Together with the online education, distance learning becoming more and more popular, human factor, teacher, leader, mentor is now less and less present. Nowadays, we try to learn while working, running household, traveling, going shopping and it’s no longer the period we dedicate our attention to it entirely and appreciating the wisdom of people who teach. From one point, it’s good as we have unlimited opportunities and we can flexibly adjust our learning schedule. On the other hand, we totally miss the advantage of priceless knowledge of real people who could watch our actions, advise on the progress, redirect our steps and share their long life experience we could possibly never take out of the written text. Nevertheless, I hope you experienced time when you were led by a mentor, at least once in your life.
Mentor…it’s someone that cares and truly wants you to grow.
It’s not about chasing him and spending 24h together. It’s rather ability and allowance to watch him working, not interfering it interrupting and trying to play the important one. It’s a privilege to be allowed to come to the very center of the deal, meetings and keep watching, feeling, analysing, concluding and learning from misleading assumptions.
You may learn then how to think in the particular way, what kind of questions you should ask not to step aside from the track that should take you to the very point. You may learn how to lead the conversation to collect info you need to have to make the best possible decision for your VC as well as for the founder. You may learn how to think of both sides and compromise the way it will serve both of you.
You may see how you get out of difficult situation and pivot your actions, if needed. You may learn how to monitor and when to support operations. You may excel your existing skills and be expose to situation when you discover the ones you did not have a clue about.
Having a mentor, you will learn on your own but the feedback about your action will make your process of learning more efficient and it will speed up the process of becoming good enough to be independent.
It’s not must have but it may be great help with gaining clarity and best practices you would possibly figure out on the way but only in some time in your life. Think of angel investing practices, Venture Capitalist deal closing experience, Limited Partners ups and downs on the way to the financial and investing independence. Having a good person on the side may shorten your process of understanding and gaining unconscious competency in the field meaningfully!
Let yourself go out, meet people, get inspired. Often in my life just random events, meetings I did not expect anything from, triggered great chain of happenings, initiated talks and brought long lasting relationship.
Enjoy the process of learning and let yourself to be led. Choose from hundreds of events the few ones you are most interested in and let it go. Sometimes one sentence can click something in your mind and initiate enormous change in your conscious thinking and the way you do some things.
Be open to people and happenings in your life.
