“What you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.”   – African proverb Becoming a mentor is not for everyone.  It takes an investment of time, a commitment to help others, and a gift.  This is key, so I repeat it – a gift.  Mentors inspire us by being who they are.  As they say, “What you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.” The Mentors Gift? As with good parenting or teaching, the mentor’s task is to ease themselves out of a job.  In other words, good mentoring emboldens us to grow up and to grow out of our role.  While some mentors might mobilize us toward shared goals, those with the “mentor’s gift” uplift us. The secret to profoundly influencing others as a mentor lies in transparency – opening our own lives to inspection, warts, and all.  Those mentors who merely preach, we tend to ignore.  Or, we study them for the “what-not-to-be” lesson. The mentor’s gift animates our lives.  It moves us toward becoming our authentic selves.  Mentoring is a process of opening our lives to others. Every wise mentor must do two things: make a connection and use that connection to