SubscribeOriginally published at BostInnovation.com
I think we’d all agree that young people stand to benefit from having a mentor. I’m going to go out on a limb and say I think we all need mentors though. Every single one of us, whether we’re 15, 25, or 50.
OK, maybe not every single one of us. Some of us aren’t so chatty. But at one time or another, for a fairly long stretch of time, especially during times of transition and especially if we’re the creative or entrepreneurial types—most of us should find ourselves a mentor in our field, cultivate that relationship, and allow ourselves to grow from it.
I was going to say something about how the world needs more mentors. Then it occurred to me that mentor/mentee relationships are everywhere. These relationships take many different forms, people appreciate them tremendously, we just don’t hear about them often. And because we so often fail to call them what they are—useful, quite often genuine friendships and mutually beneficial partnerships—I’d be willing to bet that too many of them fizzle long before both parties are through learning something.