When I worked at my old day job, I had the privilege of working under one of finest men around. He was the vice president of our division, and I was his deputy. We worked together with great complementarity for almost six years. Our team was like a family, and I learned so much from simply observing him, being around him, and asking him questions.
Being a small business owner now, essentially my own publisher, has presented a challenge I wasn’t expecting. Who would I have to mentor me when I didn’t know what to do? Who could advise me on a possible course correction they knew was needed due to their greater experience? I’ve been lucky to find lots of mentors in my writing life—the incredible Mary Blayney changed my life, and Diane Gaston taught me so much about how to write a synopsis. But being a publisher? Well…
That’s another story. Books and Internet research just aren’t enough. But you know me. I am all about calling in the right people, places, ideas, events, and opportunities for my highest good. And on the wings of an eagle came a mentor this week in the form of the lovely author Christine Nolfi. She’s her own publisher too and has a lot more experience than I do. I’ve spent the last month really digging into where I am nearly nine months after I published Nora Roberts Land. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s strategize. But you also need the tools and the information to do that well, so I posed a question to the other wonderful Indie writers in an online community, and guess who showed up as a mentor in that moment? You’ve got it. Christine Nolfi.
Happiness is mentors!
We all need mentors in our lives. I truly believe that in every moment we are both student and teacher to one another, sometimes it might just be one more than the other depending on the role we’re playing. There’s this enormous social illusion about adults having all the answers, right? After all, many of us are raising kids, making big financial decisions about our futures, and even running important projects at work. But the truth is that we don’t always have the answers, and we need help.
Hence, mentoring. Take a moment to think back on all of the people who have helped you along the way, and all the ones who are in your life right now. You might even want to say thank you; I know I am sending this reflection to my old boss as a way of expressing my gratitude to him once again. And thank you, Christine Nolfi, for being one of the most amazing mentors to me as a publishing executive. And know that I will pay it forward when it’s my time. That’s the secret of true mentoring.
Lots of blessings, everyone!