Serve, Learn and Save Time
Samuel Clemens, an 1850s teenager, evolved into pen name Mark Twain some years later.
American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer, Mark Twain, once imagined how life would be “infinitely happier if he could be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18,” referencing the experience and wisdom gained throughout one’s life. If you’re in the middle of your life, considering a self change, here’s how you can step back in time as Twain imagined.
Consider becoming a mentor. Bring the experience and wisdom of your attempts, successes and failures to a younger intern pursuing a fresh career. Then take it a step further. Imagine what happens when a mentor simultaneously learns as an intern. You approach 18! I call such an adventurous individual a ‘Mentern’ (mentor-intern) – a daring individual who shares lifelong wisdom with younger people while opening themselves to acquire new skills from those brimming with the latest university training and knowledge. For a working professional, it’s a time-saving best of both worlds.
We’re all busy keeping up with daily tasks while navigating change across multiple levels, from technology trends to social shifts to meaningful ways of advancing ourselves. Time is of the essence, so why not make time more efficient?
Think of the yin-yang satisfaction in mentoring while awakening to fresh thinking with personal coaching. One day a week, even just a couple of hours a week, you'll find a sharpening of the saw on both sides. And with the availability of global no-cost teleconferencing, a mentor and mentee can be located anywhere around the world.
You might engage with a formerly mysterious computer application, acquire a new language, begin grasping esoteric code authoring, or edit a video sequence to achieve a newfound understanding of what an editor does. Perhaps you'll create within a virtual reality environment - resulting in a 3D print while being mentored by an intern who knows clever shortcuts. Increased awareness elevates your team value as well, whether at a desk position, or as an entrepreneur.
My past decade interacting with Millennials and Gen X'ers has shown me the value of learning from up-and-coming visionaries, those who have not only grown up with advanced technology, but possess sparks of undaunted innovation to materialize unforeseen tools, processes, businesses, and even industries. These mavericks expand our communal idea universe. While not yet masters of their personal universe, the combination of your applied mentor wisdom mixed with intern perspectives is a powerful alternative when contemplating a career switch or return to college.
In 1962, astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, boarded a Mercury capsule. In 2020 astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley became the first Americans to fly a commercial Earth orbital spacecraft - the SpaceX Dragon. Behnken and Hurley were likely inspired by the accomplishments of Glenn 58 years earlier. Photos: NASA
Many of today’s mentors are Baby Boomers – an earlier ‘innovation generation’ spanning the first-wave of the tech groundbreaking 1950s and Space Age 1960s. Millennials and Boomers make an otherworldly match, full of excited passion for the future.
Give it a try. Internships are not exclusive to newly-graduated college students. We upgrade our software, change our auto oil and try new restaurants which spark interest. How often do we update the foundational basis of the beliefs driving our actions, and thus - our lives ahead?
Generational richness arises from shared observation and participation. It seems middle-aged Mr. Twain was on to something!
Subscribe and be the first to see each new blog.
