Why You Need A Mentor and How to Get One

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” ~John Maxwell

Do you have a mentor?

The dictionary definition of a mentor is as follows:

A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
An influential senior sponsor or supporter.

Did you know that one of the habits of millionaires is that they have a mentor?

It’s imperative to have a mentor.

Whether they are located in your city and meet with you one-on-one on a regular basis, or are located thousands of miles away across the country and you’ve never actually met them.

You Need A Mentor

I hate to admit this, but I never had a mentor for the majority of my life. Looking back, it explains a lot about why I never lived up to my true potential.

Ouch.

While I have a spiritual mentor in my pastor, I was missing a mentor for specific areas of my life where I was struggling in, such as my career.

You need a mentor who is successful in the niche of what you are working toward.

As an example: If you’re trying to get in shape, you need someone who is fit and will motivate and inspire you to get in shape.

Because surrounding yourself with those who are also out of shape is not going to motivate and inspire you to get fit!

That goes for every other area of your life where you might be lacking.

You need to find someone who you look at and think, “I want what they have.”

But don’t take that the wrong way-I don’t mean to copy someone else.

I don’t mean to covet the things they own, either.

Find someone who does well what you want to do well, and study them. Implement what they teach into your life.

So, how do you find your mentor?

Know What You’re Working Toward

Before you can find a mentor, you have to know what you’re working toward in life. What are your goals? Where can you improve?

For me, I began to start piecing together what it was I truly wanted out of my career life the last year I worked my job in corporate America.

While I was content with my job, it wasn’t where my heart was. I wasn’t maximizing my potential there.

Realizing I wanted to go back to my roots as a writer and pursue a career through writing was the first step.

By the time my company closed my building, I knew what I wanted to do.

I just didn’t know how to get there yet.

That’s where having a mentor makes all the difference.

Find Someone Who Has What You Want

You have to look at your goals and find that person whom you look at and think, “I want that.”

As I stated above though, this isn’t about copying or coveting someone’s possessions.

This is about having a guide to motivate and inspire you to become the person you want to be.

If you know what you want, you won’t even have to “find” a mentor. Chances are, you’ll start gravitating toward someone without even consciously thinking about them becoming your mentor.

I discovered a life mentor in Terri Savelle Foy.

She spoke at a conference at my church last year and she was exactly what I needed in a mentor.

The first few months I was laid-off, I knew what I wanted, but didn’t have the tools to get there.

I had no direction whatsoever.

Depressed, I took no action to inch myself closer to my dreams.

Then the conference happened, and I was introduced to Terri.

I learned that the things that held her back from becoming who she is today, are the same things that have been holding me back. Knowing this, I knew I could look to her for motivation and encouragement to make much needed changes.

For me as a newbie blogger, mentors also came in the form of Alex and Lauren from Create & Go and Natalie Bacon.

When I was researching blogging and completely overwhelmed and lost, I stumbled across Alex and Lauren.

They saved me from giving up on my dream. I got exactly what I was looking for-exactly what I needed-to get started with this blogging thing.

Through them I discovered Natalie Bacon, who is doing exactly what I want to do with my blog.

Indulge in Their Resources

This is a great step to take if your mentor is someone who isn’t local, who you may not even have met.

After I met Terri Savelle Foy, I:

Started listening to her podcast and watching her TV show.
Signed up for her emails.
Followed her on all social media platforms.
Purchased some of her resources and began implementing her teaching into my every-day life.
Made plans to attend her conferences.

I followed suit with my blogging mentors, Alex and Lauren from Create & Go and Natalie Bacon.

It’s mandatory you invest in all your mentor has to offer as this is how you will learn and grow to become the person you want to become.

Implement What They Teach into Your Life

Through Create & Go’s courses, I learned how to start my blog, and so much more.

Their content keeps me engaged and learning in the ever-changing blogging world.

With Natalie Bacon’s blog, I see the direction I want my blogging career to take.

Listening to Terri Savelle Foy’s podcast and reading her books, I learned how to set goals, dream big, and over-all I transformed my whole life and my way of thinking. She keeps me motivated and inspired on the daily.

Final Note

Mentors-near or far-will help you reach your goals. They will keep you motivated and inspired. You’ll learn the tools you need to get to where you want to go.

I would be nowhere without my mentors!

If you don’t have someone’s example to follow, how are you going to know where you need to go and what you need to do?

You might not think you need a mentor, that you can do it all on your own. I beg to differ. Look at your life-are you where you want to be?

If not, you need a mentor.

Comment below and let me know who YOUR mentor is.

Or you can just tell me what you thought of this article.