Being mentored

We are all mentors and have been mentored, even if we didn’t know it. I am not going to go over the academic types of mentoring or the ones you might have read or heard about that organization use. I am going to tell you about my mentor and he was a GREAT one.

First, this mentor didn’t spend hour telling me what and how to do things, that wasn’t his way. He mentored me by his example so let’s take a look at what he did.
My mentor was a hard working individual, so guess what we did, we worked hard together. It could be building a building, cleaning out a building or painting something. We did it together. You might have figured it out by now, but my mentor was my dad.

I never looked at as he was my mentor tell much later in my life. One thing I thought I is a gopher. That means whatever Dad needed when we were doing something and wasn’t close by he sent me. It was go for this and go for that. I must tell you I wasn’t a very good finding things and many times my Dad would come and find whatever he wanted for himself. When that happened I really wished I was somewhere else, but it taught me to look better.

He also taught me to finish what you start. I build an eleven for utility race boat when I was fourteen. Dad helped me lay out the transom and that was the extent of his help. Oh, he would check out the progress and encourage me. And he couldn’t miss what I was doing, because the boat building project took up half the garage.
In the spring of the year the boat was ready to be launched. It floated and I put my fifteen hoarse motor on and I was off. I think my Dad was happier and prouder than I was.

Now to the deep stuff, respecting others, practically those that deserve your respect like adults. I can remember this to this day. One of my dad’s good friends stopped by to our house to chat. I was there and wanting to be friendly I said “Hi Oggie.” That was the wrong thing for eight year old to say to an adult. I’ll just say he said “His name is Mr. Cook.” Then he explained that I was to call adults by their last name and use Mr. , Mrs. or Ms. You can bet I learn a great lesson that day.

Helping other was something my dad did at a drop of a hat. If a friend needed help and he could help he did. That has stuck with me my whole life. I could write a book about what I learned from my Dad and I migh
t.
I’ll leave you with the most valuable lesson of my mentoring process. It is not what you say, but what you do.

Happiness with health and wealth to you

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David H. Lindemann is an author, speaker, consultant and coach, he is a community leader, educator and has worked with fortune 500 hundred companies as well as individuals. He also has been a CEO of a national manufacturing company and cares deeply about people