Recently, I visited a grandson who lives out of town for a couple of days. Zeppelin is his name, and he’s a rock star. He asked me to play super heroes with him and brought the “gear.” He is three years old and is super keen on Spider Man, Super Man, and all the rest. We raced around the house doing super-hero poses, making super-hero noises, and then settled in for the closing shot.
I thought about this fun adventure and realized it would have never happened if he didn’t make the request. The same is true in finding and adopting mentors; we have to be bold enough to make the request.
Our adventure would not have been rewarding if we didn’t try hard to play our parts; being authentic with imaginat
ion. This is also another key in the mentoring relationship from both sides. Be real; even better, be authentic with imagination.
When it was all said and done, a picture was snapped of us in costume. It was only then that I realized each of us had our costume masks on upside down. Funny how it still all worked out. The third key then in the mentoring relationship is to accept imperfections in one another and accept the best each has to offer.
It occurs to me that these three secrets are not rocket science, which is perhaps why we forget these simple secrets while we are in the process of mentoring and being mentored. I recently found the wonder of this yet again. We were on a business trip looking for locations for a franchise brand. The franchisor was with us, and is an expert in these real estate relationships. WE made the request for him to join us and provide his expertise. We looked at some pretty fine locations. We have established a good trusting relationship over time, and as we drove around, he told the story of a space he looked at in another city that was not listed. He loved the location, and approached the owner of the store and said something like “I wanted to inquire if you are happy here or if you have any interest in moving on?” The store owner said he was tired of the business and wanted to move on but had some years left on the lease. It was perfect timing on both ends, but this all required being authentic with imagination. On the same trip, this man shared with us a couple of disappointments from poor site selections on his part, and the lessons learned; he was self-deprecating and acceptance of imperfections made this entire experience so much the better.
Remember: 1)Make the request, 2)Be authentic with imagination, and 3)Accept imperfections.
