HELPING PEOPLE

Helping People

One of the principles behind this project is the idea that if I or any of the professionals on the program, teach you some great empowering techniques, you might think about passing those same techniques on to someone else. And if you do it well you might think about getting paid too.

Many people are not quite sure of the purpose or benefits of a mentor, but in simple terms it's a bit like a father, although whilst a parent is protective and loving in their caring, a mentor is a professional with a vested interest in your success. Having the knowledge of someone who has walked the road before you, saves a considerable amount of time and energy in needlessly reinventing of the wheel.

Taking the time out to invest in other people has a considerable amount of payback not least in watching others succeed, but also in crystallising your own strategies and plans for success.

Helping people, for many is a donation to charity when the conscience is twigged into feeling the need to help others. For my own part, whilst I appreciate charities get help to those who need it, I prefer the direct approach.. Helping people in front of me, and rather than giving cash, I have the annoying habit of giving tangible help or products.

For example last week in London I went into a shop to get some M&Ms I'm partial to, so I bought another packet for the fellow who was sitting outside seeking some spare change. Somehow a unexpected gift from a stranger always surprises people ...."thanks brother" he said enthusiastically opening the packet.

I have a considerable empathy for those who life has shone a harder side on than others; many years ago I was literally Down and Out in Beverly Hills unable to afford a topping on an eighth slice of take away pizza, just the tomato puree.  I remember walking along the board walk with a drink in a polystyrene cup,  when a guy asked me for some change for a cup of tea, I said I didn't have any money, but gave him the tea in the cup instead. He was very surprised and amused for the reality of his quest to be given, not least because the leaves he had in mind were probably not tea.

On the affluent Kings Road in Chelsea you will often see individuals (just as within many other districts of London) sitting on the pavement relying on peoples charity. Sometimes life can be difficult and getting back up is extremely hard when you feel if you do try you will just get pushed down again, so what the point.

When I first learnt NLP I tried the techniques out on everybody i could find in business and personally, including a guy in his thirties who I had seen sitting on the same bench each day for two years. The time line is as I've mentioned, great for crystallising goals and driving lives forward, so we spent the afternoon constructing a future for him, that at first sight ended with that day, but finished with a plan to be actioned for a real business for my sometimes bemused subject.

Passers bye were a bit dumbfounded with the antics, as to the casual observer with no knowledge of visualisation, it probably seemed we were drunk and looking at fairies. I'm not sure what happened to the fellow, as I only caught a glimpse of him once more and never saw him on the street again. It would be nice to think our afternoon together moved his future in the right direction.

I always think if you are going to help someone, the person next to you is as good a start as anyone, and if we all did that, charities would actually be defunct. But the twang of conscience that drives many to give to others at a certain moment is a little like the twang of conscience this project has in the minds of the participants, in that just maybe they should invest a little into themselves, so they can invest the same into others. It's a great deal more effective and longer lasting.... rather than giving a hand some spare change.....give your life a mind change ....and hand it on to someone else too.