The Next Chapter

Andrew Pulsipher had a family secret he held onto for 33 years.  He was HIV positive.   Before Pulsipher was born, his dad cheated on his mom and contracted HIV.  Both parents later died from AIDS. Pulsipher was raised by family members.  He grew up in the 80’s at a time when there was tremendous…

"It's not really a social media network, it's more of a discovery platform. It's a place where people go to dream and discover new stuff."

Jeff Sieh calls himself The Manly Pinterest Guy.

"It was assumed that there were just women on Pinterest. I thought I would turn it on its head, poke a little fun." That's when got wise to the booming business world of Pinterest.

Sieh says he began to pin frequently and noticed it was driving a traffic to his blog. Then he worked to define and develop his "Manly" brand. He grew both his beard and his brand, went retro with his graphics, kept pinning, and became a sought after Pinterest consultant and speaker.

"If you have a product, any product at all, you should be on Pinterest because it drives so much traffic," Sieh says, "Now it is the #1 Driver of traffic. A lot of marketers are noticing, too."

Sieh makes the point that Pinterest engagement lasts a long time, that it is more evergreen than Twitter or Facebook.

"I pin a lot of different things," he says, "I have a board called manly food. I share a board about bacon. There are all sorts of things. You can show people who you are."

Sieh, who says he tries to keep his content "broadly manly" is capitalizing on a growing movement of men on Pinterest.

"There are more men on Pinterest than read Sports Illustrated and GQ combined," he says.

Here are a few Manly Pinterest Guy Tips:

-When you follow people on Pinterest, you don't have to follow all of their boards. Be specific about the boards you are interested in. That way you don't get overwhelmed.

-Don't just think images. Pinterest allows you to share audio and video.

-Make sure that your pins reflect your brand.

-85-90% of all Pinterest traffic, Sieh says, is coming from mobile devices. Think about how your pins and shares will look on a smaller screen.

-Make sure you are very descriptive with your boards.

"It takes you stepping out a little bit, it's not always comfortable and easy but you have to just go for it." Sieh did just that by throwing himself, and all of his Texas manliness, into what he previously thought of as a woman's world full of eye makeup and nail polish.

He shared with us one of his favorite quotes, one that reminds him to keep producing manly content and sharing with the world.

"90% and shared with the world always changes more lives than 100% perfect and stuck in your head." -Jon Acuff.

To find more of the Manly Pinterest Guy www.manlypinteresttips.com

He says they are always adding testosterone, "One Pin at a time."

The post How Men Use Pinterest. Tips From The Manly Pinterest Guy Jeff Sieh appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“It’s not really a social media network, it’s more of a discovery platform.  It’s a place where people go to dream and discover new stuff.” Jeff Sieh calls himself The Manly Pinterest Guy. “It was assumed that there were just women on Pinterest.  I thought I would turn it on its head, poke a little…

"I didn't fail as a person. I maybe failed to meet somebody else's expectation, but that doesn't mean that I can't bring value to a company, to other people, to my family, and to myself."

That is what Kathi Miller-Miller realized after she was fired. It is a shocking experience for anyone who goes through it. You question your own values and self worth.

Miller was a business professional, a manager for 25 years, who helped other people with their careers. For her, getting fired was the best thing that could have happened. Although she didn't realize it at the time.

"I was looking for some new up to date information about how to search for jobs," Miller says, "But the book I was looking for wasn't out there — so I wrote it."

Miller picked herself up, pulled her shoulders back, and moved ahead with her writing, which morphed into a booming website, www.kathimillermiller.com where she offers free career tips and advice.

She found that she still had the confidence to add value in the business world, despite the fact that her earlier employer didn't see it — at the time.

Miller likes to challenge her readers to "take their power back" by considering if they are getting equal loyalty from their employer that they are offering. "Loyalty," she says, "is a two way street. Far too many times employees stay on that corporate train even if it is heading for a brick wall."

Finding your passion and making it part of your everyday life is a big part of what Miller writes about. "It really comes down to finding the intersection of your passion and your values."

That intersection has proven very successful for Miller, both in her writing and on LinkedIn, a site she doesn't use strictly as a networking tool. She says she starts and ends her days there interacting with like-minded people, building community, and expanding her personal brand as a career coach and author.

"I really encourage people to get on LinkedIn," Miller says. "The reality is none of us ever know when we are going to be looking for a job and you can't create a network overnight."

She has found new passion and inspiration in the work she is doing today. None of this would have been possible had she not heard those dreaded two words.

You're Fired.

Show Transcript

Carey Pena: Hi everyone. I'm Carey Pena. Thank you so much for being here. Our guest today is LinkedIn guru and author of Your Journey: From Fired to Hired, Kathi Miller. Hi, Kathi.

Kathi Miller: Hi, Carey. How are you today?

