If I Had a Mentor . . .

By Christopher Columbus

After many lifetimes of contemplation, I’ve realized that I could have used a mentor at the height of my career to advise me in making some critical decisions. I have a found three key areas that I wish I was advised in throughout my time as a navigator, colonizer and explorer:

Conflict Resolution: A mentor would have helped me find peaceful solutions to some of the conflicts I encountered with indigenous and native peoples of the current countries of Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, United States of America, Guadalupe and others.

Empathy/Cross-Cultural Understanding: Under the advisement of a mentor, I could have learned to better connect with people  from different backgrounds and pushed me to try to walk in their shoes.

Humility: With the support of a mentor, I would have been able to reflect on my choices in a time appropriate manner and enact changes immediately to reconcile the mistakes I made. A mentor could have advised me to acknowledge others’ accomplishments and not take the credit myself or on behalf of my employer.

Who knows what would have happened if I had someone to talk to during my time as a maritime explorer. When sailing towards a better tomorrow, it’s important to never underestimate the role of a mentor.