Is time today’s greatest gift?

Can you remember what your hourly rate was for your first job? I worked behind a bar in 1990 and my starting rate was £3 an hour. I think back to that time and like most things when you reminisce, I am always taken aback by just how precious a commodity time is –  it goes so quickly (yes, I’m getting older!). But it does make me truly appreciative of the time that someone gives to me. It’s a choice and the fact they choose to spend time with me makes me feel genuinely valued.

I also remember just how tough it was back in the 90s to make my first moves to get a role in Financial Services – support networks, such as LinkedIn or mentoring, were just not as prevalent as they are today. I am now fortunate to have input from a number of mentors, younger and older than me, but I often wonder how different my career would have been, if such mentors had been available to me back in the 90’s.

Are we all in this together?

So, when the restrictions came into force back in March 2020 (how is that now nearly two years ago….time, it’s a crazy beast), I, like many, was thinking: “what is going on?” I then quickly realised that if I was thinking that, what were others who were younger and less experienced thinking? I started making time to support younger professionals and pupils via the ‘1 Hour Project’, to learn more about their challenges and to listen and help provide them with direction. The wonderful thing is of course is that this time is as rewarding and insightful for me as it is (hopefully) helpful for them.

I don’t always believe that we are all in this together. But I do believe that many of us do want to help. And I wonder if we each took on a mentee and committed to helping them develop, how much better our view of the world would be. And honestly, can there be a better use of time if that is the case?