I am a lucky man. I can recall four mentors from my past and each of them helped mold me into the person I am today. If you have enjoyed the benefits of having a mentor in your life, from one to several, consider yourself extremely fortunate. The benefits derived from receiving counseling from someone who has already been where it is you want to go, can put you miles ahead of someone who is taking the journey all alone.
The term mentor originated from Homer”s epic poem The Odyssey. When King Odysseus went off to fight the Trojan War he not only left his country in the hands of a trusted friend, but more importantly, the teaching and general oversight of his son Telemachus, was also placed under the direction of wise Mentor. So, eventually Mentor”s name became the designation for any person who fills the role of a trusted advisor to a younger individual who is trying to reach a goal.
A person who provides advice just once doesn”t fit the normal mentor definition. A relationship has to be developed. Another key element of the mentor ? mentee relationship is that a mentor does not provide his or her guidance for personal gain. Their sage advice is normally granted as a way for the older and more experienced mentor to “pay it forward,” if you will, to someone whom he or she has seen as a person who has shown some spark of ability and an inclination toward dedication.
My first mentor was Don Bowin, a summer league baseball coach who helped guide my progress in that sport over my entire 10 year childhood baseball career. Together, we went from playing the sandlots of little league to the plush field of the National Baseball Congress Championship stadium in my hometown of Wichita, Kansas.
My next mentor was a circulation district manager for my hometown newspaper. His name was Frank Stanley. When I was a teenage newspaper carrier, he taught me how to sell newspaper subscriptions and I was city sales leader three years in a row. My other two mentors also worked at the Wichita Eagle, where I worked while attending college. Don Saunders and Bill Mix helped guide me into a career in the newspaper business, which has been a rewarding vocation.
All of my mentors appeared during the early stages of my life ? from childhood to early adulthood. While I realize I was lucky to have had a number of people who really took an interest in my early growth and development, whether in sports, education or business, I regret that after the age of 30 I have had no more mentors.
I now realize that much of the reason for that is my own fault. Sometimes, when we get a little more experience under our belts and the gray hair starts to appear, we tend to reverse our roles. We start looking for young people that we can mentor and at that point we often fail to continue to seek a mentor for our own continued growth.
Over the past few years a mentoring movement has been spreading across the country. Much of this has been in the career development area, but that”s OK. Just the fact that the concept is popular means that more people will want to acquire a mentor, regardless of whether it is for career, athletic or other personal improvement reasons, and the more seasoned individuals will seek the opportunity to mentor someone and pass their experience on.
My advice for everyone is to not wait for a mentor to appear for you. That may never happen. No matter what it is you are trying to do in your life, it”s likely someone has achieved a high level of proficiency at it. Seek a person with more experience than you have and develop a relationship. And, remember, there are always people who have not reached your level, so balance the scales by mentoring someone coming up behind you.
Gary Dickson is the editor and publisher of the Record-Bee. He can be reached at gdickson@record-bee.com or
