She's a very busy executive you know

A mentoring programme come through a linked-in feed this afternoon and landed right at the top of by inbox.  Sheer curiosity made me open it.  I read through and though, why not, even a mentor can be mentored, right?

So I sent the email.  I had a couple of responses back and I specifically asked how I could contact the lady who had made it her goal to Mentor 100 Woman led Cloud based business start-ups in 2018.

I have spent the past year balancing my start-up, selling my commercial property, working in my IT business as CEO, going through pre-cancerous polyp removal from my bowel, working in my fitness business and I took on the full-time care-giving for an Autistic 17 year old in March last year, I run a weekly walking group and I also do voluntary unpaid mentoring of young entrepreneurs and students, plus I am renovating a house as well as dealing with repairs to my house from the Autistic meltdowns that have resulted in holes in my walls.

The response I got was horrifying "she's a very busy executive you know'.  I was so annoyed.  Right, and I'm not busy.  I found the time to send an email as I thought it was something I could do for myself.

I decided that if I do ever hear back, (which sounds like it will be unlikely), that I will say no.  Clearly to start a relationship by saying how busy you are is no way to show me you will ever have time to mentor me, or that I will feature as important to the mentor.

I get so annoyed when people state they will 'give back' when they don't know the true meaning of it and they simply do it to gain a better image or qudos.

I have mentored for 10 years and have spent probably thousands of hours volunteering my time for the health and well being of others rather than myself.

Next time you tell someone 'you are too busy', I challenge you to think how you would feel if someone said that to you!   Stay busy, but never start a relationship by stating you are!