The Greatest Gift You Can Give a Mentor

This is Day 21 of 30 Days to Creating Irresistible Presence. On Monday, Charlie Gilkey offered up a wonderful post about how irresistible presence isn’t just for those with BIG personalities. Today, Laura Roeder focuses our attention on how to create irresistible presence with a mentor. Mmmmmm…hot stuff!

Todays’ theme song is: Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode

The Greatest Gift You Can Give a Mentor

by Laura Roeder (@lkr)

I’ve been lucky enough to connect with some amazing people that I consider mentors. Though I may only speak with them once every few months, their advice has been invaluable in pushing me forward and achieving big leaps in my business.

No one wants to be irresistible in a vacuum. Interaction is inherent to the word – an irresistible dessert is one that begs to be eaten, not just admired. Being irresistible to clients is important, but I’m fascinated by something a bit more difficult to master – creating a presence that draws in high-level mentors.

People often ask me how I manage to connect with “big names”. How I’m able to make myself and my story stand out from the hundreds of contacts they might get a day.

I have to start by saying, I think most of the advice out there on how to get a mentor is flat out wrong. It doesn’t align with my experience at all.

The most common piece of bad advice I see is “see what you can offer them! help them with a connection that they need!”.

This sounds reasonable enough. Of course you should always help people out when you can by offering advice, resources and connections.

BUT I don’t know about you, but I’ve often found that the people I look up to are much better connected than I am! That’s sort of why they’re successful right? I wish I had some great corporate consulting clients for Gary Vaynerchuk up my sleeve but unfortunately I just don’t!

SO a lot of people go the route of offering some kind of service or help. Along the lines of “hey, I could film you when you’re in town” or “I could write a blog post for you” or share your expertise in some other way. Again, the intentions here are right-on. But again in my experience this is not the way to start.

Why? Because you haven’t proven yourself yet. The offering favors stuff comes down the road. I’m a guest expert in Eben Pagan’s new program Guru Blueprint and I’ve been able to help Cameron Herold on some of the ins and outs of selling information products online. BUT if I had approached Cameron cold telling him I have some great advice for him? Probably not the best in. Right off the bat the mentor doesn’t know who you are, and if anything you have to offer is actually valuable.

SO – that’s the bad advice, what’s the good? What can you do instead? What is the greatest gift you can give a potential mentor?

Your own success.

There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that someone has taken your guidance and run with it. Have you ever had some email you that they used a concept you shared in your blog and are now seeing big results? Do you pay attention to those emails? Do you cherish them? The people you look up to feel the same way.

If you’re lucky enough to get an audience with someone you admire, take their advice and report back to them on what you did. (This is also how you can get that “face time” in the first place – contact them and let them know exactly how they’ve helped you already. The more specific the better.)

Then check back in regularly with updates – what’s going on with your business, the big wins you’re having. Don’t expect a return phone call or email. Don’t ask for too much, but at the same time don’t be afraid to ask smart questions. (Smart questions are questions that you can’t easily find the answers to on google.)

Above everything else, the most important tip for finding a mentor is to be brave enough to take the first step. Even if you don’t think they’ll ever see it – pick up the phone, send an email, send a facebook message. Give them the greatest gift they could hope to receive.

Laura Roeder is a social media marketing expert who teaches small businesses how to create their own fame and claim their brand online. She is the creator of Creating Fame, Your Backstage Pass to Twitter and the Zero to WordPress trainings, and co-creator of Rich, Happy and Hot B-School.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 12:17 pm and is filed under 30 Days to Irresistible Presence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Anonymous
Such a smart post Laura! Thank you for this reminder. We do, indeed, live in a hierarchal (sp?) society. To move up, to get closer to those mentors you want to share space with, you have to ‘become’ or ‘show’ that you have something to offer them. I think of this as I’m starting to write my query letters to lit agents. I want them to know, subtly, that there’s a reason they want to be in business with me. OK- the truth is that this is hard. But it’s very true. Thanks for your take on this!

http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly
It is very hard! I have never written a letter to a literary agent – but maybe you can mentor me when I get a book really rolling! *BIG CHESHIRE GRIN SMILE* LOL

Anonymous
The answer is….YES.

