A Worthy Question For All “Jedi Apprentices”… Read The Article Below To Learn How To Use The Force
The simplest way to achieve your goals- whether it be learning to dance, mastering your business, taking care of finances, or whatever your goal may be… would be to just hire Yoda. No I didn’t say yoga, I said Yoda.
Hold on, hold on- I know you’re thinking “What the hell is Shawn B talking about now? He’s always rambling about something…”
Here’s what I mean.
When we were little, someone had to teach us how to walk.
Then, someone had to teach us to speak. We had to learn how to spell our names, then write it.
Then we learned how to get ourselves to school. Once there, someone taught us how to read books, play organized games, sing songs, count, interact with others, keep track of time, and when to tidy up.
Our entire school life, we’ve had someone with more knowledge than us teach us how to do things. They’ve been our instructors and mentors, and in most cases they helped us get the job done- whatever it was that we needed to do.
Now think for a minute. At what point did we think “I don’t need a mentor anymore. Everything I need, I will learn on my own.”
Was it after high school? After college or university? At our first job? I don’t have the answer to that, maybe you do. But here’s what I learned…
What I Learned From My Mentor
Improved My Ablility To Use The Force
I used to be in financial services, in a large international company. I had a mentor then, his name was Leslie.
He’d been a family friend for years, and he was my upline. He’d been in the business for years and I “learned the ropes” of the business through him.
But the amazing stuff I learned was about having ambition, setting goals, keeping faith and being persistent. He helped push my skills into 5th gear, and I was much happier in my life for it.
Eventually I left the business to persue dance even more. We still kept in touch. Unfortunately, Leslie passed away a few years ago.
After his passing, I went through a period of time where I felt things were more of a struggle because I didn’t have someone there to help me move along. That was a few years back.
The Force Is Always Present-
You Just Have To Look For It
Since then, I’ve found a new mentor. His name’s Keith.
He lives in Vancouver, and he helps me to build my internet business ideas. I spoke with him recently, and filled him in on my master plan over the next 18 months.
He’s not a family friend, I actually pay him big bucks to offer advice, and help me put my ideas into action. He’s been helping me for over two years.
He listens to what I’m doing and what I want. Then he helps me to prioritize what I’m doing now, where I want to be, and what exact steps I need to do in order to achieve my goals based on solid testing and experience. We’ve actually become good friends and my learning curve has jumped into 5th gear again.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Here’s my point: We grow faster when we can piggy-back off others who have more experience, or who can offer solid advice.
So whatever it is you’re doing, find someone who you can trust to be YOUR mentor. If you truly want to dance, you already know my staff and I offer stress and drama-free dance classes. If you want our help, come join us in class.
Luke Skywalker had Yoda, and look where it took him.
= = = = =
“Do or do not. There is no Try.”
– Yoda, on mentoring Luke to use the Force in Star Wars
= = = = =
Not bad for a little green man!
So take a few minutes to yourself. Look around, and find your own Yoda you can trust to help you find your way. I guarantee it will make reaching your goals that much easier.
About The Author:
Shawn Byfield (www.ShawnByfield.com) is an award winning choreographer, show director and a leading expert in dance lessons and industry advice. His extremely fun approach to learning is a must for anyone looking to achieve their highest potential through dance.
Shawn Byfield - Certified Public Speaker, Dance Coach & Choreographer 
Shawn.. you are shifting so much energy for so many people. It is true that it helps us to ask for help and to support one another in our goals and passions. Investing in your life is such a beautiful priority that so many people look past. Your story is so inspiring for so many people who are stuck where they are at and feel they have no way out. Keep living your passion and pushing through as you are plowing the way for so many others to find what lights their torch and what drives them forward.
~We have to do it alone, we cannot do it ourselves~ Is one of my favourite quotes. Its true; we must make the decision and create the vision by tapping into who we are and what it is that fuels us, but we also must WELCOME that help and guidance!
Keep lighting your torch Shawn and fueling this city with inspiration and light.
