CHAPTER ONEYour first lesson is relatively simple – the students must open a door from across the room. You work with each child individually until they achieve it. But the youngest, Talia, is having trouble completing the task. How do you help her and provide the support she needs? You conjure a duplicate door latch mechanism and explain how everything works together – maybe her issue is a lack of knowledge of the underlying mechanics. You encourage her and provide constructive criticism after each attempt. It’s likely an issue of confidence more than anything. The mechanism appears in your hand. You hold it in front of her and say, “Remember. You are not trying to move the big, strong door. All you need to do is move this latch." You depress the latch with your finger and place the mechanism in Talia’s hand. She repeats your gesture and turns the mechanism over, observing every facet of its operation. She raises her hand in the direction of the door and concentrates. The latch finally gives way and the door opens. She smiles at you in gratitude, hands you the mechanism, and runs off to join her fellow students. “Try again Talia,” you say. She raises her hand and her nose crinkles in determination. The door holds fast. “I can’t do it,” she says, her head dropping. “Yes, you can,” you reply. “Focus on what you want to happen and make it so in the world. Magic is not about knowing spells or memorizing formulas. It’s about the strength of your will. I can have the most powerful artifact in the world in my possession and it can be no more effective than a stone in my pocket if I don’t have the strength to guide its forces for my benefit. You must guide your energies into the lock, and WILL it to MOVE!” Talia raises her head with renewed vigor and stares at the door with frustration evident in her eyes. The door begins shaking. You grab Talia and take cover as the wood explodes, sending shrapnel across the room. Talia looks up at you with childish glee. “Well,” you say, “that’s one way to take care of the lock.” CHAPTER TWOYour lessons slowly get more complex – the children are learning to control the power of the elements. Swirling nimbuses of fire, water, lightning, and air are cavorting around the training chamber. The excitement in the room slowly turns to chaos as vortices of energy move around faster and faster. An orb of fire slams into an orb of water, and they explode into a cloud of steam. You shout for everyone to halt and end their spells. When the steam clears, you see two children grappling on the floor. Their shouts tell you they blame one another for the orb collision. You pull them apart and stand them up. How do you calm the situation and turn this into a valuable teaching moment? Talk about the value of teamwork – in a real world situation, their actions could have generated a smokescreen to hide an escape. Speak to the value of discipline that is required within magic. Emotional outbursts are out of the question when wielding the power of the elements. “Students, why are you turning your ingenious moment into an opportunity for vengeance? Do you know what you’ve done?” you ask. “No sir,” they respond sheepishly in unison. “You’ve combined your powers to do more with magic than either of you can do alone,” you say. “The steam you made together could be used to obscure your movement, blind an enemy, and change circumstances in your favor. Remember as you grow, your fellow students will become powerful allies. And if an opponent is scared of one magician, they will be absolutely terrified of two working in unison.” You end the lesson and send the children on their way. Later that day, you see them practicing with one another. They are learning how their different elements can combine to produce a different kind of magic – teamwork. You request that all of the children sit before you, and lower yourself to the floor. Taking a deep breath, you exhale slowly and project a natural calm that falls over your small congregation. “What is a spellcaster’s primary duty?” you ask. Several children call out the answer you have drilled into their studies: “To quest for knowledge, protect the weak, and defend our realm.” “That’s correct,” you say, “but what’s a spellcaster’s primary duty to themselves?” The children remain silent. Confusion creeps across several of their faces. “In order to protect the weak and defend the realm,” you continue, “we must first be mindful of ourselves. How we act, and how we react, alters others’ perception of you. And when you are capable of changing reality to your whim, how people perceive you is of vital importance. Do you want to be known as a benevolent magician? Or as a volatile sorcerer, just as easily capable of destroying a town instead of saving it? I am teaching you abilities far beyond the reach of a normal person. You must have the discipline to use them correctly.” You stand and leave the room, leaving a silence in your students’ midst as they slowly realize what it means to be a real wizard. CHAPTER THREEYou’ve taught your pupils basic spells of levitation, control over the elements, and rudimentary conjuring. It’s time to test their skills. What sort of test do you devise to see how much they have grown? You create an obstacle course that will make them use everything they have learned thus far. You decide to test them individually in a mock battle. Each student will face you in a duel and you will grade them on their performance. Your obstacle course is placed on three acres of land outside the city and is made to test the student’s magic and their physicality. The first obstacle is a simple door that must be unlocked, similar to their very first magical trial. But when the door unlocks, it transfigures into a wooden automaton that must be defeated – the students can use the elemental powers of their choice to vanquish the creature. After running to the next section, they must scale a wall via levitation and control their descent to avoid spinning blades dotted around the landing area. Lastly, they enter an arena where they must conjure a variety of