In previous blog posts on other versions of the Stay Bright website I've mentioned my love of a fresh start. It doesn't have to be a big one. It could be starting a new book or a cleaning and reorganising my desk.
But this time, there is no other word for my fresh start than big. February has been arguably as big a new beginning as I've ever had.
First and foremost, we welcomed Harper June Dewar into the world. Born bang on her due date, she and her brother are already tag teaming us and causing mischief. We couldn't love her more, and I'm in total awe of my wife Zoe. Family life really couldn't get any better. Apart from, you know, getting some sleep. But that's par for the course.
Staying Brighter
There are some big changes on the Stay Bright side of things too. There's a new brand logo, which gave me the opportunity to work with one of my best friends, Alan Davison of Hero Creative. He worked his magic to create a bolder but more streamlined Stay Bright logo, taking my original idea and improving it significantly. I absolutely love the final result. Thank you Alan!
Stay Bright not only has a new website, but a new home at www.staybrightedinburgh.com (which also means an email change to martin@staybrightedinburgh.com but don't worry, all emails to the original address will still come through). When I set out on my self employment journey in 2013, StayBright.com was taken. Frustratingly it still is, despite not hosting a site. So instead you'll find me clearly labelled as coming from Edinburgh!
Hard drives have been bought, files and emails archived, and everything I don't need saved for later.
But the biggest change is the introduction of Stay Bright Mentoring. Anyone who has met me knows that I regularly wax lyrical about the benefits of mentoring. I've been lucky to be a mentor for 15 years, and I think it is a hugely undervalued process. The opportunity it provides for a mentee to discuss and explore challenges in a safe space, can result in life changing results.
It's something I've been thinking about bringing into Stay Bright since 2019. Then came the pandemic, which put everything on pause for a while. Now, it feels like mentoring has a role to play more than ever before.
Working Together
Stay Bright Mentoring focuses on supporting young people in the work place. There are some fantastic mentoring programmes for those trying to get into work, and I still volunteer for one, run by the fab Project Scotland.
But there is less for 16-25 year olds, who have already secured a job. My experience is that this age group often need extra support in the workplace. It may be that it is their first job. Or perhaps they aren't confident enough to speak to their line manager about things that they are worried about. Or they may have been moved into a new role and are finding it hard to settle.
Add in the after effects of the pandemic, with people having to work from home, sometimes never having met their colleagues, or even not feeling sure about returning to the office, and mentoring visibly has an important role to play.
Our mental health is so important, and the hangover from the near two years we have sheltered from Covid will have a long lasting effect. I believe mentoring can be part of the solution.
All of the fresh starts, meeting a new mentee is by far one of my favourites. Those early discussions aren't always easy, but as we build trust, it all comes back to that first meeting and new beginnings. Stay Bright Mentoring will hopefully have many more of them to come.
If you'd like to hear more (and there will be lots more coming via this blog and social media), or just fancy a catch up chat now I am back in the big world, I'd love to hear from you.
I'm off for another fresh start, in the form of an overly large cup of coffee.
Stay Bright.