In workshops with health professionals, teachers or parents, I often speak about Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” and the key character roles within that archetype: The hero, the mentor, the victim, the villain.

The encouragement of course, is that although we play all the roles at some point in our life (or even in a single day), we should aspire to play the Mentor role when serving and relating to others. That is, we are not competing with the hero. We’re not trying to win, be the best, or any of that. We’re not even running the same race. Instead, we're sharing what we know so that the hero has her best chance of success.

In thinking about that Mentor role, you know, the Yoda character, Mr Miyagi, Gandalf, Professor McGonegall… I started wondering how a mentor might negotiate the internet.

In a mentor role, I would want to be a part of your life, but I wouldn’t want to serve you crap. It’s not my place to just dump everything that has ever happened to me on you. I don’t have the right to throw my life at you, and demand that your time is best served by listening to me.

If I’m sharing something with you, I want it to be worth your time, and valuable to you somehow. Hell, it needs to be valuable enough to be worth MY time writing it. I can imagine that would be Gandalf’s thinking too “we are living in dangerous and powerful times, hobbit, don’t let me waste my breath!”

I think a mentor would share less on the internet, but what they share would carry more weight.
“Here’s something I’ve learned that you might benefit from..”
“Here’s a statement from me, but it’s all about you: you are loved, you are worthy, you are powerful, you are beautiful, you can do this, you have great potential..."

I just can’t see Gandalf tweeting his life away about what he ate that morning, or where he is travelling right now, or how cute his pet dragon is. I see him learning things deeply, and sharing information with great respect, waiting for an invitation before investing into another's life. For the few who seek, he would share his knowledge.

I think that is the motto of every mentor:

The few, and deeply.

I know Gandalf isn’t on Facebook. I know he’s fictional. And I know the nature of the internet is that nobody asks permission: it’s all post post post post post post post. But the archetypes exist for a reason, and I’m going to try my damnedest to learn from them, stand in the respectful mentor role, and create content that is worth my time, and that contributes to the betterment of, well, you.