Do you need a mentor to be successful? Everyone says you do.
I was 26 the first time I heard the word.
I was headed to Madison Square Garden for a Grateful Dead concert. I was with a client, who had become a friend, and she was talking about how she met with her mentor on a difficult situation at work.
Whoa. Mentor?
I hadn’t grown up with the concept of someone guiding my career, so the ride, and conversation, was a long, strange, trip.
Mentoring usually starts at home. But what if those tasked with preparing you for your journey – parents, teachers, coaches – aren’t mentor material? And what if you don’t have access to a leader in your profession?
Those who are mentored are fortunate. That wasn’t me and, honestly, it wasn’t anyone I knew. Mentoring is a legacy benefit, or for those seen as having potential.
So, what about the rest of us?
I replaced mentor with role model.
I read books, lots of books! And business magazines. I watched documentaries on people who had overcome the odds. And I observed what others did.
Many would say my friend mentored me that day. I wouldn’t. She provided information…a new way of looking at things. This kind of guidance is all around us. It doesn’t require a mentor. It requires being open to it.