Anonymous
This is me. Sorry!
http://www.lisarobbinyoung.com Lisa Robbin Young
There’s a story about a guy who, when he was a kid, wrote a letter to Donald Trump and asked if he could meet him when he stayed at Trump’s hotel later in the year. Trump was touched by the kid’s moxie, and although wasn’t available when his family visited Trumpw hotel, he rolled out the red carpet for the boy and his family. Years later, that kid grew into a successful entrepreneur, and wrote to Trump to tell him how he had shaped the young kid’s life and perspective on success. Trump made a point of re-connecting personally with the kid.
Your heroes will listen if you have something remarkable to say. Don’t gush, be specific, and let people know what’s real in your world. Great tips, Laura!

http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Great story Lisa!

http://www.moreyourself.com Gail Blesch
Hey Laura
That has definitely been my experience, I just never thought of it as being a gift to them! As people I respect and admire, I simply felt compelled to let them know how much of a gift they have been to me just by being themselves, brave enough to share who they are with the rest of us. I wanted them to know how much their work MATTERED and now reading your post here today, it makes a lot of sense that telling them that, would really matter to them. Silly, but I guess being in awe of them, blinded me to the reality that they, like the rest of us, find it comforting, if not thrilling, to realize their books, or blogs, or programs are touching real people, in real ways.
A friend of mine attended a seminar by Jonathan Fields and someone in the group asked, “When do you stop feeling like you’re talking/writing to yourself?’ I know I’ve felt that way and I’m sure many of us, including our beloved mentors, have asked the same question. Your advice about sending a note of appreciation along with a mention of the impact that person or their work has made on you, really is the best gift of all.
So having said that, I’d like to take a minute to let you know, I’ve passed many of your wordpress tips on to others and am in the process of setting up a new site using wordpress – because of you. You have an amazing way of pulling out the salient tips, making the possibly complicated, nice and simple, and saving all of us a lot of time. Thank you!

http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Yeah it’s funny, I think we often overlook the other side of the coin – that our praise is just important to successful people as it is to “normal” people like us. :p
Thank you so much for letting me know that you found my stuff useless and passed it along. Seems silly to say after this article, but it really means a lot to me! And way to put the advice in this post into action!

http://www.moreyourself.com Gail Blesch
USEFUL Laura! not “useless” – Very, Very Helpful xoxoGail

http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Oh man I can’t believe I wrote that, haha! Of course I meant useFUL! :p

http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly
That is a great post! I’ve see comments out there from people who must get the ‘cold’ calls a lot… and I agree that if you are busy – you don’t have time to ‘research’ every person that contacts you or do what they may be asking you!
I’ve been told lately that I am a hard person to get to know.. and I am working on that… and also working on how to get to others easily too – the only thing I know how to do is be myself!
http://twitter.com/mckra1g mckra1g
Exactly. I would want any “mentee” of mine to flourish. It was my instinctive answer to myself when I saw Sarah’s txt come through my SMS feed, and I’m glad to see that my gut reaction was accurate.
I think that it harkens back to previous posts that talk about unselfishness and giving from a place of security. Successful, secure people embrace and celebrate others’ successes, because we know that there is plenty of success to go around. Thanks for the post. Great stuff! Best, M.

http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Cool that you agree.
“Successful, secure people embrace and celebrate others’ successes, because we know that there is plenty of success to go around.” YES! Could not have said this better.
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
This is a GREAT line Molly! And shows me that I still have some work to do!

Mckra1g
Teresa, that’s why the Tribe is here. I’ve learned much from each of you as well.
…and thank you, Laura. That’s very kind of you to say.

http://brightworkscoaching.com/ Kristy
Great food for thought here. I would like to add that not every mentor needs to be a personal connection (though it’s great when that happens, too.) Some of my greatest mentors are people whom I have yet to meet, but their contributions to the world in general, in whatever form, have given me fuel and inspiration and even guidance. And my hope is to be the same resource to others, in any way that I can–and to be the kind of person that others would want as a mentor!

http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Excellent point Kristy. I think this is key to recognize because it’s a stage we usually have to go through before the one-on-one connection, of course you have to take the time to read someone’s book, blog, etc before you can put their guidance into place. And I too have many people that have given a lot to me without any personal interaction at all.

