JLR Jaguar Land Rover – technicians event with the theme of mentoring
Just finished speaking at the JLR Jaguar Land Rover technicians event with the theme of mentoring. Helping others succeed. I love it!
“Give the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you.”
– Mother Teresa
The words of Mother Teresa are a universal law that we are all aware of, in a theoretical sense at least. Put your best into something and you will get the best out of it; this is straightforward enough. But sometimes you need a real physical event to understand the notion that when you do your best for someone else you will be the one who benefits just as much, or even more. I have experienced elements of this truth many times in my life, but the Centenary Race to the South Pole produced the most telling example I know. The greatest life lesson I took
from our race across Antarctica began at about the halfway mark when Braam and I came across the British team. One of the team had fractured their humerus and as a team they were struggling. We helped them by carrying all of Andrews gear. They trekked with us for a few weeks to the South Pole.
We often ignore cries for help or turn a blind eye to people who are struggling because we believe we are already too far stretched. Where, we ask ourselves, will we find the time and resources and energy to help others when we’re barely getting by ourselves? Sometimes we intentionally avoid helping others – be it competitors or colleagues – because we believe that their failure will aid our success. The lesson I learnt in Antarctica is that the opposite is true. There is no measuring the personal benefit of helping another person to succeed.
