The wonderful thing about taking on a new challenge at any point in your life is that there is no end to what you may accomplish. Guidance is critical to help you chart a path and stay on it. Guidance from a trusted source who has been through challenges and persevered is necessary to help you stay the course during challenging times and not wander over to the same dreary path you have traveled before. Habits are hard to break. Mentors will be able to look objectively at your progress and offer a fresh perspective without the bias of your past experiences.
The problem with staying with something predictable is that it may become a deterrent to your happiness if what is predictable is, not productive or healthy for you. If you have been in a bad job or a bad relationship for a while, your self-confidence has been depleted. Your sense of normalcy has crept lower every day so that you find that you doubt yourself, you don’t see a brighter future, and you figure you might as well just accept your situation because it has become “normal” to you. In a way, you forget who you are and submit to being a bystander in your own life.
Tips to Find a Mentor for YOU:
- Find someone with a similar history. Look for someone that has done what you want to accomplish, maybe not on the grandest scale but who has consistently succeeded with innumerable challenges. Look for this person in a company similar to yours that is, not a competitor. Look in professional organizations where people with your similar goals meet to share ideas and grow. But also look in non-traditional places. You may find them at your church, book group, local pool or gym. If you are seeking guidance on starting a business, governmental agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) or Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) may be helpful.
- Find someone who is interested in helping you. The person holding the greatest success story in the world will not amount to anything for you if he or she does not have time to meet with you and guide you. Spend time talking with potential mentors to find the right fit.
- Look online for similar stories. Someone in another city may be available to help you via the Internet but this does not substitute for someone with whom you can meet with face to face. People in other cities, though, may not be as fearful that you will be a competitor of theirs.
- Set up a lunch with a potential mentor. Generally this will be someone that you have already met and with whom you have a good feeling. If there is someone you have identified as a good potential mentor, and you run into him or her at a social or professional gathering, introduce yourself and share your admiration of her success. It is often good to find a mentor within a company in which you may be seeking to work.
- Send creative instruments of gratitude often. If people do something nice for you, you can never thank them enough. Send your mentor a card on Boss’s Day that may say, “I know you are not my boss but you have been a valued teacher and trusted example of success in my life.” Send an interesting book that you think he would enjoy. Ask what his or her birthday is and have flowers delivered on that day. Send a homemade treat at Thanksgiving with a note that expresses your gratitude.
Goals Setting – How to Find a Mentor
If you want to quickly and effectively achieve your goals, then you must increase your productivity and minimize as many mistakes as you can. The most effective way to do this is to have a mentor who has a lot of knowledge in the particular field your goal is in.
A mentor can help you avoid mistakes, show you a faster way of doing things, give you encouragement and also offer advice and guidance along the way. There is no better way to fast track your success. But how do you find a mentor? In this article, we show you how.
As a first step, you need to recognize that a relationship with a mentor can’t be one way. There must be something in it for the mentor as well. If the mentor is for business this may be financial. If it is for other goals, a simple lunch out may be enough.
Now that you have this knowledge, we can look at how best to find a mentor:
- Think about what you need: Spend some time thinking about what type of mentor you would like and what benefits you would like to derive. Also thinks about what you can offer your mentor.
- Think about possible mentors: The longer the list the better. Think about every possibility. Often the most obscure person may turn out to be the best mentor.
- Ask if they will be your mentor: You will first need to decide how to approach the possible mentor. Whether it is by letter or a phone call. This will be very dependent upon how well you know the person. One of the best approaches is a direct one. Tell the person you are looking for a mentor and offer to take them out for lunch to discuss.
- Be prepared to be turned down: In almost all cases this won’t be personal, but people are busy have other commitments, and may not be able to set aside time for you. That’s fine; just keep working through your list until you find someone who is willing to help.
- It can take a while: Because of this you will have to learn to be patient and wait.
The process of finding a mentor isn’t an A to B journey and can take a considerable amount of time. The process you go through will also be dependent upon the relationship you have with the mentor and the type of mentoring you are after. Rest assured however, it is definitely worthwhile and the rewards for the effort are fantastic.
