Maybe these aren’t the 4 people YOU need, but these are the 4 people I need:
- The mentor
- The muse
- The advocate
- The critic
The mentor guides me, and keeps me on course. The mentor provides wisdom from experience. I respect and admire their experience…I know they “get me.”
The muse inspires me. The muse makes me feel capable of anything. The muse challenges me, not to tear down my ideas, but to enable me to create entirely new ones. Their perspective leaves me overwhelmed, smiling and grateful.
The advocate is my biggest fan and supporter. They are the foundation. They tell others about me, and give me the sense that at the very least, someone thinks I’m are great. Their perspective frees me from self doubt, even if only temporarily.
The critic is the one that challenges me. They poke holes in my wild ideas. They are the voice of reason. They represent the voice of the masses, typically the ones who say “it’ll never work.” Their perspective is meant to cause me to question myself. Luckily, I’m just the right kind of crazy to go ahead and do it anyway.
Those four people keep me grounded, but lift me up. They inspire me but keep me on course. These are the four essential pieces.