We all need mentors if we’re going to get ahead of the game. Heaven forbid that we should have to go it alone and only learn from our own mistakes. With a mentor, you can add a lifetime of hard-won wisdom to your life without spending a lifetime to earn it.
Here are a couple of quick thoughts on mentors…
1. Be Proactive
Actually ask someone to mentor you. Proactively schedule time with them. Don’t expect it to just fall in your lap. I think that we tend to think of mentors as parents. They’re not parents. The responsibility doesn’t fall on them to take care of you. Your mentor’s not your mama. If a mentor is willing to open their lives to you by giving you time then take advantage of it. I’ve seen some great mentoring relationships start with a simple phone call and a lunch meeting.
2. Don’t Look for the Perfect Mentor
The days of having just one mentor are probably over. We live in a complex society and nobody is master of everything in any one field anymore. Sure, you may have a primary mentor with others sprinkled in but what’s important is to find people that are ahead of you in areas that you are behind in and pick their brains. I think too often we are looking for the perfect mentor that knows everything about everything. That’s going to lend itself to a lot of frustration. Don’t say, “I’m looking for somebody that’s won an Oscar, the Heisman, a Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer.” You’re never going to find that guy. Instead, imagine what would happen if you could talk to four different guys that had excelled in specific areas.