5 REAL-LIFE LESSONS ABOUT MENTORSHIP
Time and again, you must have heard about mentoring and it’s benefits, but you still do not have a mentor/mentee? Well, not to worry, I understand your doubt and scepticism.
Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
John 4:48
These are five real-life lessons from real people, who have significantly from mentoring.
Mentoring can help you develop your abilities and discover new skills.
The primary purpose of mentoring is growth and development. Getting into a mentoring relationship is the best thing you can do for your skills and capabilities, and while growing the existing ones, you might discover new ones. That was the case for Temidayo.
Temidayo is a 26-year old Nigerian photographer, who is also a student at a Nigerian university. He had been taking pictures and capturing moments for five years before he met his mentor, Temidayo’s words were: “It was five years in the dark. I wish I had met him sooner; my pictures may have made it to the cover of Vogue magazine.” That is a lot of confidence if you ask me. He met his mentor at an event for photographers. “We were told to network at the event. I had set my mind to talk to him the moment I saw him at the event. It’s not every day you see one of the giants in your industry. We made small talk about photography, and I didn’t waste time, I asked him to be my mentor. Initially, he didn’t give me a positive response, but I did not let him be. I called him from time to time; I pestered him till he agreed to be my mentor. I must confess the knowledge he has shared with me is invaluable”.
Mentoring gives the mentor a sense of fulfilment that rubs off on the mentee.
Most of us want to make an impact in the world, we want to do something that we would be remembered for before and after we are no more. The best way to impact the world is by touching a life. Mentoring allows you the opportunity to touch lives, to mentor someone is to leave a piece of you with the person. The sense of fulfilment you derive from this is immeasurable.
Elaine and Christina met at an elementary school mentoring program in Rhode Island. Elaine was a recently retired dental assistant, and an empty nester who missed the bond she developed with her children early in their lives. Christina was a painfully shy sad-faced first grader who suffered anxiety attacks.
Seventeen years later, Christina says, “she made all the difference in the world to me, and now I want to do the same for others.[1]
Mentoring helps you achieve the seemingly impossible things. A mentor pushes you beyond what you think is your limit. Most times, we limit our expectations of ourselves by choosing to box ourselves in a safe space, but mentoring pushes you out of any such box.
Olamide has had a passion for baking, for as long as she could remember, after graduating from secondary school, she started learning how to bake from Mrs Faleti at Bosslite catering school. Little did Olamide know that that was the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life and coming career. Mrs Faleti taught Olamide how to build a career in the cake baking industry. So much so that at Nineteen, Olamide landed a contract at one of the big banks in Nigeria. Olamide said: “At the time, it never occurred to me that she was my mentor, but now that I think of it, she was as good a mentor as I could ask for.”
Mentoring is beneficial to everyone involved.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
The mentoring process is a give and take one, as the mentee grows, so does the mentor. At the end of the day, everyone is happy.
Matilda has been mentoring Nenye for one year; when Nenye came to meet her, she was not even qualified to be called a tailor, talkless of a fashion designer. As Nenye began to train and groom her, she noticed the hunger and zeal in Nenye. Now Matilda looks forward to their meetings as she is sure Nenye will surely come with some innovation.
Mentoring gives you the zeal to help others. Mentoring is a cycle, it is safe to say that it never ends. When you mentor a man, consider it as mentoring ten men, This is because that one man will go on to mentor another, and it goes on and on. It is the best way to imbibe another with your values and beliefs.
In the Bible, Jethro mentored his son-in-law Moses, who went on to Mentor Joshua and the elders of Israel. Joshua in turn mentored the remaining leaders of his army. In the same vein, Eli mentored Samuel, who mentored Saul and David.
Ordinary people like you and me benefit from mentoring. Trust me if you are yet to have a mentor, you are missing out.
Do you have any mentoring stories/testimonies? We want to read them in the comment section.
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