There’s a lot of hype surrounding mentors: That every person should find one, that this person helps guide your career, that he or she can be game-changing for your future. It’s a bit like the book, Are You My Mother? And it feels just as awkward as approaching strangers and asking if they’re you’re parent.

How do you go about finding a mentor? And how do you avoid making it awkward?! Do you really even need one?

That’s what’s refreshing about Christina Tosi’s take on mentorship. The Masterchef Jr. judge and Milk Bar founder doesn’t buy into the formality of finding this supremely successful being to guide you along your path, fairy godmother-style.

In a recent Entrepreneur article, Tosi cites her grandmothers as being her personal mentors, as well as her husband. “I think a lot of people underestimate how many answers they have in themselves; oftentimes mentors are the ones who just help you find the key to unlock it,” she says. “People who are closest to you are your best mentors. It doesn’t have to be someone who has 20 years on you, and it doesn’t have to be someone in the same business as you, someone who has all the networks, secrets, and connections. But it has to be someone you can be outrageously honest with.”

A true mentor, to Tosi, is someone who holds a mirror up to you. Who can veer you back on course when you’re going off the rails (and isn’t afraid to tell you that). And encourage you, when you’re too freaked out to move forward with that crazy idea—and is bold enough to tell you just how brilliant it is.

Top Photo by Photos by Lanty on Unsplash