“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey
I love quotes and I love mentors. Putting the two together just makes me smile.
Mentors have helped me get to where I am today, and my hope is that my mentoring has helped others get to where they are today.
This past Tuesday CEOWORLD magazine published my article on mentoring. Here is the gist of what I said:
Recently I attended the unveiling of a Women in Aviation exhibit at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Maryland where the importance of mentors was on full display. PAX River (as we call it) is home to Navy Test Pilot School and several naval aviation test squadrons and had been my stomping ground for many years. That evening, I was honored along with seven other women in aviation.
One of my early mentors, Captain Colleen Nevius and the first woman naval aviator to graduate from Navy Test Pilot School, was the guest speaker. Colleen inspired me to go to Navy Test Pilot School where I became the 5th woman naval aviator to graduate. Jocelyn, a woman whom I mentored, and is also a Test Pilot School graduate, was there as well. I’m happy to report that there are now more than 120 women graduates of Navy Test Pilot School. That’s the power of mentorship!
While mentoring is no shortcut to getting ahead, some might think of it as a way to pay it forward. How do mentors help? Mentors share wisdom helping others to move forward without having to make the same mistakes they did. They open doors through which only you can walk. Perhaps most importantly, mentors hold you accountable. They help you to see when you are limiting yourself and as I say, “clipping our own wings.”
The right mentor at the right time can help you produce remarkable results. Now, with January marking National Mentoring Month, my question to you is this –
