Leading another...

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone" ...
Well, I suppose if you gave a map to your friend to the same place you were going, you could lead them to a place you have not gone, with a copy of that same map. The journey could be different for each of you, depending on where you stopped along the way. However, the destination would be much easier to describe in detail if you had been there in person yourself already. You could offer hints of where to stop along the way, things to do, and people to see to make the trip more interesting. But, each person is unique, and values different things, so we must all make the trip in our own way to the final destination.
To put this idea into professional practice, if I were going to help someone loose weight to improve their overall health and life, I would like them to know that I had been somewhere near where they were, so I could tell them about my journey and where I had been and how I had gotten to a better place. It would be more comforting and they could relate it to their coming desire to do the same and make it their own version. This would give them motivation and hope that if I accomplished this feat, so could they. It is doable.
An example, I used to wear my mothers clothes, size 12. I decided one day, I did not want to look like a size 12 when I should be a size 4 or 6. I was dressing into the next generation up, and did not belong in that generation of dressers. So, I started on a journey to loose the extra pounds I had picked up in the last couple of years. I went from a size 12 to a size 2, and had much difficulty finding clothes small enough to fit me in the ladies department of any store. Telling about this journey would be a good way to describe to another or lead another to where they wanted to be, by the example of the journey I had gone myself. To visualize this journey to another would help inspire and motivate and prove to them that I had been where they are and it is possible to leave that place and go to a better one, the way I did. A place where you will love and respect yourself, and feel oh so much better health wise in body and mind. Further, if I did go on that journey, they too could go there and be successful as well.