From deacons to realtors, Keonte Beals has found power from mentors — and now he's paying it forward

This First Person column was written by Keonté Beals, an R&B artist, entertainer and entrepreneur from North Preston, N.S. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

It was June 14, 2014 — the day I released my rendition of I'm Here from the popular soundtrack of The Color Purple, a film classic — and the day that everything changed for me.

The day that taught me that all things could be possible with a positive mindset, discipline and a loving support system. 

It all started with mentorship. 

In the Black community taking somebody under your wing is something that happens without anyone giving it a name. I have had many mentors from my community over the years. From deacons, youth leaders and musicians to Realtors, prayer warriors and folks who dominate in business. Each person has left a piece of themselves with me that also carried faith the size of a mustard seed. 

These mentors didn't come in and just teach me about business and making smart choices with money — they also taught me how to be a man.

The lessons I've learned

All of the success that I have seen thus far has been a product of personal growth. As much time as you spend grinding, you should spend resting. As much time as you spend giving yourself to others, you should spend time giving to yourself. As much compassion as you show to others, you need to show to yourself as well. 

More times than not, we are made to feel that we should always be available — accessible. Accessibility is a choice. You get to choose when you are available, what you are available for and for how long. We have to normalize putting our mental health before anything or anyone else. 

One of my mentors, Christian Bailey, puts it this way: "your personal growth is proportionate to your business growth or whatever dream you have." 

In many cases family tends to naturally fall in place as a mentor to you; parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. My uncle, Shawn Downey, shared a piece of advice that his dad gave to him that shaped his style and his sound as a musician and music producer at Sharp 5 Productions. After giving his son a record with a variety of different styles and genres, he told Shawn he could listen to the music, but needed to create his own sound.

"Take from it what you need, but develop your own style. Borrow something from here and there and then I make it my own," Shawn told me of the memory.

When I look at this piece of advice, I feel it goes beyond music. In your everyday life, you need to do the same thing. Take bits and pieces from each person you admire and look up to — whether it's their wit and charm or their tenacity and the way that they carry themselves. You take bits and pieces and then you create your own way of life. Your way of being. 

Mentorship is a gift

The beauty of mentorship is being able to give back. To inspire. To share the small gifts of knowledge that one has learned on her or his journey. There are times when we all feel we are not good enough, but having that other voice to help you "remember your second wind," as my friend and mentor Tamar Brown says, is sometimes all you need to help you push through the tough times. 

There will always be trials and tribulations. That's a given, but those tiny gifts of love and reassurance from mentors and people I look up to have fuelled my spirit beyond what I could ever express. 

There are so many lessons that I have learned from my mentors. But as I wrote this piece, I came to realize how many folks I have been a mentor to as well. 

New artists, videographers, photographers, entrepreneurs, producers, musicians and more. Messages of appreciation are something that I get often, but I never looked at it as me being a mentor — I have always been somebody who genuinely enjoys helping others.

So many people have paved the way for me. So many folks who gave me advice along the way. Who came in and helped out at some point and helped to groom me into the young professional that I am today. I could never thank them enough and I could never shout all of them out without missing somebody. But the love I have for them is unconditional and I am forever grateful.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.