This is the last week of summer vacation for the Santa Monica School District students and teachers. Next week it all starts up again. The students are dreading having to do homework and the teachers are likely polishing up their outlines and agendas. Being a teacher is certainly not a job one goes into for the money, so why do they do it? Because it is emotionally and mentally rewarding. I’m not a schoolteacher, but I definitely teach and can attest to the deep and abiding rewards that are abundant in that profession.
I’ve been mentoring a young man for about a year and a half. We meet up for two-day retreats somewhere in the country, and so far we’ve been to Kansas City, Chapel Hill, Los Angeles and this week we are in Denver. It’s a great way to bring focus and set out a path forward. He formed his company as a result of the first Deep Dive Weekend we did and he’s on track to make an annual profit into six figures this year. Not bad for a first year.
The experience of mentoring someone is rewarding when they take action and move to improve their life and business. I’ve always enjoyed working with business owners, those scrappy entrepreneurs who see a different path and are willing to try and change the world. Rain Bennett and I started working together because he saw what I was doing with best selling author Chris Luera and wanted my opinion on a few things. Our relationship grew to the point where we now meet about every 3-6 months and dig into the growth path of Six Second Stories, his corporate communications company. He specializes in short form narratives for non-profits.
Being a part of someone’s growth is fulfilling. That’s why parenting is so rewarding (so I’m told) and at the same time challenging. As the child/student/mentee grows, the parent/teacher/mentor must also grow to continue to be support and benefit. For my part, I’ve found that working with people who are engaged and challenging me makes for not only a more powerful and enjoyable experience but also keeps me sharp.
In order for me to be of maximum benefit to Rain my mentee, I have to stay up on what is happening in the world of marketing, software solutions, social media and new media trends. I receive a huge benefit from that because I can use it in my family law practice. I have a podcast, website, I’ve started a videocast, a YouTube Channel and have published books that are for my prospects and clients to read.
The proliferation of media channels and ways to generate business means that putting it all together and keeping it going can be a full-time job if you’re trying to keep everything fresh and current. I’m not. My divorce and child custody books, podcasts, videos are all designed to be evergreen content. Which means that I create it once and it keeps its value.
I do commentary on events that are in the news for various publications, based on the latest headlines. The goal always is to be of value to the reporters and readers in explaining complex legal theories and issues in such a way that they make sense. By providing educational insight, everyone wins. This forces me to stay up to date on what the latest laws are so that I am knowledgeable and remain a valuable source to my clients and the reporters who call on me.
To those teachers who are about to embark on yet another year of helping to form the youth, thank you. I hope you enjoyed your summer break, took some time to relax and to also grow and learn more so that you can be ready for this year’s challenges. I’m sure there’ll be many. Your efforts are often minimized, discounted and dismissed - but I want to say you are appreciated and I hope you continue to get as much from your teaching as you are giving. Happy New School Year.
