A Search For (My) Life

In my pursuits of a career that is self guided, the one missing role that I feel I have yet to fill is that of a mentor. I can be my own boss, and make progress around work efficiency and making sure I’m working in the direction I have chosen, but the role of a mentor is something that is hard to replace. I imagine a mentor as someone who has gone somewhere before you, and has achieved, perhaps only in part, something you hope to achieve. They teach, guide and advise.

In my search for a mentor, I’ve been bugging a couple of professionals in the fields of Memory and Creativity for some time to interview/question them on their careers and respective fields.

Dr. Ken Higbee is a professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and has been at the forefront of memory research for the last 30 years or so. His book “Your Memory: How It Works and How To Improve It” is one of my favorite books on memory because it mixes practical advice with the research that backs it. After a bit of persistance, I finally got in touch with Dr. Higbee last week, and was lucky enough to get some of his time over the phone.

Dr. Higbee concurred that much of the practical research on memory improvement and learning never makes it into the classroom, which is clearly a problem. He has given memory seminars on a limited basis, and often focuses on simple memory tasks. He has addressed everyone from college students to the elderly, and was able to give me some great advice. His current research focuses on the top memory problems that our society faces. The runaway winner is remembering names and faces, while in the academic environment, student complain of problems with remembering for tests and exams.

This week, I am in Toronto for a family wedding, and was able to get in touch with Tom Wujec, one of my favorite authors on Creativity. Tom works for Autodesk, a creative software company, and has written two books on my shelf; Pumping Ions, and Five Star Mind. I’m hoping to meet Tom for lunch on Wednesday, and ask him about his professional speaking experience, and how I can use some of the exercises from his book to connect with my audiences.

Will either of these experts become my mentors? Maybe, maybe not… in the least I hope to continue contact with them. However, I have found something even more valuable in this exercise of contacting and interviewing admirable people in the fields of study I’m interested in. Their advice is in invaluable and getting that advice was not very difficult once I set my mind to it. I hope to continue to interview leaders and possible mentors over the next few months.