The Importance of a Mentor

Mentors or business coaches are one of the most valuable resources an entrepreneur should tap into.  I was once told, “Learn from your mistakes.”  Yet, a wise person will“learn from someone else’s mistakes.”  So, who is the someone and where do I find them?

The idea of launching a business should no longer be a scary or daunting experience, riddled with unknowns. And, what is great about mentors or business coaches is that they come in all shapes and sizes that can handle the all of topics that you may.  This is because they have already been down your path before from experience. So, search for the mentors who are expert on your specific business size, your specific industry, or your specific business problem (such as marketing issue vs. technology issue).  Everybody has there own traits, so it is good to have more than one mentor teaching you, as long as they all have the same common goal with you.
Mentoring is a professional activity, a trusted relationship, a meaningful commitment.  Each of my mentors in my financial area of my life had a financial interest in me.  At first this was confusing to me. They were unlike my college professors. Yes, my professors cared for my well-being, yet after I graduated I was a memory and they had new students to teach.
Yet, my mentors wanted me to be successful. This is because if I was successful, they would be also.  So, they gave me there own time and effort to teach me.  The most important trait of these people is they believed in me, when I didn’t believe in myself. I never even had a relationship like this with one of my bosses.  This is because each of my paychecks came from the company.
Until, I have the same fruit on the tree of my mentors and the experience, I am not ready to personally teach one on one to another. So, I send my associates to my system.  I let the leaders, and my coaches do the teaching for me.  These leaders have the stories, the experience, the answers to the questions, and the fruit to show to others.
“Nothing great was ever accomplished alone.” For every goal I have achieved in my life, I can trace back each goal to a mentor or individual who helped achieve it.  This is from my early school years, the Boy Scouts of America, to Marching Band, and overcoming a time of depression in my life.
A Mentor has four main purpose in whatever journey you are in:

• A Mentor Will Get You Started

• You Learn From Someone Who Walks The Walk

• Mentors Will Build Your Confidence

• A Resource For Life

I also believe a Mentor is so important because “a Mentor is better than a Mirror”.  This person may see something that you can not see or do not what to see in yourself to help you grow. The first time one of my mentors ask if he could give some constructive criticism, I gave permission. Yet, I did not like what was said, even though I knew what they said was true. I was angry at this person at first. I didn’t want to talk to tell. The next day, I got over my ego, I asked what I needed to do to change to reach my goals.