A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring

That same level of honesty is required of a mentor. You have to be willing to identify a need, weakness, or even an unpleasant reality but also assure your mentee that you’re going to help him or her overcome it. The frankness builds trust, while the positive action you take builds character.

He mentored me with lessons, with actions, and with words

The English teacher side of me shows a bit when I point out that the word “mentor” is both a verb and a noun. It is simultaneously something you do and something you are.

I had to be honest with my players—there were going to be times I didn’t like them or didn’t like what they did. That’s just a reality of human existence; there will be people with whom you click better than others. But I wanted them to know I loved them, and a poor choice or poor playing or poor attitude would never take away my love. They were no

If we don’t pass on what we’ve gained, we are halting the upward reach of society, and we are denying everything that came before us that enabled us the luxury of learning those lessons we refuse to share.

If there is a problem, it should be addressed early on, but it also should be addressed quietly.

I’ve talked before about the graduation gift my father gave to each of his sons when we completed grade school: a two-dollar bill, and a small card with a poem on one side and seven rules for living on the other: 1. Be true to yourself. 2. Make each day your masterpiece. 3. Help others. 4. Drink deeply from good books. 5. Make friendship a fine art

Humiliation is not the same thing as correction: One attacks the person; the other attacks the problem.

“Don’t whine, don’t complain, don’t make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that.”