Mentor

We have all had mentors in our lives. During the early stages of our development our main mentors are our parents: we look up to them, we respect them and, indeed, we role model ourselves on them. Their strengths and weaknesses become our strengths and weaknesses, their courage and their fear also join together in our psychological make up. I hope that, for most of us, it is a very sound, practical experience which leads us through the education process into crystallising our desires, and for some of us, starting our own businesses. Generally, of course, most of us leave home between the ages of 16 and 25; therefore, by the time we are 14 or 15, our parents are no longer as strong a role model as they were when we were dependent. This is a critical stage of mentoring; if new mentors or role models are not available, it is quite possible we lose sight and focus of our desires and new and, perhaps, sometimes less important issues become our raison d’être.

My father used to tell me that not only do I become what I eat, but I also imbibe the mental protein from the people with whom I associate. How right he was!
The people with whom we associate are the people who have influence on us and either provide high levels of mental nourishment and mental protein or can have the absolute reverse effect. The role of the mentor is to not only light the way, but also to ensure this is done in a positive, exciting, and of course, profitable way. Mentoring is not a one-off issue. Many clients meet with us on a monthly basis, some come quarterly and, occasionally, weekly. Having someone to talk to, who completely understands your goals and aspirations and, to a certain extent, strengths and weaknesses can improve your performance almost beyond recognition. Mentors are not there to do the work for you: they are there merely to give you the necessary mental protein so you may think, plan, construct, develop and execute. Mentors are, effectively, business architects who use their time and skills to help others build and develop. Just a word on selecting a mentor: apart from there being an enormous amount of synergy between you, that person has to have a genuine desire to help you through the good and bad times, support you and, finally, rejoice with you when it all comes right.

Try casting your mind back to your early childhood. Imagine how difficult it would have been, if there were no adults to help you. The chances are that we, as adults now, would not have survived. We needed people to show us the way, and thus it is, virtually throughout our lifetime. I had the delight of speaking to a gentleman from Japan some years ago, who was in his 90s, who had mentored many extremely successful Japanese business people. Now, at that age, he was actually mentoring himself and guiding himself through a process of learning – his goal was to understand Sanskrit. When I asked him why that was, he said it was because he did not have long to live and it was something he felt he needed to master. In this one man I saw desire, motivation, focus and, of course, success. Your mentor must contain all those worthy attributes if he/she is to guide you successfully.

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