Why Everyone Needs a Mentor...

If you want to reach your goals faster and or potentially have less obstacles, then having a mentor could be fantastic. The right mentor could put you in a position to propel you forward in multiple aspects of your life. In general, a mentor should have your best interest at heart for obvious reasons. It's also a good idea to establish specific guidelines for the mentor to mentee relationship. Both of you should discuss clear, cut pathways that will allow you to reach new heights. You should also have a clear line of communication with your mentor. It shouldn't be a hassle or an inconvenience to reach out to them. People have busy lives, so if they don't contact your right away, no big deal. Just do your best to maintain the connection to the best of your ability. Whenever you do find a mentor it's important that you relinquish any preconceived notions you have about the topic. Too often I see people new to a field engage experts in said field with a sense of superiority or a complex knowledge base.? These people will sometimes overtalk the person they went to for help. Nothing can be more annoying than advising someone on a situation/problem only for that individual to tell YOU what the solution is at the end of the conversation. If you are to be successful, practicing active listening would be a fantastic start. In other words, when your mentor speaks, give them your undivided attention and listen to what they have to say. Respect them for giving their time in order to help you navigate something you may be going through. Listed below are a couple of reasons why everyone needs a mentor.

1. Different perspective

Your mentor will more than likely be a little older than you. This can mean that whatever it is you are going through, they have done it or experienced similar situations years before. Or you mentor can have a different background, upbringing, culture, and experience than you. Because of these differences, your mentor can offer unique insight into your situation. It's very easy to be narrow-minded these days. You want to avoid tunnel vision whenever possible. A mentor can help you do just that. Tunnel vision will limit how you see alternative solutions because of how focused you are in one area. Focus is great, don't get me wrong, but you have to find a balance. It's always best to evaluate both internal and external factors that contribute to a goal, objective, or obstacle. Your mentor could help you view things from a macro perspective, while you hone on the micro. Both perspectives are needed for a decent analysis on any given situation.

2. Experience

Considering that your mentor might be a little older this can also translate into them having a stronger frame of reference in multiple fields due to time spent in the job market. As you get older and refine your own skills, you'll realize that many industries share common characteristics. To better illustrate this point, imagine you’re an aspiring electrical engineer. The engineering field is vast. Although there are so many different types of engineers, they share core requisites while in school and training which happens to be mathematics. So, if you were in school to be an electrical engineer, your mentors can be any of the following: mechanical engineers, biomedical engineers, other electrical engineers, chemical engineers, civil engineers, etc. All of the above fields as it relates to engineering are different, however there are universal characteristics and methodologies shared across the field of engineers. With that being said, don't overlook a particular mentor because they don't share your exact same field. The field your mentor may have is inconsequential. Your primary concern is whether or not your mentor has a proven track record of success on any level. "Success leaves a trail". People who are successful normally have a set of behaviors that contributed 98% to their success. It doesn't matter if they formed these habits 10, 15, or even 30 years ago. Whatever they (your mentor) did to achieve success, it can be duplicated today even if it was very long ago. The trick is discovering how to adopt their best practices and intelligently implement the methodology from a modern-day standpoint. Warren Buffet is well-known for his success. At one point he was the 5th richest person in the world. One of his tools of success was reading. He was an avid reader; reading 6 hours every day. Don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself. This doesn't mean that if YOU read 6 hours a day that you will end up being the 5th richest person in the world. However, there is a strong correlation between individuals who spend a lot of time perfecting their craft and how high up the ladder they go. You can leverage the experience of your mentor so you can avoid wasting time and energy doing things that may not get you closer to your goals. At the end of the day, practical experience and a willingness to help others is what makes mentors very valuable. Whether you find a mentor online, at work, school, or in business, they will make great additions to your overall network. Using their experiences should allow you to avoid similar trials and tribulations. This is the heart of mentorship. Ultimately, gaining valuable insight from someone’s experience and learning from them can be beneficial to your career success as well as other areas. Hope you found this article helpful and good luck on your search for a mentor! #strategicthinking #motivation #newblogpost #selfdevelopment #mentor #mentorship #mentee #networking #growthmindset