You may have many successful people who inspire you, share insights and who you learn from. But, how do you find a mentor with whom to build a more concrete relationship?
A mentor is successful – let’s look at what other qualities are important:
1 – They have accomplished what you want to accomplish such as position, certifications, wealth, social stature, and also life balance, spiritual or emotional growth. In order to identify this person, your goals must be clear. You must focus on more than just one goal – we are all much more complicated than that. Make a list of 50 things you want to accomplish this year and 50 more you want to accomplish in ten years. Think beyond immediate goals to what you really want to accomplish.
2 – Have you ever had a successful person offer to help but none of their advice seems to apply to you? Equally as important as their success, a mentor needs to be someone who has overcome similar obstacles and struggles that you currently face. To achieve any goal, people take many different paths and you utilize a mentor to successfully navigate your path and overcome your challenges.
3 – An effective mentor is also a coach. A good coach is interested in helping you access your potential and your greatness – and pushes you to do so. They care enough about your success to learn about you – your strengths and weaknesses, hopes and dreams. You build a relationship of trust based on their focus on you and your best interests and your appreciation of them and diligent hard work and putting forth your best efforts. It goes well beyond getting and giving advice.
As you look for mentors in your life, look for someone who:
1 – embodies the success you want to achieve, both professionally and personally
2 – has overcome the struggles you face
3 – cares about you enough to focus on the success you desire more than the success their believe you should achieve based on their experiences and success
What other qualities do your mentors have?