The value of the right mentor

The Value Of The Right Mentor destiny-entrepreneur.com /the-value-of-the-right-mentor/

Looking for a boost in your personal and financial life? Do you find that your life is unfulfilled in more ways than one?

Find yourself a mentor.

Mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentored) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the lessexperienced person’s professional and personal growth.

A mentor is that person/people who can guide you, help you, take you under their wing, and nurture your quest. A Yoda to your Luke Skywalker.

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What separates a mentor from the average network contact is long-term commitment, unselfish support of and guidance in your quest, for as long as the relationship lasts.

Where a typical network contact might be associated with quick introductions, exchanges of business cards, and phone calls, your relationship with a mentor likely involves a more long-term relationship consisting of calls, webinars, workshops and more.

A mentor is often in a position you’d like to be in and has the clout and connections to guide you to a similar position. Someone who will share stories with you of their own climb to success. An effective mentor is one who provides you guidance and support on your quest based and not on advancing their quest.

How to Find a Mentor

When I started looking for a mentor to start and grow a successful online business, one of the most important factors was to ensure that their vision and mission was in alignment with mine.

Let me explain it this way. It does not help I find a mentor who is only interested in helping me sell their product/service irrespective of whether it fits in with my vision for the type of online business I would like to create.

To find a mentor on your own consider the following:

What is the number 1 goal for starting their mentorship program?

What education and support is provided to help you identify your purpose for starting an online business?

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What contact will you have with your mentor/s?

Do they provide detailed information on what you will get with regards to education, tools, resources and support?

What skills do they help you grow and what skills do they help you obtain with their program?

Do they provide you with coaches for the various skills you need to master and who are these coaches?

Does their education process involve tasks that you need to carry out throughout your mentorship with them and are these tasks then discussed?

Do they offer one-to-one coaching and at what level?

Are you provided with the opportunity to present your progress to the team for constructive feedback on your progress?

How flexible is their mentorship program in fitting in with the time you have available?

Is their mentorship program structured in a way that you have clear guidelines to follow?

Is the mentorship program a two-way relationship (i.e: do you get the opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions)?

Does the program provide easy access to resources?

How regularly does the mentorship program communicate with it’s members?

Is your progress evaluated on a regular basis with suggestions for improvement made?

Is the mentorship program dynamic in that it evolves with what is currently working in the online business world?

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What technology does the mentorship program make use of (email, webinars, video conferencing and other electronic media)?

Decide what you need in a mentor — what skills you’d like to develop with your mentor’s assistance. Consider your goals in choosing a mentor. Think about what characteristics you’re looking for in a mentor.

What is the difference between a mentor and a coach?

Mentoring is relational, while coaching is functional.

Mentoring – Mentoring is an indefinite, relationship based activity with several specific but wide ranging goals. It does not have to be a formal process. The mentor is a facilitator who works with either an individual or a group of people over an extended time period. The agenda is open and continues to evolve over the longer term.

Mentoring seeks to build wisdom – the ability to apply skills, knowledge and experience to new situations and processes.

Coaching – The focus is on meeting very specific objectives within a set period of time. Coaching is mainly concerned with performance and the development of certain skills.

The Mentoring Relationship

You’ll know if the mentoring relationship is working if your mentor encourages your goals, provides honest and constructive feedback, helps you develop self-awareness, challenges you to grow beyond your perceived limitations, introduces you to movers and shakers, motivates you to join professional organizations that can help you advance, and above all, listens to you and is easy to communicate with.

What do Mentors do?

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Your mentor can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses, as well as help you develop skills for success and a long-range plan. A mentor can provide a fresh perspective — a new way of looking at a problem or issue.

You can bounce ideas off your mentor. Look for a relationship in which the mentor is more coach than adviser — one in which the mentor facilitates your decision-making process by suggesting alternatives rather than telling you what to do. Ideally, your mentor will motivate you to do your best work.

The most important things a mentor should do

A mentor should actively listen to his or her mentored.

A mentor should empower the mentored to solve a problem on his or her own (rather than solving or “fixing” the issue for the mentored).

And a mentor should always provide honest feedback.

A mentor should empower the mentored to solve a problem rather than solve it for them.

A mentor should seek to listen first then advice based on your needs.

This may all seem like a tall ask when looking for a mentor but, the reason I have stated all of the important criteria is to ensure you ask all the right questions before investing your time and money on a mentorship program that does not fit your needs.

I had the unfortunate experience of doing just that but, thankfully I learnt from that experience and with some research, I eventually found the perfect mentors for my needs.

Their vision was the main selling point as far as I was concerned;

“Most people live the life they think they have to live. They are unfulfilled, overworked, stressed and stuck in a system that exploits them instead of helping them achieve their highest potential.

They get the education they think they need to get the job society says they should want. Unfortunately, most lack the life skills required to be self-made and self-reliant.

Our vision is to wake up millions of people to realize the tremendous potential that lies within 5/7

themselves. And further, to show them how to harness and exploit this potential in the new, digital economy.

In doing so, they will transition from reliance on their current job or occupation to a life of freedom, selfreliance, and total control. They will do good in the world by creating wealth and abundance not only for themselves, but also for their communities and those around them”.

Apart from their vision being in alignment with my reason for starting an online business, the answer to every single question listed in this article was a resounding “YES”!

I am now a part of an amazing community of highly successful online entrepreneurs who have provided me with the right education, tools, resources and world-class support which, has empowered me to build and grow an online business I love.

The program, community and support structures over deliver in terms of value and what you invest in. This community has restored my faith in the fact that there are people out there willing to share their knowledge and provide valuable support for those looking to improve their personal and financial situation.

You don’t have to take my word for it because like I did, you can request their Free Exclusive 7-Part Video Series that provides you with what you need to know to make up your own mind.

Don’t let this be one of those decisions you regret not taking. You have made it this far by reading this article to the end, reward yourself by obtaining this valuable information so that you too can decide if it is right for you.

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