ONCE UPON A TIME, YOU MADE THAT FIRST STEP...

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. Pericles

In the past couple of weeks, three completely different women made quite an impression. The type of impression that seemingly can be temporary, but it actually stays woven in the lives of others, as Pericles reminds us.

All three women will be mentioned in this (b)log book entry, Lenka Lutonska whose live event helped me channel architecture of this Leader Ship we are travelling in today, very unusual Prioress of a Monastery whose appearance is mysterious as much as magnetic and Catherine B. Roy whose life before worldwide success is too similar to the author’s of this entry to be overlooked. Not before I heard, in what seemed like three completely random and separate moments, the same message for the third time, that I recognized the importance of expanding on it.

So, this is the story about great privilege we have, no matter who and where we are. The privilege to be mentors, role models, to work with a beginner, novice, newbie or rookie as it is the term I will be using.

In her Behind the Scene live streaming, Lenka, mentioned how important (I am paraphrasing) the energy of new business owners is for the entire group she runs. And she noticed that once she shifted to working with primarily more experienced business owners. It was so refreshing to hear with how much openness she speaks about it.

Of course, each business owner has the right to find her own fit, but I remember the feeling of relief I felt when I heard that comment.

However, I didn’t pay too much attention to that inner response of mine. Few days later I had an opportunity to spend two days in Monastery and I remember how Prioress spoke about the novice and something about dynamic between the two grabbed my attention.

And finally, when I was listening to Catherine's first interview in Serbian language, I realized how important this topic is for me and for the entire ecosystem I am part of. She wasn’t talking specifically about new people in the business, but everything she said and the way she said it carried that message - there are no limits in sharing the knowledge, helping as many people as possible, in fact, that is the key. Not just to business success, but to personal growth as expansion as an ultimate “goal”.

That’s when it hit me. I remembered all the mentors, in all the capacities, that had patience and will to help me in my new ventures. And I remembered all those who made promises just to see them moving forward and passing by.

And I realized that, because of my adventurous spirit, I am an eternal rookie in one or two things, a lifelong apprentice, which means that I had more opportunities for both, to be seemingly (this is important - most people are afraid of someone taking advantage of them, betraying them, disappointing them) left behind, but also more opportunities to meet just the right teachers, than the majority.

Once I realized that this topic is so important for what I do, I felt the calling to expand (from both my roles - as a rookie in the game of business empire creation and as Leadership Mentor).

To repeat - it is a great privilege to work with a rookie.

And with that great privilege, there is a great responsibility.

To be the chosen (and to choose, it's always reciprocity) one from those who are at the very beginning is to be invited in the sacred space of planting the seeds. Intimate, mysterious, feminine magic. There will never be a moment like this again (think about first sexual experience or conceiving the first child) for the person we work with/mentor. In this relationship, it is not only that the potentiality of a rookie / mentee is unlimited, it actually opens a deep portal for mentors to expand.

Also, decision to hire a rookie, to give an opportunity, the first one, to give a first recommendation, to open the first door, to introduce to the first life-changing contact is a decision I have never regretted (and I know nobody who did - when hired for the right reasons).

I know, on the other hand, a lot of those who abandon (yes, I am using this word) their initial trust in their decision making, therefore in the process and in the rookie her/himself and make a shift - too early, not learning the lesson.

Yes, it takes time for the seed to grow into a beautiful oak. But if we lose touch with this initiation phase completely, we forget over time our own roots. And how much the tremendous amount of generosity of our own mentors, or the lack and absence of it, mattered.

Today, when I make choices about my network, I specifically look if there are indications of - paying it forward - type of a business culture that an individual creates. It's the type of culture where we consciously make an effort to mentor a rookie just for the sake of growing potentiality and expansion. Again, to the chosen one, not to anyone who passes by. So, I look for testimonials of rookies, not just big names.

Mentoring for the sake of legacy and giving back to the community is one of the most potent ways to nurture and enjoy the circle of abundance. And the most effective way to know thyself - I learn a ton from rookies so I also make sure to consciously make this effort myself as well. Also, mentoring a rookie is the best way to learn what we teach more fully.

Have you ever wondered why we feel so proud to share our big wins, massive achievements, big numbers and we are not so proud when sharing (if we do it all) small steps in between? I can give you dozens of reasons, but it's not on me to answer this question for you.

But, I will end with this - that "small step in between" (that Yugo we drove before we posted proudly a picture with our new Ferrari, that rented smelly apartment we loved before a beautiful secluded estate we have to stay away from pandemic today, that client we served before we showed off testimonial of a Tiffany account etc.) is THE STEP I believe it is worth of showing off, being loudly proud of and flashing it as an important achievement. If not, we find ourselves lost in chasing the next big game and in that rush we might make a compromise that our highest self is not very happy about (well, we do get the memo pretty fast, hahahha).

Let's be proud of our rookies.

The question we should all ask is who we can open the doors for today, just because we can? Invest in? Believe in? Whose potential makes us excited?

If no name pops up in our minds - weeeel, Huston, we have a problem.

And finally, let's be proud to be a rookie.

For the longest time I simply hated being one for all the reasons how rookies are "treated" and beyond. But, the simple truth is that there is no way around it - if we are here to be pioneers in what we do, if we lead new paths, we are always rookies in one way or another.

So, I thank the women who inspired this entry and woven their message into my own and all the lives I will touch in my lifetime.

I am deeply thankful to all who trusted their innate instinct and invested time, energy and money after all in me. That trust and support had never took personal responsibility off me, in fact it made me own it even more.

I call that quite powerful legacy.

There is something so deeply wrong in illusion that we make it on our own. It keeps us in separation, in ignorance and fear. There is such a fulfilling way to transcend it, would you agree?

12/05/2021

Olja Aleksic