The benefits of having a mentor – someone who has walked the path you are travelling and is happy to share with you what they have learned to make your journey a little easier – are invaluable and indisputable. But they don’t simply appear out of thin air.
Someone has to step up and take on the challenge of sharing what they know.
Maybe that someone should be you?
Gift of giving
“But what do I know? Who am I to teach? I’ll definitely mentor someone one day when I have something to say, but right now I still have too much to learn.” Right?
I don’t see myself as wealthy. When I walk along the beachfront in the fancy neighbourhoods, I look at the mansions that overlook the ocean and wonder what it must be like to have that much money.
If you asked me for £20, however, I could happily give it. I wouldn’t even miss it – I have money to spend. I just don’t always appreciate what I’ve accumulated over the years – especially when I compare myself to people who have so much more.
But if you were starving and broke, that £20 would be a tremendous amount of money – it could be life-changing.
Theoretically, no limit exists to how much money you can accumulate. At which point do you have enough that you feel you can start spending or giving? Do you need to be a millionaire before you can spare £5? Of course not.
Disseminate
Experience is the same. You know stuff, have lived a few years, been through school and university, and worked a few days, months or years. Maybe you’re still studying – but you’ve passed a few exams.
Of course, some people know way more than you – you have a lot more to learn. We all do. But I can guarantee you know something someone else doesn’t – and nothing helps you learn faster than teaching.
Some people want to know things you take for granted as given knowledge.
Don’t be a miser. Find people to spend your wealth of knowledge on. They’re all around you in your workplaces, universities and online communities – and they’re starving for what you know.
Leave a Reply