Importance of Mentors

The message read “Do you like early morning walks?“ I groaned a little inside. The only reason I get up before sunrise is to get my daughters ready for school. My wife has been diligently hitting the gym for 40 minutes a day, but I’d much rather invest that 40 minutes back into my snooze button.

However, the text came from @Avi Liran, whom I’d been silently admiring on LinkedIn for some time. I recently met Avi at Play14 in Singapore and I could see he made a successful career in the same vein as I’ve been redesigning mine - to leverage my business experience and my passion for bringing joy and fun to work

So I looked down, put a hand on my “one large ab” and decided I can shake myself out of bed early in the morning, put on my under utilized exercise clothes, and make a morning of it. I met Avi for a walk in Botanic Gardens and what followed was not just one hour but *2 1/2 hours* of a deep soul-searching talk where he asked some hard questions and helped me refine what I’m looking for in my own career. By the end of it, I came away with not only a deeper friendship, but thankfully, a mentor who can help guide and steer me towards what I want this new phase of my career to be.

We exchanged a lot of stories had some great laughs. I learned some exercises and had some fun along the way with photos of flowers on our heads. Through his cheerful “hellos” to every passing stranger, and chats with several of the park maintenance workers (who clearly recognized him), it was immediately obvious that Avi’s “stage persona” isn’t a gimmick, it’s authentic to who he truly is. He takes the time to delight others in all walks of life, spreading happiness and joy as he goes, but he also saw something of a kindred spirit in me. I’m very grateful that he took the time to answer many questions I had about this new line of work and appreciated his valuable advice on how to position myself and our business. I’m happy that he wants to look into a longer partnership as we find ways to collaborate and work together.

One of the biggest surprises and pleasures I’ve had since forming Teamwork Unlocked is meeting people who are friendly and passionate about what they do in the L&D space. It’s very encouraging to find people like Avi, who are willing to be mentors and share what they’ve learned. I came away from the walk with renewed energy and sense of purpose. I’m extremely excited for the days ahead, and I even got off the MRT a few stops early so I could walk the rest of the way home and record my thoughts of our meeting. I’m exceptionally grateful and appreciative to find a mentor this early in this stage of my pivot whose values and thoughts on life align so closely with my own.

No matter what line of business you’re in, if you don’t have a mentor yet that brings out that same level of admiration and motivation, do yourself a favour and find one. Thank you again, Avi. Looking forward to all that lies ahead.