"If I have seen far, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants"
These words, from Sir Isaac Newton, speak to the necessity in life of finding people to help you along your way, who will lift you up to your own potential. Many times these individuals come from the rank of family or friends, but more often we find people who will 'have our back', and help us succeed. We call these people mentors.
Assuming mentors are important in life, how would you go about finding one (or two, or three?) this is not easy. A mentor first and foremost must believe in you and be willing to use his or own social capital for your benefit. Obviously this means the mentor must be a volunteer.
How do you get someone to help you? How could you convince someone that you are worth their time and energy?
In my opinion you cannot get someone to help you; you can only take the first steps towards the mentor relationship, and from there they must "complete" the process. Though if you were attempting to obtain a mentor you would probably want to show some sort of interest in whatever the mentor is offering. They must show, in one way or another, that they have the potential to achieve something. To get someone to help you, in my opinion, all you have to do is offer a connection, show them that you are worth what they have to offer; even if your worth isn't necessarily on the surface. To convince convince someone you are worth their time and energy, once you have them interested, you just need to stay true to yourself. Prove that you are a strong person who does not give up, not matter what they are offering, if you prove your worth to them, in any way, they are likely to stick around.
2 comments:
I agree with you. No one is going to help some one who does not have passion and drive. I don't think that the mentor necessarily has to volunteer though, I think they can be some one who is paid. You could be a mentor to some one and not even know that is what you are doing.
I couldn't agree with you, and Hilary, more! No one will help someone they don't believe in, or who hasn't shown dedication. And to add to Hilary's point, some mentors can be your mentors without even knowing it. For example, you may hate your boss and not realize how far that specific person has taken you or your career, or who has spread the word about you in some way that has made a mentor find you. There are so many different definitions of a "mentor" and there are way more ways you can go about finding one! (or even having one find you..)
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