When thinking of a mentor, we often imagine a wise sage who graciously helps a new recruit, a trainee and the like. It’s time to rethink what a mentor is, and I saw the perfect example of one just the other day.
The Ottawa Senators NHL hockey team was about to start playing their 6th playoff game, a do or die event for the team. I was at a local coffee shop and out the window, standing beside the busy street, was a young boy, about 7 or 8 years old, holding a couple of senators flags waving at the cars going to the game. And beside him was his dad, who had a larger flag and was helping his young son cheer on the fans going to the game. It was obvious they wern’t going to the game, but I am sure that they hurried home to catch it on the TV once it started. The young lad would scream with excitement every time a car would blow it’s horn in acknowledgement of their efforts.
What a wonderful example of being a mentor. And I can hear that son telling his kids 30 years from now how he and his dad would go down to the street corner to help cheer the team. What a great memory that father is making. What a great mentor.
We can all be mentors to someone in this world, and it doesn’t need to cost a lot of money, and you don’t have to be someone famous. But what a difference you can make in someone’s life. I am taking the liberty of showing a fishing picture of me and my son, taken when I was teaching him how to fish. Why don’t you share your examples of mentoring with the rest of our readers? Together we can all get ideas on how to make this a better world.
Tony Brunelle
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Great story Tony. Reminds me of a movie I watched this past week where a Dad was wondering (as we all do) if he was doing enough to mentor his kids…the line was “It turns out that 90% of being a good Dad is showing up”
Making time, having enough confidence in yourself that by just spending time with your kids whenever you can will mean the world to them in the end, no matter what each 10-minutes looks like.
Jeff
I think you summed it up Jeff, in the case of our children, showing up is 90% of what it is all about. Getting excited with them creates a bond that goes deep.
Tony
That is a wonderful story, you would love the movie “Life is Beautiful” about a fathers love in survival of his son in the concentration camp!! How he made a game of it!!
Great story and you have done many many great things for people I hope you are greatly rewarded for it.
Jo-Anne
Hi Tony,
I like your definition of mentoring. It provides each of us with so many opportunities to make a world of difference for someone else.
I fondly remember my first mentoring experience. I was 16 years old, applying for my first full-time summer job to babysit a 4-year old girl for 40 hours a week for 3 months while her parents were at work.
During the interview, the 4-year old asked me if she could play with my hair. I said it was ok. She gently brushed my hair with her small hands and it felt good. About 5 minutes later and much to my surprise, she had a wash basin filled with warm water, and my hair was being lathered with lemon scented dishwashing soap. I continued the interview while my hair was covered in bubbles. The little girl’s technique was very good; I didn’t get soap in my eyes or water down my back.
At the end of the interview, her mom said I had the job since the girl was very shy with people (adults and kids), yet she had taken an immediate liking to me, enough to approach me.
My job was to teach her how to speak French since she was going to start French kindergarten in September. She understood French, but refused to speak it. I wasn’t supposed to let her know that I spoke English. I also had to make her go to the park every day to get exercise while she wore her orthotics to strengthen her arches. She hated those shoes.
During the first 2 weeks, I couldn’t get her to talk to me in French. It was frustrating because we weren’t connecting. At the beginning of the third week, I told her a secret… I could speak English. Her eyes lit up and her rosy cheeks filled out in a beautiful smile. We started speaking with a mixture of English and French, and very quickly ended up speaking French all the time.
A few weeks after she started kindergarten, I was invited to see her at recess. I was amazed to see the change in her. Instead of a shy, reserved girl who hated running around in the park, I saw a little girl who spoke incessantly in French, and she was surrounded by many friends. She seemed to be the centre of attention and popularity amongst her new friends, and she was very happy in her surroundings. At that moment, I felt really proud that I had had a major part in getting her ready for kindergarten. I was also grateful that her mother had thought of giving me the opportunity to see how her daughter had blossomed.