I have been thinking a lot about mentoring lately. In fact, I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I didn’t have a mentor or when I wasn’t mentoring someone else. Both relationships have enriched my life and shaped the person and professional I am today.
- A mentor’s past experiences save us time and heartache…
- A mentor helps us ask the questions we tend to ignore…
- A mentor is not a sage on the stage but a guide on the side…
- A mentor cheers us on when fear strikes…
If you don’t have a mentor, I highly recommend that you begin praying and looking for one. If you are not mentoring someone else, what’s stopping you? Someone is praying and looking for you.
A life prompt for you:
Who has shaped your life for the better? What do you need to know to help you inspire the life of another by being a mentor? Share your comments below.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Mentors for me are hard to select, out of so many good ones; but here are the two that come to mind first: The Pastor who baptized me when I was 16; and the Toastmaster who wouldn’t let me run out the door at my first meeting.
As a mentor, I need to remember that I don’t have to have all the answers, all the time — I also need to see the relationship as a give and take, a team, not a dictatorship… Those are just two things that come to mind first off.
As your intern, I can say firsthand how valuable mentoring is–particularly in an internship, as running errands, making copies, and answering phones can become commonplace. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of a company that values those who work for it and chooses to mentor and grow me as an author, editor, and person. When my internship is completed, I will have gained so much more than experience in publishing and editing to add to my resumé. Being mentored by someone as qualified and genuinely caring as you is an opportunity I do not take for granted!
You are a joy to work with, Rachelle.