Mentoring has been around since, well… Mentor, a wise and trusted counselor who was assigned the responsibility to raise and counsel Odysseus's son, Telemachus, while Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War. As told in Homer's Odyssey written in the 8th Century BC. So, it's not some new 21st century buzzword.

 

For centuries parents sent their children off to live with an artisan or craftsman, often for several years to learn a trade. The artisan, or mentor, was compensated with free labor. In return he taught the youngster, his student, the skills needed to earn a living and become a good citizen of the world. The artisan additionally provided counsel, advice, and one on one mentoring while the youngster was living under his roof and afterward. It may not have been called mentoring back then, but that's what it was.  

 

Mentoring is as important today as it was in the past. It’s an essential part of learning and becoming a good citizen of the world. It’s the artisans, us, sharing our wisdom, understanding, and skills with the student, you. The roles may have changed, but the purpose remains the same. For adults, receiving advice and counsel, or learning/honing a new skill or quality to add to their resume increasing their self-worth and earning potential to support them and their family. For youngsters, acquiring the needed knowledge, wisdom and guidance to help them establish and develop their moral compass, defining the many values and principles that will guide them through life. It’s pretty important stuff.

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Are You A Good Mentor? explores a collection of life rules the author calls Jim's Golden Rules, complied over the past fifty years - his interpretation of what defines a good person. A requirement for becoming a good mentor. The book outlines Mentoring 101 basics, with a focus on Pupas & Butterflies - mentoring young people.