Carey Pena: Good. I'm so excited to talk with you because you have incredible information to share with our listeners. A lot of what you write about in your book, in your blogs, and on LinkedIn is how people can take control of their careers. Let's start with two words that no one ever wants to hear, "You're fired." We've heard Donald Trump say that many times over the years.

You tell people what matters is what you do now. You tell people that you have to see that it is the time to move forward. So, how do you walk people through that journey in your book?

Kathi Miller: Well, that's a great question, Carey. And a little bit of a back story, the reason I wrote the book is that I actually was fired. I was a business professional, a manager for 25 years helping other people with their careers, but I was looking for some new up to date information on how to search for jobs. The book that I wanted to buy wasn't out there, so I wrote it. I've had just really phenomenal feedback from folks that were in that situation. And one of the biggest…

Carey Pena: Let me just ask you quickly, I just want to ask you on that subject, after you were fired, psychologically how did you pull yourself out of that bad place and kind of get motivated for yourself?

Kathi Miller: That was the biggest problem. For me, Carey, I was very lucky. For some people, maybe it's a matter of financial distress, right? I didn't have that financial distress. I had a little bit of a nest egg, so to speak. But yeah, emotionally, I was a type A over-achiever. The kind of person that what I found through research and going through it personally, fear of getting fired, maybe every day of their life because they think it equates to failure.

Some of the first things I had to do was to accept and to realize that it wasn't failure. I didn't fail as a person. I maybe failed to meet somebody else's expectations, but that didn't mean that I can't bring value to people, to companies, to my family, and to myself. So that was the very first thing, putting my head back, my shoulders back, and still being proud, and still have the confidence that I could provide value on a business situation.

Carey Pena: One of the things I really love about your writing is that you encourage people to do more than just look for jobs. You encourage people to really craft opportunities for themselves that are valuable, and that bring them joy, and so that they feel like they're contributing to something that matters, and I think that is such an important concept.

Carey Pena: You write so many interesting blogs on your site, by the way, and your site is kathimillermiller.com. So, what happened Kathi Miller, you married a guy named Miller?

Kathi Miller: I did actually, yes. And how boring is that, right? Every young girl practices writing a new name, and not me, I've written the same name forever. But I never went by any hyphenation until after I wrote the book and started blogging, and as you might guess, the URL kathimiller wasn't available, but kathimillermiller was, so here I am.

Carey Pena: And I did a lot of reading on your site, kathimillermiller.com, and one of the blogs that really caught my attention, I want to go through this. It is titled, Does Your Employer Deserve Your Loyalty. So, you start out by saying, "Young kids can teach us a thing or two." And you talk about the millennials, how they sometimes get a bad rap for job-hopping, but you say really there's a good reason for that, because you talk about how more people are thinking about whether or not your employer actually deserves your loyalty. I want to go through some of the bullet points, Kathi, that you break out in this blog because they're great ones.

So, you present this list of things that people should think about, when it comes to how much your employer deserves your loyalty. The first you list is broken promises, is there poor communication, is there company instability, limited developmental opportunities, misguided management, meager leadership, no passion for you, or for them, lack of trust, poor business strategy, limited vision. So, all of these things you say are indicators of potential danger. Talk to me about that.

Kathi Miller: Yes Carey, an, you know, it's like anything else, if you have one of those situations, it may not be the end of the world, right? That might be a blip. But certainly, if you start seeing three, or four, or five of those things, what I really want to challenge my readers to do is to stop and intentionally consider if they are getting equal loyalty back from the employer that they are offering to the employer. And if it's, you know, loyalty is a two way street. It just has to be, whether it's in a relationship, a marriage, or an employment situation. I think far too many times, employees stay on that corporate train, even if it's heading for a brick wall, and you just can't do that anymore.

Carey Pena: Why is that? Just because, are we just in so many cases, you know, obviously people have financial obligations, and it's scary to jump off that train. Kathi Miller: It is.

Carey Pena: So, what kind of advice do you give to your readers?

Kathi Miller: Well, in this particular case the first thing I say is, "If you're getting equal loyalty that you're giving, and you do see career opportunities, and you are having trust and communication, then maybe you just work your way through it." But certainly, if you're in a situation, let's say, maybe Carey, you have a leader, a manager, a direct manager, or even your corporate CEO officer, and they just don't have any vision, right? One of the most important things for any business to succeed is a strategic vision. You just can't, you can't last forever without that.

So, if you're in a situation where you have a company that isn't exhibiting any vision, and add to that perhaps, maybe they told you they'd give you a raise in 90 days, or if you made it through this first year without a salary increase they'd hit you the next year, and they don't do that, then maybe the next thing that comes in is you find that the management is misguided, you know? Maybe there's miscommunication even between the managers. Suddenly those things start to add up and you've got to look out for yourself and say, "You know what? It is scary to take that step out, but maybe it's scary to stay here, too."

