Say you want to learn a new skill. Be it a sport, or a martial art, a game, or even game. Who are you going to want to test yourself against? Who do you want critiquing your performance? Will you be hanging out with guys at your same level of skill all the time? No. If you want to improve, you will test yourself against guys who you know will challenge you. You want a mentor that knows what he’s talking about, kick your ass when you need it, and build you up when you’re down.
In any endeavor there are guys who will go out of their way to impart their knowledge to you. Guys who had a hand up when they were learning and who make an effort to return that favor, to help the neophytes in their journey. These are the guys I’ve admired.
Then of course there are those guys who know what they are doing, but couldn’t break it down and explain it in terms that a non-expert can understand. Or there are those guys who couldn’t be bothered to help someone new out. Worst of all are the guys who talk big, but when it comes time to prove their knowledge they always seem to disappear.
I’ve had a couple of mentors that really stand out in my life. They weren’t perfect men, far from it. But they were good men. In some ways hard men, who were forced into the adult world at very young ages. Whether it was cards, or billiards, or any other form of competition, I knew if I beat them, that I had earned it.