Guest
Every time I write a post, I write it with honesty and I write it with passion. Today, I questioned whether or not to continue doing so….a reader responded and stated that I must continue to write, even if it was just for her. She actually looks forward to my thoughs and feelings; this has been more humbling than anybody will ever know. Somehow over the course of the past couple of months, I have become a voice for others in this world and believe me, this is really frightening but exhilirating at the same time!!
I used to admire someone famous until I really took a hard look at this person and why she became and still is famous to this day. I looked at how she talked to her viewers and how she started to act like she was now a god and her word was all that mattered in this world; I no longer admire this woman and I am actually looking forward to when she is off the air at the end of this coming season. How she handled herself in the scandal with the author of a book that was full of lies, but she supported; she turned on him and made him look like a fool infront of the world, instead of saying she was the fool for believing in him. ( I am sure if you think real hard, you will know who I am talking about) Her attitude about how dare this person betray her…who the hell does she think she is?? This woman began to fight for the rights of a certain race and left the rest of her viewers who were a different race feeling as if we were not important and as if we do not matter in her world. If it wasn’t for viewers such as myself, this woman would not be the multimillionaire she is today. I for one am ashamed I ever looked up to her and have learned a lesson on who I idolize in this world. Funny how over the years this woman went from a little known southern girl to a woman who thinks that she can step on whoever she feels…because money talks. Never again will I ever make this mistake again and never will I allow myself to idolize someone who really does not give a shit about anybody else except her mighty pocketbook!! Fame is a monster and it will eventually eat away at the most kind hearted people in this world….so watch out for those who are on a track for world fame, as it may be the catalyst for society no longer caring about what you say or think. Fame is what ruined my idol and why she is no longer a person I would ever want to associate myself with again!!!
Jesse Michelsen
Hmm that is really interesting to think about. I’ve been trying to get help from a couple people I admire and it hasn’t exactly worked out. I think the problem is, although I do follow their advice (not given directly to me) and glean what I can from their actions, I never tell them about it! I simply ask for more, and I see now that is one sided. I do offer that “if you need anything let me know” kind of deal, but they never take me up on it. This post is a real eye opener!
http://www.lemonoffice.com susanmdonegan
Laura,
This is a great message because, I, like some of the other folks here, have not been thinking about this from the perspective of the mentor and the feelings of satisfaction that typically come from lending support, advice or a hand, to someone in need. If I can help someone, it makes me feel good, yet, when I think about putting myself out there to connect or to ask someone I respect and admire for assistance, I become a little insecure and worry about what that person might think of me. Am I bothering them? Do they think I’m a waste of their time? Who am I, anyway??! What’s in it for them? I’ve never stopped to think that the person I admire might actually enjoy helping me and feel fulfilled by serving as a mentor and that there is a value in that. After reading this today, I will feel more confident putting myself out there. Thank you for changing my mindset and helping me to become more brave!
meganmatthieson
Such a smart post Laura! Thank you for this reminder. We do, indeed, live in a hierarchal (sp?) society. To move up, to get closer to those mentors you want to share space with, you have to 'become' or 'show' that you have something to offer them. I think of this as I'm starting to write my query letters to lit agents. I want them to know, subtly, that there's a reason they want to be in business with me. OK- the truth is that this is hard. But it's very true. Thanks for your take on this!
meganmatthieson
This is me. Sorry!
http://www.lisarobbinyoung.com Lisa Robbin Young
There's a story about a guy who, when he was a kid, wrote a letter to Donald Trump and asked if he could meet him when he stayed at Trump's hotel later in the year. Trump was touched by the kid's moxie, and although wasn't available when his family visited Trumpw hotel, he rolled out the red carpet for the boy and his family. Years later, that kid grew into a successful entrepreneur, and wrote to Trump to tell him how he had shaped the young kid's life and perspective on success. Trump made a point of re-connecting personally with the kid.
Your heroes will listen if you have something remarkable to say. Don't gush, be specific, and let people know what's real in your world. Great tips, Laura!
http://www.moreyourself.com Gail Blesch
Hey Laura
