NO LIMITATIONS: YOUR MENTOR SHOULD NOT LIMIT YOUR VISION

A mentor is an experienced person who helps a person with lesser experience by sharing their skill and expertise with them. Perhaps you have a different definition, there is no problem, but this is the generally accepted one. However, there is no place in this definition that says the mentor has to be greater or more successful than the mentee. Nor, is there a clause that indicates that a mentee can never surpass their mentor. Do you have a mentor? Or are you considering getting one? You should not be limited by your mentor. To buttress this point, I have a couple of stories to share with you. You will be shocked at some of the names.

There is no doubt that a mentor has more experience, but it does not take away the fact that you, as a mentee, enter the relationship with your uniqueness. We have established that a mentor’s job is to guide you, what then happens when your mentor has led up to the point they are at? Do you stop to wait for them to proceed? A story that does justice to this is that of Moses and Joshua in the Bible.  Joshua was an assistant to Moses, who was also his mentor. It was recorded in the Bible that Moses performed great exploits such as parting the red sea and defeating the Egyptians while leading the children of Israel to the promised land. However, Joshua who took over after Moses performed many of the things that his mentor did, and even surpassed Moses by finally leading the children of Israel into the promised land-which Moses was not able to do.

Another similar story in the Bible is that of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha was chosen by God to be Elijah’s successor, he worked with his master and mentor diligently,  until the time for his master’s departure. Elisha’s resilence drove him to follow Elijah, till he requested and got the double portion of Elijah’s anointing. It was written in the Bible that Elisha went on and performed double the miracles and wonders that mentor did.

Joshua and Elisha learnt a lot of invaluable lessons from their mentors no doubt, but they did not allow themselves to be limited by their mentor. Especially in the case of Elisha, while following his master, he was mocked by his fellow prophets and turned away severally by his master, but he did allow any of that deter him.

Ok, that happened billions of years ago, and you are probably sceptical. What if I told you Bill Gates, the second richest man in the world surpassed his mentor. Bill Gates has been friends with Warren Buffet his mentor for almost 28 years. Let me imagine you had never heard the name Warren Buffet before now; it is almost impossible that you have not heard of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. In various interviews, Bill has mentioned the impact that his mentor has had on his life and career. This might make you wonder, “how it is that Bill Gates is the second richest man and his mentor is the fourth richest man in  the world.” It is simple. Bill did not abandon his uniqueness or his propensity to create and be great. He simply added what he got from his mentor to what he already had.

I am sure you get my drift and the point I am trying to make, but to be extra clear, I will share one more story with you. You might have heard of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, a company that manufactures electric cars, and Space X, an aerospace company. Impressive right? So what is the story? You wonder. When Elon Musk started working on the Space X project, a project to create rockets that would be reusable-something that had never been done before, he faced his greatest challenge in the form of Neil Armstrong and Gene Carnen. These were people he considered his mentors and the same ones who inspired the project. But he did not allow any of it stop him; he continued trying till he finally became a success. This shows that if you are not driven and focused on your goals, something that should be a blessing-a mentor- could impede you on the road to success.

Getting a mentor is a great choice. It is the best decision you can make for your life, business or career. That said, as much as you want to follow your mentor’s advice and tap into their wealth of relevant knowledge and experience, you should not allow them or the relationship limit you. Remember you are a whole bundle of exceptional skills, knowledge and strengths. Push yourself!

Thank you for reading. Do you have any stories of people whose mentors did/did not limit them? Please share with me in the comment section.