DOES EVERYONE NEED A MENTOR?
Ron Malhotra
??? Advisor To SERIOUS INVESTORS & BUSINESSES ??? Mentor To AMBITIOUS PROFESSIONALS ?? Coach To SUCCESSFUL EXECUTIVES ?? Trainer To LEADERSHIP TEAMS ?? International Speaker ?? Author of 8 Books
Warning: Please do not read if you are too sensitive or offended by the truth.
Should everyone have a mentor?
Yes! The answer is YES.
Everyone needs a mentor.
A resounding and emphatic YES!!
I suppose that I could just leave this here but I sense that some people won't believe my claim.
Some may think - 'Of course you will say that, isn't that what you sell'?
Yes I sell my mentor services. And, I do that with great pride.
I mentor, advise and coach because I know how I transformed my life with the help of good teachers. I mentor and coach because I know for a fact that most people cannot get themselves out of a hole without the objective guidance of a competent teacher.
And not only that, I am now building a team of mentors so collectively we can create a ripple effect and change the world.
Now, here is the thing. As much as I believe in the power of a good mentor and as much as I believe that a good mentor can change people's lives, I don't care much if people never get coached or mentored.
Please don't get me wrong.
I care very much about people achieving their potential. If I didn't, I would not put up with skeptical, ignorant behaviors and criticism from people who have no idea about the benefits of being mentored.
But.... I also know that the vast majority of people make decisions from a place of fear.
Most people form judgements about things they seemingly know very little about. And, most people have neither the desire nor the inclination to become the best version of themselves and to make a difference. They are too busy simply making a living or distracted by entertainment, sport or consumerism.
They have the ability, but they lack the belief.
It has been said that all human progress is dependent on 5% of the human population. How can then I be disappointed with the average persons decision to not invest money and time in their development?
It would be foolish on my part to expect everyone to have a vision for their life. I would love that very much, however, I have safely put that away in the category of 'wishful thinking'.
So now we have talked about and already accepted that most people will most likely never invest enough time and money in their development, let's talk about why they should.
So, why should everyone have a mentor?
Here are some reasons:
1. Because people cannot solve their life problems from the same level of thinking that caused those problems in the first place.
2. Because most people lack awareness about their habitual patterns of thinking that keep them chained to their circumstances. If they had the awareness, they would have solved the old problems a long time ago and not had the recurring patterns that keep showing up in their life.
3. Because most people do not have the ability to distinguish 'cause' from 'effect'. I can almost guarantee that most of what people identify as the cause of their circumstances, are actually the effects. This means there is a pretty good chance that even when people are applying effort, they are most probably working on the symptom rather than the problem.
4. Because most people know more about their job and the outside world than they know about themselves. It is not an understatement to say that most people didn't consciously pick their name, culture, occupation, religion, appearance or anything else. Most of their individual identity is very likely a product of mass consciousness and thinking.
5. Because most champions, leaders and visionaries have coaches, mentors and advisors who guide them and help them reach their potential. And, no, they didn't get Mentors after becoming successful. They became successful because they had mentors.
6. Because most humans are ill-equipped to identify their own blind spots.
7. Because books and YouTube videos motivate and inspire, they rarely transform thinking and behaviors permanently.
8. Because people who don't have time and money are those who don't invest time and money. They waste time and money.
9. Because when people are not completely happy and they know they are meant for more, the thing that they should be seeking mentoring for (a half hearted fear-based limited life), is the exact thing holding them back from committing their time and money to being coached. This is the biggest paradox that coaches and mentors face.
As I finish this article, I am reminded of what Rumi once said -
"Whoever enters the way without a guide will take a hundred years to travel a two year journey".
- Ron Malhotra
Love this post? Hate this post? Have another idea? Please share your thoughts below..
IDBI Intech || Podcaster || NMIMS '21
4 年Ron Malhotra I cannot express in words how much I can relate with this: "Whoever enters the way without a guide will take a hundred years to travel a two year journey." As a matter of fact, I have seen the difference in growth with and without a mentor.
Commercial Manager at Finlam Automotive
7 年I think it's important for you to have someone to bounce ideas off that isn't with in your company. They will always give you the answer that suits them and the company if in your current company. You have to have a mentor that is completely neutral and on "your side", in order for a mentor to be of benefit to you
MENTOR. 94. AM ONLY INTERESTED IN COMMUNICATING WITH NEW CLIENTS!!! I've been where most are, and am where most are going. I'm not a smart or wise person, years of failure were my teachers! Humility is a power!
7 年Great article. In all humility. I have mentored sales people on how to really produce, and how badly they did need it! I have sold for over sixty years. I am not a smart man, I mean that. To sell for sixty years and not learn successful techniques, l would have to be very lazy mentally. What I have is knowledge. I learned the power of body language, personality understanding, and voice recognition. When I learned a successful technique, I drove the habit deep. "Habit succeeds when your thinking fails. My sales went sky high with every company I worked with. I didn't develop trickery, but developed honest concern. "The phrase was always in the back of my mind was. "He who would be great among you, let him be your servant." (My group clients have been with me for over forty years, some are second generations.) Back to selling. With the right technique there is no end to extreme success. I'll give one example. When you can prove you are honest, know your product, and the competitors, and will service highly, who else are they going to buy from? Wait, when you first meet you can sell service, and sell knowledge, but just meeting the prospect how do you sell your honesty. What do you just say, "I'm honest?" That probably would be a tip off for the prospect, that you are not. What then? When I sold a product the first part of my presentation, I would always spend about fine minutes telling, what the product would not do! One time a prospect for a life policy stopped me after five minutes. " What kind of an insurance man are you. "What", I said." "You've been here five minutes and all you've done is tell me what the policy won't do." He bought at the end of presentation from an honest man. All techniques are honest and set to get the job done with the least amount of waste time, always ending in a win, win situation. I have never meant the person that did not need mentoring, including me. I can prove that in seconds.
Managing Partner @ New Wave Group | Chartered Accountant
7 年Good job on this topic. There's a lot of helpful content - thanks!