That has definitely been my experience, I just never thought of it as being a gift to them! As people I respect and admire, I simply felt compelled to let them know how much of a gift they have been to me just by being themselves, brave enough to share who they are with the rest of us. I wanted them to know how much their work MATTERED and now reading your post here today, it makes a lot of sense that telling them that, would really matter to them. Silly, but I guess being in awe of them, blinded me to the reality that they, like the rest of us, find it comforting, if not thrilling, to realize their books, or blogs, or programs are touching real people, in real ways.
A friend of mine attended a seminar by Jonathan Fields and someone in the group asked, “When do you stop feeling like you're talking/writing to yourself?' I know I've felt that way and I'm sure many of us, including our beloved mentors, have asked the same question. Your advice about sending a note of appreciation along with a mention of the impact that person or their work has made on you, really is the best gift of all.
So having said that, I'd like to take a minute to let you know, I've passed many of your wordpress tips on to others and am in the process of setting up a new site using wordpress – because of you. You have an amazing way of pulling out the salient tips, making the possibly complicated, nice and simple, and saving all of us a lot of time. Thank you!
http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly
That is a great post! I've see comments out there from people who must get the 'cold' calls a lot… and I agree that if you are busy – you don't have time to 'research' every person that contacts you or do what they may be asking you!
I've been told lately that I am a hard person to get to know.. and I am working on that… and also working on how to get to others easily too – the only thing I know how to do is be myself!
http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly
It is very hard! I have never written a letter to a literary agent – but maybe you can mentor me when I get a book really rolling! *BIG CHESHIRE GRIN SMILE* LOL
http://twitter.com/mckra1g mckra1g
Exactly. I would want any “mentee” of mine to flourish. It was my instinctive answer to myself when I saw Sarah's txt come through my SMS feed, and I'm glad to see that my gut reaction was accurate.
I think that it harkens back to previous posts that talk about unselfishness and giving from a place of security. Successful, secure people embrace and celebrate others' successes, because we know that there is plenty of success to go around. Thanks for the post. Great stuff! Best, M.
Lisa
I think of it like climbing a mountain. You help push the person in front of you up the next mountain step and they turn around and help pull you up the next step. Then you turn around and pull the next person up another step. Like climbing a mountain, life is easier when we dare to connect with others and form alliances . We also need to reach out to potential mentors.
Laura, Thanks for the reminder that we all need to be grateful and express that gratitude to one another for the
collaboration!!!
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
Thanks for this post Laura! I’ve never really sought out a mentor (and I’ve missed out on alot) but I’ve still been blessed with having some incredible ones in my life. But I think that the reason I never sought one out was because the ways I had been taught to do so (as you mentioned) seemed so unnatural and forced. And they seemed to be more about “getting” disguised as giving. But I can embrace the way you suggest… in fact, I think I’ve done some of that in the past and it has worked. I feel less scared or nervous now… so thanks a bunch!
http://brightworkscoaching.com/ Kristy
Great food for thought here. I would like to add that not every mentor needs to be a personal connection (though it's great when that happens, too.) Some of my greatest mentors are people whom I have yet to meet, but their contributions to the world in general, in whatever form, have given me fuel and inspiration and even guidance. And my hope is to be the same resource to others, in any way that I can–and to be the kind of person that others would want as a mentor!
http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Great story Lisa!
http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Yeah it's funny, I think we often overlook the other side of the coin – that our praise is just important to successful people as it is to “normal” people like us. :p
Thank you so much for letting me know that you found my stuff useless and passed it along. Seems silly to say after this article, but it really means a lot to me! And way to put the advice in this post into action!
http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Cool that you agree.
“Successful, secure people embrace and celebrate others' successes, because we know that there is plenty of success to go around.” YES! Could not have said this better.
