Walk Your Own Path: What I Learned About Mentorship, Tools, and Finding Your Way

Categories: entrepreneurship, mindset, mentorship, personal growth

Your mentor is a tool. Your blueprint is a tool. But eventually, you need to walk your own path—and that's supposed to feel scary.

I've been thinking a lot about mentorship lately. About what I expected from mentors, what I actually got, and what I've learned about building something of my own.

Here's where I've landed:

Your mentor is a tool. Your blueprint is a tool.

They're not your whole journey. They're not your path. They're equipment in your tool belt.

And eventually? You need to walk your own path.

That's the whole point. To be equipped to do so.

What I Expected From Mentors

When I was younger in my career, I wanted someone to hold my hand. To say: "Here's exactly what I did, now do the same thing."

I wanted the playbook. The step-by-step. The guarantee.

And I was frustrated when mentors couldn't—or wouldn't—give me that.

What I Learned

A few things became clear over time:

Some people just didn't want to mentor me. That's okay. That's real.

Some people were too busy. They had a lot on their plate. They needed help themselves before they could help me. That's also real.

Some people wanted mentees who could rise to the occasion. They weren't offering hand-holding. They were offering: "Get on your Zoom, make sure you're on your game, and let's get into this work."

And honestly? That's really cool too. Because it's kind of like: yeah, I appreciate you, but let's get things done. Let's get into work.

I appreciate the download. But I also appreciate the expectation.

The Ego Problem With Feedback

Here's something I've noticed in the culture right now:

It's getting really hard to give feedback.

You see someone going in a direction. You have an opinion because you see where they're heading. But if you tell them, how are they going to respond?

And I get it—feedback isn't meant to kill your dream. It's meant to shape you up. Square your shoulders. Okay, I didn't know that before and now I do.

But too many people treat feedback as an ego attack instead of a course correction.

The best mentors I've had were the ones willing to push back. And the best growth I've experienced came from being open enough to receive it.

Innovation Should Scare You

Here's something I believe deeply:

To be innovative, it needs to scare you a little bit.

It needs to veer you off a path. Because you're creating a path—not following one.

It's not going to look like what you've seen. It may share some elements. You may have tools and blueprints and mentors who've gone before. But your version is going to be uniquely yours.

And it's still going to feel scary. It's still going to feel like "I'm not ready" or "it's not ready yet."

That's exactly the time you need to be testing it.

Test in public. Be open to feedback. Improve as you go.

The Shift I'm Making

I used to look for things to emulate. Things to align with. People to follow.

Now I'm looking for things to create.

Something inspires me, and I want to take it and make it my own. Not copy it—transform it into something that's uniquely mine.

That's a different energy. It's the energy of someone building their own path instead of walking someone else's.

I joined my current firm because of the modernization, the forwardness. I don't believe in running fast and breaking everything recklessly. But I do believe that innovation requires discomfort.

If it feels completely safe, you're probably not pushing hard enough.

What I'd Tell My Younger Self

Your mentor is a resource, not a rescue.

Your blueprint is a guide, not a guarantee.

Eventually, you're going to step off the marked trail. That's supposed to happen.

Walk your own path. Be equipped. Be scared. Do it anyway.

What's the scariest step you need to take right now? Sometimes just naming it helps.