Diary of an eMentor week 2: goals and dreams

Since our first week, I’ve been thinking a lot about my mentees and what they’ve been up to. Sakina wished me a great weekend and I was thinking about what she’d be doing on hers. 

Remembering that Esther’s hobbies include travelling and swimming - I was thinking of the lake close to Kajiado called Lake Magadi. People swim in its natural hot springs and boasts a wealth of wildlife. I wondered if Esther had travelled there and swum in the lake before.

There was one way to find out! And so came our w2 class: setting goals and dreams. 

Week 2: setting goals and dreams

Begin by sharing with your mentee the dreams and goals you had or have and the necessary steps you had or still have to take to reach these goals. Try to focus on professional goals. Encourage your mentee to share her professional goals (or personal aspirations), in addition to the steps she needs to take to achieve them.

I really started to appreciate the course level now. I think it’s easy to think of schools in areas with less accessibility to have a lower bar of education. When you’re talking about eMentoring and working on developing soft-skills I was thinking - maybe I’m just going to help these women with grammar and communication skills.

Instead, we mentors had our brief to speak on SMART goals and share real situations from our backgrounds.

In my career, I’ve seen that a lot of people are moving so fast that it’s easy to set their vision/ direction, goals and OKRs for their role and for their career direction. I was impressed: this is the type of thing that is a life and business skill for any background, level of experience, or person. It’s a muscle you should train no matter who you are: and I was looking forward to what these ladies would bring to the challenge.

Having learnt a bit about Sakina and Esther already - I understood that these are two very different ladies, who shared the same hunger and entrepreneurial spirit. I was excited to hear more about their dreams and goals.

Esther’s goals and dreams

Esther comes across as a planner to me. She seems organised, thorough and seems to be a bit of a perfectionist. I can imagine her setting really high standards for herself. This resonates with me - it can be incredible if you reach an overambitious goal you set for yourself, or you can really feel that you’ve let yourself down if you don't quite make it.

I spoke to Esther about a goal I set for myself as I was finishing my degree: I’d been working 4 part-time jobs when I was studying (waitressing, au pairing and hosting children's parties, running my own business by exhibiting and selling art and selling t-shirts) to bring in an income. Upon graduation. I wanted job security with my first full-time role.

My goal? Start working a full time job in business <1 month after my last exam. 

It was easy, in hindsight, to use the SMART goal framework (I find it much harder to do beforehand). I went into the things I needed to do or the support I needed to get this right as I transitioned from law to business. It was incredibly hard and very ambitious. After all of this work I met my goal: I started my job 1 week after my last exam.

 I asked Esthers for hers - and how it tied into her dream of setting up her hardware store. 

As I’m sure you know from Esther by now, she does have high expectations and seems to be the type of person that can reach them through dedication and hard work. I was impressed with her reflections - and have quoted some of her email below:

Her goal? To run a big business that will generate an income so that she can earn an income and can be financially independent.

I have also never had a job experience. Starting a business is very tough and challenging. I have to work in the nearby business similar with the one I am intending to do to get more knowledge, experience and skills in running my own.

This lady has a plan - and I’m excited to see how she develops it as we go. I really hope someone gives her the chance to get the practical work experience that she needs.

Sakina’s goals and dreams

Now Sakina seems like a dreamer to me. I told her about my goal to move to Europe and start working here - with no direct experience in the European market and no network.

And Sakina’s dreams were just as huge. Her passion jumped out of the words and it felt as if she was telling me face to face.

My dream in life is to become the biggest and most popular makeup artist. I am really passionate about doing that and even sometimes I apply the little knowledge I have in applying makeup to my sisters and cousins to perfect it.

I’m sold! She told me that she wants to go to beauty school and open a big beauty parlour once she finishes her studies. I wanted to rush over to Kajiado immediately and let her test her skills on me.

I mean, she then quoted Lupiter Nyong'o to me: "just like Lupiter said dream are valid and as I know no human is limited on achieving what they want in life". She then continued to say "if I decide on something I set my heart, body and soul to pursue it".

I had goosebumps! She also shared how it was inspiring to hear my story - and that she felt that it added to her determination. All I’m left with is how do I get all my makeup to Kajiado asap so that Sakina has some other shades to play with! 

Throughout this blog series I hope to share the inspiration that these women bring to me - and hopefully to you. I hope that they can leave this experience knowing that their dreams aren't just valid: but they're also being heard by us all around the world.

Next up? We'll dive into the topic of personal strengths.