IT’S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP
Written by: Mike “Piecez” Prosserman
It's scary to ask for help especially when I'm feeling the most vulnerable and lost. Lately, I've been letting go of this assumption and just asking and the response has been surprising. There have been so many people willing to offer support, ideas and new ways of thinking.
Whether that's learning new skills or getting introductions to awesome people. EPIC has grown leaps and bounds since we started in June 2018 and that is thanks to many of YOU who have given me a chance. If there's one thing I've learned that has led me to great places it is, asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness but one of STRENGTH.
I've recently began to undertake my coaching certification and it has taught me a ton about listening and asking questions from a place of curiosity. I believe that everyone has the ability to solve their own challenges if they can identify what those challenges are. It's tough to dig deep, but I'm tired of surface level relationships.
Right now I'm focused. It's about learning and connecting, even when I'm teaching. I'm so excited to be teaching a 12 week course at University of Toronto on Enhancing Non-Profit Impact and at the same time I'm taking a course on how to become a coach as well as how to teach mental health in the workplace. I'm constantly learning and teaching and the loop continues to push me to be better. I need to continue to feel that discomfort, that "building the plane while flying it" feeling.
I'm not afraid to admit I need to learn a TON more in order to create the change I truly strive to see in the non-profit sector and beyond. In fact, majority of the time I teach I learn from the amazing people I've been meeting.
This has been a huge year of letting go and asking for help for me. It's tough to get motivated working alone in a coffee shops but creating things from scratch is the beauty of being a social entrepreneur. It's all about leaning into discomfort. Shaking it's hand and charting new territory to explore some of the biggest problems that have yet to be solved.
Thank you to everyone who has taken a chance on me in the last 7 months since I started EPIC up as a social business to help social leaders grow and thrive. Thank you to Town of Ajax (Cayla, Laura), University of Toronto Continuing Studies Department (Sam, Kristine), TransformTO (Megan), City of Toronto (Joe, Pat, Nadira), Laidlaw Foundation (Tamer), Metcalf Foundation (Michael), Capital One (Andre), Lay-Up Basketball (Max), Canada Girls Baseball (Dana), DareArts (Jennifer, Marilyn), Peel Leadership Centre (Vanita, Tina), Capacity Canada (Cathy), Toronto Arts Council, Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (Mary, Sarah), York Region Arts Council (Sam), EPIC meet ups (Suzanne), writing my book (Lynn) and many more. I am excited to see what 2019 holds.
There is a lot of work to do and things to learn and build. For me that ALWAYS starts with asking for help. Thank you for listening.