What is a mentor? According to Greek legend, the goddess Athene liked to come down to earth disguised as a man named "Mentor" so she could advise the young son of Ulysses. These days, a mentor is a highly and experienced counsellor, anyone who guides and encourages another, most often to someone younger.

Mentors, as with any form of management, business or leadership coaching, come in a wide variety of forms, both formal and informal. Usually your mentor is someone who takes a personal interest in your progress, seeing your potential and regarding you as just a bit more capable and talented than you think you are. Not too much better, or you’ll ignore their opinion and regard it as unrealistic. Not anything less or you won’t be able to realistically see it as something to aim for.

In my own life, I’ve had some great mentors — excellent bosses who guided me and exciting clients who encouraged and inspired me to be the best I could be. We all have mentors who don’t know they are our mentors. They are all around us as we watch and learn from what they do and say. Many people have told me I had been their mentor the first time we met.

Good mentors are the people who give you encouragement and show you the way to success. People who do not have a mentor can only learn from their own mistakes which can be costly. Learning from your own mistakes can be a great learning tool but the ability to learn from someone else's mistakes is much less costly and gives you the benefit of someone else's vast experience.

I hope that gives you more of an insight into the world of a mentor. It is a challenging but very rewarding position for the mentor and a great learning experience for the person receiving the help. If you are able to perform either of these roles, I highly recommend that you do so.