So you want to experience life doing more of what you love. That’s amazing! If more people did that, we’d live in a joyful, more passion-filled world.
But you’re running into problems. You’re pouring all your passion into your work, which is great, but you’re experiencing none of the joy. You feel stuck because you’re unsure about where to begin and you have no idea what to do even after you start. Whether you’re starting something new, pivoting into a different role at your current work, or just need help figuring out a tough problem, you’re at a crossroads and need to know what’s next. You don’t want to do this thing alone.
What’s going on?
In August, I ran into my friend, Kristi Porter, at a conference for social entrepreneurs. We knew each other via email because I had been following her blog for a couple of years and in November 2018, I interviewed her for Mission Driven Monday. At that conference, we sat down and chatted for about an hour. I felt like a little kid in the classroom because I got to soak up all Kristi’s business wisdom in person, and it was a treat.
Kristi is the founder and executive director of Signify, a company that helps small nonprofits and for-profits with a social mission get noticed and grow through effective marketing and communications.
The conversation that followed turned out to be exactly the medicine I needed (and I think we all need when we’re starting a business). But an hour later, I moaned, “Kristi, I thought we were just going to have a nice chat. That was really hard!”
And it was really hard in the same way that training for a big race is hard. Or working on a tough math problem is hard.
It was hard but so necessary and so good.
Kristi started by asking this question:
“Where is the value that you, as leader, are providing for your readers and clients?”
That’s a hard question!
But that’s what good mentors do. They ask the hard questions, and they don’t quit until you give them a satisfactory answer.
When I interviewed Kristi the year before, she told me the one thing—the ONE thing—everyone needs is a mentor and an accountability partner. Actually, that’s two things, but you get the point. Pretend that you are a coin—on one side you have your mentor and on the other side is your accountability partner.
I was going to insert an inspiring quote about mentoring right here because I’m sure Oprah or John Maxwell said something inspiring on this topic. But you know what? Solomon, the wisest man in the Bible, already said everything that needs to be said. He said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Think back over your life. Whatever you do—if you’re doing it well—it’s probably because someone somewhere sometime came along and helped you. Maybe it was an encouraging word. Maybe it was a connection to another person. Maybe a beautiful partnership was born. And your life was never the same.
Mentors help us become the best version of ourselves. They bring out the wonderful things that exist inside of us, showing us that we can do infinitely more than we ever thought possible. And the accountability partner? That person is like your supervisor at work, except you chose this guy to watch out for you. This is the guy who makes sure you get the job done. You report to her, and if you’re a slacker, she’ll tell you. But you won’t be a slacker because you want to do well. You are responsible for your life, and you want to prove to your accountability partner that you are more than capable of doing the work.
(Need help finding a mentor or an accountability partner? Be sure to read next week’s post! Sign up on the form below, and I’ll make sure you don’t miss a thing!)
Here’s to your success!
Chantel
P.S. If you missed my interview with Kristi Porter, you can check it out here. Also, don’t forget to visit the Signify website. If you’re a nonprofit or a small business with a social mission, you have to check out Kristi’s resources. Kristi was a guest blogger for Mission Driven Women a few months ago. She wrote about discovering the work you’re meant to do, and it is pure gold. You can read it here.
A book Kristi recommends, and I’m excited to re-read in the new year is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. There’s a new edition out since I did this study more than a decade ago. Let’s do it together!