Ultimately a lot of times what I find when I'm coaching folks is that they're so afraid to take that step, right? But so many times that can lead to phenomenal better opportunities for them, once they just make that move, and start looking and networking and talking to other folks.

Carey Pena: Well, I love that you put no passion. Is there a lack of passion for you. or for your employer, because I really think that's so important. So much of what you're talking about is the opportunity for us to evolve in our jobs, and my totally unscientific research has shown me that being able to evolve keeps you, and whether that's financially, do you have the opportunity to move up with your salary, do you have the opportunity to learn new things, to apply your skills in different areas, I find that the people who are in situations where they are evolving, they're learning, they're growing, they're staying passionate.

Kathi Miller: You know, as I often tell folks, we get one shot at life. And people that say, "Well, I've only got seven more years 'til I can retire." Okay. That's 2,200 days that you're just giving up by going through the paces, and it's just so important to stay passionate and engaged, you're right. Whether it's your leadership, whether it's your personal interests, or even just growing yourself through increasing your skills. And I do believe that finding a job somebody loves, and I have a lot of content about that on my site, and also in My Journey from Fired to Hired, the book I published, how to find that job that you love, that you're passionate about.

There's a lot of really helpful tools out there, if you're in a job and you're going through the paces, don't think that, you know, don't be overwhelmed thinking it's hard to figure that out. There's resources, great resources, out there to help you. There's also a lot of them on my website, too, Carey, they're totally free of charge.

Carey Pena: I want to say that, by the way, I love that you just put it all out there. You're not like, "Hey, I've got this great piece of advice, opt-in, give me five bucks and I'll give it to you." You really share a lot of information which I appreciate. Can you give me a couple of examples, when you talk about, in particular your book, From Fired to Hired, I'd imagine after you get fired, you do a little soul-searching and you think about the next steps. How do you go about, and how do you coach people to go about, identifying what is your passion for the next phase?

Kathi Miller: Great question. One of the first things when you get fired, and when I work with folks that get fired, is that I tell them to breathe. The second thing is that nine times out of ten there's some sort of accountability we can take. Something we could've maybe done better, maybe we showed loyalty when we shouldn't have, you know? Maybe they went through a reduction in headcount, those sorts of things. So, the first thing you've got to do is kind of work through some of that psychological stuff before you could even begin to find a job that you love, right? Because you've got to be in a healthy, optimistic place. It really comes down to finding the intersection of your passion, and your values.

Again, like I said, there are some great tools out there where you can take and put value identifications up. You know, is money the most important thing to you, is family the most important thing, is constant career growth, is having a job that you could do remotely? Maybe it's a job that allows you to move around the country. Not that any two people will have the exact same value structure, right?

So, the first thing you have to do is lineup, okay, this is the most important thing to me. Everybody's so busy in life, right? I think I shared with you earlier that, I don't know about you, but I have ten, fifteen lists at all times in my phone, where I have everything I need to do. And I'm not special, I'm not any more unique than you are, Carey, or your listeners are. And so what happens, is it just easier to do the status quo, and just continue to go through. But it's so important, if you really want to have that well-rounded and fulfilled life, to make sure your value string does match up. Then the other thing is, do you have the skill set necessary to do your job that you love, okay? So, maybe I want to be an opera singer, that's the job that I know I would love. But if I can't sing, [inaudible 00:10:50].

Carey Pena: You're not going to be standing next to Andrea Bocelli anytime soon.

Kathi Miller: Maybe there's a reason I'm not an opera singer.

Carey Pena: Kathi, you are huge on LinkedIn. You've had a very successful run. Tell me some of the secrets to your success on LinkedIn, and why you think people should be active on, what's the purpose, and what kind of content should people be looking to put on LinkedIn?

Kathi Miller: Yeah, LinkedIn has been phenomenal for me. And there's a couple of key tips, you know, obviously the first one is to comment on people's threads, and that sort of stuff, so there's no real new topic there, Carey, but one of the things that has been really good for me on LinkedIn, is the ability to take and interact with other like-minded people through groups. I would really encourage people, if they're not already in some group activity, to get in there and find one, and that's where you really get some great synergies going on.

The other thing is, if there's not a group on the topic you're interested in, create one. There's nothing that says you can't have a group, again, back of, people that want to be opera singers that can't sing. I don't know how many people you'd get in that, but my point is, you could. So creating a group or participating in a group is absolutely huge. But one of the other things I really, really encourage people to do with LinkedIn, oftentimes people think, "Well, if I'm not looking for a job, I don't need to be on LinkedIn." And that is such, such a professional mistake. For two reasons. First of all, none of us ever know when we're going to be looking for a job, you know? Downsizing happens, companies go out of business, and so … And the other thing is, you can't create a network overnight. It takes time to get in, and to forge those relationships, and build those relationships. The third thing is, quite honestly, it's just a fantastic way for personal growth and development.

