Is Mentorship Such a Big Deal?

Have you ever wondered why babies don’t fall from the sky?

Have you ever asked if there is anyone without a parent, or relative living on earth?

Perhaps, have you met a self-successful man, who neither worked as an employee, nor attended school, never attended any workshop, webinar, or boot camp, never read books written by others, or watched movies?

Your existence is tied to another person's existence. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, Zoom and every other social media platform are all existing because of the internet. Imagine a world without the internet, you wouldn’t be reading this right now, or have access to what is going on in the other parts of the world. If a world without the internet wouldn’t make sense, how about a world without people?

How about a world where everyone does different things? A world where you will not find someone doing what you plan to do. I bet, the world will be filled with failures, disappointment, and unfulfillment.

Well, this is my thought about mentorship. Mentorship provides a survey on the possible outcome of a certain journey

In otherwords, a world without mentors will be filled with failures, struggles, and disappointment.

Nobody is self made; you need a coach, patron, mentor, teacher, advocate; you need more than just yourself to be successful in life.

However, it appears this ideology of mentorship is such a big deal for some folks.

Margaret loves her space, a typical introvert, who finds it hard to start a conversation with strangers for the first time. She doesn’t believe in the gospel of mentorship, in her words, “I don’t want to model my life according to someone else’s life.”

Having met folks like Margaret a few times, I can’t subject this ideology to nonsense, albeit, I believe mentorship is far beyond modeling.

Demilade is a Nigerian male nurse, who struggled to keep up with work, and life. He always wished he found someone to educate him about nursing as a high school student, albeit the deed is done. He stumbled on the Instagram page of a clinical nurse who has several accolades, motivated, he started a conversation, and that led to a paradigm shift in his career.

The above are the stories of two different sets of people, and how they react to the idea of mentorship.

Unlike parents, or relatives, a mentor does not give you rules on when to get out of your bed, sleep, what to eat, and how long you should watch the TV. Well, our parents give us tons of rules and regulations, especially as teenagers, and we had to adhere to it.

A mentor is simply a pictorial representation of the future you admire, and the result of the vision you believe in.

Imagine if Demilade had not found another male clinical nurse on Instagram, he would have struggled to be a great nurse all his life. On the other hand, Margaret may seem to be successful in her career, however, there will be a limit to how far she can get to on her career path, because she fails to leverage on an experts’ path.

Everyone needs a mentor; you need someone who will hold your hands on the path of success, motivate you, and track your progress.

• Can you be self-motivated? Definitely yes!
• Can your mentor motivate you? Yes
• Can you think of great, and fresh new ideas? Yes
• Can your mentor think for you? No
• Can your mentor help you create a perfect model for your ideas? Certainly, yes.
• Is mentorship a big deal? Yes
• Should everyone have a mentor? It depends on the individual

However, as creatives, mentors are important. Jeff Goins described the importance of mentorship in his book The Starving Artist, and I realized that nobody walks in their mentor’s shoes. Nobody talks, lives, or thinks like their mentor. Everyone does things differently.

My mentor, Damilola Jonathan Oladeji told me, “everyone has a voice”, this was after I told him I wished I could write like him. My statement was fueled by a true desire, but on a second glance, I would never be like him, no matter the numbers of his writer’s workshop I attend.

If you are considering a mentor in your career, you should take note of the following:
1. You may begin to speak or refer to your mentor often. This is not entirely a big deal, and if you find yourself in an environment where they make a fuss about the frequent mention of your mentor’s name or quotes, you are most likely around the wrong set of people.

2. You may find yourself always wanting to seek your mentor’s opinion before launching a new product or doing something new.

This does not mean you are dumb, rather it shows that you acknowledge your mentor’s role.

However, your mentor should not be allowed to take responsibility for your thought. You should endeavor to think for yourself. Mentors do not think for you, they counsel you.

3. You will have lesser things to worry about in your career. Remember that your mentor has possibly encountered your challenges, hence you have a well of experience to draw from.

The most interesting part about mentorship is, you suffer fewer risks, and gain more rewards than those without mentors.

Whether mentorship is a big deal for you or not? Mentors are certainly gold, and if you have one, cherish him.