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience. In the summer, in Paris, we expect most days to be somewhere between warm and very hot. But imagine if you had a day in the middle of August where the temperature fell below freezing. That day would be outlier. And while we have a very good understanding of why summer days in Paris are warm or hot, we know a good deal less about why a summer day in Paris might be freezing cold. In this book I'm interested in people who are outliers—in men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August."

He goes on to explain that sometimes we get far too focused on the individuals characteristics, habits and personality traits of those who get furthest ahead in the world.  To understand an outlier we have to understand their culture, community, family and generation. We've been looking at tall trees, and thinks we should have been looking at the forest.

I support the fact that some people become more successful than others because of the people and community around them including the opportunities that they were given to thrive. Do you know one of the smartest individuals in the world today has an IQ over 200 and is a bouncer at a bar in the United States? I won't go into all the detail you will have to get the book and read it yourself. But one of the reasons that he didn't finish college and go on to be a successful scientist or engineer was because of the community and the lack of mentoring and guidance he was given. He had to drop out of college because his mom didn't know how to fill out the paperwork properly for his financials. It's heartbreaking story.

My wish for Mentorplus.me is that the mentors and mentees understand that success is a community project. It's not only because of our own efforts it's because of the contribution of lots of different people and lots of different circumstances. WE as a community have the opportunity to impact someones life by helping them reach their highest potential and become successful. That's an amazing and awesome feeling!

As we close out 2012 we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Awesome New Year. We look forward to great things in 2013 and want you all to be part of it. IT'S GOING TO BE AMAZING!

3 different ways to tell a good story.

I love to listen to people's personal stories. A good story is something that defines who we are. It makes us memorable. We all have experienced something in our life that makes a lasting impression. If you understand how to talk about yourself, it's a opening for you to connect to others in a meaningful way. It's a way that you can be used to help others that might be going through similar things. 

Here a 3 different ways you can tell your story.

1. The Challenge. You overcame an obstacle to get where you wanted to go.

2. The Eureka. An idea that came to you that changed everything.

3. The Connection. A time when you met someone or a group that had similar skills and experiences that helped you get where you wanted to go.

For me sharing those meaningful experiences with someone that might need help makes life more rewarding.

What's your story? Everyone has one so don't keep it to yourself. Share something you have learned in your life it just might help someone. 

Join in our I AM Forum at Mentorplus.me

Turning the ridiculous into something great

Last week I had the privilege of attending the 2012 Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame gala. It was great networking event plus I was encouraged and inspired from inductees who have built such great and sustainable businesses over the years. Here are some of the comments highlighted from their acceptance speeches.

Jim Estill from Canrock Ventures provides wise words and his mantra... "Fail often, fail fast, fail cheap."

Gerry Remers is President and Chief Operating Officer of Christie ... "Everything is in constant flux and we need to adapt." Gerry also encourages us in his touching acceptance speech to take risk and seize the day. Be bold ! You can read more in this Communitech blog post about his battle with cancer, clarity and future of Christie.

Below is a link to a number of video vignettes from all the Hall of Fame inductees. They discuss how they believed in themselves, did the ridiculous and were able to achieve incredible things. We should all be inspired.

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!