Carey Pena: Yeah.

Kathi Miller: I don't look at LinkedIn as just a networking tool, it's so much more than that. It's where I start and end every day.

Carey Pena: It's the building of your community, and that's always beneficial for all of us. So, Kathi, since you are living proof of going from fired to hired, you've kind of created your own journey, you've written your own story here. What do you identify as being the secret to your success for getting where you were, in that moment of being fired, to where you are today?

Kathi Miller: Probably just personal drive, and the belief just really down deep in my soul, Carey, that even in that darkest hour, when I heard those two dreaded words, I knew I still had things to give. I knew I could still help people, and I had a passion that I just, I ended up finding a new way to share my passion, I guess, quite honestly. I went from face-to-face coaching in corporate environments to jumping online, doing podcasts like today, I've done a couple virtual career summits, and I absolutely love it. It's a new way of thinking, which is embracing, it's keeping my mind growing. All the technology has been phenomenal for me to be kind of proud of the fact, oh wow, I can do this, you know?

Carey Pena: Yeah.

Kathi Miller: It's pretty cool. And I've gone from writing a book that I never expected to, to having a website that I get almost 10,000 visitors a month on, that I'm helping, instead of maybe 20 or 30 people on my old team, you know, face-to-face, in the day, now I can help unlimited number of people, and so that's been incredibly awarding.

Carey Pena: Well, and I hope you don't mind me saying this, because I know you've blogged about your age, but you're post 50, right? And I think that that's an important thing to talk about because, you know, I mean, you still continue to find a new mojo every day, and you're operating in this progressive digital world, and I think that's really cool.

Kathi Miller: Well, thank you. I am past 50, post 50, only by about a month, but I am in the club. Carey Pena: I love that you embrace that. You know, we only have a few seconds left, but I always like to ask everyone, what personally inspires you, Kathi?

Kathi Miller: What personally inspires me? Wow. That's a great question to end on. Getting better every day, you know? My favorite quote that I have in my office, very visible, is, "If you're not growing, you're dying." And if I had to summarize my motivation, I think that's it.

Carey Pena: I love that. Kathi Miller, you are an awesome lady, and I really encourage people to go to your site, kathimillermiller.com, because you pump out so much content, and it's good content, it's valuable content, and I think that's a big part of the reason why you are so successful. We loved having you on the show today, Kathi, thank you so much.

Kathi Miller: Thank you so much, Carey, and appreciate all to your listeners as well. Carey Pena: Thanks everyone for listening, and you can find us at inspiredmedia360tv.com. Today's show was produced and engineered by Shannon Hernandez, brought to you by Inspired Media 360. Until next time, stay inspired.

The post How To Go From Fired To Hired. Employment Expert Shares Her Secrets appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I didn’t fail as a person.  I maybe failed to meet somebody else’s expectation, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t bring value to a company, to other people, to my family, and to myself.” That is what Kathi Miller-Miller realized after she was fired.  It is a shocking experience for anyone who goes through…

Erin Schulte & Jessica Hocken with Cindy McCain

If you thought millennials were lazy, entitled, and self absorbed, you need to hear what Erin Schulte and Jessica Hocken have to say.

The two ASU honors students, who have been friends since their sophomore year in high school, co-founded the student-led nonprofit "All Walks Project" to fight against sex trafficking and sexual abuse.

They've received tremendous support and guidance from the Entrepreneurship program at ASU. In fact, Schulte and Hocken point to ASU as the inspiration that made all of this possible. "Even though I am young, even though I am a woman, even though I am a student. The University sees the best in us."

Prior to ASU's incredible leadership, the two say they were encouraged to take bold steps after reading Sheryl Sandberg's book, Lean In. The book focuses, in part, on the challenges women face in trying to get ahead. It also encourages women to be strong, turn plans into action, and lean in at the table to have your voice heard. Schultz and Hocken say after reading the book, they realized there were no more excuses. Again, they were absorbing the message that they are not too young or too inexperienced to do the things they want to do. They realized, there was nothing to fear. If there were things they didn't know about running an organization along the way, they would learn — and thats exactly what has happened.

The two have broken out of the so-called millennial mold in a dynamic and bold way. They are now connected with the Clinton Global Initiative. They are also receiving help from the McCain Institute. Cindy McCain has been outspoken and tireless in her efforts to fight sex trafficking in the United States and abroad.

Many of the victims, say Schulte and Hocken, don't even realize they are victims until it is too late.

"Everyone can and needs to make a difference. This is an issue that affects everyone. Even if you don't see it, it's still there," Schulte says.

Their mission is to spread awareness on college campuses so that people recognize what is really happening in our community and take action.

"All Walks Project" is currently at on campus at four Universities, but the founders — two incredible young women on a mission for the greater good — have plans to take it nationwide.

