Why I Decided to Mentor Social Entrepreneurs
Posted on 23rd February 2019 at 09:38
Over the last number of years, I have found myself getting increasingly frustrated about the problems in the world. Climate change, lack of equality and ongoing political issues seem to be escalating rather than getting better. To add salt to my frustrated wound, political leadership globally is a bit lacking…..
Sometimes we feel frustrated because we need to do something
In certain branches of positive psychology, we talk about the dialectic nature of emotions (Lomas & Ivtzan, 2016). Basically, we try not to group emotions into good and bad. Anger or frustration although intuitively “bad” emotions could actually be “good” emotions if that emotion tells us that something is wrong. In this instance, my frustration was telling me to channel my emotion by seeking solutions.
My skills are more valuable than my wallet
So, what to do? I can give money to charity but when I do I see little improvement and don’t feel I am making an impact. In some ways, my skills are more valuable than my wallet. I remembered watching a TED talk by Michael Porter some years back in which he talked about business being the solution not the problem and it really resonated with me. I want to use my existing skills to help create solutions which are sustainable and can solve problems on an ongoing basis.
Social enterprises have the potential to create sustainable solutions
Social enterprises fill this gap. They see a problem and look to create a solution. The key to long-term success is to make these enterprises profitable. Then an issue is not solved once but solved on an ongoing basis. To do this, these creative and passionate social entrepreneurs needs three things: a community of like-minded individuals for support, mentors who have business and commercial acumen who can help them and lastly funding with a time horizon that is suitable for projects like these.
PiMOV is a global community which supports social enterprises
This is exactly what PiMOV has created; a global community which connects and empowers social enterprises through all stages of their lifecycle. This is why we need you.
If we are waiting for our politicians to tackle the world’s problems, we will become extinct. Each of us has the opportunity to be the adult in the room. Ask yourself today when you feel frustrated or angry about the real problems on the planet – how can I use this frustration to make an impact?
You can make a difference
I am using my frustration to mentor social entrepreneurs and you can do the same. For only 1 or 2 hours a month (online) you can support and mentor an individual or group who have a great idea but need your knowledge and experience. Feel you can’t commit on an ongoing basis? Perhaps record a training video on your area of expertise which we can share with all our members. We can find a way for you to contribute which fits with your own schedule.
Make a difference to the world in 2019 by going to www.pimov.org to become a mentor or feel free to contact me directly.
You can view Michael Porter’s TED talk here: TED Talk
Lomas, T., & Ivtzan, I. (2016). Second Wave Positive Psychology: Exploring the Positive–Negative Dialectics of Wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9668-y
#social enterprises #mentor #sustainability #climatechange #leadership #positivepsychology #togetherwearelimitless
Tagged as: Coaching
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