Monday, June 16, 2008

What is a Mentor?

What does it mean to be a mentor? What does one do? Why should I have one? You might be asking all these questions. I am hoping to answer these questions for you with this article. A mentor is someone who has some kind of knowledge that he/she is willing to share with someone else in order to help them in some way. A mentor is a person who cares about other people enough to take the time out of their busy lives to share their experiences and knowledge in order to shorten the learning curve for the other person. Now that may seem unimportant to some, but for me, being able to avoid making some mistakes or being able to master a computer program or site in half the time than it would if I had to do it all by myself, well, that is a wonderful thing! A mentor is a teacher and a guide. It does not matter what the exact knowledge is. It can be any kind of knowledge. It can be knowing how to cook, it could be knowing how to do the "modern math" they are using in the schools now days.

Considering the scope of what a mentor is and what type of things they may have knowledge about, there are many ways in which you might benefit from having one. My personal mentor(s) have assisted me in many areas of my life, not just business related things. I use the plural form because in the MentoringForFree program there is a whole group of mentors whom I have access to. If my personal mentor and sponsor does not have the answer to my question or if she has no direct experience with that which I am asking, then we go to the group and low and behold, someone will have the expertise in that situation and my problem will be solved. It is amazing how easily and quickly I get the information I need to accomplish things that used to completely boggle my mind.

For me, MentoringForFree has change how I look at so many things. I no longer avoid situations and things because they are too confusing, or because I find a task too frustrating. All I have to do now is call or email my mentor and she walks me through the process, step by step, until I understand what I am doing and why I am doing it that way instead of a different way. ustThis is why I recommend everyone of all ages get a mentor. Actually, it's a must.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You hit the nail on the head! To be a mentor, you must have a mentor. I love MFF and what is has done to teach me how to be an awesome mentor to people and teach them to succeed!
Tamara Racine
tamaramff.blogspot.com

JenniferF said...

A good mentor is KEY to success. You are a great mentor yourself.