Choose Your Mentors
Browse 34 mentors from history and literature. Build your personal board of advisors.
34 mentors found
Oscar Wilde
19th Century
Known for
Wit and social commentary
From: Oscar Wilde, His Life and Confessions. Volume 2 (of 2)
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
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
Charles Dickens
Victorian Era
Known for
Novelist who championed the poor and transformed English literature
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
From: The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete
65 mentor adoptions
Winston Churchill
20th Century Britain
Known for
Wartime leadership, oratory, and indomitable spirit
"Never, never, never give up."
From: Historical Figures Collection
64 mentor adoptions
Ralph Waldo Emerson
19th Century America
Known for
Transcendentalist essayist and philosopher of self-reliance
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
From: Ralph Waldo Emerson
64 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
Jane Austen
Victorian Era
Known for
Author and letter writer
From: The Letters of Jane Austen: Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne
63 mentor adoptions
James Madison
American Founding Era
Known for
Co-author of The Federalist Papers, emphasizing the importance of checks and balances and the prevention of tyranny.
From: The Federalist Papers
62 mentor adoptions
Confucius
Ancient China, 6th-5th Century BC
Known for
Teaching principles of family harmony, respect, self-cultivation, and social order
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
From: The Sayings of Confucius: A New Translation of the Greater Part of the Confucian Analects
62 mentor adoptions
James Watt
Known for
The central figure, an inventor and mechanical genius.
From: James Watt
61 mentor adoptions
Carl Gustav Jung
20th Century Switzerland
Known for
Psychiatrist who developed analytical psychology, explored archetypes, the collective unconscious, and individuation
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes
From: Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of Thought
60 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
George Eliot
Victorian Era
Known for
Novelist and philosopher who challenged Victorian conventions
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
From: George Eliot; a Critical Study of Her Life, Writings and Philosophy
59 mentor adoptions
Siddhartha
Ancient India (literary creation)
Known for
Spiritual seeker who found enlightenment through lived experience, not doctrine
Wisdom cannot be taught—it must be lived
From: Siddhartha
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
George Bernard Shaw
Victorian/Edwardian Era
Known for
Playwright, critic, and socialist wit
Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
From: George Bernard Shaw, his life and works : $b a critical biography (authorized)
50 mentor adoptions
Susan B. Anthony
Known for
Main character, a tireless advocate for women's rights, temperance, and abolition.
From: Susan B. Anthony: Rebel, Crusader, Humanitarian
49 mentor adoptions
Albert Einstein
20th Century Germany/USA
Known for
Relativity, imagination, and seeing the universe differently
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
From: Einstein, the searcher : $b his work explained from dialogues with Einstein
45 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
Samuel Johnson
18th Century England
Known for
Lexicographer, essayist, and literary critic
The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
From: Boswell's Life of Johnson: Abridged and edited, with an introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood
39 mentor adoptions
G. K. Chesterton
Early 20th century England
Known for
Prolific writer and master of paradox who illuminated truth through wit and wonder
The world will never starve for want of wonders, only for want of wonder
From: Gilbert Keith Chesterton
37 mentor adoptions
J. S. Bach
18th Century Germany
Known for
Composer and musician whose works represent the pinnacle of Baroque music and contrapuntal technique
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul
From: Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work
32 mentor adoptions
Sojourner Truth
19th Century America
Known for
Finding her voice to speak truth to power as an abolitionist and women`s rights activist
Truth is powerful and it prevails.
From: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
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
Johann Goethe
18th-19th century Germany
Known for
Towering literary genius who wrote Faust, shaped Romanticism, and contributed to science and philosophy
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it—boldness has genius, power, and magic in it
From: The Autobiography of Goethe: Truth and Poetry: From My Own Life
28 mentor adoptions
Kierkegaard
19th Century Denmark
Known for
Philosopher who pioneered existentialism and explored anxiety, authenticity, and the leap of faith
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards
From: Selections from the Writings of Kierkegaard
24 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
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
E.H. Harriman
Late 19th-Early 20th Century America
Known for
Railroad magnate who rebuilt the Union Pacific into one of the most efficient transportation systems in the world
The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets
From: High Finance
17 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