Be A Sower
I had the opportunity to feature Cynthia Kumah on my Living Room Channel this week. I had the opportunity to meet her when I was on a trip to Ghana last year. Cynthia is the founder and director of C-Trust Foundation, an NGO that facilitated environmental, social, advocacy, and human rights activities that seek to empower women and protect the rights of young women. I was fascinated with her work and wanted to find out what was her motivation behind it.
Cynthia credited her success to a mentor who saw the potential in her and encouraged her to pursue her studies. That made me think about how important it is to have proper mentors in our lives. To me, mentoring is a principle of sowing and reaping. When we choose to invest in someone without expecting anything in return, you will reap the benefits elsewhere. How many times have you done someone a favor and found someone else extending a helping hand to you? Sadly, we hardly see people extending help to others in our community today. A lot of people are more concerned about what they can achieve from others.
Two months ago, I decided to work on something that has been on my mind for something. I created a website and a LinkedIn Page where I talked about ways to help women find their self-worth. It was my desire to work with women to increase their confidence by having one to one mentoring/paid consultation sessions. I am imparting to these women, based on my experience and lessons that I have learned in my life which is more valuable than textbook theory. Ever since I changed my title on my profile, I have been approached by many experts on how they can transform my business.
I appreciate them reaching out to them, but I found some of their captions to be exploitative. The personalized sales pitch had attractive captions that talked about monetizing my business and how I can earn more money. But they failed to realize that there is more to life than earning money. When people do that, you get to see them for they really are. Their motives are not driven by passion, but by money. Money changes everything when it comes to imparting knowledge to someone. If a school teacher cares only for her paycheck, she has no interest in her student's grades. It does not matter if they pass or fail as long as she gets paid. But her teacher with passion ensures that she works more than what she deserves because she wants her students to succeed.
That is how I visualize the difference between a coach and a mentor. When you mentor with the client's interest at heart, you will ensure they become successful. It is because you care more about their personal development than the money they can bring to your bank account. In the last few days, I took the time to help some people with career coaching. I spoke to them from my headhunting experience giving them a practical perspective instead of a theoretical point. I didn't earn anything from those sessions, but there was satisfaction in helping them. I have sown seeds into their lives, and I am sure they will pay it forward to someone else.
Out of curiosity, I went to google the costs of coaching and I was amazed at how expensive it was. I wonder how people who need these programs can be able to afford them. I prefer to be a mentor where I can guide and support their personal growth. Based on my experience, I provide them with practical applications so they can discover their full potential. Of course, I do charge but my fees are made reasonable so anyone can benefit from it. In my session, I get to hear more from them which will allow me to help them to connect the dots rather than dishing out corrections or feedback. I get to nurture those I mentor and bring out the best in them. Most of the people I have worked with are willing to be more vulnerable because of the trust I had established with them.
As Cynthia rightly pointed out in our fireside chat, we can do this because we are not in competition with anyone. These could be the reason why people with good credentials and experience are hesitant to share knowledge without being paid for their efforts. I do believe that we can be gracious and help out people who need it on occasion. I have also seen excellent coaches who have taken this time to pay it forward or help people in their community. You will never know who needs to hear an encouraging message or professional help without having to pay a lot of money for it. We can be the mentor in Cynthia's story and help someone to reach their full potential.
Because of the time invested in her, up till now, Cynthia has worked on an assortment of research projects related to small-scale gold mining in Ghana. She is currently working on a project that aims to raise awareness about the use of mercury to amalgamate gold production in Ghana. This work was carried out with academic partners at the University of Surrey, University of Bath and the Ghana University of Mines and Technology. Linked to her work on small-scale mining is the advocacy she carries out in the capacity of a volunteer officer at Women in Mining Ghana, an NGO which seeks to enhance women’s opportunities in the mining sector in Ghana. Cynthia enjoys socializing, networking, conducting work, and lives by Malcolm Gladwell’s belief that “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” I believe this is only possible because someone took the time to recognize her and sow seeds in her life.
https://youtu.be/k4eMFHPtr00
