Today I am sharing a copy of my newest column to be published next month.

Inventing Your Life

“The Mentorship Advantage”

By

Rob Claudio

In life we always need guides to help or coach us through things, especially when we find that we lack the knowledge or experience that they may have.  These guides can be called mentors and if you happen to have them in your lifetime, you are quite lucky.  Since we all evolve with age, it is not uncommon for our mentors to change through out our lifetime.  Their wisdom and advice, however, is usually timeless. Life and work situations may take us from being an entry level staff or a stay at home mom, to working in a position with greater leadership expectations.  My younger sister calls me her spiritual advisor/mentor and I always tell her that this is a big title for someone that just listens to her and repeats what she just said.  Perhaps I should have thought longer about a career in therapy, right?   Kidding aside, I was reading a magazine article on my flight home from a business trip last month and it highlighted famous people who were asked about their life mentors.  Among them Gloria Estefan, the international singer spoke quite eloquently about her grandmother who left a lasting impression in her life, as she was in fact her greatest mentor.  I forgot to mention that the article began by stating that if Luke Skywalker could benefit from a mentor, than perhaps so could you.  It had me hooked after that.  I could not identify as readily with Luke Skywalker in his quest for a mentor such as Yoda, however, I could definitely identify with Mrs. Estefan’s choice as I had the great privilege of having my grandmother who also fulfilled this role in my life.  During the course of her existence I never thought about my grandmother with a title of mentor.  It was not until after she passed away that I realized how much she really had taught me, while she became the lighthouse to my moments of floundering at sea like a lost ship.  I was taught to not take myself so seriously at a very young age and to love nature enough to take care of it, as it took care of us.  I also learned the meaning of respect and to be compassionate, for we never know when we need someone else to bestow that upon us.   My great mentor in my life provided me with a valuable road map on how to proceed through my existence whether it was in good times or in bad.  I just did not realize it until much later that she had carefully crafted and orchestrated this wonderful plan.  I also had the privilege of calling some of the people that I had worked for great mentors as well. These key individuals took enough interest in me that they shared their precious time and bestowed upon me their wisdom, humor and passion for the work that they were so proud of.  If you have a mentor in your life, take the time to acknowledge them and tell them how much they have meant to you.  Conversely, if you have the opportunity to be such a role model for someone else, then give freely of yourself.  Be the guiding light to someone that will one day be filled with gratitude that you fulfilled this role in their life.  In the process, you will find that a mentor can learn as much if not more from a mentee, as this relationship is collaborative and symbiotic in the fullest sense.  If you are seeking a mentor, don’t be shy about asking someone you admire to share their valuable thoughts on a subject with you.  I remind myself almost daily of how lucky I have been to have had some of the greatest people who contributed so much value to my life.  I hope that you go out to seek these guides in your quest to reaching for the stars.    

“Be a great student of life, so you can be an outstanding teacher of living.” 
― Hasheem Francis