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What Makes a Great Mentor?

What Makes a Great Mentor?

A great mentor will listen, help a person weigh options, help them arrive at practical solutions to difficult problems, and ask probing questions that allow the mentee to make wise choices.

Have you felt like you needed a mentor who could guide you to make wise decisions?

Nearly two decades ago, I found A. Christensen. His background includes having worked for Young Life. He became a Marriage and Family Therapist. Later in his career, he served as a Fire Department Chaplin.

Since he retired, we have been getting together once a week, or every other week, over a cup of coffee.

My mentor listens.
To best use my mentor’s background and expertise, I get prepared in advance. I usually bring two copies of handouts I want to discuss. As we go through them, he is attentive and takes notes.

My mentor helps me weigh options.
When considering my preferences, I can think of more than a few different courses of action. One handout deals with personal matters. For example, given my wife had brain surgery in 2019, we talk about what are the best care options. I also usually prepare a Writing Report that chronicles my writing career. He has helped me make many important decisions. Overall, he has helped me better use my time, talent, treasure, and mental abilities as a writer.

My mentor helps me arrive at practical solutions.
Did I say that my mentor is wise? He is! Last time we met, we were discussing my hopes and dreams for the coming year. After I had shared my plans, he said, “It is great you have all these goals and plans, but the key is implementing them.” Fortunately for me, he helped me narrow the scope of  my plans. Then he helped me look at the challenges and come up with practical solutions.

My mentor asks the right questions.
He will ask questions and guide the discussion, so it will lead to me to the answers. For example, he recently asked, “Do you have too many things on your list?” This question usually makes me stop and ponder if I will be over-committed and unable to realistically accomplish all the tasks on my list. Then I adjust.

I have a great mentor. Mr. Christensen is a huge blessing in my life. He is not only my mentor, he is a great friend. I appreciate our relationship, and am thankful for all the times we have shared.

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.

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Did You Know Not All Christian Writers Are Called?

Did You Know Not All Christian Writers Are Called?

I have been rereading Writing in Obedience by Terry Burns and Linda W. Yezak for a second time.

The authors bring up an interesting point. Some Christian writers feel called by God to write while for others view their writing as an offering.

Terry, for example, felt led to write one of his books, Mysterious Ways, under a calling. It is the story of a swindler who poses as a minister.

When the book was published , Terry was surprised. Convicts started to write emails and letters saying they identified with the lead character. One person wrote from prison, “Something like, ‘I know this is just a story, but I got to thinking if this guy had been able to turn his life around, maybe there is hope for me yet.’” (Writing in Obedience, Page 9)

Linda, in contrast, wrote she never had the honor of God calling her to write. Rather, since she was a young child, her writing has been because of who she was as a Christian.

She admits there was a time it was hard for her to hear other authors talk about their calling. She was jealous.

Then Linda attended one of Terry’s writing classes. She realized her writing, although different from those who are called, was of no less value. Whether written under a calling or as an offering, God gets the glory.

If what you do is a calling or an offering, make sure to give God all the glory.

As I begin work on the second book in my seven book series, I am seeking God’s direction. Please pray.

See my blog post about my being called to write. https://dennisconradauthor.com/answered-prayer-atop-the-tree-stump/

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.

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Six Year-End Questions That Demand an Answer

Six Year-End Questions That Demand an Answer

Happy New Year!

As this year concludes, take a few minutes to reflect on the last twelve months.

Question 1: How was your year on a scale of one to ten, ten being best?

Question 2: What did you learn?

Question 3: What did you like best?

Question 4: Is there anything you would do differently next time?

Question 5: What were the top three challenges you faced or are still facing?

Question 6: What steps can you take to assure next year will be better than this past year?

Take as little or as much time answering these questions as you want.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, so I give you permission to make up your own questions.

Why not take a minute now and answer them. Don’t procrastinate.

Now, get ready to have a great year!

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.

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Saved From Burnout: The Great Teachers Seminar

Saved From Burnout: The Great Teachers Seminar

In the summer of 2014, I attended the life-changing Great Teachers Seminar offered by the Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges.

To this day, I recall how I transitioned from near burnout to an instructor on fire. I found that I loved my field of speech communication, and that I loved teaching.

