thementour-blog

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[thementour-blog]

BEAT #1: THE NORMAL WORLD. The opening beat of your negative change arc sees your character in their everyday world. Over the course of a scene or several scenes, readers are introduced to your character’s daily life or are given a glimpse into what that life was before it changed shortly before the story began. During this beat, it’s important to establish the Ultimate Lie that will plague your character in a Disillusionment or Fall Arc or the Ultimate Truth that colors a Corruption Arc. The former works best if shown through conflict, revealing to readers how the character’s limiting belief affects their everyday life. BEAT #2: A CHANGE OCCURS. Shortly after your story begins, an event occurs that shakes up your character’s everyday life. They may find themselves eager to pursue a specific desire or, occasionally, forced into a circumstance they’d rather avoid. But because a negative arc sees your character devolve over time, this beat is more often positive than not.

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A character’s Truth and Lie are often entangled in at least one limiting belief, often based around a tragic flaw or fear. Confused? Let’s break down a few examples together: EXAMPLE #1: Tragic Flaw: Anger Limiting Belief(s): I can’t overcome my anger issues, and no one will ever love me because of them. Story-Specific Lie: My new co-worker may be interested in me now, but she’ll hate me the second she truly gets to know me. I need to keep her at arm’s length. Story-Specific Truth: If I make an effort to overcome my anger issues, I can be the man I want to be for Stacy, perhaps leading to a life-long romance. EXAMPLE #2: Tragic Flaw: Insecurity Limiting Belief(s): If I succeed at the highest level, my father will finally love me. Story-Specific Lie: I can make my father happy if my start-up proves to be a success, so I’ll do whatever it takes to rise to the top. Story-Specific Truth: There is nothing I can do to earn the love and attention of an emotionally-abusive person, no matter the blood we may share.

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Listen More, Talk Less Get to know your mentee and his/her career aspirations. Listen with an open mind and suspend judgments. Provide insight into your work and career. Let your mentee know you are 100 percent committed to helping them succeed. Set Goals As a mentor, you can help your mentee establish goals and stay on track. For example, encourage the mentee to create an action plan with “SMART” goals: specific, measurable, achievable and realistic in their current position with clear timeframes. Schedule a mutually agreed upon time/day to work toward those goals. Your role is to help him/her get where they want to go. If things appear challenging, have a coaching conversation with them to identify barriers and problem solve so your mentee can keep moving forward. By setting goals, you can also learn more about what they want to do and help them see opportunities for getting there. Build Trust Trust is built over time and is extremely important in mentoring. Keep conversations and other communications with your mentee confidential, honor your scheduled meetings and calls, consistently show interest and support and be honest. Be a Conduit Find ways to introduce your mentee to other people in the organization. Not only will the mentee get that exposure they might not otherwise receive, you’ll get the opportunity to share that you’re mentoring the individual. When appropriate, arrange for your mentee to sit in on meetings that would offer learning opportunities or be of interest to them.

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A Few Law to go By Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions — your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life. - Law 25 Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work - it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you. - Law 30 Never seem to be in a hurry - hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition. - Law 35

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Many overwhelmed people live in cluttered homes. But, house clutter is both an effect and stress. Clutter can bring a general feeling of uneasiness and can literally drain your energy, but getting rid of it is difficult for people with busy schedules. Whatever you’re doing at the moment, slow it down by 25 percent, whether it’s thinking, typing on a keyboard, surfing the Internet, completing an errand, or cleaning the house. Exercise more physical activity improves your body’s ability to use oxygen and also improves blood flow. Both of these changes have a direct effect on your brain. Exercise also increases your brain’s production. I want to impact change, to the way we live, and setting goals, whether career or personal, is an integral part of that change. Goals are how we paint the picture of a future we’re motivated to work towards. “You haven’t lived until you’ve done something for someone that could never repay you.

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Today, most youth developers recognize the importance of a child having a caring responsible adult in their lives. For children who come from less than ideal circumstances, mentoring can be a critical ingredient towards positive youth outcomes. A mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviors. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the mentee. Quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic and professional situations. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development and improved social and economic opportunity. These relationships are often long term and sometimes confused with line management roles. At the opposite end of the spectrum the focus shifts to the mentee. The emphasis is on the personal insights and intellectual challenge to be gained through interaction with a mentor. It is expected that the mentee will lead the relationship, inviting the mentor into their own inner dialogue to assist in working through complex career decisions

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Leaders should influence others in such a way that it builds people up, encourages and edifies them so they can duplicate this attitude in others.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. 

Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I may remember.  Involve me and I learn.

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