A few months ago, I met a young man that was starting his own business. I asked him how he learned his trade. He told me quite the story!
His neighbor was doing some mysterious project in his shop, and the young man, about 12 years old, was curious. Rather than ask his neighbor, he decided to break into the shop and see what this project was all about. The neighbor caught him, and then was faced with a choice on what this young man’s consequence would be. The young man knew he may be in big trouble, this wasn’t his first experience with this type of incident, and was no stranger to the local police. What the neighbor did next shocked him, he gave this boy an option…we can call the authorities, or you stay out of trouble and I will teach you this trade. The young man excitedly picked to learn. His neighbor held him accountable to showing up and being a good student. Their friendship formed. The young boy learned much more than a trade, he learned kindness, he learned responsibility, his confidence was built, and he learned how to be a better version of himself. Years later, he is turning the skill he learned into a profitable business.
Pretty cool story, right? As we continued to visit he shared that he knew he would have gone down a dark path if not for this neighbor. He credited this man for saving his life. He still visits the neighbor, in fact, he was going to visit him that very day. I asked him how his neighbor reacted the first time he shared his appreciation…I was taken aback when he told me he had never told his neighbor the impact he had made. He credited the man for saving his life, yet, had never thanked him. He assumed he knew.
You can imagine where the conversation went, and soon he was on the way to visit the neighbor who mentored him for many years, he planned to greet him with heartfelt thanks.
I was left wondering how often we all assume that those who impacted us “just know” what they meant in our lives. While school is out many of us have an extra hour in the week, what if we spend that hour remembering and thanking those that mentored us along the way?
—
Marci Silva
Board Chair
The Mentoring Network Inc.
www.MentoringNetworkID.org
One hour, once a week, transforms lives
