Nietzsche's Thoughts On Mentoring

1661 Words4 Pages

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”, spoke Friedrich Nietzsche in his groundbreaking romantic work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, in 1891. This quote, within all of its benevolent romanticism, is the perfect analogy for that of mentorship. We must first all learn to walk before we can soar, and to learn we must be led. For this is leadership, the commitment to the individual and their furtherance, in themselves, as flyers. This, moreover, is the core paradigm of mentorship, whereas we commit ourselves to the furtherance of others, utilizing our wisdom, passion, and dedication to improve the qualities of people’s lives. So, in asking what the mentor is, we …show more content…

We are the products of our mentors. Those that teach us and lead us in life are what truly allow us to be successful to any degree. It is the median in which we learn of life, of struggle, but eventually its paramount rewards. We cannot be born into flying, but we can be taught to walk, to run, to dance and laugh, so that one day we too can fly. We can all soar, but to do so we must learn of the very foundations of the leadership that allow us to caress the sky. This is mentorship. Alas, the good mentor is the one that exhibits a sense of purpose with their mentee, dedicating themselves to their mentee’s success, commits to sharing their valued wisdom with others, and finally, and most importantly, realizes the value of what they give others in life is often beyond themselves, as selflessness. Whether it is color-coding and typing drills, dystopian fiction, or broken hands and tear-filled laughter, the contributions mentorship adds to our lives are second to none. Mentorship is ultimately the art of growth, of realization of hidden potential and activation of passionate aptitudes, but indeed, as Nietzsche and life shows, the art of learning to fly as our mentors, in essence, construct our

Open Document