Taking advantage of someone’s kindness.
And admiring their help and generosity.
They are two different things.
And it’s important to know the difference between the two.
If you’ve been searching for a mentor, and you found one, make sure you make him feel valued. Be thankful that someone will spare time to guide and support you. Listen to what your mentor has to say, and then put in effort to turn your dreams into reality. Don’t expect them to “spoon-feed” you. In other words, don’t expect your mentor to do your work. Because as soon as they sense you are “exploiting” and taking advantage of their kindness, they’ll back off (like I did).
Here’s what happened:
An aspiring female voice artist contacted me via phone and requested I mentor her.
I did.
I went a little overboard to guide her. In fact, I even offered her a free consultation out of my busy schedule—and revealed some industry secrets to get her started. But I disliked her attitude. She wanted me to do most of the work, which I found unfair. So I stopped picking up her calls (she left me no choice).
What about you?
Have you been searching for a guide and have found one?
Do you realize that the person helping you is doing so out of generosity, and taking it for granted is not right?
Here’s the thing:
In today’s busy world, getting someone to help you realize your aspirations is nothing short of a miracle. So, when you do find a mentor, value them.
Don’t think for even a minute that people don’t want to help, they do. Help, generosity, and support are always available. Generally, people are eager to help if their kindness is valued and admired.
Nobody wants to be taken advantage of. The sooner you realize this, the better.