Bleeding Edge

I am constantly approached by real ambitious young stars asking me for this favour and that favour…

Often times the foolish ones ask me for money.

The more intelligent one ask for advise and winning tip.

And the really smart folks are asking me to be their mentor.

But the wise ones ask me to teach them.

And then the exceptional – One in a million – ask me to help them think and get outside the box.

Cool people all of them…

Frankly …

Am flattered.

Let me though tell you a couple of things about mentoring and teaching …

True mentoring does not consist merely in giving spontaneous and wasteful financial help.

That’s all wasted on things…

Teach a man how to fish etc…

True help is not even teaching one, how to acquire a few facts of business, finance, history, or just plain deal-making.

True help is to give them the hard lessons that will shape their character.

Because in my book, real mentorship is all about the development of character.

And character cannot be developed easily.

Only through experience of trial and error … character can be created.

Then it’s only through suffering said character can be strengthened.

And then it’s only through the strong character we developed — that vision gets cleared.

With clear vision – and all other earlier mentioned elements – ambition gets inspired.

And with inspiration success achieved.

As the Basketball Hall of Famer John Wooden used to say:

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Don’t mind the names people call you — do the hard things…

Be the difficult one…

Swim against the tide…

Be the misfit square peg when the world wants all of you to be rounders.

Play the crazy tune that nobody else hears…

Dance to your own music.

Yours,

Pano

PS:

I knock a few heads around on occasion …

That’s why they call me Joe Hard…

Now you know…