Mentors

A few years ago I read something by an instructor I greatly admire that has stuck with me ever since. Sean Allen said: “For the professional martial arts instructor, there are three stages. Simplify, clarify then magnify. Simplify your focus, clarify your exact result, then magnify the difference you are making.” 

As with a lot of things, this bit of advice was not earth shattering for me or even new. I have been applying this approach to my life for decades but the process was not something I would have ever defined myself. In retrospect, I could be so much further ahead if I had taken the time to put words to my process.

This is why mentors are so important. So much of what I do and how I see the world remain abstractions for me. By putting pen to paper or words to process, definitions begin to emerge. Once I am able to define my process, I can teach it to others. It sure speeds up things if someone else’s work can help me define my own.

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” - John C. Crosby (1859 - 1943)