There is an old Zen kōan about an aspiring swordsman who approaches a master.

• “How long would it take me to become great under you?” he asks.
• “I don’t have that long,” says the student. “I want to be good soon. What if I worked very hard and dedicated myself completely to the task?”
• “Ok, 30 years,” he says back.
• “But that’s even longer,” the student says with some perplexity. “I am telling you I am in a hurry.”
• And so the master replies, “Precisely, students in a hurry end up taking even longer to learn what is right in front of them.”

There is an old Zen kōan about an aspiring swordsman who approaches a master.

1. Mentorship is something you do, not something you get.

Mentorship, like all relationships, is a process, not an accomplishment.

2. Give as much as you get.

• Who do we want to give it to?
• How do we give it?
• Who do we want to receive it from?
• How do we receive it?
• What would it look like?