What women have said about 

"Mentoring Yourself"

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Dr Lynette Dumble, Medical Scientist, Founder and Director of Global Sisterhood Network 

“Mentoring Yourself” is an exciting alternative to past mentoring schemes designed for women. Each chapter takes women on a spiritual journey to define what they are seeking on their own terms, and provides the clues for dismantling their fears, and acquainting themselves with the Inner Self. Not unexpectedly, getting to know oneself, and become acquainted with one’s soul, can be a simultaneously satisfying and bitter experience, bringing to mind the words of US feminist Adrienne Rich [Our Lies, Secrets, and Silence, 1978]:

“It’s exhilarating to be alive in a time of awakening consciousness; it can also be confusing, disorientating, and painful.”

But, as the chapters of “Mentoring Yourself” unfold, possible uncertainties and anguish are replaced by confidence-building explorations which shed light upon what the mentoree is truly seeking, strategies for understanding both one’s strengths and weaknesses; and a pathway by which to build the essential ingredient for any woman determined to realise her maximum potential in today’s highly competitive arenas, namely self-belief.

 

Dr Jocelynne A. Scutt, Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Tasmania  

The 1980s were a time when women were told we must ‘go forth and network’ or forever remain outside the world of power, leadership and action, where women ought to be. In the 1990s, we were told to ‘get a mentor’, or run the risk of never ‘getting to the top’, never ‘making it’ and never realising our own potential.

Throughout the 1980s, women exchanged business cards, met at business lunches, shared tables at restaurants, advertised in newsletters and through telephone trees, and joined talking groups at conferences and workshops. Women gained some power, some gained external recognition as leaders, some gained access to the action world of men. Some continued to prefer activism to the action world, however, and renounced swapping business cards for marching in the streets.

In the 1990s, mentoring programs embedded themselves in universities, government departments, private business and schools. ‘Telephone a mentor’ became accepted practice for some: pick an ‘important’ woman, ring her up, ask her to mentor you – and expect a ‘yes’ as your rightful due, her righteous duty. A few women ‘made it to the top’ – or nearly. Yet many more, mentor or not, strove to gain their rights as human, in private and in public, in business and in recreation, in a world where human rights and women’s rights were not accepted as synonymous, and women’s rights remained problematic for women who did not have them, ignored by ruling men who did not want this to change.

Mentoring Yourself recognises the truth: that external mentors, like external networks, have their limitations. As Diann Rodgers-Healey says, it is the mentor within – the inner-self in conversation with the outer-self – who will bring value, recognition and elevation into women’s lives.  The mentor within can ultimately bring about positive change for women, empowerment by the person who knows herself the best.

 

Dr Shirley Randell AM, FAICD, FAIM, FACE

I have always been aware of the importance of mentoring, and have cherished opportunities to mentor others as well as taking advantage of mentors at various stages of my life and career. However, there have been occasions in my life when I haven't had access to a mentor, sometimes for geographical reasons, and I regret not having had access to the wisdom in this book. As I have grown older, I have come to trust more the unconscious mentoring I have experienced from my inner Self, so the words of this book have deeply resonated with my life experience. Thank you Diann for helping me to articulate my growth in spirituality and challenging me to engage internally with my inner voice more frequently. I have been encouraged to respect more the need for harmony between my inner Self and outer Self and to move forward to develop further a partnership with my Soul.

 

Carmelita Steinke, Media & Public Relations Professional

Diann takes self-help on to a new untravelled road. Here is a clear, simple exposition of how to gain greater control of those aspects of your life which you find unsatisfying. It is a journey taken within yourself which can provide dramatic results. It’s not easy but it can yield real benefits in your life.  

 

Professor Margaret Reynolds

 President of the United Nations Association of Australia; Senator for Queensland 1983-1999; Minister for the Status of Women 1988-1990 

"This book is a gem for women who want to get on with the job!!!

While more formalised mentoring programs are welcome, many women just do not have the time or space in their lives to actively participate.

Instead Diann Rodgers-Healey has offered a short very readable text which encourages women and gives practical advice. It can be used as a forerunner to participation in a mentoring program or as a stand alone guide to assist women deal with challenges at different stages of their lives."

 

Jennifer Drew

Jennifer Drew, Chair of Object, a UK voluntary organisation which challenges the sexualisation of women as commodities, member of The Sexual Violence Action and Awareness Network in London, UNIFEM, Coalition Against the Trafficking and Rights of Women, and Writer about sexual violence and female sexuality

"This book is unlike any other self-help book I have read.  The author, Diann Rodgers-Healey believes that rather than seeking help to reach their full life's potential by looking to other individuals for assistance, the answer is within oneself.

This book explains very clearly the necessary steps and questions to be asked in order, that women mentor themselves.  I myself, unwittingly have actually taken some of the steps explained in this book, when instead of listening to other people's advice and recommendations, I began to listen and act on what I believed was my "instinct."  When I have listened to my "instinct," despite questioning the feelings, acknowledging that perhaps I might not be making the right decision and facing my fears, so opportunities and/or individuals have come into my life, which have been of immense help in my journey towards reaching my full potential.

This is not to say Mentoring Yourself is a "quick fix," rather it is a book which seeks to illuminate the unconscious part of the human mind. As Diann Rodgers-Healey says in her book, it is about accessing the "gut feeling."  However, this is not a problem-solving tool, rather it is about finding the path that is right for yourself, who you are, what you really want to do, facing your fears and valuing your strengths as a truly unique individual and woman, not your culture's narrow definition of what it seems to be a woman.

An added bonus is the fact, the book is not expensive to purchase."  

 

Natasha Stott Despoja

Senator and Former Leader of the Australian Democrats Party 

"Not every woman can find a mentor.  Not every mentor is the answer to problems women face in life. Mentors can lose interest and so can those they mentor. It is not always the perfect relationship.

Diann Rodgers-Healey ’s answer to these prevalent problems is for women to become their own mentors, to set about carefully to start a dialogue in their head which, hopefully, will lead to richer and more satisfying careers and relationships.

We all have dialogues in our head. Unless we are careful, self-questioning can become mere affirmation of  plans, beliefs, attitudes that already exist. What Diann has in mind is much more rigorous questioning and intense contemplation that lead not only to good quality answers but become the basis of an examined life.

For some who read her little book, it will be the beginning of ways of thinking and planning that are richly rewarding."

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