Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 41 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.How to Become a Mentor
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 41 of our Trek, and today we are going to trek down the paths that will allow us to become leaders or mentors to others.
Today we are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today was a very hot day in North Carolina with temperatures over 100°. Although we usually work entirely at our home, we ventured out into the heat to visit a friend in need and to pick up a new pair of eyeglasses for me. The optometrist said they give me the Clark Kent look from Superman, which I guess is okay with me. This would actually fit my personality rather well since, as I remember, the old Superman episodes always referred to him as "the mild-mannered Clark Kent. Of all of the superheroes, Superman is still my favorite.
Well, since I do not have any real superpowers myself, let’s break camp for today and head onto the trails of life.
We want to consider the three character traits required which to create a living legacy. In order to create a legacy, we must be able to lead or mentor others. In order to lead and mentor others, we need to traverse certain trails, or you might say put into practice certain habits that will allow us to attain the status of a leader and mentor. I will be so brash today as to say that we cannot positively lead or mentor others unless we hike these three trails on a regular basis.
- Mentor others.
The model for our wisdom nuggets today, which shows us the three trails that we will travel, are learned from a Hebrew priest Ezra who was taken into exile in Babylon by King Artaxerxes. Ezra was allowed to return to Jerusalem to assess the city’s condition. In chapter 7 verses 8-10, "Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year. He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the New Year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel."
Verse 10 gives us the pattern to follow in order to become leaders and mentors.
1. Learn it
Our first trail that we will explore is the "Learn It" trail. Before you can ever hope to lead or mentor others you must first learn the practical lessons of life and grow in wisdom yourself. You need to foster the spirit of continual learning within yourself. With the resources that are available using today’s technology, there is no excuse for remaining unlearned or ignorant in any area of life. In fact as rapidly as the world is changing, if you are not continually learning, then you will quickly lose your skills and, therefore, your value in many areas of life.
"The most important skill to acquire is learning how to learn."
Be a lifelong student. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. "The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young," Henry Ford.
The more you learn, the more you earn, and the more self-confidence you will have. Learning does take self-discipline. In fact Proverbs 12:1 says, "To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction." And Proverbs 18:15 puts it this way, "Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge." As we look back at Ezra 7:10, we see that "Ezra had determined to study."
2. Live It
The second trail that we explore is the "Live It" trail. You need to apply what you have learned to your life and live it each day. It needs to become part of the very fabric of your life. What actually generates tangible results in your life is to regularly and consistently apply what you have learned. The whole point of absorbing new information is so that you can apply it in everyday life.
Leadership or mentorship is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. You have to live what you have learned each day. Yes, you need to learn from others that are wise, but you will also need to display wisdom. Practicing what you have learned is not a one-time occurrence, but it becomes a habit in your life. It becomes who you are. This results in a life of integrity.
"Learning the golden rule is of no value until you practice it."
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians stated it in this manner in Chapter 4 verse 9, "Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."
- Teach and encourage others.
We see that "Ezra put into practice what he studied: and obey the Law of the Lord."
3. Loan It
The third trail to explore is the "Loan It" trail. Once you have taken the time to learn how to be a good leader and mentor and have shown with your life that you practice what you have learned, it is a crime to your world if you do not loan that wisdom to others by leading and mentoring them. It is your obligation and responsibility to help others. I call this loaning to others because you always retain what you have learned and practiced, even when you share it with others. It is the multiplier effect. It is an abundance mentality. The more you learn and share with others, the more it multiplies. Whatever your field of endeavor, mentoring is an important part of what you do. In fact I would say it is a requirement.
A large part of mentoring requires that you awaken in others their sleeping talents and abilities. It is difficult to actually teach others, it is more about giving to them the ability to think and learn on their own. If you teach people how to think, you will prepare them to deal with life with greater capability than teaching them what to think.
As mentioned in Proverbs 1:2-4, as a leader and mentor our primary objective should be to, "teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise…to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair…this will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young."
Now this is true mentoring. "As a mentor, real satisfaction comes when you inspire others to be the best that they can be."
Ezra did the same "to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel."
As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, let me know how I can help you become a better leader and mentor to your tribe.
Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow we will ponder the topic of the science of thinking big.
So, please join us at our "camp" tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
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Thank you!
The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.
As we take this Trek together let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!
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