The Mentor Who Changed My Life by Building My Confidence
Mentors are the game changers, the cheerleaders, and the reality checks who selflessly guide us through life
I am so fortunate that throughout my life, I have had countless mentors who have guided me through the various stages we all go through in life. My first mentor helped me settle on what I thought would be my forever career and what I needed to do to get there. Another mentor showed me the ropes in my new city while connecting me to industry big-wigs who were immensely helpful when I was looking for work.
I have had countless mentors. But my current mentor is the one who had the most impact on my life. Not because he landed me my dream job or connected me to people who could help me succeed, but because he built my confidence so much that I started believing that I could achieve anything.
How he changed my life
It may seem dramatic to say a mentor completely changed my life by helping me find my confidence, but it's the honest truth. I have been freelancing for years, but I never thought it could be anything more than a hobby... until I met my mentor.
I was terrified to share my content with the world because, quite honestly, I didn't know if it was good enough or if anyone would be remotely interested in reading it... until I met my mentor.
I never questioned feedback and was always a yes woman when clients asked for changes because I assumed they knew better than I did... until I met my mentor.
He opened my eyes to my talents and taught me about the value of my work. Thanks to my mentor, I have a growing list of freelance clients. I actively look for new clients and am getting more comfortable marketing myself. I started a weekly newsletter to share my content with people because I think they'll genuinely enjoy my writing. And lastly, I found my voice. I am the expert, so if I get requests to change copy that don't make sense, I speak up, ask questions, and share my input.
Meet Basil, mentor extraordinaire
Basil and I met a few years ago when his boss found me on LinkedIn and asked me about a freelance opportunity with their company. After a few phone calls and a lot of writing samples, Basil and I started working together. We created case studies, guides, blogs, and emails together.
While I had been a decently established writer when we first met, I quickly felt intimidated by Basil's intelligence and talent. He is a brilliant creative (and writer), and I started falling into the imposter syndrome trap. But here's what Basil did right: He focused on building a relationship based on trust from the get-go, so I could get comfortable working with someone who I considered far more talented than myself.
"A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you." — Bob Proctor
I now consider Basil my boss, my teacher, my mentor, and my friend. Over the past two years, he has done so much right to develop me into a bomb-ass writer (who's obviously humble), expand my knowledge base, and give me countless growth opportunities. All these things have made me into the confident writer I am today.
Basil's not the mentor who is going to give me advice and walk away. He's going to ensure I succeed, even if that means he has to spend extra time with me to make it happen. Basil's dedication to my success has made me so confident—he teaches me new skills and hones my current talents to make me unstoppable.
What makes Basil exceptional
1. He listens. I have expressed my love of writing to anybody who will listen, Basil included. The difference with my mentor, though, is that he actively listens and seeks out information. He's aware of my passion for writing, but he also knows I want to learn more about SEO and see content performance data to improve my writing. He knows I want to expand into different types of content. And he knows all of this because he asked the questions, but more importantly, he listened to my responses.
Having a mentor who really listens to me shows me how invested he is in me, which also gives me a nice confidence boost. He wouldn't waste his time trying to grow my skillset if he wasn't confident in my abilities.
2. He's approachable. Despite being intimidating initially, Basil was also ridiculously approachable. Talking with him was easy and comfortable. Basil immediately started building rapport with me so we could have a solid working relationship. Two years later, he is still nurturing that relationship, which is why I get excited to share my wins with him and don't shy away from asking him questions or for help.
Because Basil listens and frequently checks in with me, we have an established trust that allows us to be open and honest about everything, from feedback to deadlines and everything in between.
3. He provides valuable feedback. It's a bit jarring and exciting when colleagues think you're so talented that everything you write is gold, but it's not helpful. Writers become better writers by getting consistent, quality feedback (among other things), not by colleagues telling us we're the best thing since sliced bread. Basil has mastered the art of constructive feedback.
He shares valuable insights on every single piece I write and offers explanations for his feedback. And he's not afraid to be honest, even if it stings a little. I wrote a god-awful blog, and Basil told me respectfully that it just wasn't up to par. The result? We discovered that a 24-hour turnaround just wasn't enough time for me to put out quality work. We moved on, and no one got their feelings hurt. He did feedback how it's supposed to be done.
On the flip side, Basil praises my work when I deserve it. And the reason I know when I write a high-quality piece is because he has told me time and time again how talented I am, which, you guessed it, has made me more confident.
4. He walks the walk. Basil makes promises that he keeps. I told him I was interested in learning more about SEO, so he scheduled time to teach me about it and suggested tools and resources for me to do some self-learning. I asked how my content was performing, so he shared the data with me. I asked him to help me grow, and he has been consistent in his efforts to do precisely that.
True mentors want to guide you through life's obstacles and your career so you can enjoy a happy and fulfilling life. Extraordinary mentors make it happen. Basil is the latter.
About the Creator
wanderluster
Hi there, I’m Sheena. I'm an Ohio born and bred creative and old-school writer who prefers the smooth flow of ink on paper over the clickity-clack of typing on a keyboard. I love travel, typewriters, and doughnuts. Get my ebook!
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