Mentoring is one of the most proven and well established methods of teaching known to man. The practice may be traced back to antiquity, and the word itself was coined in reference to the old man
‘Mentor’ in Homer’s Odyssey. Good mentoring can facilitate an exchange of information between a teacher and a student in the form of experience, trade knowledge or even cultural capital. A mentor can also offer a protégé/protégée emotional and mental support whenever it is necessary. Mentoring typically occurs in a one on one format and in an informal environment.
Famous examples
There are plenty of examples of mentoring across very different cultures. Historical examples include apprenticing under the medieval guild system and the Guru-disciple relationship in Hinduism. Gurus have traditionally taught through one on one guidance. A Guru’s aim is to allow a student to fulfill their potential and attain a state of self realization.
Aren’t you going off topic?
No, we’re building up to a tenuous link. The best thing about mentoring is its high yield of results for very little expenditure of effort. It only takes the right tactical words from a ‘Guru’ like you to change the way someone thinks and develops in life or in business. If you give very little of yourself to someone in the form of advice, knowledge, access, or experience, the results can be greater than any investment you will ever make in the form of reciprocity, refinement of your own knowledge, and just plain happiness.
Mentoring and Skillshare
We even offer a class on Skillshare. Skillshare is an online platform where people can offer both to teach specialist skills and attend classes taught by others. The classes happen in real life and vary in size. Like many seemingly brilliant internet innovations, Skillshare is very US-centric, and has a particular following in New York. However in true democratic form Skillshare allows users anywhere to vote for a forum dedicated to their nearest city. All you need to do to get Skillshare for your area is get 500 people to sign up. This is surprisingly easy with email forwards, especially since ‘signing up’ only means entering an email address.
Mentoring and you
You, like most people probably have a field in which you specialize, whether it is a sport, an instrument, a knowledge base or even something business related. That knowledge may be seen as a valuable resource or commodity to be shared. Skillshare offers you a way to do that, and possibly make some money along the way. Also don’t forget the wide variety of people and talented connections you’ll meet, since Skillshare emphasizes the importance of face to face interaction. So don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn, pass on your knowledge, and help others fulfill their potential.
This post was composed and sent from my iPad while in Nice, France where I’ll be competing in Ironman FrNcd this Sunday.
