Everyone Needs a Good Mentor

Written by Judy W Bell on June 22, 2010. Posted in Coaching

No matter how experienced we are in life or in business, we each need a good mentor with whom to bounce ideas, ask for trusted advice, or maybe even give us a hug. Younger or less experienced business people use mentors as a trusted advisor. Young and inexperienced new mothers often hook up with a trusted and more experienced mother for much-needed advice! So, where did the word originate? The wordsmith in me always finds word-origin interesting. Mentor, in Greek Mythology, was the son of Alcumus and a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of both his son and his palace. The myth goes on, but…you get the idea. Today the term “mentor” is used to stand for, “a trusted friend, counselor or teacher; usually a more experienced person.” Some famous mentoring relationships:

Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great

Johann Christian Bach mentored Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

David Foster mentored Josh Groban

Eddy Merckz mentored Lance Armstrong

Laurence Olivier mentored Anthony Hopkins

As you can see, even the greatest of the greats had some assistance along the way. Later this week we will look at some ways to make mentoring more effective