http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Excellent point Kristy. I think this is key to recognize because it's a stage we usually have to go through before the one-on-one connection, of course you have to take the time to read someone's book, blog, etc before you can put their guidance into place. And I too have many people that have given a lot to me without any personal interaction at all.
http://www.moreyourself.com Gail Blesch
USEFUL Laura! not “useless” – Very, Very Helpful xoxoGail
http://www.madebymegs.blogspot.com madebymegs
Every time I write a post, I write it with honesty and I write it with passion. Today, I questioned whether or not to continue doing so….a reader responded and stated that I must continue to write, even if it was just for her. She actually looks forward to my thoughs and feelings; this has been more humbling than anybody will ever know. Somehow over the course of the past couple of months, I have become a voice for others in this world and believe me, this is really frightening but exhilirating at the same time!!
I used to admire someone famous until I really took a hard look at this person and why she became and still is famous to this day. I looked at how she talked to her viewers and how she started to act like she was now a god and her word was all that mattered in this world; I no longer admire this woman and I am actually looking forward to when she is off the air at the end of this coming season. How she handled herself in the scandal with the author of a book that was full of lies, but she supported; she turned on him and made him look like a fool infront of the world, instead of saying she was the fool for believing in him. ( I am sure if you think real hard, you will know who I am talking about) Her attitude about how dare this person betray her…who the hell does she think she is?? This woman began to fight for the rights of a certain race and left the rest of her viewers who were a different race feeling as if we were not important and as if we do not matter in her world. If it wasn't for viewers such as myself, this woman would not be the multimillionaire she is today. I for one am ashamed I ever looked up to her and have learned a lesson on who I idolize in this world. Funny how over the years this woman went from a little known southern girl to a woman who thinks that she can step on whoever she feels…because money talks. Never again will I ever make this mistake again and never will I allow myself to idolize someone who really does not give a shit about anybody else except her mighty pocketbook!! Fame is a monster and it will eventually eat away at the most kind hearted people in this world….so watch out for those who are on a track for world fame, as it may be the catalyst for society no longer caring about what you say or think. Fame is what ruined my idol and why she is no longer a person I would ever want to associate myself with again!!!
Jesse Michelsen
Hmm that is really interesting to think about. I've been trying to get help from a couple people I admire and it hasn't exactly worked out. I think the problem is, although I do follow their advice (not given directly to me) and glean what I can from their actions, I never tell them about it! I simply ask for more, and I see now that is one sided. I do offer that “if you need anything let me know” kind of deal, but they never take me up on it. This post is a real eye opener!
http://www.LauraRoeder.com Laura Roeder
Oh man I can't believe I wrote that, haha! Of course I meant useFUL! :p
meganmatthieson
The answer is….YES.
http://www.lemonoffice.com susanmdonegan
Laura,
This is a great message because, I, like some of the other folks here, have not been thinking about this from the perspective of the mentor and the feelings of satisfaction that typically come from lending support, advice or a hand, to someone in need. If I can help someone, it makes me feel good, yet, when I think about putting myself out there to connect or to ask someone I respect and admire for assistance, I become a little insecure and worry about what that person might think of me. Am I bothering them? Do they think I'm a waste of their time? Who am I, anyway??! What's in it for them? I've never stopped to think that the person I admire might actually enjoy helping me and feel fulfilled by serving as a mentor and that there is a value in that. After reading this today, I will feel more confident putting myself out there. Thank you for changing my mindset and helping me to become more brave!
http://www.sundaynightsuccess.com Jeremie
I would not be where I am today without the help of my mentor: Andrea Lee. It has really made an unmeasurable difference in the quick early success of my business. It has been so valuable to me that I bring this topic up with my coaching clients, asking them who they could reach out and try make an initial connection.
For me, finding a mentor was about being brave and being honest. Andrea’s work spoke to me, and I figured “what the heck, worse that can happen is she says no” (all right part of me was saying “worse that can happen is she laughs, tells all her friends about this crazy cold-calling guy, and vows to make sure I never achieve success in anything I do for the rest of my life”, but I pushed that part of me into a closet and latched it shut).
