Mentoring in general has great success. In music, for instance, the following is a list of mentors who provided guidance to famous songwriters and musicians:
- Ron Richards was a mentor to Graham Nash, of Crosby, Still, and Nash.
- Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records was a mentor to Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, and Willie Nelson.
- Jerry Garcia was a mentor to Carlos Santana and Bob Dylan.
- Don Henley was a mentor to Sheryl Crow.
In the world of acting:
- Phyllis Diller was a mentor to Joan Rivers.
- George Carlin was a mentor to Jon Stewart.
- Mike Nichols was a mentor to Kevin Spacey and Stephen Spielberg.
- Stella Adler, an acting coach, was a mentor to Marlon Brando.
- Mel Gibson was a mentor to Heath Ledger.
In the movies, there are many examples of mentorships. Here are a few:
- Louanne Johnson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) is a mentor to a group of troubling students in Dangerous Minds.
- Mickey Goldmill (played by Burgess Meredith) is a mentor to Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) in the 1976 film Rocky.
- Mrs. Ninny Threadgoode (played by Jessica Tandy) mentors Evelyn Couch (played by Kathy Bates) in Fried Green Tomatoes.
- Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) is mentored by Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson) in The Hunger Games.
Just as these mentoring relationships depict, when a mentor guides a person in his or her life, the results can be significantly greater than if that person attempted to reach a goal on his or her own. Having someone believe in you, guide you, and point out the often unspoken rules of getting ahead can make all the difference in a teen's life.
Furthermore, teens are at a critical time in their life. In fact, psychologically speaking, their goal is to find their uniqueness and their independence. For this reason, they may not turn to their parents for guidance. In fact, most teens are pulling from their parents. At the same time, they need someone to model for them what's it's like to be an adult. They need an example of the traits necessary to succeed in life. Because of the existing relationships teens have with teachers and parents, they may not be interested in seeking advice from them. Instead, an adult a teen can trust, look up to, and who has achieved what a teen is after is frequently the perfect mentor for an adolescent.
If you are an adolescent in early recovery, you might feel drawn to the idea of mentoring. Or if you are a parent who has a son or daughter with addiction-related issues or a teen who is having trouble staying sober, you might consider getting a mentor for your child.
