3 reasons why having a mentor is going to change your life
The process is the whole game of goal achievement
All too often it is the goal that is emulated and not the process. When frankly substantial personal growth is solely triggered by the process itself. Hereby, the process represents the commitment of practicing something daily to learn and to outgrow yourself to achieve this goal. Understanding this may enable you to truly enjoy learning something new in life. Think of learning as “waving a kiss goodbye to your old self” to “welcoming your new and more elevated self”.
This is important because the process is not just part of the game, THE PROCESS IS THE WHOLE GAME! From my experience, you must put in the work to see the results, it is a real hustle! There are certain shortcuts — particular cheat codes — that represent support levers to achieve our goals faster. And these shortcuts come in the form of advice from mentors. Mentors are not a mere reduction of the work put in — no! — more so they represent an advisor that allows us to receive a bullet proof manual on how to circumvent certain roadblocks that may lie ahead.
Different goals require different mentors
When looking for a mentor you want to make sure to look for someone who has exactly achieved what you want to achieve! Every goal may require a different mentor. There is no such thing as a “one fits all mentor approach” here! If your goal is career related find that industry expert who is already living that career dream that you aspire to have. If your goal is personal development focused (i.e. health, exercise, self-love, relationship, etc.) then turn to that respective individual. How do I know this? I regularly turn to > 5 mentors and have clustered these individuals based on my goals:
1. Industry career development goals:
- These are individuals who are working within the same industry in higher management roles.
2. Big dream realization goals:
- I refer to them as my “stretch-any-goal-advisors”. They work in different industries, either in global top management roles or have established highly successful businesses.
3. Personal development goals:
- These are individuals who help me with my faith, mindset, self-respect, and self-love.
When working with mentors, the key success formula is simple: listen, learn & duplicate, then execute with a sprinkle of YOU on top. I recommend that you write down the areas that you want to develop and then make a short list of people who inspire you. Don’t worry, I am going to help you here, because over the next weeks we are addressing in detail 10 steps on how to find a mentor!
3 Reasons on how mentors have changed my life
I have turned to mentors throughout my whole career, but it was not until recently when I truly stepped up my game in the mentorship front. That is why I am sharing 3 reasons on how mentors have changed my life and how they can do so with yours as well! What is it that they are going to do for you?
#1 Give guidance and direction
Firstly, mentors give advice from a 3rd person perspective. They are observing our goal without the emotional attachment! When it comes to achieving goals, the emotional attachment can be the #1 blocking point as to why we cannot accomplish a certain goal. Based on my experience emotional attachment can create a tunnel vision. Thus, not acknowledging possible opportunities because goal obsession takes over — been there, done that. An example is for instance to solely focus on one job or one company and exclude alternatives — being open to opportunities is the winning formula here!
Mentors are going to judge the situation based on facts and facts only. This means that based on their learning they can provide us with the best direction and perspective for the overall goal and more so even propose goals that are higher and push us out of our comfort zone. Fast-paced growth is mainly achieved by learning new skills and by experiencing situations that we are not accustom to — so the saying that “nothing ever grows in a comfort zone” could not be truer.
Additionally, they motivate and empower us to continue the goal chase. Just recently a kindhearted and authentic leader motivated me to the max by saying: You either do it and do not care about what others think, or you don’t do it at all!
#2 Share the actual “how to” (= the blueprint)
Secondly, they are giving you an actual blueprint on which steps to take to achieve your goal. Some of the most fundamental advice that was given to me was:
1. You must always have a 10-year plan!
2. Become the expert within your industry!
This implies to not switch industries too often. Every career step shall pay in your long-term goal. The idea is to become the best at what you do!
3. Cluster your career decades:
- Hustle season: Use your 20s to work very hard.
- Family & Network affair: Use your 30s to build your family & your career network.
- Transform your life goal: Use your 40s to execute your life goal with all the expertise and the network that you have created.
This is obviously advice that was given to me and my individual path! Your path is your path and can be completely different! I am just outlining the “how to” for you: And that is to cluster your life so that it is in sync with your goals. Very often life will take its own turns and we are being redirected on our path. I like to embrace the believe that this is always for the greater good! Yet having a “how to” gives a comforting inner peace, confidence, and clarity on what you are doing with your life whilst eliminating the fear of “missing out” or the wish of “I should have done”.
#3 Create impact for faster goal achievement
Thirdly, exchanging with highly successful mentors made me realize that at times I may have dreamed to small. Turns out that my mentors have pushed me to think bigger and given me the tools and action steps to implement. Ever since working with mentors I feel empowered, more inspired, motivated, and reworked all my goals. I added 3 more goals to my list that are so high that they scare and excite me at time. Yet when working with mentors I know that I can achieve them all. One of my mentors, who is a global Chief Marketing Officer and has been Forbes featured multiple times, has given me one of the most simple yet most powerful advice: “KEEP GOING” she said your almost there, just keep going! From that day onward, I know my goal is going to be achieved and ever since I have said to everyone in my life: KEEP GOING!
Mentors are cheat codes — your shortcut to achieving your goals faster
Think of mentors as your cheat code for goal chasing. In a positive way they can be your wing man/ wing girl who enable you to march on this growth path of yours. As a result, you will fall less whilst walking, simply because they have informed you of possible roadblocks. Thus, you are much more aware of it and when facing it you will take the easy detour. So, in case you do not have a mentor yet, come back in the following weeks I will share a detailed outline of 10 steps that you have to implement to get you a mentor!
My mentors are highly successful industry professionals comprising global Chief Marketing Officers, FMCG Marketing experts, Business Founders and Investors, who have all demonstrated vast experience within their fields. They are inspirational, kind, and faithful leaders who selflessly dedicate their time to helping others! Their advice shared was based on an individual assessment of my career steps taken. Thus, these steps may not be applicable to you. However, you can interfere the mindset, the how to and the core of the actions taken to apply these insights to your individual path.
