Choose Your Mentors
Browse 20 mentors from history and literature. Build your personal board of advisors.
20 mentors found
Marcus Aurelius
Ancient Rome
Known for
Stoic philosophy, self-discipline, and ruling with wisdom
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
From: Meditations
53 mentor adoptions
J.P. Morgan
Late 19th-Early 20th Century America
Known for
Financier who dominated corporate finance, reorganized railroads, and bailed out the U.S. government
A man always has two reasons for what he does—a good one, and the real one
From: High Finance
66 mentor adoptions
Henry David Thoreau
19th Century America
Known for
Transcendentalist philosopher and civil disobedience advocate
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
From: Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience
66 mentor adoptions
St. Thomas Aquinas
13th century Europe
Known for
Greatest medieval philosopher-theologian who synthesized faith and reason
Faith and reason are not enemies but partners in the search for truth
From: Moral Theology: A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities
64 mentor adoptions
James Watt
Known for
The central figure, an inventor and mechanical genius.
From: James Watt
61 mentor adoptions
Seneca
Known for
Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist, author of the text.
From: Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency
60 mentor adoptions
Mahatma Gandhi
19th-20th Century India
Known for
Nonviolent resistance, Indian independence, and moral leadership
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
From: Historical Figures Collection
57 mentor adoptions
Sigmund Freud
19th-20th Century Vienna
Known for
Founder of psychoanalysis who explored the unconscious mind, dreams, and human motivation
The mind is like an iceberg; it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water
From: The Interpretation of Dreams
55 mentor adoptions
James Clerk Maxwell
19th Century Scotland
Known for
Physicist who unified electricity, magnetism, and light into electromagnetic theory
In science, there are no authorities; only evidence and reason
From: James Clerk Maxwell and Modern Physics
51 mentor adoptions
Martin Luther
16th Century Germany
Known for
Theologian and reformer who challenged the Catholic Church and sparked the Protestant Reformation
Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me.
From: Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther
48 mentor adoptions
G. Westinghouse
19th-20th Century America
Known for
Air brakes, AC power systems, and ethical business leadership
"If someday they say of me that in my work I have contributed something to the welfare and happiness of my fellow man, I shall be satisfied."
From: Historical Figures Collection
43 mentor adoptions
Sherlock Holmes
Known for
Consulting detective investigating the Baskerville case.
From: The Hound of the Baskervilles
42 mentor adoptions
Jesse Livermore
Early 20th Century America
Known for
Legendary stock trader known for making and losing multiple fortunes and his insights on market psychology
There is nothing new in Wall Street. There cannot be because speculation is as old as the hills
From: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
40 mentor adoptions
Otto H. Kahn
Early 20th Century America
Known for
Investment banker and arts patron who helped finance American industry and supported the Metropolitan Opera
The financier who merely knows how to make money is a poor financier indeed
From: High Finance
32 mentor adoptions
John Calvin
16th Century Geneva
Known for
Theologian and reformer whose ideas on predestination, work ethic, and discipline shaped Western thought
We are not our own; therefore neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations
From: Letters of John Calvin, Volume II: Compiled from the Original Manuscripts and Edited with Historical Notes
31 mentor adoptions
John Marshall
18th-19th Century America
Known for
Fourth Chief Justice of the United States who established judicial review and shaped constitutional interpretation
It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is
From: The Life of John Marshall, Volume 3: Conflict and construction, 1800-1815
20 mentor adoptions
Leopold Bloom
Known for
An advertisement canvasser and the main protagonist, navigating a day in Dublin.
From: Ulysses
19 mentor adoptions
Krishna
Ancient India (Mahabharata era)
Known for
Divine teacher of the Bhagavad Gita on duty, dharma, and liberation
Do your duty without attachment to the fruits of action
From: The Song Celestial; Or, Bhagavad-Gîtâ (from the Mahâbhârata): Being a discourse between Arjuna, Prince of India, and the Supreme Being under the form of Krishna
17 mentor adoptions
Adam Smith
18th Century Scotland
Known for
The Wealth of Nations and the invisible hand of markets
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
From: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
17 mentor adoptions
Jean Valjean
Known for
Redemption and transformation through mercy
From: Les Misérables
17 mentor adoptions