On Tuesday, CGD went for an evening out to attend a premiere of “The Intern” in London. We grabbed our popcorn, hotdogs and drinks and settled in to watch a movie we’d been excited about for months.
“The Intern” follows Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro), a 70 year-old widower who’s a little bored with retirement and decides to apply for a senior intern position at About The Fit, an online fashion site founded and run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway).
We learned so many lessons from this film, laughed (and cried) and came out into the cold darkness of the streets of London filled with ideas. One of the things we loved about “The Intern” was the generation gap between Ben and Jules and how Ben’s life experience really impacted Jules. Your mentor can be anybody from your Grandma to your next door neighbour. So here’s why you need a mentor, like, right now.
#1 You only have one way of looking at things
Think of a time where you’ve been completely set in your ways only to be talked out of it by someone else later on. There’s always someone who can see your problems from a different angle and give you great advice on how to handle the situation. You can never expect to grow if you don’t accept that you’re constantly learning. Even if you’re the boss, you need to listen to others sometimes.
#2 You can grow as a person
No matter how old you (or they) are, having a mentor to guide you can help you grow as a person. You can start off with certain ideas about yourself or your achievements and completely change your mind after discussing it with your mentor. Their life experiences are completely unique, so they might have some great advice for you that you would never have considered!
#3 Finding a mentor is super easy
They don’t walk around in high-vis jackets, waving their arms, saying “I can be your mentor!” but they are easy to find. Think about someone who always grounds you, has the best advice for you and has your best interests at heart, it could be your sister, your best friend or a helpful family member. Plus, you don’t need just one, you can have a mentor for your career and another one who’s great at life advice!
#4 It works both ways
It’s not all take, take, take. Your mentor will get a huge sense of satisfaction every time you go to them for advice, or share your problems with them. Everybody wants to feel useful at the end of the day.
#5 Success is a lonely path
If there’s anything we learned from “The Intern”, it’s that success can be a lonely path. Jules has a beautiful family but has no time for them, and most of her employees agree that she isn’t easy to work with based on the fact that she prefers to do everything herself and keep people at arm’s length. Ben reminds her to thank her employees, to do what makes her happy, to take some time to sleep and to work through her issues with her family. Success can be a lonely path, but only if you make it that way. As long as you’re open to ideas, suggestions, criticism and feedback you’ll continue to grow and lean on others to be the best you that you can be!
“The Intern is” out in cinemas Friday 2nd October 2015 so do yourself a favour and book your tickets now! You need to see this inspiring, tear-jerking, hilarious film. You can even take your mentor with you!
