Mentors aren’t always physically by your side.

I read an article this morning that stuck with me all day. The author spoke about the mentor they had when starting out their career. Except, the article author never met this mentor. Ever. 

It got me thinking about the people who’ve impacted my career. I too have people who I could call mentors who I’ve never met. Well, not physically anyway. People I’ve connected with on social media who have taught me so much. The conversations we have, I walk away having learnt something; whether it be something theoretical, a life lesson or a fun fact. 

One person in particular, I’ve never met her (she’s in England!) but she’s taught me so much. I’ve even had the opportunity on a few occasions to do some small jobs with her. Having the opportunity to discuss specific, real life situations was invaluable. Seeing these situations and getting insights into how she runs her business was nothing short of amazing. The chance to pick her brain was worth more to me than anything. All this from someone half a world away. 

With the popularity of the Internet and social media, connecting with business people who are outside of your immediate geographic location has never been easier. This only amplifies the opportunity to learn from people in other countries (or even hemispheres!!). At the time, I had no idea about the extent of the impact this would make, but looking back, I realise just how lucky I am to have connected with some incredibly knowledgable (and lovely) people. People who I respect and look up to professionally…and they’re willing to chat and pass their insights on to me!