A teacher explains, a mentor inspires.

by Tobias van Schneider
first appeared on my private email list.

I often get asked if I have had any mentors along the way in my life and career. I’m not sure if I’m right with this, but I feel like this is a very American question to ask.

I think here in America there is this clear model for mentor ship. Basically walking up to someone and asking them if they like to be your mentor. I don’t remember it being that extreme back in Germany, or at least it was more subtle.

Looking at it from the traditional perspective, I never had a dedicated mentor. I never had someone I was meeting up with on a regular basis. There was never someone specific I called a mentor, or asked to be my mentor over a period of time.

For me a mentor can be anyone. Mentors come in and out in my life and they can be anyone from your close friends, someone you look up to or even your own child.

Most of my mentors so far I don’t know personally.
Those people are either not alive anymore, or they just do their thing while inspiring me with the actions & words from far away.

Mentors come and go. To make someone your mentor you don’t even have to ask them, you simply make them your mentor.

Some mentors are passive, some more active. There are many mentors in my life who do their job by just being who they are, and sometimes I have no intention in even meeting them because I like the passive relationship we have.

Some mentors stay over years, some only last for a few days. It’s important to “kill your mentors” and move on. You should get as much benefit as possible out of a mentor, use them as much as you want because that’s what they are there for. Never feel bad about it, and move on whenever you think the time is right.

The relationship between a you and a mentor will always be out of balance. A mentor will always give you more than you will be able to give back in return, and that’s okay.

Your mentor most likely has their own mentors, so there is at least some balance in the overall system. And never forget, you are likely a mentor for someone else.

I personally like the idea of choosing and picking my mentors whenever I like. I even prefer it if I don’t need to reach out to them and they just serve as a passive mentor in my life.

For me a mentor can be:

Elon Musk — Because just the way he works on executing his dreams is inspiring me every single day. Do I need to meet him? I would be thrilled, but I would be even happier if his passive mentor ship continues the way it does right now.

Stefan Sagmeister — Because the way he runs his studio/business is inspiring. Someone who really gets the idea of staying small, focusing on yourself and your work rather than the numbers.

⟶ I actually had Stefan on the NTMY show, listen to it here.

Arnold Schwarzenegger — Because he never stops building himself. After being on top of one career, he has the guts to start all over again and try something new. Athlete, Actor, Politician? It doesn’t matter, he went for it no matter what.

⟶ Book recommendation: Read “Total Recall” written by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. You will be inspired.

Sophia Amoruso — Because the way she started running her company Nasty Gals is just more than inspiring to me. I was also one of the first who read her book #Girlboss.

⟶ Read more about Sophia and make sure to read her book if you haven’t already.

Bill Cunningham — Because he shows me what passion is really about. If you love your work, you do it no matter what. Bill refused to take “the big money” many times. His famous words are “If you don’t take the money, they can’t tell you what to do.”

⟶ If you can, watch the documentary of Bill Cunningham from 2010. It should be on Netflix too.

Pieter Levels — Because in his mid/late 20’s he already seemed to have figured it out more than many other people in his age. He is a builder, a maker and his productivity level is infectious.

⟶ Tell Pieter on Twitter that he is amazing. @levelsio

Jerome Jarre — Because his positive tweets, videos or vines always make my day a tiny bit better. He is a mentor when it comes to spreading happiness and positive vibes.

⟶ You can just google him, but his old Vines are a good start to watch some funny videos of Jerome.

Lilly Singh aka Superwomen — I admire Lilly a lot for her positive attitude, her brilliant comedy skills, and her refreshing honest character. She is just a badass women.

⟶ Check out her YouTube channel if you don’t know her yet.

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If you would ask me next week, some of my mentors, or at least those who I mentioned might have changed.

I believe mentors are important in our life, but that doesn’t mean that we need to have an active relationship with them to be your mentor.

And with that, I wish you a wonderful new week.

Yours truly,
Tobias

PS: I usually send out these articles via my personal email list right here. You can sign up anytime, I won’t spam, promise.

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Tobias is a Designer & Maker + Co-Founder of Semplice, a new portfolio platform for designers. Also host of the show NTMY — Previously Art Director & Design Lead at Spotify & Board of Directors AIGA New York.