Number 9, Maurice (The Rocket) Richard is one of the best hockey players of all time. I have a memory as a kid of watching a short film about Maurice Richard. The story was really about a boy who idolized and wanted to imitate him in every way. The film was called “The Sweater” and was based on a book titled “The Hockey Sweater”, both of which are considered Canadian classics. What is fun about the movie is the description of how all the boys idolized Maurice Richard. Every player, on both teams wore the Montreal Canadian sweater, and everyone of them wore the number 9 on their back. All the boys greased their hair like Maurice Richard, they tied their skates like Maurice Richard, and they taped their sticks like Maurice Richard. Can you relate? I know as a kid I wore the number 4, a tribute to defenseman Bobby Orr. I might be wrong, but it seemed to me that every kid on the ice had a hockey hero, and we all wanted to imitate our heroes.
Having heroes is not a bad thing. In fact, it would probably be a good thing if every one of us had someone in the world that we could look up to as a role model. As kids it was a natural thing. As we get older, some of us get to thinking that we don’t need role models anymore. However, more and more the idea of having a life couch, a counselor, or a mentor is growing. In fact, having someone outside of ourselves to look to for advice and wisdom gives you an advantage in life.
Having grown up in the church, the idea of having a mentor or life coach is in fact quite familiar. In the church we might call it discipleship. But the point is the same. Life brings to us many challenges, and having someone who is older and wiser to give us advice is a great way to overcome some of those challenges. In the Bible, in the book of Philippians, you will find that Paul tells his readers exactly this. Paul holds up some admirable character traits such as humility, and selflessness, sacrifice etc. and then goes on to talk about two people in his life that are exemplary in this regard. The two people are Timothy and a guy named Epaphroditus.
When Paul describes these two men, he talks about how invaluable they were to him and the work he was doing. He talks about how faithful they are; he talks about their perseverance under difficult situations; and he talks about how much they care. As he concludes, his words to his readers are that they should “hold men like (Epaphroditus) in high regard”. He might as well have just said to his readers that these two men were of such character that not only should we hold them in high esteem but that we should listen to them and as much as possible be like them.
So, my question then becomes this – who are you listening to? Who are you allowing to influence your life? If we believe it or not, all of us are being influenced by someone. The real challenge is for us to be intentional and choose people that will be a positive influence on us. We need to be intentional and choose people who will make us better, who will help us navigate the more difficult challenges in life.
My suggestion–look for a mentor or life coach who will be able to not just help your career but help you in life. Choose someone who can help you to understand faith issues better, someone who will help build your character. While it is good to have someone you can sit down with and talk to, don’t forget that you can also choose people from history. Reading some good biographies can guide us in life. “And don’t forget–the Bible is a history book full of stories of people from whom we can learn, and it is the most life changing book of all.”