With Purpose Success, part 72

Sounds pretty darn easy, doesn't it? If you still have doubts, take this fifteen-question "mentor quiz" designed by Peer Resources. Award 5 points if your answer is yes; 2 points if your answer is sometimes; and 1 point if your answer is no: ___Do you know what it's like to have worries, frustrations, and concerns about your work? ___ Do people seek you out to talk about their worries, frustrations, and concerns? ___Is the amount of time you spend listening significantly greater than the amount you spend talking? ___ Has anyone ever helped you uncover a feeling or talent that, before then, you hadn't recognized in yourself? ___ Has anyone ever inspired you with a famous quote that influenced your thinking or behavior, and that you have since passed on to others? ___ Has anyone ever prodded you to an "aha!" moment that enabled you to grasp the core of meaning of some event, or a deeper understanding of yourself or someone else? ___ Has anyone ever helped you gain knowledge about how things work, about how to get things done? ___ Has anyone ever encouraged you to find a way to deal with challenges in your life or work? ___Has there ever been anyone in your life who had a profound positive effect on you, but you didn't realize it until much later in your life? ___ Has someone in your life provided just the right help to you at just the right time? ___ Has anyone in your life helped you to grow and deepen your character, moral or ethical integrity, or gain a stronger commitment to your values? ___ Has anyone inspired you to shift the direction of your life in a constructive way? ___ Have you ever reached out to a person in need, and made a difference? ___ Do other people reach out to you when they have important life or career decisions? ___ Have you ever felt a profound change in your values and goals after pondering something you observed, read, or experienced? ___Your Mentor Score 

Now add them up. If you scored 60 to 75 points you not only have great potential to be a mentor but probably are also already acting in that capacity for one or more people. If you scored 45 to 59 points you are clearly a valued person in other people's lives and have what it takes to be a great mentor. If you scored 30 to 44 points you may have core mentoring strengths that likely will blossom through experience. If you scored below 29, you may still be right for this type of giving, but you may need some training. 

Your Mentoring Choices

The vast majority of community-based mentor programs are geared toward at-risk youth, those teens and preteens who come from poor and often split families and are most vulnerable to dropping out of school and getting into trouble and living a life of low expectations. Yet there are ample opportunities to mentor all kinds of kids through athletics, tutoring, and programs like Junior Achievement (www.ja.org). You can mentor youngsters with disabilities, those wishing to learn a hobby or play an instrument, or how to write or take up a cause. 

Mentoring opportunities extend beyond kids and the physical limitations imposed by geography-to virtual and professional communities of folks around the world with whom you share a value or experience. 

That might be your alumni association, a national civic group, your tribe, fellow ex-pats, activists, or coworkers. 

A woman I know who recently retired from her entertainment law practice is putting together a group of retired Hollywood cameramen, newscasters, screenwriters, producers, actors, and actresses-to travel to third world nations and teach teenagers all how to envision and produce world-class media. Imagine their impact? A troupe of highly skilled com munications professionals heads off to, oh, Kenya to share their skills with people who are just developing their ability to publish local newspapers and film documentaries-and who can really benefit from this type of knowledge. Being a mentor in this more flexible, modular world outside your own immediate community can be both satisfying and liberating. 

Whatever you try, give it time. The fit may not always be perfect at first and it will take time to work out the kinks. But don't be afraid to move on if something doesn't feel right after a few weeks or months. 

Mentoring should be an experience you enjoy. Give yourself permission to explore various options until the right connection falls into place. 

There are formal mentor programs geared toward seniors too, who may be struggling with finding new friends, a purpose, or a pastime and who may be encountering aging issues like immobility, medical care, loss of a spouse, financial difficulty, or loneliness. Such people can benefit from a surrogate child or grandchild. But often the best mentor for a senior is another senior who's already faced one or more of the same issues. One organization making such matches is the Senior Companion