What Smart Mentors Do

I don’t have one mentor, I have a galaxy of mentors.

Teachers,
family members, coaches, advisers, guides, therapists, professors and industry
veterans – who saw something in me that somebody once saw in them – generously took
me under their wing, and shaped me into the person I am today.

Apparently,
this is rare. I just assumed everybody had mentors. But when I started asking people
who their mentors were, they looked at me like I was crazy.

For
that reason, I made the decision to live my life as a thank you in perpetuity
to the voices that shaped me. I began offering myself, for free, as a mentor to
people who asked for help. After all, the best way to pay the world back is by
paying it forward.

Later,
I created a paid program called Rent Scott’s Brain. It started as a clever
boundary setting tool for people who didn’t execute or respect my time, but
slowly morphed into a key revenue stream and critical component of my
enterprise. Now, it’s grown into a unique mentoring experience that extends the
same inheritance I once received from my galaxy to the people who need it most.

And sometimes
my mentoring happens in person, sometimes over the phone, sometimes via email or
sometimes through another digital channel. But whatever medium I use with my
clients, the method is the always same. It’s the process my mentors took with
me, and it’s the process I take with my mentees.

And the
best part is, it works. See the results executed by a few of my clients, William,
Chrissy and Harlan.

Having been on both sides of the mentoring relationship for the past fifteen
years, it’s not something you memorize, it’s something you personify. It’s not
something you learn in a textbook, it’s something you practice in daily life. 

Here’s what I tell my clients:

You
bring me your brand, business, challenges, concerns, content, dilemmas, ideas,
intuitions, questions, roadblocks, situations, stuck points, uncertainties and
what ifs.

And
I’ll offer my access, advice, attitude, counsel, creativity, ears, energy,
enthusiasm, examples, experiences, feedback, honesty, hope, humor, insight,
knowledge life lessons, mistakes, models, observations, opinions, passion,
perspective, philosophy, presence, processes, questions, recommendations,
reflections, reservoir, resources, selfhood, silliness, sounding board,
stillness, stories, strength, thought process, time, truth, verbal mirror and
wisdom.

In a
space of acceptance, affirmation, candor, compassion, confidence,
confidentiality, creativity, depth, enthusiasm, flexibility, fun, fundamental
affirmation, gentle elbowing, honesty, humility, imperfection, intimacy, laser
focus, learning, mutual respect, openness, patience, personal growth,
playfulness, professionalism, relaxation, reasonable response time, responsive
spirit, safety, spontaneity, transparency, trust and understanding.

Without
any agenda pushing, bullshit, cloning, excuses, fixing, have-tos, formulas,
judgment, musts, need-tos, prescriptions, scripts, shoulds or superimposing
myself onto you.

And you
will be accelerated, challenged, clarified, disturbed, energized, enlarged,
expanded, heard, infected, inspired, invigorated, met where you are, more
aware, motivated, nourished, pushed, questioned, refueled, reminded, renewed,
stirred, strengthened, stretched, unblocked, uncomfortable and unleashed.

But I’m
not your twelve-step sponsor, twenty-four hour hotline, accountability partner,
babysitter, boss, codependent, doormat, easy button, editor, final authority,
hand-holder, parent, pastor, permanent leaning post, physician, problem-solver,
rabbi, secretary, soul mate, spouse or therapist.

So when
we’re together, I will place ideas at your feet for your consideration and I
will not lead you beyond where I’m living or have lived. I will be responsible to
you, not responsible for you, and the onus is on you to be responsible to the
wisdom provided. We will share the relationship, but you own the results. I
will plant seeds and enableyou to figure it out on your own, over
time. And if you
don’t act, you don’t grow. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. You drive the
deliverables. You fully commit to this process. You reach out to me when you
have a need.

And as
a result, you will have productive dialogues with yourself. You will achieve my
level of success without being my clone. You will propel your own momentum by
mastering dependence avoidance, without being an island. You will build a kit
for kicking your own ass. You will customize litmus tests and opportunity filters
for give yourself permission. And you will never be alone in this journey.

That’s
my process. That’s how I mentor.

It’s
not easy, it’s not cheap and it’s not for everybody.

But if
you find that process value valuable, if you would like to pursue a
professional mentoring relationship, I would be delighted to be that person.

My
brain will be standing by.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

“After investing in your mentoring program, I’ve become centered on
who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want
to work with. Life is great and I just wanted to thank you from the
bottom of my heart.” —-Melanie Jatsek, Diet Busters

Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!