Leveraging the Experience or Counsel of Others for Success: My Perspective

Leveraging the Experience or Counsel of Others for Success: My Perspective

It is important to note that in the context of this article, the author sometimes used the words experience and counsel interchangeably. But literally, both words have different meaning. Also, the author used some biblical references to support his points.

A well leveraged experience is like a catalyst, it boosts your capacity to achieve better results in the shortest possible time. When you are stuck in a process of deciding, leveraging on others experience or counsel can create the breakthrough you desire.

To leverage simply means to take maximum advantage of an available and accessible resource or opportunity. Good experience or counsel can be a vital resource to leverage for success.

• “You can get to your destination faster by leaning on the shoulders (experiences) of those that have gone ahead of you’’.
• ‘‘What an elder (experienced person) sees sitting down, a child standing on top of iroko tree might not be able to see it’’. Adapted from African Proverb
• “Plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisers they succeed’’ (Proverb 15:22, NIV)

The above quote and proverbs connote the importance of leveraging on others experience in one’s quest for success not just in scholarship application but in all other areas of human endeavour. However, without your personal resolution and preparedness to succeed, others shared experiences are not enough to ensure your success. For it is when preparation coincides with opportunity (opportunity here can be a leverageable experience or counsel) that you can expect a breakthrough.

A well leveraged experience is like a catalyst, it boosts your capacity to achieve better results in the shortest possible time. It can give you direction even in the midst of limitations.

It was recorded in the Bible (Matthew 14:13-21) that Jesus fed 5000 men (beside women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fishes. How is that possible? Well, His personality in Trinity (God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) and His relationship (experience) with the Father (God) gave him the understanding of the possibility of multiplying such small amount of food supernaturally to feed a multitude. Will He have feed the multitude without the availability of the two fishes and five loaves of bread? Yes, with a manna from heaven I supposed, but that will still be a miracle. A natural man without such experience or dimension of power will have sent the multitude away or if he has the financial capacity, will order the disciples to buy takeaway for all of them (that’s on a lighter note anyway). But, where can they even get the such quantity of food at that time of the day?

So, here is the point; Jesus did not manufacture any new variety of food to feed the people even when He can if He so wishes. He just leveraged on His connection with the Father to multiply what the disciples have made available. So, what are you making available (i.e. which effort have you put in place) that experience of others can catalyse for maximum yield? Most people will not value what they did not contribute to just like the case of Israelite with the manna from heaven in Exodus 16. So, it is necessary to get prepared before meeting with experience for maximum benefit.

How to leverage experience

Seek the right one

Find the right person(s) that have successfully trodden similar path you are embarking on and leverage on their experience. Not all experience should be leveraged. In fact, it is better to follow your God given instincts than leverage from the wrong experience (experience here denotes a person) or someone that have no experience in the area you are working on. That could be detrimental to your success. Some people will always have an opinion in any subject matter even when they lack the knowledge and experience.

A young king in the bible once neglected the counsel of elders from his father’s cabinet but followed after that of fellow young men working under him on a very critical issue. The action led to the division of his kingdom. Though it was divinely orchestrated to fulfil a prophesy (1 Kings 12). So be discerning of where you seek to leverage ‘experience’ from except … which I don’t think so. LOL.

For instance, if you are seeking to apply for an international scholarship, you should not be seeking counsel from a successful entrepreneur except the scholarship require you to write on how to start a successful business. A more relatable one is seeking advice from a fellow fresh graduate on how to write a powerful Statement of Purpose for a PhD program. You should not even be asking in the first place, since the person has no successful experience in that area, except he/she can direct you to someone that does.

Read or listen to shared experiences

Most successful people are productively occupied. So, those of them interested in sharing their experiences usually create time to put it in writing, audio or other possible formats directly or indirectly. They might not be able to grant you a direct audience when needed, but by reading or listening to their shared experiences, you can gain a sense of direction. Even at my level of success, if I should always give audience to the numerous requests for mentorship and guidance I receive on regular basis, I will not have the time to do other things that are also important to me. Most of the times, the requests I receive are similar. Hence, to ensure sustainability and wider reach, I dedicate time to share my experiences, thoughts and perspectives in writing.

It is important to note that not all shared experience should be adopted verbatim, you have the latent ability to sharpen, modify and refine accordingly to create a new unique experience. The expected end results might be similar but your experience in the process is not the same. While good shared experiences can give you better perspective, you should streamline them to reflect your value system. 

When necessary pay for access

Most people are professionals and have monetised the value of their experiences or better put – their wealth of knowledge. So, if you really need what they offer to accelerate your career, it may be a good idea to pay for it. But if you cannot afford it, seek for other viable alternatives. There will certainly be another way out, don’t loss hope.

 Minimize the number of leverageable experiences

There is a right counsel for each plan and not all counsellors can provide them exactly. You might need a discerning ability to find out the appropriate counsellor for a particular plan. When you take counsel from too many sources it becomes difficult to make successful decision as you will keep reflecting on which perspective to adopt and which not to. You might say I am contradicting the bible verse I quoted earlier. Well, the verse said that “Plans fail for lack of counsel but in the multitude of counsellors they succeed”. This implies that you need counsellors for your plans, but you must identify the right counsellor for a plan.

How to get people interested in sharing their experience with you

Your manner of your approach

You should approach a new connection, potential mentor or counsellor with the mindset of knowing them or showing interest in what matters to them. Some people are fond of quickly stating their objectives after the first greeting even without any greeting in some cases. In that way, the other person is likely to see you as a one-off opportunist and might be reluctant to open up to you. So, while you have your primary objective for connecting with the person, it is usually better to allow him/her get comfortable with you and in so doing, he/she can easily open up and share their experience with you along the line. However, some prefer you going straight to the point especially when they already have a preconceived notion about your intention. So, in that case, if you approach them as formerly suggested and you did receive a response, politely state your intention.

Be prepared

I touched on this point earlier but let me buttress it more. When you want to leverage experience, ensure you are prepared and have done your own background preparation. Do not approach experience (the person) as a total novice, most people will not have the patience to start by giving you milk when they expect your teeth to be strong at least to some extent. So, get prepared so that when you are asked about the steps you have already taken, you will have something meaningful to present. In that way, leveraging becomes more interactive than instructive.

Thanks for reading!

 If it was worth your time, do let me know.

Sunday Okafor