One of the things that I have mentioned quite a bit, in these last few weeks of studying Ruth, is that Ruth went from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife
She accomplished this feat through many different means and methods such as:
Networking horizontally: Which involves networking across; with your peers
Networking vertically: Which involves networking with the gatekeeper(s) of your industry
Making a proposal: Which involves pitching your ideas so that they can be realised e.g. for PR
But, if you study the story properly, it becomes very apparent that the thing that really helped Ruth succeed was the mentoring that she received
Namely from Naomi (her mother-in-law)
This shows us, as modern women, how important it is that we seek mentorship too
Not sure how, sis?
We can take a leaf out of Ruth’s book in the following ways:
#1 Be considerate
I read a really interesting article recently via xonecole.com in which Joy Young (Artist Manager) dropped some really great gems. One of them was:
“People are there with their hands out and don’t really care about what you have going on. So my biggest thing on building relationships is you have to be considerate about that…”
In other words- you need to understand that your potential mentor is probably balancing a multitude of things both professionally and personally, especially if they are one of the gatekeepers of your industry. As such, you are likely not your potential mentor’s highest priority (at least not initially) #justsaying. This was definitely the case with Naomi, who was mourning the deaths of her husband and 2 sons when Ruth was asking her to take her under her wing. The best way show consideration and get on their radar, therefore, is to:
#2 Build a relationship before asking for anything
To quote Joy Young again:
“The key to cultivating relationships is treating someone like they’re human…[so] cultivate relationships. Try to get to know me a little bit before you jump in with the ask…”
In other words, if you’re going to ask someone to mentor you, make sure that you’re not a total stranger. to them. Mentoring is an investment of time, energy and resources. Nobody is going to do that with someone that they haven’t got a relationship or vested interest in, especially if they’re busy! For example, before:
Ruth ever asked Naomi to “Entreat [her] not to leave… or to turn back from following after [her]” (Ruth 1:16)
Naomi ever advised Ruth how to propose to Boaz (Ruth 3:1-5)
They had a long established relationship and we should endeavour to do the same with the people that we want to mentor us.
#3 Be an asset
Another poignant point from Young was:
“If you really want to be able to get access to someone, offer your help because we all need something, especially people at this [high] level…if you can fill a void and serve then that’s the best way to get access to somebody”
This is definitely something that we see in Naomi and Ruth’s relationship. Once Naomi allowed Ruth to follow her to Bethlehem we see Ruth make it her main objective to be an assset to her rather than have Naomi feel burdened and regret her decision. So, seeing that Naomi was not only too depressed but too old to work, Ruth took it upon herself to go to work in order to provide for them both (Ruth 2).
Ruth’s service and loyalty to Naomi is what ultimately spurred her to make Ruth’s interests and security a priority, causing her to give her the advice that would ultimately lead her to become Boaz’ wife and one of Jesus’ fore-mothers.
The lesson, sis? Since mentoring is such a huge responsibility and investment, make sure that the person that you want to sow into you knows that you’re not a liability. In other words, serve, add value and be an asset by seeing their needs and filling them (like Ruth did).
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