Like a lot of participants, I went expecting to hear the best-of-the-best teachers share their expertise. I planned to soak in the lectures and take a few days off in Santa Barbara.

I was shocked to learn there were no seasoned professionals who would be giving lecturers. No so-called “great teachers” to pass on their wisdom.

Something else rather refreshing happened. As the assembled group of between thirty and forty college instructors started getting to know each other, we changed ever so slowly.

The first few days, each instructor gave a short, prepared excerpt of their finest lecture. Along with the others, I realized how much talent there was in the room. I was impressed with my colleagues.

During breakout sessions, a topic was provided, and a veteran of the seminar helped moderate. Otherwise, the content was an exchange of peers sharing ideas. For example, one woman with a Ph.D. in Psychology talked about her students learning to be resilient.

Looking back at my notes, I recall the instructor telling us about her family history. She explained how people can have the same parents and grow up in the same situation, yet one gets a Ph.D. while a sibling repeats the drug addiction and poverty of the previous generation. She earned the Ph.D. while her siblings followed in her parent’s footsteps. This great teacher’s mission was to help her students become resilient.

At one point during the Seminar, I was given a chance to moderate a breakout session on the topic of burnout. The assembled group and I exchanged ideas and ways to rejuvenate. That session generated a list of ways to refresh oneself and help avoid burnout. The list included get a massage, listen to music, take a day off, swim, walk, go to the gym, take a nap, use aroma therapy, volunteer, talk to a friend, or get talk therapy.

By the last day of the seminar, I had a completely new toolbox of ideas and strategies. My self-confidence restored, together with the rest of the faculty members who attended the Great Teachers Seminar, I left knowing that I was indeed a great teacher.

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.

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The Tyranny of Technology: Take a Technology Free Day

The Tyranny of Technology: Take a Technology Free Day

Take action! Why wait? The next “National Day of Unplugging” is March 25, 2022.

Do you feel overwhelmed? Are friends and family being neglected? Are you so consumed with the day to day, you have forgotten to take time to pray?

Perhaps it is time to turn off the cell phone, put away the iPad, shut the laptop computer, power down the desktop computer, turn off the television, turn off the music, and put an end to the tyranny of technology.

Accept the one-day challenge: Do without emails, podcasts, webinars, Zoom, and Skype. Take off the high-tech watch, and wind up an old clock or wristwatch. Turn the tech off for a day.

So family and friends do not panic, tell them in advance you are taking a technology-free day.

Gather in person. Get others to join in a day without technology.

How might life change? Would you communicate? Listen to others? Hear what they have to say? Look them in the eye? Speak without having to shout to be heard?

Ask yourself: “Who me? Unplug?”

Pick a day. Take action! Why wait?

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.

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December: Finish the Race, Look Back, and Look Forward

December: Finish the Race, Look Back, and Look Forward

The year-end finish line is fast approaching. The year ends in a little over thirty days. Are you ready?

To take inventory, take a few hours and do an audit to increase situational awareness. Do a SWOT Analysis. The letters in SWOT stand for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Once in hand, identify the steps needed to finish the race, look back, and look forward.

Finish the Race

December is when individuals and businesses put in a final push. Have goals? Accomplish them. It may mean putting in more time and energy. Do the work, and complete the tasks. Set out to tie up all the loose ends and end the year confidently.

Look Back

Review all that has happened so far this past year. For example, list the first eleven months of the year on one side a piece of paper, and write the major accomplishments next to each month. The list of successes will fuel enthusiasm for the next thirty days. Perhaps you have already taken the Thanksgiving holiday to reflect. As the list of achievements add up, take a moment to pray thanking God for his provision.

Look Forward

This is the time to consider New Year’s resolutions. It is also at time for strategic personal and business goal setting. Use the previous year’s scribbled notes, or if you had a more formal business plan, lay out the strategies and expectation for the next several months. Like looking back, write the months of the year on one side of a sheet of paper. Then pencil in all the hopes, dreams, and goals for next year.

Turn this December into a time of reflection and planning. Of course, the holidays will be a big part of December. Yet, when New Year’s Day arrives this year, you will have finished the race, looked back, and be ready to accomplish big things next year.

Tell me what you think below and please join me every day as we pray for wisdom by taking part in the Wisdom Prayer Challenge.