Mentor and Mentee

Mentor encompasses not only something you do but also who you are. Every successful person has a mentor. Having a mentor does not necessarily mean sitting down with someone face to face, even though such contact proves very valuable. Your mentor may or may not even be aware of your relationship with them. Jim Rohn has served as my mentor for many years. I listen to his audio programs, read his books and attend his live performances. He travels with me in my car, inspires me while I do my daily exercise and even provides my bedtime story. Jim Rohn served as my inspiration and mentor without him even being aware of his impact on my life.

A mentor can be through books or audio as Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins and Dr Wayne Dyer are to me. Mentors can provide live interaction as my Toastmasters speech coaches do for me. Attending live seminars such as those presented by Dan Kennedy ( GKIC NoBS Colorado) or Jeff Combs (More Heart Than Talent) are extremely valuable. Your mentor may have lived in a prior period of time such as Napoleon Hill or Wallace Wattles. They still provide extremely valuable mentoring.

A mentor provides guidance, experience and wisdom. The top three percent of leaders possess three basic strengths.

The strength of leadership
The strength of self mastery
The strength of relationship

The strength of relationship directly relates to mentoring. Just as every successful person has at least one mentor, they also have the responsibility of mentoring their followers. One of the requirements of being accepted into my team is the agreement to assist newer members. Once a team member consistently earns over ten thousand dollars per month they must begin mentoring the newer team members to assist them in reaching that income goal. Passing along wisdom and shortening the learning curve establishes and promotes leadership skills.

Darin Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, visited his father’s mentor Mr. Abe. The elderly gentleman, Mr. Abe, was one of nine children born into abject poverty. He had worked very hard and amassed an incredible fortune; his financial statement served as his success scorecard. On this last day before he passed away, he spoke with Darin and Darin’s father about the many triumphs of his life. As Darin was leaving, Mr. Abe called him back into the room and grasped Darin’s arm. With a stern look on his face, Mr. Abe exclaimed to Darin, “Don’t miss the point like I did. I finally realize the most important thing in life is relationships. The most important things in life can never be recorded on a balance sheet. Don’t miss the point like I did.”
Mentorship and relationship travel hand in hand. The true value in life flows through accumulating wisdom and knowledge and then imparting that wisdom and knowledge to others. None of us are an island and none of us have either the time or the necessity to reinvent the wheel. We each learn for each other.

Select your mentors carefully. They will be shaping not only your life but the lives of those you mentor. The old saying “Birds of a feather flock together” depicts the fact that you will become similar to the people you have chosen to mentor you. We watch carefully the playmates of our children because we know the characteristics of their friends will influence them. How careful are you about the people with whom you choose to associate? Like it or not, they are influencing you and thereby mentoring you.

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