First, what is a mentor? Just because you teach or manage someone does not make you a mentor. The true mentor has two things that set them apart; they understand how life works and they know how to make their student curious so that they seek the solution.
A wise mentor knows how to use every life situation as a means for your expansion. They rarely give you answers. Instead they set you up with adventures that take you where the answers are hidden. They use storytelling, metaphors, similes, music and motion to reach the subconscious and help you dissolve mental blocks. They use ceremony and ritual to celebrate you to the next level of understanding and implementation.
The Elders made up the largest portion of mentors in native traditions. It was their joy to move the adolescents into empowered adulthood. But don’t be confused, there is a difference between Elder and Older. Both have experience but Elders know how to wisely mentor.