So, I sent an email to Andrea, and was completely honest. I told her I was in coach training, probably didn’t have any specific skills or advantages I could offer her, but was willing to volunteer and help her out with whatever projects or tasks she had on her plate.
That was over a year ago and our mentor/mentee relationship is still going super strong! We are adding value to each other’s lives and helping each other move forward using our own unique skills.
I think one thing that has made our mentoring relationship work so well is that I really want to add value to her business and her life, and she is willing to accept that value and leverage it. On the flip side she is totally willing to over-deliver and do the same in helping me.
I can definitely say that being brave and taking that first step has been worth it for me.
Jeremie
Lisa
I think of it like climbing a mountain. You help push the person in front of you up the next mountain step and they turn around and help pull you up the next step. Then you turn around and pull the next person up another step. Like climbing a mountain, life is easier when we dare to connect with others and form alliances . We also need to reach out to potential mentors.
Laura, Thanks for the reminder that we all need to be grateful and express that gratitude to one another for the
collaboration!!!
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
This is a GREAT line Molly! And shows me that I still have some work to do!
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
Thanks for this post Laura! I've never really sought out a mentor (and I've missed out on alot) but I've still been blessed with having some incredible ones in my life. But I think that the reason I never sought one out was because the ways I had been taught to do so (as you mentioned) seemed so unnatural and forced. And they seemed to be more about “getting” disguised as giving. But I can embrace the way you suggest… in fact, I think I've done some of that in the past and it has worked. I feel less scared or nervous now… so thanks a bunch!
Mckra1g
Teresa, that's why the Tribe is here. I've learned much from each of you as well.
…and thank you, Laura. That's very kind of you to say.
http://www.sundaynightsuccess.com Jeremie
I would not be where I am today without the help of my mentor: Andrea Lee. It has really made an unmeasurable difference in the quick early success of my business. It has been so valuable to me that I bring this topic up with my coaching clients, asking them who they could reach out and try make an initial connection.
For me, finding a mentor was about being brave and being honest. Andrea's work spoke to me, and I figured “what the heck, worse that can happen is she says no” (all right part of me was saying “worse that can happen is she laughs, tells all her friends about this crazy cold-calling guy, and vows to make sure I never achieve success in anything I do for the rest of my life”, but I pushed that part of me into a closet and latched it shut).
So, I sent an email to Andrea, and was completely honest. I told her I was in coach training, probably didn't have any specific skills or advantages I could offer her, but was willing to volunteer and help her out with whatever projects or tasks she had on her plate.
That was over a year ago and our mentor/mentee relationship is still going super strong! We are adding value to each other's lives and helping each other move forward using our own unique skills.
I think one thing that has made our mentoring relationship work so well is that I really want to add value to her business and her life, and she is willing to accept that value and leverage it. On the flip side she is totally willing to over-deliver and do the same in helping me.
I can definitely say that being brave and taking that first step has been worth it for me.
Jeremie
Anonymous
Thanks for this persective Laura. Like others here, I’m guilty of not going back to a person and updating them. My inner dialogue runs along the lines of “They don’t want to hear from me. What do they care? They are too busy.”, etc. I see, however, that brief, timely and pertinent contact has its place. I will give it a try. Thank you!
StephanieCorum
Thanks for this persective Laura. Like others here, I'm guilty of not going back to a person and updating them. My inner dialogue runs along the lines of “They don't want to hear from me. What do they care? They are too busy.”, etc. I see, however, that brief, timely and pertinent contact has its place. I will give it a try. Thank you!
Tami Morello
This post is such a great reminder that developing an irresistible presence can work for us for more than drawing potential clients to us. We all need good mentors, collaborators, mastermind/accountability partners to really grow to our potential. I know I haven’t been giving enough feedback to those people whose advice, info I’ve been using. Good food for thought. Expressing gratitude for what we’ve been given.
Tami Morello
