There’s No Magic Formula

Honestly, it was people that I would see or hear that I was inspired by, I felt I could learn from. It also doesn't have to be this like perfect magic formula because you can learn from a lot of people. So, when I saw people I thought I could learn from, I thought would have advice that would be beneficial, et cetera. I felt that there was some ways it might be approachable, all those things. Then I'd start treating them like a mentor.

If someone asked you to mentor them, what do you view as their responsibilities in the relationship?

Oh, I'm so glad you asked this question because frankly, most mentees are terrible mentees. So, what does it take to be a good mentee? Number one, to realize that in a mentee mentor relationship, you, the mentee owns the relationship. It's not the mentor’s job to follow up. It's not the mentor’s job to set agenda. It's not the mentor’s job to do any of that. It's your job. You're the one that is seeking the biggest part of the value, it’s your job. So, that's one, two, it is a relationship. A relationship means both parties get value. So, what value do you get as a mentee? You get perspective, you get advice, you get all those kinds of things. So, what does the mentor get? You might be thinking, well, gosh, what can I offer the mentor? What the mentor gets is the intrinsic value of knowing that you appreciate their advice. That somehow they've actually impacted you in a positive way. All that feels good and feels like it's being helpful. They get the intrinsic value, but you know what, if you don't tell them what happened, if you don't let them know that you actually took their advice or used their approach, or came to a great decision as a result of a conversation that you had with them, they don't get that value. And if they don't get that value then all you are is a taker and nobody likes a taker.