Back in my corporate days, there used to be buddy systems and mentor programs. These were designed to offer junior or newer employees someone they could connect with, ask advice of, and generally have someone looking out for them. And I believe they answered what most people think they want when it comes to a mentor, which is a sort of officially sanctioned relationship.
After listening to Ryan Holiday talk about mentors in a podcast, my reflections about mentors in my life took on a whole new shape and broadened how I think about mentors now. He posited that mentors are simply those who teach us things, open up how we think, and are guideposts against which we might consider how they would respond to a situation.
Thinking about it this way opens the whole world to being your mentor. In fact, according to Ryan, mentors could be people you’ve never met, teachers you had years ago before you realized they were “mentors”, or even fictional characters. Yes, you read that right.
With this, I offer some of my unique mentors and how they’ve helped shape my perspective over time:
My 5th grade teacher: I learned the power of a to-do list from her. I’m pretty sure I owe my first three promotions to her specifically.
An early boss: My first “official” mentor in the way I used to define mentors, he taught me “You have to know your shit before you can steer the ship” and gave me specific pointers on how to improve in areas where others simply said I wasn’t very skilled. He offered his time and attention in years when I needed and wanted it.
Lorelai Gilmore (from Gilmore Girls): She approaches everyone with a smile and assumes good intentions until proven otherwise.
The other half in a short-lived relationship: He was a workaholic and it taught me a deeply important lesson about how I DON’T want to ever live my life.
Field agents in spy novels: Not only do they seem to know a little bit about everything, they always seem to look at situations (especially bad ones) with an objective lens and deal with it as it is, instead of falling into victim mode and wondering why it happened to them or what they did to deserve it, etc., which so often plagues most of us when we’re faced with adversity. They just deal with what is real, make choices based on their options and constraints, and move forward.
Pop: My grandfather (who also loved a good spy novel) reminds me even now, years after he passed, to be kind and ready to bring your tool bag to a neighbor to help them with their project.
Who inspires your perspectives?
