Mentoring
Mentoring (again)
I have to discuss this again - I am seeing it mentioned on tv drama, sit-com, news, etc. They almost treat it as if anyone can be a mentor, and anyone who wants a mentor, just needs to find someone who knows more then them, and whallah, you have a mentor.
There are a few things that, in my opinion, make a mentor:
- They say "i don't know", when they don't know
- They are available for advice almost anytime
- They go the extra mile to help you with an answer/situation
- They give more then they receive
- They find others who can help you (or suggest others)
- They want to see you succeed as much as you do
Pretty basic, but, the key components that make a mentor. Of course, the mentor has to be in the same field/profession as you if they truly can "mentor" you to your success (I had to say it, for those of you that don't quite understand what a mentor is).
Mentors can give you "sayings" and "quotes" that you will remember for the rest of your life. One mentor (who I am sure picked it up from someone else), said to me "No one, on their deathbed, ever said 'I should have worked more'". It was said to me when I was spending 20 hour days and countless of those hours fighting with the president of the company to get more funds to make the brand what she wanted. With the words that he said, I realized that I needed to give up and move on to other, less important things (but, of course, come back to it when the situation warranted).
I don't know, it's just that I don't want everyone thinking that a mentor can be found on the street corner. A mentor, to me, is like your friends - true friends can be counted on one hand and the same goes for mentors.