The Importance of Having A Professional Mentor

Last month, my former mentor revealed the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain. At just 45, he is now left with the prospect of leaving behind his wife and his two daughters. And, while incomparable to his family’s pending loss, I am now left contemplating losing the mentor who taught me how to write. 

As I have been reflecting on my own experience, I have been reminded how vital mentors are to the success of every young professional’s career. In fact, without my own tribe of mentors, I can safely say that my career would not be half as successful as it is today. 

In Praise of Mentors

Young professionals are given a plethora of advice when they begin their careers. One key ingredient in the recipe for success that is often forgotten is the emphasis on the mentor. 

As a new writer starting my career I was armed with a fair amount of raw talent, many opportunities at my fingertips, and an inflated ego. I was going to take the movement by storm with my words–and I was going to do it on my own. You can only imagine the blow to my confidence when I realized that getting to where I wanted to be was going to mean accepting help from those who knew more about writing than I did. 

In 2016, I began writing for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) where I had the freedom to write just about anything so long as it tied back to free market economics and individual liberty. I made a name for myself by using pop culture and current events to explain the age-old principles of liberty. 

The topics were good, but my writing needed work, which is why I was so fortunate to work with Dan Sanchez. 

All the writers out there can tell you that the writer/editor relationship is unlike any other. Your editor can simultaneously be your greatest ally and your most formidable foe. While there is a deep sense of comradery that can form between the two, especially when they champion your idea, there is also a fair amount of tension that can form as you battle over what to cut and what to keep. 

The writer has to get used to the role of a mentor, which is to come along with an axe and “kill your darlings” as it is said. And when it came to killing my darlings, Dan’s body count was high. 

In the beginning, this was difficult, to say the least. I had to learn how to edit, how to take advice on the direction of a piece even when it went against my own way of doing things, and how to work with people who had more experience than I did.

For a young writer with an ego, this was quite a feat. Dan not only showed me how to approach feedback and constructive criticism with grace, but how to work with an editor and not against them. 

After a strong foundation was built, Dan became my mentor—not just the editor I happened to work with. 

He taught me how to find my voice as a writer. How to develop a signature prose that would resonate with the reader, how to take timeless principles and incorporate them into timely stories. And most importantly, how to inject narrative and personal experience into topics as dense as Austrian economics. 

And through his mentorship, I produced hundreds of articles for FEE over just a three year period that I was immensely proud of–articles on topics that broached topics that were new to me. But through Dan’s mentorship I became not only a better writer, but learned that to be a great writer meant understanding that you must be a perpetual student willing to research topics far outside of your comfort zone.

Without these lessons, I doubt I would have ever been taken seriously. My work would not have caught the attention of larger publications. And I know for certain, I would not have been able to advance my career to where it is today.

The Role of a Mentor

Mentors are important for every young professional regardless of what field they choose. In Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey formula for writers and storytellers, there is a special step dedicated to mentorship. The meeting of the mentor, or guide as it is often called, is a vital step in the hero’s journey. 

The mentor imparts wisdom to the hero, whether through direct teaching or through example. They cannot fight a hero’s battles for them, but they can give them the tools they need to be successful. 

Without Obi Wan, for example, Luke Skywalker would never have received the tools and training he needed to take on the siths in Star Wars.

Likewise, in Harry Potter, Dumbledore, along with a slew of Hogwarts teachers, give Harry what he needs to defeat the Dark Lord. Mentors help shape heroes, if the heroes are willing to heed their advice. 

Entrepreneur extraordinaire Richard Branson often credits his mentor, airline engineer Sir Freddie Laker, for the success of Virgin Airlines. Mark Zuckerberg sought advice from the great Steve Jobs when he needed help with Facebook. Even the renowned artist Salvador Dali sought a mentorship with Pablo Picasso.

Mentee/mentor relationships exist in every professional arena, and most successful people will tell you that they couldn’t have gotten to where they are in their own hero’s journeys without these guides showing them the way. 

Finding a Mentor 

Sometimes finding someone to guide you on your professional journey takes a bit more effort. Find someone who inspires you–someone whose career or skills inspire you and ask them to teach you what they know. 

Don’t be afraid to ask. Some might be too busy to take on the role. But most, if not all mentor candidates, will be flattered that you considered them for this sacred role. 

A mentor is only as helpful as the mentee allows them to be. 

For the mentor to truly guide the mentee, the latter must be willing to listen. As Tim Ferriss, the entrepreneur, pocaster, and author of the book Tribe of Mentors has said, “If you want great mentors, you have to become a great mentee. If you want to lead, you have to first learn to follow.”

Mentors will come and go depending on what stage you are in your career. 

My mentor Dan and I worked together less and less over the years as I progressed in my writing career, but his influence over me has never fully dissipated. And when I can feel myself burying the lede or veering too far off topic with unnecessary fluff, I can hear his voice in my head gently reminding me of the lessons he taught. 

Like all mentees, I have a very special duty to make sure his legacy lives on through me and my work.