The Mentor

by Brad Spangler

Have you ever had a desire to find a mentor but didn’t quite know where to start? If so, welcome to the club. For many years I thought that God would just send a Mr. Miyagi mentor to my front door. Someone who was ready to turn me into a black-belt mentee overnight. Ok, maybe the Karate Kid metaphor is a little overstated, but I did have a longing to learn from someone who was further down “the path” than I was. A very simple definition of a mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced person. It’s been said, that learning from other people who have had success in a certain area of their life can literally save you from years of trial and error. In this article my goal is to cover three different types of mentors. Maybe you don’t have access to all three and that’s ok. The most important thing is that you start learning from at least one of these mentors. 

The Public Mentor

The Public Mentor is usually going to be a public figure or expert who’s knowledge and insight can be easily accessed through different channels or mediums. Out of all three types of mentorship this is usually the most accessible. In my life, once I had the realization that I could be mentored at a distance from certain experts in their field, I dove in head first. Between buying courses, reading books, and listening to podcasts I have been able to learn from and develop myself in exponential ways. My advice would be to set up some type of monthly budget for this type of learning. Ask yourself, “What areas of my life do I need to grow in?” Once you have some of those narrowed down it will become easier for you to find a public mentor.

The Relational Mentor

The Relational Mentor will usually be someone that you have a pre-established relationship with, or at the very least they are within your network. Personally, this type of mentor hasn’t been present in my life until recent years. The ironic thing is once I started learning from my public mentors and putting their advice into practice, I began getting promoted into positions that gave me more access to some of my “now” relational mentors. This type of mentor doesn’t necessarily need to be an expert, but they do need to be further down “the path” than you in the area that you’re wanting to learn about. So ask yourself this question, “Who do I know that is successfully doing what I want to do?” Once you have someone in mind I would encourage you to reach out to them. Casually invite them out to lunch or coffee and let them know that you would like to ask them a few questions. Remember, if they accept, come prepared. Have your questions ready and be willing to follow up with another lunch invitation once you’ve put their advice into practice.

The Anti-Mentor

The anti-mentor is probably something we’ve all experienced. Think about it, have you ever had a terrible boss or leader? Did you find yourself thinking, “I would never do that to my employees or teammates.” If so, then you have had an anti-mentor. This is someone who teaches you what “not to do”. While it may be a painful or frustrating mentorship in the moment, it can also be a powerful way of establishing your own values and standards for the future.