The post ASU Entrepreneurs Fight Sex Trafficking appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

If you thought millennials were lazy, entitled, and self absorbed, you need to hear what Erin Schulte and Jessica Hocken have to say.   The two ASU honors students, who have been friends since their sophomore year in high school, co-founded the student-led nonprofit “All Walks Project” to fight against sex trafficking and sexual abuse.…

"If you lead a compassionate life, your children will naturally see its importance to you and will assume its importance for themselves," says Jim Taylor Ph.D.

This is a concept that hits home with Arizona mothers Lisa Geyser and Alex Sklar who founded the charity Families Giving Back. It is all based on parents bringing their children, no matter how young, to volunteer.

"We felt like this was something that was missing in the community, this was something we wanted for our boys. We started talking and we thought if it doesn't exist, let's create it."

That was in 2012. Since then, Sklar and Geyser have teamed up with over 20 non-profits to host family friendly events 2 to 3 times a month. Many of them sell out.

Fundamentally, they wanted to teach their boys about compassion, empathy, and kindness. Their boys began to volunteer before they were even three years old.

"It was important to us, that they understand there comes a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate," Sklar says, "But also to view those people with as much respect and compassion as you would your family."

With so much hatred and turmoil in the world today, it seems more important than ever to raise children who can understand what it is to be kind and decent to others.

"Because of the messages of selfishness and disregard for others that popular culture communicates these days, your children aren't likely to learn compassion on their own," Dr. Taylor writes in Psychology Today. "You must nurture the ability to care about others in their early years. If the value of compassion isn't evident in your daily lives, your children are less likely to develop compassion and will ultimately become emotionally and socially disconnected from the larger world in which they live. Only when children are immersed in a compassionate world will they come to see the value of compassion and embrace it as their own."

A value these mothers, and now hundreds of parents and children in the Phoenix area are embracing by taking action together — as a family.

For more information on Families Giving Back visit

www.familiesgivingback.org

The post How To Raise Compassionate Children appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“If you lead a compassionate life, your children will naturally see its importance to you and will assume its importance for themselves,” says Jim Taylor Ph.D. This is a concept that hits home with Arizona mothers Lisa Geyser and Alex Sklar who founded the charity Families Giving Back.  It is all based on parents…

Named one of the top 25 CEOs in Phoenix, Christy McClendon's passion comes from her own personal experience. McClendon, who runs the Phoenix based non-profit New Pathways for Youth, was raised in Kentucky by grandparents who had only 8th grade educations. She joins Carey in studio along with 22 year old Mentor, Eugenia Folks, whose family immigrated from Mexico and struggled daily to survive. Together they talk about overcoming great odds, and what it is like to find not only success, but true meaning in life.

Show's Transcript

Carey Pena: Hey guys, it's Carey Pena. Thank you so much for being here. Let me ask you a question. What if you had the power, the power to change someone's life? Would you use it? That's what we're talking about today with Christy McLendon, president and CEO of New Pathways for Youth. This is a local organization that really transforms lives through mentoring and life skill development, and the success rate is pretty massive, and when I say that you guys are transforming, that is not an overstatement and all that. Also in our studio today is Eugenia folks who is a mentor who says that this has changed her life. Welcome to the both of you. So good to see you guys. You look lovely. And Christy, I want to talk to you first. You have been named one of the Top 25 CEOs by the Phoenix Business Journal, 50 Most Powerful Women Business Leaders by Arizona Business Magazine and 20 Women Who Will Shape the Valley by the Arizona Republic. So you're kind of like a big deal. How did you find your passion to do this?

Christy M.: My passion really comes about from my own personal experience. I grew up in a very small community in southern Kentucky. I was raised by my grandparents who had eighth grade educations and they believed in the power of education and they had no idea how I would go to college, but they just knew it was part of their vision and their hope for me and it was having powerful mentors in my life who helped guide me and show the route and counsel me through that process to make my way there.

Carey Pena: Did you know, did you have an internal sense that you were going to make it to go on to college and these greater degrees that you've had and this amazing business world success? Did you feel that or was it your grandparents who were saying, "Yes, you can do it," or was it a kind of a combination of both?

Christy M: In hindsight, probably a combination of both. I don't think that I ever said, I'm going to be acknowledged in these wonderful ways that I have in our community. It was just the value my grandparents instilled in me to make a difference, to care about people and to give back.

Carey Pena: Talk to me about New Pathways for Youth because I had the great pleasure of visiting with you guys some months ago and what you're doing there is really, really special.

Christy M.: New Pathways for Youth truly changes lives. We focus on an intentional evidence based curriculum that inspires our mentors and our youth to reach very … a high level of impact in our lives. We not only see the lives of our youth transform who come to us with backgrounds in delinquency, homelessness or very difficult home lives, but we watch the mentors who serve them as volunteers truly transform their own lives in the process.

