”Do you have a mentor?”

[You - III]

There’s a lot of talk lately about the need for mentors.

Business mentors.
Fitness mentors.
Pastoring mentors.
Parenting mentors.

A mentor, in simple terms, is someone that has gone where you want to go and is willing to help you get there. Less formal than a coach; more intentional than a friend.

I’m beginning to think a mentor is something different. What if no one has gone where you want to go? What if there is no job like the one you’re called to create? What if the field you are dreaming of doesn’t exist yet? Then, by my definition, a mentor doesn’t exist for you.

But a mentor is not necessarily someone that has traveled the road you want to go on. A mentor is someone that ignores “the odds”, dismisses the probabilities, and says “To heck!” with the obstacles.

Every teacher, parent, and colleague warns about odds and probabilities.

A mentor mirrors possibility back to you.

A mentor must be secure enough to not be threatened by your audacity.
Healthy enough to find pleasure in your absurdities.
Grounded enough to play with your ideas.
Deep enough to embrace your dreams.
Wise enough to affirm your gifts.

Do you have a mentor?

[h/t Julia Cameron for this reminder]