Are You My Mentor?: Four Ways to Find One

Are You My Mentor?: Four Ways to Find One
By Joyce Oladipo "The Business Growth Queen"

It might not come as a surprise to you, but if you interviewed every successful business leader that ever lived, you would discover somewhere on the journey to their success every single one of them had a mentor-- someone who guided them with insight and feedback. That said, sadly less than 10% of the entrepreneurs I meet around the globe have the support of such a trusted soul.
Now... with information overload at the click of a mouse, it's hard to tell who is really a candidate for mentorship. Millions of entrepreneurs asking "are you my mentor?"

The dictionary describes mentor as: somebody, usually older and more experienced, who provides advice and support to, and watches over and fosters the progress of, a younger, less experienced person.

My first mentor came through reading "Think and Grow Rich". I read it every month. I wrote my goals in my journal and believed it's achievable. Somehow knowing that I needed enforcement to accomplish my vision, I taped each and every one of my goals to my closet doors to guide each step I took. One that stayed with me all these years, "Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

I found my next mentor -- an internet marketer Corey Rudy. He was the first one to expose me to marketing. He made a lot of money online.

Later my mentors came through the books I read, Shirley Maclaine, Alexandria Brown, and Mark Victor Hansen. Each one providing me valuable insight and loving support for the next step to take. I would eat their messages up like they were sitting beside me at the table I read from. I would live their messages as if they were walking right beside me. I put into action their intelligence as if they told it to me themselves. Because to me, they had.

Now... I'm putting what Confucius, Shirley, Alexandria, and Mark have taught me into action as a mentor myself to others.

Before you take the leap and allow someone or something into that sacred space of being your mentor, especially in this information saturated age, I suggest you hold them to all four of these measures when considering them.

1) They truly have a skill that you would like to possess, not merely having a life that you would like for your own.
2) They communicate from a place that connects to you, instead of trying to fit your understanding into theirs.
3) They demonstrate a life that you respect and provide an example you would like to model, instead of you working to see past any incongruence demonstrations.
4) They make themselves available to you (be it live, through books, or even fortune cookies) without holding anything back, instead of positioning themselves on a throne.

By applying these filters to your mentors, you can be rest assured that you're getting information that from someone you trust and a person you respect.

When you finally find your mentor be sure to eat up their wisdom as if they told it to you personally and follow their example whether they are right in front of you or not. If you do, I promise you, they will be with you every step of the way.

Just this past week, I was shopping with one of the mentors I've mentioned in this article. I got to tell her face-to-face the impact that she's had on my life from afar.

© 2006 Joyce O. Oladipo



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Online entrepreneur Joyce Oladipo, "Business Growth Queen," is creator of the winning Attractive Marketing E-zine to Jumpstart Your Business offline and online. To learn to Grow You Business In Less Time wth Ease sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, at www.BeAWealthyEntrepreneur.com