Ahhhh. wow! Shawn if thats a true story then its word. Infact you’ve touched on a particular subject that I didnt want to write about and that’s the family part. Its almost similar. But hey….this days things are a lot different for me; am actually proud to say that I am a much better person than I have ever known myself. And that’s all because when I was unable to do things for myself and to provide for loved ones when they really expected it the most, I was only investing in one thing: TIME. I implemented my own solutions to transform myself in the departments of decipline, conditioning and stress control amongst others. Now here I am, in the real world where if people really mean to do what they have long wanted to do ( which is dancing for my case), its possible…literally. For instance I want to enroll in your dance classes by September and am going to it because I Can do now. See one of the main things I’ve learned in my last five years of procrastination is that people always will have room to grow but its either upto them or it comes as a divident of kind of efforts. My challenge is how do I get better? Maybe the answer is in your studio, I would have to come and yet make another discovery.
Thanks for the comments friends!
Simon, you and I are very alike. I too DIDN’T have a mentor growing up. I grew up with little money, didn’t have a positive mentor in my teen years, figured things out by myself, and made a heck of mistakes while doing it. In fact, I STILL make mistakes. =)
I had lived in a single parent home, and because of my sometimes unstable family environment I didn’t really know how to succeed in life.
I had huge trust issues. I dealt with tons of racism. I was fired from a simple newspaper route and verbally abused at a restaurant I worked at- the terms I was called still linger in my head but won’t mention them here.
Also, because I was into dance at an early age I was teased by my “friends”, and kept my passion a secret for YEARS. It’s true- my mom was the one who let the cat out of the bag, and that started the years of name calling. It’s funny how kids can be so mean, and how that damages your self-esteem.
Simon, my life wasn’t all roses.
But you know what? In my teens, I made a DECISION to be someone different. I made a choice to be the best I could be at the time. I decided to just TRY.
I modeled my behaviour after people I looked up to. They acted different. They had confidence. They stood taller. They read books and were smarter because of their discipline.
What would I have to lose by trying?
Eventually that lead me to actually having my first mentor, Leslie. From modeling his actions, life became easier, and I developed a stronger sense of self-confidence.
So that’s why I share this story.
I want you to know that it’s OK to feel insecure, or to be skeptical, or the other host of emotions you may feel. But if you don’t at least TRY to believe in yourself, you’ll be in the same place tomorrow. Just jump in!
We didn’t learn to walk overnight. It took months and years to learn how to speak. The same is true for anything that you CAN do today that you couldn’t do years ago. Dance is no different. I didn’t wake up one day and just “know” how to dance- it took me 25 YEARS to be where I am today! And I’m STILL learning.
So that’s my two cents. I really could go on. The only one holding you back is you, so trust and believe in yourself, word? Make as many mistakes as possible, because that’s what I did.
Let me know your thoughts. (and anyone else reading) And when you decide to dance, you know I’ve got your back. In fact, as a dance teacher, it’s my job. =)
– SB
Idont know man. Why can’t you make things brief and simple for everyone? This is a busy world shawn…I don’t understand the need for all the technical stuff. Anyways, here’s a short story of a personal dance ambition.
DANCING: dancing has always been my strongest weakness of everything that I aint good at. However as deep as I am bad at it, I do love music; I have a great admiration for music. For fifteen years I’ve always wished I knew how to dance. The thing with me was that I’d never had a mentor-neither female nor male from my childhood throughout my teenage years. So I had to learn things on my own most of the time, by trial and error. It was hard man. I made some mistakes that I deeply regret and as a result I grew skeptical, had trust issues that turned me to an ultimate procrastinator. In the past five years I had goals that I wanted to accomplish but b’se of my low self-esteem everything was just ideas with no action. Guess what though? I’ve been a subscriber to ur news letters since Sept.’08. Almost a year now yet I find it difficult to come and check out ur studio. I don’t know where and how am going to cultivate the energy to do that but this a short term goal that I hope I will be able to achieve by Sept.01.’09.
Great message Shawn, I always look forward to your newsletters with positive reinforcement and uplifting wisdom. A mentor is something I’m sure a lot of people overlook, as many people feel awkward asking for help. We feel like capable adults, but when we don’t achieve our goals, we are quick to blame ourselves and feel like we have no hope. All we need is someone else to believe in us.
Keep smiling, as you always make me do!
~Lynda
Hey Shawn, thank you for the uplifting Yoda message. Yr such an insperation.
I wish I had you as my personal mentor.
My salon/life is going somewhere just in dinosour speed. Not to my liking.
Yr classes (yr energy) are amazing !!!
keep it up.
God bless.
Rita