If I have learnt anything over these past few years, it’s that it takes a village to build anything worthwhile. And by that I don’t just mean having a team with you, or an active community around you, but I mean having people ahead of you, guiding you.
As a business owner, or a professional in any industry, one of the smartest decisions you can make is to find yourself a mentor. By ‘mentor’ I don’t necessarily mean someone you meet with regularly to discuss challenges and ideas, although that is incredibly valuable. I also mean people whose leadership you admire, whose values you share, and whose behaviour you want to model (without copying WHAT they actually do!)
Today I want to introduce a few of the key people who have played a mentoring role in my life, in the hope that it will inspire you to find mentors of your own.
The Oscar-Winning Film Producer
During the years I spent at UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) I worked very closely with film producer Lord David Puttnam, who was Chairman of UNICEF UK at the time.
David is an impressive man on so many levels – he spent thirty years as an independent producer of award-winning films including The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle. His films have won ten Oscars, 25 Baftas and the Palme D’Or at Cannes. From 1994 to 2004 he was Vice President and Chair of Trustees at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) and was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2006. He retired from film production in 1998 to focus on his work in public policy as it relates to education, the environment, and the creative and communications industries. In 1998 he founded the National Teaching Awards, and he is now the Republic of Ireland’s Digital Champion. He also has more honorary degrees than I can keep track of.
But the thing that made him such a shining light for me wasn’t actually any of that. It was his deep-rooted commitment to furthering human potential. We worked together on one huge project which brought sporting opportunities to over 12 million children across the world. Together with David Bull, the inspirational Chief Executive of UNICEF UK, we pitched it to the government and a host of sporting bigwigs. We then spent several years building a complex partnership to make it happen, and its legacy lives on. Time and again in the process we came up against brick walls, but instead of banging his head against them, Lord Puttnam always kept the end in mind, and found a way round or over, or reconstructed the wall completely.
What I have learnt from this mentor: Keep your eye on the prize. Fight for what you believe in. Don’t let bureaucracy stand in the way of big, brilliant ideas.
The Music Mogul
My first official business mentor, Kanya King saw something in my business I hadn’t even seen myself. As the founder and CEO of MOBO, the largest urban music awards in Europe, Kanya is no stranger to making your way in a sea of obstacles – she remortgaged her own house to pay for the first MOBO awards when she couldn’t get financial backing. Now many years later, cities bid to host it and it is watched by millions of people, broadcast on one of the mainstream TV channels annually.
In a series of precious mentoring sessions, Kanya helped me untangle my ideas, focus on the right things and make progress fast. I remain inspired by her generous nature, practical thinking and big vision.
What I have learnt from this mentor: People, Passion, Profits. You need great people to make it work, you need passion to make it worth while, and you need profits to make it a great business.
The Spiritual Guide
You don’t have to have actually met someone for them to be an important mentor. A case in point for me is Dan Millman, author of ‘The Way of the Peaceful Warrior’. This is one of those books that completely changed my outlook on life when I read it for the first time at 18, and is one of the few books I have re-read several times.
Through this fascinating tale, which is part-autobiographical, part-fictional, Dan Millman took me on a journey of imagination, questioning what I thought I knew to be true about what individuals are capable of. In it, despite being a successful world class athlete and college student, a young Dan was plagued by a feeling something was missing in his life. A chance night meeting with an old man named Socrates led him on a spiritual odyssey which made him see the world in a different way. It taught me about wholeness, purpose, and value, and I often return to Dan Millman’s teachings for inspiration and guidance.
What I have learnt from this mentor: Wellbeing is not just about your physical self, but about your whole self. You can do anything you want if you truly put your heart and mind into it.
So there’s a snapshot of some of the people who have made a real impact on me over the past few years, and continue to do so. How about you? Who do you look up to and admire? Who have you learnt from and what have they taught you? If you don’t have a mentor right now, who could you reach out to, or simply learn from in a virtual way?
This week we challenge you to seek out a mentor, whether real (in-person) or virtual (by observation and thinking “What would they do or advise me to do?”
Beth