This post is such a great reminder that developing an irresistible presence can work for us for more than drawing potential clients to us. We all need good mentors, collaborators, mastermind/accountability partners to really grow to our potential. I know I haven't been giving enough feedback to those people whose advice, info I've been using. Good food for thought. Expressing gratitude for what we've been given.
Abbie S. Fink
Great post. Mentoring is one of the most rewarding things I do. Whether that be mentoring an up and coming public relations professional, a friend looking for advice or a friend of a friend of a friend’s brother who thought that maybe I could (fill in the blank), if I can help I am willing to try.
And those that have mentored me along the way.. still important to me. I ask advice of colleagues, former bosses, new friends. You just never know what information is available if you don’t ask.
Mentors offer different things to me at different times. I’m happy to have them all in my world.
AbbieF
Great post. Mentoring is one of the most rewarding things I do. Whether that be mentoring an up and coming public relations professional, a friend looking for advice or a friend of a friend of a friend's brother who thought that maybe I could (fill in the blank), if I can help I am willing to try.
And those that have mentored me along the way.. still important to me. I ask advice of colleagues, former bosses, new friends. You just never know what information is available if you don't ask.
Mentors offer different things to me at different times. I'm happy to have them all in my world.
Besa
I had my own learning in just reading this post. BTW I loved it. I had my ‘gremlins’ telling me that I shouldn’t expect anything from anyone, and that I should really give them something… I even had my ‘fake’ person showing up in my head as to how I was supposed to look and instantly had those people on a pedistal. I also had fear about how I would look to them if I wasn’t at their ‘level’ – WOW! what awareness to have in a post. Well, I know from personal experience what it is like to put people on a pedistal(sp?) and be put on a pedistal. I am practicing and will still continue to practice ACCEPTING myself and those around me for who we are in each moment. This will does and will bring me to a place of willingness to ask a mentor and hang out with them while putting my ego aside. Whew! I think my brain worked!!! Thank you Laura for sharing and for aiding in my awareness.
~Besa
Besa
I had my own learning in just reading this post. BTW I loved it. I had my 'gremlins' telling me that I shouldn't expect anything from anyone, and that I should really give them something… I even had my 'fake' person showing up in my head as to how I was supposed to look and instantly had those people on a pedistal. I also had fear about how I would look to them if I wasn't at their 'level' – WOW! what awareness to have in a post. Well, I know from personal experience what it is like to put people on a pedistal(sp?) and be put on a pedistal. I am practicing and will still continue to practice ACCEPTING myself and those around me for who we are in each moment. This will does and will bring me to a place of willingness to ask a mentor and hang out with them while putting my ego aside. Whew! I think my brain worked!!! Thank you Laura for sharing and for aiding in my awareness.
~Besa
http://marianlibrarian.com Marian Schembari
Awww man, Laura, this is SO on the ball. I always look at that advice “help a mentor out” and am at a loss as to how to go about doing that! All the people I look up to do the same thing I do – they’re just more experienced/better connected/successful/etc. There are very few people I look up to that could actually benefit from my services. So you’re 100% right about showing how they have helped you. It will make them feel good AND put you on their radar as not just another chump trying to get in their good graces.
http://marianlibrarian.com Marian Schembari
Awww man, Laura, this is SO on the ball. I always look at that advice “help a mentor out” and am at a loss as to how to go about doing that! All the people I look up to do the same thing I do – they're just more experienced/better connected/successful/etc. There are very few people I look up to that could actually benefit from my services. So you're 100% right about showing how they have helped you. It will make them feel good AND put you on their radar as not just another chump trying to get in their good graces.
http://irresistibleinfomarketingblueprintreview.net Met Rivers
I feel you not only need a mentor (someone who has been there and done that) but having multiple mentors is what I prefer. I had a chance to listen to Mark Hoverson from a large crowd and have chosen to follow him. His product Irresistible Info Marketing Blueprint will be a blessing to the industry in my opinion. http://irresistibleinfomarketingblueprintreview.net
Met Rivers
http://www.theuniuni.com/ Payton_vege
Amazing write-up! This could aid plenty of people find out more about this particular issue. Are you keen to integrate video clips coupled with these? It would absolutely help out. Your conclusion was spot on and thanks to you; I probably won’t have to describe everything to my pals. I can simply direct them here!

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