Kay:

Hey there, Questers! It is July 10th and this is Episode 135 of The Mentorship Quest! Here today, we have an awesome quote coming to you from our friend and mentor, Mr. John C. Maxwell.

Shi:

John says, “If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it – young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – is changed by it.”

Kay:

You know, Shila, you are wonderful, you are capable, you are kind, you are beautiful – and I am so grateful to have you as my partner!

Shi:

And, I am transforming right now!

Kay:

Right now, in front of my eyes, Shi started smiling and glowing…it’s true!

Shi:

Everyone needs encouragement! We know that for a fact. And, John helps reiterate that here for us. And, being as John is the number one expert on leadership in the world, and an advisor to the Pope and to Presidents of countries, I think the guy knows a thing or two about leadership! And so, for him to use such strong language like, “A leader should never forget that everyone needs encouragement,” means this is a pretty important concept!

Kay:

One of our other mentors, Paul Martinelli says, “If you want to know how to tell if somebody needs encouragement, just ask yourself, ‘Can they fog a mirror?’” So, if you are alive, you need encouragement! And, when we think about the word encouragement – to encourage someone is to really, to imbue somebody with courage, and to give them a sense of hope – by either emboldening their sense of self, or emboldening their sense of security in the outcome or the future. So, encouragement really has to come from an authentic place – which means that it’s not sucking up to somebody or getting brownie points, but, instead, it’s about spreading hope and intentionally giving someone courage!

Shi:

I love that! And, I love just knowing that you can have such an impact on someone with something as easy as an encouraging word. And, we’ve probably all been there, right? Someone says something encouraging to you, that’s really genuine and authentic, and it makes you feel better – or it gives you more confidence – or it helps you push on – or it helps you wipe off your chin and keep going! Encouragement is one of those things that we don’t really realize we need until we either don’t have it, or we do get it – and, we go, “Man! I really needed that!”

Kay:

Right? Have you ever been given a compliment, or somebody placed some faith in you, when things were maybe feeling a little out of control, and it just totally helps you to snap out of that state? I mean, I know right at the beginning of this year, I had an instance where I felt totally out of control from a situation that we were in. And, I was really spiraling over that. And so, I came to Shila and I told her, “Man, I really feel fearful.” And, I was authentic with her and honest about it. And, she encouraged me! She gave me hope in my own capability, and gave me hope in the future outcome. And, both of those things allowed me to get through the situation with grace and not ease, but it was easier than it would have been if I had not sought out a little encouragement…

Shi:

Well, encouragement can be helping someone see a perspective that they’re not seeing, or serving as an objective eye on a situation when the other person is being subjective to their own feelings. Because, we ALL fall victim to our emotional states sometimes, and we forget to see that silver lining…We forget to see that even though the clouds are raining down on us, the sun still shines behind them. And, encouragement helps someone see that. It helps shift their perspective and helps speak faith into them and relate back to them that, “this too shall pass” – that they are capable – that human potential is unlimited – and that the future is beautiful (and unknown yet and unwritten) – and that we have more control over it than we think. So, being encouraging to someone not only helps them, but it actually also helps the encourager too…

Kay:

So, you might be thinking to yourself, “Well, I get that. So, people who are on the quest of life – who are really out there questing – those are the ones who really need encouragement, because they need to see that the future is bright and they’re the ones facing the difficult things!” But, John says here “young OR old”…Which means – if you’re a little kid trying to learn how to walk – or you are an old person who already has a hundred thousand accomplishments under your belt – if you’re successful or less-than-successful – if you are unknown by everyone other than your loved ones and your family – or if you’re famous and known by everyone…you need encouragement! So, just as a reminder, John says that, “If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it – young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – is changed by it.”

Shi:

All right! That brings you to your quest! And, today’s quest is a Friday quest, and it’s a speaking quest, and it’s probably pretty obvious one too ;)…Your quest today is to: Encourage someone by intentionally giving them hope. Don’t simply just bolster, but truly give them courage with some intentional kind words or actions. This is an easy one, gang! You’ll feel great going into your weekend and you’ll help someone else feel great too! So are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!