How The Kings Speech Can Help You Find The Right Mentor

The Kings Speech - Why Mentoring Is Important

Have you seen The King’s Speech yet? If not, it’s a “must see” film. I had been wanting to see it since it came out but as my boyfriend doesn’t like going to the cinema, I waited until it came out on DVD, and boy was it worth the wait.

 

Now I don’t know what your take is on personal mentoring or coaching; some people think that it is a total waste of time and money.  To be honest, so did I until I got one. I was 23 when I sought my first mentor. In fact what I was seeking was a vocal coach. But what I got was a mentor. (This will become clearer as I move on)

 

I have always loved singing since I was a toddler! I was always singing…in the car, in the shower, at karaoke. So at the age of 23 I decided to take it a bit more seriously and get myself some singing lessons. That’s when I came across Greg.

 

Now, as I was looking for a vocal coach, I did think to myself, “What is the point of singing lessons? Either you can sing or you can’t, surely!” How wrong I was. Greg taught me so many new techniques that strengthened my voice, widened my vocal range and even widened the styles of music I would sing, from pop right across to opera! Soon I was hitting notes I didn’t even know existed!

 

But that was just the “mechanical” stuff; the stuff on the surface. What Greg really did for me was delve much deeper into me; find out who I was as a person, and he encouraged me to take my singing places I would never have imagined possible. Within a few weeks of having lessons with him, I had bought my own PA system, recorded a demo and soon after that was gigging in pubs and clubs!! 

 

During this time, I stepped out of many comfort zones and into many areas of ‘unknown’…and to be honest, I was petrified! But Greg was my support. He helped me become the person I had always dreamt of being but never thought I could be. This is what I mean when I say I was seeking a teacher but got a mentor. I also got a very good friend.

 

So…back to The King’s Speech.  Bertie (King George VI) has a speech impediment and has tried lots of “doctors”, none of which can fix him. He is disheartened, frustrated, and has given up. The problem is, they were all trying to fix him ‘mechanically’.

 

Until he meets Lionel Logue. Lionel is just like my Greg.

 

Lionel gets to know Bertie. He understands him and gets under his skin, deep within to find out the root of the problem. He got Bertie to open up about his past, his fears, what makes him happy and sad. He treated him as an individual rather than another patient.

Did you know that 95% of the contributing factors towards whether we succeed or fail are down to mind-set? Only 5% is skill or knowledge. Bertie knew how to speak, he just didn’t have the right mental tools to physically do it properly.  Same with me and my singing. I knew how to sing, but Greg brought out a confidence within me to go for those higher notes rather than shy away from them. It was still my sound… my voice… that hit those notes. But it was Greg’s mentoring that allowed me to reach deep within and go for it! A good mentor will understand his students and develop them on a personal level.

 

Lionel also made sure that Bertie was in a very relaxed, informal environment. Despite him being Royalty, Lionel insisted that he could call him by his familiar name of Bertie rather than “Your Royal Highness Sir” as Bertie had requested. Over time, Bertie began to trust Lionel and felt that he could be relaxed with him. This is when the recovery process really started.

 

The moral of the story is that you must feel that you can work with your mentor; that you are on the same wave length. They are going to be your support, your confidant, and your guide while you are building your online business. You will go to them for advice, seek reassurance from them when you are lacking confidence in your ability and excitedly report back to them with your success stories. You will want to make them proud. And eventually they will become your friend. You have to be able to trust them. So choose wisely. Be sure to pick someone you can work with and someone who’s values you agree with.

 

So as I was watching The King’s Speech, I was relating it so much back to me, and totally seeing Greg in Lionel’s character.

 

I met Greg 8 years ago and even though I no longer see him for vocal coaching session, we are still good friends.

 

More recently, I went seeking a mentor to help me in my online internet marketing ventures. And I am lucky enough to say that he offers me the same level of support in my business as Greg did with my singing.

 

I think until you have had a mentor (and by this I mean a good mentor) you can never really appreciate the true value of having one.

Natalie Buhagiar