Carey Pena: Well, what I found really fascinating is that you guys bring the kids in and even though they have come from very rough circumstances, you expect a lot. You're not just letting them come in here and kind of dictate their own course. Because what I took away, and correct me if I'm wrong, is you don't want them to look at themselves as victims.

Christy M.: Absolutely. One of our core beliefs at New Pathways for Youth is that youth do as we do and that youth choose a future for themselves based on what they see as possible in that moment. So we look to our volunteer mentors who go through intensive training to work with these youth from very difficult backgrounds, to inspire them to play big, to set big goals and reach for them. And we look for our mentors to be that example.

Carey Pena: Mentors like this beautiful young lady right here. Eugenia, why did you want to become a mentor?

Eugenia: I had a mentor when I was growing up and that was my father. I had a very strong relationship with him and he instilled the belief in me that education is powerful. And so when I heard about New Pathways, I knew that I had to give it a shot. I could be a mentor.

Carey Pena: Tell me a little bit about your background.

Eugenia: I was raised in the west side, so the Maryville area, in poverty. My parents immigrated here from Mexico and so really, I went to college, really on nothing but scholarships. I felt very fortunate for that, especially because a lot of the peers that I had in my neighborhoods are not in the same situation that I'm in right now.

Carey Pena: And so when you take on your child, you have two of them, right, that you're mentoring?

Eugenia: Yes, I do.

Carey Pena: How do you go about breaking down their walls? Because a lot of kids I would imagine have been through so much, so much emotional stress and sometimes when you're in that situation you don't see the world as being a positive place. You don't look at it like, "Wow, I can go out there and shoot for the stars." Where do you begin in trying to break through with these kids?

Eugenia: So that's interesting that you asked that. It's at a perfect time because just yesterday I met with one of my mentees who I've been matched with for about eight, nine months and he is so intelligent and I would say a little bit stubborn because it was hard to break through those walls.

So yesterday we had that same conversation, much of the same family dynamics that were going on in January. But this time around, it was a little bit different and all it took was a little bit of patience from me and an ear to give to him. So he demonstrated empathy, something that he didn't have eight months ago and it was a very proud moment.

Carey Pena: Wow, to be able to break through and show empathy really changes who you are as a person. If you can be empathetic toward others, it opens you up to so many beautiful things in life. Can you guys talk to me a little bit about some of the situations that you see? I went to one of your events and there was a young man who just blew me away. I think he was about 16 years old and he told his life story. His parents were just riddled with drugs, alcohol, abuse. He'd been flopped from home to home to home. Didn't feel that anyone would really love and care for him. And then it was very funny because he's a young Hispanic gentleman, so cute, and then he got matched up with this like mid-forties kind of white guy. And he talked about, it's so funny about how he never thought he would have something in common with this kind of, in his words, like nerdy guy, but they ended up with this amazing bond.

Christy M.: Mm-hmm (affirmative). It's a very powerful relationship and I think even in that example, and as Eugenie as an example, and I also mentor in our program as a volunteer, it's really a very core curriculum that equips us as mentors with an understanding of youth development and the very unique situations that our youth find themselves in, again, violence, drugs as you just highlighted for the young man you met.

The young man that my husband and I co-mentor together, same situation. He lost his father at the age of nine and prior to that, he had witnessed a very violent relationship between his parents. And they had, after his father's passing, he and his siblings and his mother lived in the park for a few weeks before they found themselves in a homeless shelter and able to start rebuilding as a family. These youth face very difficult circumstances. In the training we get as mentors, helps us build that rapport quickly and then the evidence based programming that that New Pathways provides to us as mentors develops our skills to teach empathy at an age appropriate level. So not only is the relationship becoming the mechanism of change, but the curriculum provides all the tools we need to follow to help develop that over time.

Carey Pena: You know, I am a huge believer in what mentorship can do. Many years ago I did a story in one of the jails here, and I was in the room with a bunch of young men who were incarcerated. I'll never forget this, because one of them, they were all trying to be tough and kind of telling me their stories and you know, a variety of reasons you find people in jail. Some made stupid decisions, some horrendous decisions.

But one young man really stuck out to me because I could see he wanted to tell me more. And he was very emotional and he talked to me about how he grew up in a neighborhood where if you did not jump into a gang, you pretty much, he felt you would not survive, that he had no role models and he had no choices. That always stuck with me because I wonder if there was more outreach in our society as simple as a few days a week mentorship, but some sort of perspective that tells kids there is something more. And we have such overcrowding in our jails. Do you know any of the statistics, how much mentorship helps combat that?

Christy M.: We know that mentorship in programs like New Pathways where you're utilizing the evidence based curriculum and developing those core emotional and social skills that kids need to be successful in life, we see a one to three return. So for every dollar invested in programs like New Pathways for Youth creates a, a return of $3 to our community by preventing the need for future criminal justice or social justice services.

