In this episode, we talk to someone at a crossroads in her life.
She has lost passion for something she used to love. Until a Mentor enters her life and reignites her excitement.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
We all had jobs we didn't like the ones where we start on Monday. And we can't wait until Friday comes back around. Sometimes it's the environment you work. Sometimes you've had a passion for the job. But due to that environment, you have lost that passion. Sometimes it's also imposter syndrome, you're second-guessing whether or not you actually have the skills and capabilities of doing the job in the first place. Even though you've done it for so long. I recently spoke to someone who was going through this exact same scenario. She had a job in an industry that she loved doing something that she absolutely loved. But due to that environment, she no longer felt the same way until she met her mentor, who showed her that not only did she have the skills capable enough to do it, but reignited her passion for the job. This is the mentor city podcast.
Unknown Speaker 1:05
My name is Christine,
Unknown Speaker 1:07
Christine spent a while working at a retail photo studio, she's always had a passion for photography. So working at a photo studio would have been a perfect fit for her. However, those of you who've worked in a retail job knows how stressful and lifeless it can actually be. And this one was no different.
Unknown Speaker 1:27
So I was working at a photo studio. Some days were easier than others, I used to love going to work. It was one of the first jobs I had where I actually felt excited about things. And then the way that the company was going and the staff were not treated the way that they should have been. And when it was slow, it's like you're sitting at a desk staring into space, there's nothing to do. So it was really hard on your mental health, you know, you really had to find something to keep you busy, and there was no passion in it for me anymore, which made me really sad because I have such a huge passion for photography. And I thought that working in this studio would be the thing to kind of launch me into the next step of my life. And it just wasn't happening.
Unknown Speaker 2:18
As any job. Christina had co workers, one of these co workers would have an astonishing effect on her career moving forward.
Unknown Speaker 2:27
She had actually worked there as well. But she only worked like one day a week. So I didn't actually know her that well didn't really get to spend that much time with her even work with her on a personal level. And then she moved on to bigger and better things.
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Like any other co worker that moves on to bigger and better things and leaves the position. You lose touch with them. After a while they ended up reconnecting through a mutual friend.
Unknown Speaker 3:00
Three years, four years after meeting her for the first time, she had said to me one day like we should go out for dinner. And me assuming that it was like all people who say we should get together. I was like, yeah, yeah, just you know, whatever. And she looks me dead in the eyes. And she goes has next Thursday. And I've never had anyone actually follow through with plans like that. I was really excited because she was just the type of person that I wanted to be friends with. And so we went to dinner and you should we had a great time, she bought me sushi. And at the end of it, she said Okay, listen, like I have a reason for asking you and I'm so nervous. I'm so nervous. And I said What have you got to be nervous about like, you're married, you're not hitting on me. And she said, I want you to come and work for me. To Christine's
Unknown Speaker 3:54
surprise, the seamlessly friendly dinner turned into a future business opportunity.
Unknown Speaker 4:01
And I said well, what do you know about me to, to want me to be with you like and grow your business, which at the time was just her and she just said honestly, like, I know how good you are with photography and with selling with people. And I know that I can get along with you everything else is teachable. So that was kind of like okay, cool. No matter what she's looking for. She can teach me to become the type of employee that she's looking for. But she already sees a sturdy foundation.
Unknown Speaker 4:35
After that dinner, Christine ended up accepting the position. This started a mentoring relationship between her and her new employer that reignited Christine's excitement for the industry.
Unknown Speaker 4:47
But she taught me incredible skills about photography. So I've always been, you know, done freelance kind of stuff, but I never really I never edited my photos I always do Just took the shot that I was looking for. And that was it. And I always had it in my mind that that was what real photographers do. But it's really only half the battle, she has taught me so much about how to create the most visually aesthetic photo, and one that matches her brand as well. Not only can I kind of create my own, my own look, with the work that she's been teaching me, but I know I can also create a vision that, that works for her as well as our clients. So she's really taught me a lot, and it's mostly technical stuff, to be honest, probably things that some people could find, you know, online, but for me, I needed a person and, and having her walk me through, and she'll just sit there and watch me edit photos for hours, and then I'll show her the session. And, you know, she'll say it's beautiful, it's perfect or change this, and then it's perfect. And it's like, you know, she has such faith in me that I never really had an myself. So that's really refreshing.
Unknown Speaker 6:10
One hallmark of a good mentor, is not only developing your business skills and competencies, but also your personal ones as well.
Unknown Speaker 6:21
She has helped me This might not sound like a big deal, but for me, it is she has helped me maintain my tone of voice. Oh, or at least make it better. Because I'm the kind of person who my expressions, you know, betray my feelings before I can get a handle on them. And so does my voice. So if I'm annoyed, or if you know, a client has just been asking all the right questions. She's really helped me to just take a breath and understand where they're coming from, and not to let my own feelings get in the way.
Unknown Speaker 7:05
So let's summarize for a second here, Christine, was working at a retail photo studio lost her passion for the industry that she used to love. She then got in touch with an old coworker, who has since opened up her own photo studio, Christine started working there. But at the same time, she was still working at the retail photo studio as well. This had a profound effect on her mental health.
Unknown Speaker 7:31
You know, it's so funny, because I, you know, looking over the span of time, you don't really remember, you know, you had a bad week, one day, and you had a you know how good week, the next and you kind of just see things as more of a whole. But she mentioned to me recently, that when I first started working with her, she would notice that I used to come in really late. And then you know, I worked for three or four hours. And then she asked me to do another task or say, you know, this is the next thing that I want you to do. And I'd say awesome, I don't have it in me today. I'm not feeling into it, I'm not up to it, I have to go home, and I'll come in tomorrow. So I was really only working a couple of hours a day, a couple days a week, and I wasn't. And when I was there, she would notice that I wasn't like my usual bubbly self, it felt like a real blessing. I did both jobs for a while. And the moment that I was capable enough. I'm working with her, I handed in my resignation at the other place. And I focused solely full time with Oprah. Um, so it was probably after about a year, a year and a half of working with her full time, where she said to me one day, I want to say she pulled me aside but like there is no aside, it's just the two of us in our studio, where she said to me, you know, you seem to be doing a lot better. You know, you don't have the days where you can't come in early, you don't have the days where you want to leave early. You're always happy when you're here now. And that's such a big change from when you started. And I firmly believe that one of them was because I was still doing two jobs when I started with her, but also knowing that she's there to help me. And she's there to guide me through this and answer any questions that I have. And it's made me feel so much more stable in in the rest of my life. Because I know that I used to stress about work so much, I would never be able to just leave it at work. I'd be thinking about it all the time. And now I'm still thinking about it all the time that it doesn't make me feel sick. You know, it's all things that are easily solved. It's just, it's not tasks anymore. They're like, um, It doesn't feel like task work, I should say. It just feels like I'm doing something that I love. And I know she's had a huge, huge part to do with that.
Unknown Speaker 10:11
So as you just heard from Christine's experience, a mentor not only helps you with your business life, but also your personal life, somebody who drives you to be better in all aspects of your life. I see
Unknown Speaker 10:24
it as someone who, who's gonna like hold your hand through teaching you something new, but I mean, they're not gonna baby you through it. They're gonna guide you through it. It's someone who's gonna coach you to become you know, something that they believe in you. That's what mentors do. They believe in you.
Unknown Speaker 10:45
I'd like to thank Christine for sharing her story about how mentors can come from unlikely places and develop into something more happy mentoring everybody
Transcribed by https://otter.ai