household objects on pedestals while battling a dozen imps you summoned. When the last object is conjured and placed correctly, the spell holding the imps to this reality is broken and they transport back to their home dimension. The obstacle course instills a sense of competition within each student, and they earnestly try to outdo each other with each run of the course. Even as they compete, they also share knowledge and pointers in the spirit of teamwork. By the end of the day, you declare that everyone has successfully passed the test. The students are thrilled to finally test their mettle against their teacher. You are in the center of a small arena and call challengers down one at a time. With each match, you allow your opponent to strike first, blocking when needed as they run through the most complex and ingenious attacks they can think of. You shout out pointers and compliments on their style as you mitigate their spells. Though you are warded from permanent damage, each time a student lands a strike the other children squeal with delight at seeing their classmate succeed. At the end of each session you respectfully acknowledge your student and call upon the next challenger. By the end of the day, you are sore from the exertion you’ve placed upon yourself but confident that these lessons will serve your students well into the future. Chapter One: From the Advisor's Perspective This scenario reminds me of the importance of mentoring your children in giving their time to those around you, to help raise up a generation of responsible, critical thinking adults. Sometimes, all that child needs is to take a step back and understand the basics of what you are trying to teach them. In seminars we present in the industry, we find that we are presenting to intelligent audiences. But something we might assume is common knowledge among the group is, in fact, new information that needs to be expanded upon before proceeding. If you are having issues with mentoring a child, explaining a concept to an audience, or even feeling that you are being misunderstood in a spirited exchange, take a moment to review your thoughts and assume that the other party may not fully understand the terms and concepts you are trying to defend. Taking a step back and explaining the information in a new way will often help you in your cause. You will often find that this technique will clear up any misunderstandings, diffuse any hostility and frustration, and allow you to move on in your conversation with all parties fully engaged in the process.Chapter One: From the Advisor's Perspective This scenario reminds me of the importance of mentoring your children in giving their time to those around you, to help raise up a generation of responsible, critical thinking adults. Sometimes, a bit of encouragement is all that someone needs to accomplish great things. Compliments and encouragement are a big part of teaching others. Don’t always just focus on the parts they’re not getting right. Take a moment to thank them, congratulate them, and celebrate the small victories along the way. This will go a long way in building the individual’s self-esteem and encourage them to keep trying instead of just throwing their hands up in frustration and walking away.Chapter Two: From the Advisor's Perspective Some of the best inventions come from what others perceived as failures or mistakes. One of my favorite examples is from Sir Alexander Fleming. He was trying to make a “wonder drug” that could cure all diseases. However, it wasn’t until he threw away his experiments in frustration that he found what he was looking for. He noticed that a contaminated petri dish he had discarded contained a mold that was dissolving all the bacteria around it. When he grew the mold by itself, he learned that it contained a powerful antibiotic that became known as penicillin. Allow those who you mentor to get creative and play a little. This creative spark is sometimes what it takes to develop teachable moments, in the case of failure, or discover amazing things that nobody had ever thought of – some of which could be as world-changing as Alexander Fleming’s.Chapter Two: From the Advisor's Perspective Sometimes in the creativity process, teachable moments emerge, like the one presented here. With great power comes great responsibility. You can also substitute the word money for power. In the giving process, it’s very important that you do not entrust to your mentees or heirs more power or money than they can handle, or that they can use responsibly. We’ve been in practice long enough to see large inheritances split family heirs and ruin lives. We’ve also seen great inheritances change the world through giving. Which camp would you prefer to be in when you are gone?Chapter Three: From the Advisor's Perspective In the final step of a giving plan, there must be a “coming of age” transfer of responsibility to your heir or mentee. We feel that this is essential in any good giving plan, because it should show if your understudy can handle the money or power you have entrusted to them responsibly after you are gone. If you need guidance on helping mentor your heirs or setting up a proper transfer of gifts to your children or favorite charities, give us a call. Chapter Three: From the Advisor's Perspective In the final step of a giving plan, there must be a “coming of age” transfer of responsibility to your heir or mentee. We feel that this is essential in any good giving plan, because it should show if your understudy can handle the money or power you have entrusted to them responsibly after you are gone. If you need guidance on helping mentor your heirs or setting up a proper transfer of gifts to your children or favorite charities, give us a call.Are you looking to give back to your loved ones, community, or a charitable organization? Allow the advisors at Witten Financial to guide you through the giving process and help craft a positive legacy for you that will last generations. Contact Aaron TodayName Email Message Choose Your Character About Services Blog Contact