We also know on average it costs about $88,000 a year to incarcerate a youth in Arizona. And at New Pathways for youth or programs like ours, our services are typically in the range of about $2,000 a year per youth and providing a holistic approach to the family and to the kid that's involved in the program.

Carey Pena: Yeah. I read some statistics from the Mentoring Effect, a 2014 report outlines the effects of mentoring for kids. 76% of at risk youth who had a mentor plan to enroll in college versus 56% who did not have access to a mentor. Working with a mentor, they say nearly doubled the number of at risk youth who participated in a sports team or an extracurricular activity and community volunteerism increased from 27% to 48%. Talk to me a little bit about that.

Eugenia: I think it's very important. I took my youth for the first time to the ASU Tempe campus about three months ago. And at first I thought that all he was getting out of it was the recreational aspect of the university. And yesterday he was talking about going to college and a possible career and building a business. And that is powerful, to be able to hear that as opposed to everything else, to hear that he has a plan and he's taking the steps towards that.

Carey Pena: Eugenia, I can tell that you're very passionate about this. How old are you?

Eugenia: 23.

Carey Pena: How does it make you feel to know that at 23 years old you have walked through a difficult path yourself as a young Latina and that you are already going out into the world and making a huge difference. How does it make you feel?

Eugenia: It makes me feel like there's a lot more work to do.

Carey Pena: You're a girl after my own heart. You're not going to stop here are you?

Eugenia: Not at all.

Carey Pena: So Christy, when you go into work every day, there are some challenges that you face though because you're constantly having to get fundraising. And that's not easy. What's that world like?

Christy M.: Well, it's one of passion. When you go in every day and you hear the stories of Eugenia and her youth or by mentoring in our program myself, I get to see it daily. And you never forget the faces that you are trying to help and why it's so important to connect those dots and bring those resources and one of the interesting things, Carrie, as you were mentioning, the impact or the outcomes that are happening with youth in terms of 76% going on to reach for higher education, college, technical training.

What we also know as a statistic is that one out of three kids are on a weekly basis, are not spending meaningful time with a caring adult during the non-school hours. So the need for mentors and volunteers in our community is great. At New Pathways for Youth. We have over 150 kids this year that we will be seeking to match with a mentor. These are kids who have stepped up and said, "I'm on a trajectory in life I don't want to be on and I need help to change it," and we need more people like Eugenia stepping up in our community to be that committed mentor to these youth.

Carey Pena: Eugenia, let me ask you, on the subject of kids being unsupervised, it scares me to death that kids, and I know there are still … My mom was a single mom. I know every parent is fighting their own battle to try to be at home with their kids, to try to have that balance and some folks just have to work a lot. And I get that, but it scares me so much about the dangers when the kids are left alone.

You're 23, you have a pretty good grasp on how many dangers are out there and these kids now, I mean I love social media, but there's a whole underworld that once you're exposed to it, it can be so damaging.

Eugenia: Absolutely. It's a little scary having that conversation, especially with my mentee who is going on to be 17 years old in three weeks. He is practically a young adult and he's getting ready for the world out there and he feels like he's the man of the home and I'm proud of him for that. It's a little bit scary because sometimes it's a lot of the paths that a lot of youth have taken before and sometimes it doesn't work out, but I'm really confident in my mentee. I'm confident in his ability to empathize, to take perspective, and to use that to make the home a better place.

Carey Pena: Christy, when you reflect back on your life and how you've come to where you are today, what do you think about? What were some of the things that along the way, you talked about your grandparents really propelling you to go on, but you've achieved a great deal of success. What are some of the secrets to how you've gotten to where you are?

Christy M.: I think Eugenia just touched on it. It's kind of powerful to hear her share that it's having someone to tell you that they believe in you and what they believe in, but it's so important to have someone to tell you how to achieve that and so often we invest in our youth by telling them you can be anything you want to be, but we don't tell them how. And that was the difference. I had grandparents telling me I could do it and I had mentors showing me how along the way and when I listened to Eugenia and her example of her youth and college, she's helping him find out how to make that a possibility, not that it's just an unattainable goal.

Carey Pena: Well, I love that you say that because when I've given speeches in particular, I love helping out whenever I can with the young women who are trying to find focus in their life and I always talk about you have to have a game plan. It's wonderful to have dreams. Everybody at every age should have dreams, but you need to have a game plan so you can put those dreams into action and you sort of teach the kids. How do you get them in there and really construct a game plan that's specific to get from A to B, B to C and go out and live a great life?

Christy M.: So our curriculum teaches that. One of the core things we work on with our youth is their ultimate goal being college and career readiness, that they will go to college and/or have a career that they are achieving what they want in life.

