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Indirect mentors are people who do or say things that earn your admiration. There is no formal mentorship container, no contract, no "teach me your ways" agreement. Anyone can be an indirect mentor, and most indirect mentors don't know the full scope of their mentorship. Indirect mentors might be family, friends, lovers, coworkers, or people on social media. Anyone can easily benefit from the indirect mentors in their life. When someone earns your admiration, reflect on the cause, then consider how you might nudge yourself towards making similar admirable decisions more often. Here are three examples of friends who were my indirect mentors in the past week:
As I read over my examples, exactly what I admire about each friend is clear. If the idea of indirect mentors interests you then I encourage you to take note of who earns your admiration over the next week and why. I'd love to know how it goes :^) Years ago I made images to celebrate twenty indirect mentors I know through Twitter. Here are the three that resonate the most with me right now: You can see all twenty images on my website or on Twitter. Thank you for reading and have a great week. |
During a Gamification Conversation, I helped a startup founder create a framework of rules, rewards, and accountability for the area of his work that gave him the most resistance. This framework made him visibly excited - he was glad to have a lighter perspective on the work that was so heavy to him that he frequently avoided it. Towards the end of our conversation he asked why I was doing this. What's important to me about this offering? I feel most fulfilled when I give something that...
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Hello! In the throes of a lower mood I try to remember how much I have to be grateful for, how much I have in my life that is worth celebrating. Today's newsletter is me doing that! It's remarkable how simple and effective this practice is at shifting my mood from gloom to bloom. Here is my gratitude list: Receiving appreciation for The RAMP Mindset and the dots method on a video call. Running into some new connections at a friend's birthday party. Hearing Nine In The Afternoon on the radio...