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…I went to see one last evening my wife. We took the spontaneous liberty of going to one I had long wanted to see. Both of us were glad we did.
Personally, I was shaken afresh with what we humans are capable of doing to subdue other humans. How could this have been, from our past here in the US of A? It seemed “almost plausible” in Hitler’s mid-30’s Germany as WWII began to be formed.
Thinking about the present day, this kind of “stuff” is still being done across our world. The smugness of beating people into submission is not new…even, sadly, justifying behavior in the name of God…not just back then in our world history…but even today…even in some places on our own continent.
What was the film?
RACE.
This is the story of a true hero we all have heard about by the name of Jesse Owens. If you are prone to go to the movies, I encourage you to see this when it is in your town. Here is the trailer from the Fandango site.
Though Owens won his magnificent, unheard of four Gold Medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, I was significantly moved toward the end of the movie when he and his wife had to use the freight elevator at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City because of the color of their skin. The dinner that night was to honor him and his astounding victories. But even then, black people, no matter their exceptional accomplishments, were not allowed in the white people’s elevators. With immense grace they went up the back/black way.
Someone, somewhere is probably thinking, “Geesch, Roberts! Way to begin this blog post with such a ‘downer’ story.” Without apology, this film demonstrates profoundly what we focus on here within our whole-person mentoring model. I expect that when you, too, leave the theatre from this beautifully crafted story, “down” is not what you will feel, but hope-filled. We quietly exited that way last evening…even with the reminder of how inhumane we humans can be.
Jesse was confronted by all those who cared for him with the idea we use as a central focus for Leadership Design Group’s core question about mentoring. You and I often need to look ourselves in the mirror when getting ready for a day and ask ourselves:
Who are you?
Today, who do you need to be?
Who will you be with today who needs you to be the “real” you?
Who do you long to be tomorrow?
This past weekend, I was invited to speak here in Denver at a meaning-filled education conference. Talking about the core of who we are, I told those talented, creative educators (and as I got to know them I was humbled to the core of me that I was even invited into their presence, sincerely stunned by the depth of these young women and men, but then, that’s to share at another time) that no matter our work role in life, who we are will determine how fully we live the hours and days we are given. One more time I asked, “Who are you?”…then I simply, purposefully remained silent until I had looked each one of them in their own eyes.
It is not an easy question. But it is a vital question.
However, a vast majority of the time when I ask that in a one-to-one conversation, I get responses filled with what they do…not who they are. Those I’ve the sacred privilege of mentoring for their whole life, no matter where they live on the planet, have often heard me ask that question, several times over. What you do may reflect some of who you are, but telling me what you do does not fully tell me who you are.
Then, as with last weekend, not leaving those amazing teachers dangling, nor the individuals I mentor personally, I introduced them to the 8 Dimensions of our Circle of Life Mentoring Model.
In the previous blog post, I wrote about our core beliefs. We all have them, even when they might not be carefully articulated. The LDG mentoring model helps each person clarify that.
These 8 Dimensions are best illustrated in a circle…not a linear list. Just as our bodies are made up of interconnected parts, so is all of who we are. No one reading this can hop, skip, jump run like Jesse Owens did. That’s not our gift, as it was his. But…you and I are each designed, gifted, alive to fulfill our unique one-of-a-kind purpose, even when we have similarities to others.
So why 8? Smiling I type…why not?!! In no particular order (this list will be in a different order in the next eight posts by guest bloggers) here is what we will be sharing with you:
The 8 Dimensions of the Circle of Life…
Vocational…by one of our LDG Board Members
Family/Marriage…by one of our LDG Mentoring Development Team
Social…by one of the spouses on our LDG Team
Physical…by one of the athletes I mentor
Emotional…by one of the counselors on our Mentoring Development Team
Financial…by one of the exceptional young business men I mentor
Intellectual…by a deep thinker on our Mentoring Development Team
C.I.D.P. (Creative, Innovative, Designful, Playful)
…hopefully by a rather remarkable artist in our town
If, when, you watch RACE, you will observe that Jesse Owens lived a full life, in all 8 of these dimensions, even against tremendous odds. If he could do that then…you and I can do that now.
Throughout this calendar year, 2016, we will be sharing with you the bones of LDG’s mentoring model. No matter your age, ethnicity, gender, education, religion, economic status, well…your whole life…it is my hope and prayer that you will be encouraged to live more fully from who you are with what all you do with your life.
If you would like to learn more about our mentoring workshops, and even how to become personally trained as a whole-life mentor, please let us know. One of our team will be back to you. When you talk with them, ask them, “Who are you?” Expect them to do the same with you…because we sincerely care about who you are becoming.
PS…and just for kicks, read back through our blogs posts from the first of the year. This will help nurture and guide you into the next blog posts our team is preparing. Begin here. Thank you!
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For more information on designing leaders through Intentional, Deep-Change, Whole-Life, Transformational Mentoring, download our free eBook.
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