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The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

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Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#31

Post by yurishimo »

Waterluvian wrote: post #16
felipemnoa wrote: post #12

This is nice but I like this advice much better: Ira Glass quote: > Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is st…

I love that perspective. To add to it, from personal experience: it really helps to be totally, wildly, embarrassingly ignorant of your incompetence at the start. It softens that part where your work disappoints you, because you don't know better. Now, I don't know if this is actually good advice or even actionable, advice, but I've seen it and experienced it many times and it very much enabled me to move past awfuln…

Your guitar story reminded me of my one of my own. My uncle gave me an old crappy guitar for Christmas while they were driving through to visit other relatives. He was a signed musician at the time so he had all sorts of extra instruments laying around that companies would send him just because.

Later that next year for my birthday (today actually, but a few years ago!), my family gave me one of those "Learn Guitar" books with an included DVD. At this point I had been playing for about 8 months and they actually said they had bought it way back in March or April because I was so bad they wanted me to get better for their own sanity. However, they said they almost felt bad giving it to me then because it didn't seem like I needed it anymore.

I had progressed far enough that it didn't sound like terrible screeching anymore and was mostly passable music. Simple chords and basic strumming patterns sure, but music nonetheless. :)

So if you've still got your guitar, I urge you to pull it out and give it another shot. Find some songs you like that are simple and just keep at it. Making music should always be about expressing yourself first and pleasing others second.

Good luck :)

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#32

Post by topkai22 »

timoth3y wrote: post #15

There has been a significant devaluation of the term "mentor" over the past 15 years or so. The word used to imply a mutual respect and commitment that it no longer does. A mentor's counterpart used to their "protege". However, since that word has not been devalued, we've invented "mentee". I'm not claiming this is a good or bad development, but it's interesting how quickly the meanings of even quite important words…

The mentor-protégé relationship has been deconstructed. The coaching and development part is called the mentor - mentee relationship, and the career promotion aspect is called sponsorship (sponsor-sponsee.)

From experience, this is probably a good thing organizationally- I've successfully coached and mentored people I wouldn't sponsor, leading to a net benefit.

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#33

Post by mmaunder »

"For some reason Bangalore is crawling with people who first want to form a community and then start learning/working/whatever."

Seattle is the same. Probably the same everywhere. It's easier to talk and drink coffee than to challenge yourself way outside your comfort zone for hours at a time, day after day.

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#35

Post by skipwalker »

markelliot wrote: post #25
SenHeng wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen this interview pop up several times but I've always lacked the context to properly understand it, because I don't know who Ira Glass is and what he has done. I don't deny that it's good advice, but who is this guy and why should I listen to him?

Ira Glass is the creator and host of a long running radio show called This American Life on National Public Radio. The show runs weekly and tells stories of Americana and other things. I suspect part of what makes the show famous is that it coined not just a particular kind of show, but a particular kind of sound, editing and production, that, I’d say set the standard for modern audio programs. Several of the shows p…

Homecoming is on Amazon Prime Video

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#36

Post by momokoko »

felipemnoa wrote: post #12

This is nice but I like this advice much better: Ira Glass quote: > Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is st…

Taste is for curators who masquerade as creators.

The actual concept for people who create is that your hand is behind your eye.

Edit: To the asshole downvoter. This is actually serious advice that myself and many others have found very important in our lives doing creative work. Censoring it is a total shit thing to do. Especially when you appear to have nothing additional to add.

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#37

Post by m0zg »

A lot of people out there just go through the motions. They aren't particularly interested in their field, and seek "mentors" just because this is something you're supposed to do. This is a waste of time for both the mentor and the mentee. In 20+ years in the industry I only had one mentee (out of half a dozen), who was not a waste of time. She's a senior manager at Facebook now. Super smart, and very strongly intrinsically motivated. She'd succeed without any mentorship just fine, but hopefully I helped her get there faster.

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#38

Post by soneca »

taeric wrote: post #28
timoth3y wrote: post #15

There has been a significant devaluation of the term "mentor" over the past 15 years or so. The word used to imply a mutual respect and commitment that it no longer does. A mentor's counterpart used to their "protege". However, since that word has not been devalued, we've invented "mentee". I'm not claiming this is a good or bad development, but it's interesting how quickly the meanings of even quite important words…

The double speak in your last paragraph undercut your post. :( Be bold and make a claim. Nothing wrong with that. Even if you are wrong, you will be so with skin in the game, so come out knowing. With couched claims, you can always duck behind being right, but not understood. And never know.

Or they are not certain if it is good or bad

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#39

Post by Buge »

momokoko wrote: post #36
felipemnoa wrote: post #12

This is nice but I like this advice much better: Ira Glass quote: > Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is st…

Taste is for curators who masquerade as creators. The actual concept for people who create is that your hand is behind your eye. Edit: To the asshole downvoter. This is actually serious advice that myself and many others have found very important in our lives doing creative work. Censoring it is a total shit thing to do. Especially when you appear to have nothing additional to add.

>Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The answer to “Will you mentor me?” is no (2010)

#40

Post by phaus »

felipemnoa wrote: post #12

This is nice but I like this advice much better: Ira Glass quote: > Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is st…

> All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste.

On the whole, I agree with his sentiment that hard work will get you success, but the idea he magically started out with some kind of innate talent for telling whether or not things are good is the same type of illogical thinking he's talking about being discouraging to beginners.

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