Pay it forward

In Becoming, Kyle tags “pay it forward” to a line about the structure of mentorship across a life: “We should always have three friends in our lives — one who walks ahead who we look up to and follow; one who walks beside us, who is with us every step of our journey; and then, one who we reach back for and bring along after we’ve cleared the way.” The pay-it-forward idea attaches to that third friend — the obligation to reach back and bring someone along once you’ve cleared the path. Kyle pairs the same passage with My Mentors and Mentorship, framing it as the reciprocal back-half of being mentored: you receive guidance walking up, then return it by lifting the person behind you.

Where this appears

• Becoming — the “three friends” passage; pay-it-forward as reaching back to “bring along after we’ve cleared the way,” paired with My Mentors and Mentorship