And then we start breaking that down, as early as age nine or in Eugenia's youth example, at the age of 17 in eight week projects. So where am I in this stage of life is of youth that I'm working on something that is related to getting to that goal. So for example, the mentee that I have, one of the eight week projects we worked on was to get his driver's license, knowing that in our community that would be an essential way to get to and from work as he becomes an adult.

So it was an eight week project that ultimately is leading toward his broader goal, his bigger goal of college and career readiness. So in our program we break down, every youth is working on an eight week project at all times and their mentor is helping them and coaching them along the way to be successful in that eight week project. For some of the kids it's going to show up and have perfect attendance at school during this eight weeks. That's a foundation for another eight week project of I now have attendance at school and I'm showing up so I can now focus on my grades.

Carey Pena: It's a measurable goal.

Christy M.: Yes.

Carey Pena: And when you see these kids hitting their goals, what kind of emotional shift? It's like someone who really wants to lose some weight and get healthier and you're frustrated and you're frustrated, but then all of a sudden you see you lost four pounds and you feel a lot more energetic and it just motivates you to keep going. What sort of emotional shift do you see in these kids? And that must just be really wonderful to see.

Christy M.: Oh my God, this is … when you asked me the question about when I walk in every day, it's watching the kids and watching them evolve and then literally transform. You will watch a kid come in, first day of the program and you just see the weight of the world on them. It's in their face, it's on their shoulders, it's how they carry themselves-

Carey Pena: And it's unfair that kids have to carry those burdens.

Christy M.: Yes, it is.

Carey Pena: It's unfair.

Christy M.: And then you'll see three to four months later, a kid will walk in our center and their shoulders are back and their head is high and they have a smile on their face and they are ready to tell you about what they have accomplished and what's next for them. And they are so focused and driven to make that happen. It transforms my life every day.

Carey Pena: I can see it in your face and the pride that you feel when you see that shift. You know, I was looking on your … I was trolling around on your social media a little bit. I hope you don't mind. And I saw something that stood out to me and you said that you had Joelle Hadley, a culture coach in to train the staff and the mentors on emotional intelligence. So, I was curious about that. What did you learn from her?

Christy M.: A lot.

Carey Pena: I mean, emotional intelligence. Is that how you deal with the kids or with one another?

Christy M.: It's actually a set of skill sets to understand what happens in our presence and in our body when we hit our triggers in life and it's exactly what we're teaching our kids. How do they recognize their beliefs and their thoughts about themselves and how those beliefs and thoughts may be standing as a barrier for them to reach their ultimate goal. And when I have that awareness, how do I now shift my belief about myself and start developing new patterns of thought that allow me to actually show up and behave or act in a way that's consistent with the future I see for myself?

Carey Pena: So taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. I love that, to teach that at a young age because that's something a lot of adults could use a crash course on. Right?

Christy M.: That is, exactly.

Carey Pena: Eugenia, I want to hear from you: what's next? I mean, you're just a light. You're a bright light and I'm just excited to see what's next for you.

Eugenia: You know it's not really, it's what's next for mentees. My youth is going to be graduating in two Mays from now and I'm very confident that he will. My other mentee is starting her freshman year in high school and she recently told me that she aspires to be valedictorian when she graduates.

Carey Pena: Well, that's a pretty big goal.

Eugenia: That's what's next.

Carey Pena: And do you have any sense of what you want to do from a business perspective? Maybe we should recruit you to run for office. I'm thinking that would be pretty smart.

Eugenia: Funny you say that. Law school is next.

Carey Pena: Very good. You keep on that track and before we let you guys go, I just have had so much fun with this conversation because I love nothing more than sitting down with two incredible women who are putting good into this world. That just makes me so happy. I like to ask everyone before I let them go, and Christy has this worried look on her face, like, what's she going to ask me? What's going on? What's happening? I just want to know what inspires you.

Christy M.: The youth inspire me, watching the transformation that they create in their life at such a young age and having overcome such challenges and obstacles at that point to create a new possibility and to live into that possibility to be their best self. That inspires me, and the mentors who serve them.

Carey Pena: Who are doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

Christy M.: They're giving graciously of their time and their talents and their treasures. Just like Eugenia is.

Carey Pena: Eugenia, what inspires you?

Eugenia: Being pleasantly surprised by the youth, by the people that I'm surrounded with, by everyone.

Carey Pena: By life.

Eugenia: Yes.

Carey Pena: That's a good thing, right? Ladies, thank you so much. And how would folks who want to find out more information, Christine where do they find you guys?

Christy M.: They can visit us at NPFY.org. It stands for New Pathways for Youth.org.

Carey Pena: Or they can troll around on your social media like I have. Thank you guys so much for being with us in the studio today and thanks to all of you for listening.

The post The Power of Mentorship with Christy McClendon appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.