Recreate Yourself In Others; Mentoring Your protégée

As a way of introduction; I would quickly paraphrase one of the quotes from an author I respect so much, who is also one of my mentors; Dr Taiwo Odukoya:

To maintain relevance at all times, you just need to invest your life and time in others. - Dr Taiwo Odukoya [paraphrased by me]

Looking at this statement holistically; you would not be wrong to infer that this is actually the bedrock to maintain an ageless success. Remember this particular quote:

"Success" that has no "successor" is a masked failure

Believe me, this quote; from the little experience I've had; is actually deeper than it appears. Can I tell you this? You may probably not be regarded as a success if your successes end up with you. As a matter of fact; if your achievements don't out-live you, or grow posthumously, then you may not have really created an impact while alive. This is actually the difference between "living" and merely "existing".

Do you know that there are some mind-blowing scientific and technological inventions (whose names I have withheld for some reasons) that went down the drain almost immediately with the demise of the inventor? The reason being that; there was no one to fit into the vacuum left by the demise of the inventor. Or rather; the inventors didn't replicate himself in others.

In the course of our life's journey to our success destination, we may have passed through craters, rough terrains, and undulating paths, but these experiences are majorly to serve as instructional materials for the people following us (our protégée). I won't have you ignorant of the fact that the benefits of mentorship is not for the protégée alone but for the mentor. I mean, who wouldn't wanna imprint his name on the sands of time? One way to do this is by replicating yourself in others.

Another point I would love to buttress is the fact that we are uniquely gifted, and this has given everyone something to mentor others on. The only requirement is that you look inwards to discover the potentials in you; then you can pass it on to others (this is called "success").

Qualities of a good mentor

There are some qualities one needs to possess to be an effective mentor.

• First of all, you must be VERY tolerant. Believe me, this is actually the hardest part. Because mistakes are bound to be made by your protégée, but how you accomodate them is the most important thing.
• Try to embed flexibility in your approach.
• Ability of foresight. Look beyond what your natural eyes can see, and look into the potentials in your protégée.

As a way of conclusion, let remind you this:

No one is an island of himself. We live for others.

Thanks for reading

Image is from pixabay