I believe that if you want to grow in any area of your life & business, you need a mentor. 

First let’s define what a mentor is. Wikipedia says it is ‘A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. A mentor influences the personal and professional growth of a mentee. Most traditional mentorships involve having senior employees mentor more junior employees, but mentors do not necessarily have to be more senior than the people they mentor. What matters is that mentors have experience that others can learn from’.  

For me, a mentor is someone who has been there, done that. Someone who is doing what I want to do and is gracious & generous in sharing their gifts and their journey.

My life has been a journey of ever changing mentors, as my life has evolved, so too have my mentors.   

Since leaving my job (without another) last year I have had lots of time to focus on my passions in life which are Writing, Lean, Business, Psychology, Marketing and Travel Photography. This has led me to find brand new mentors to follow & learn from which has deepened my respect for and knowledge in these areas of interest.  

There is a popular saying that people come into our lives for a reason, season and lifetime, I believe the same applies to mentors.

Mentors that come into our lives for a reason help us through a specific time or until we have figured out something specific. When these mentors have guided and supported us through what we need to move through, we go our separate ways. The mentors that came into my life for a reason will always have a special place in my heart. 

Mentors that come into our lives for a season tend to be our mentors for a longer length of time. These seasons can span days or decades! 

I have many mentors who I have been following & learning from for many years and some for decades. These are people who continue to inspire me with all they do and whom I continue to learn a huge amount from. 

Some of these mentors I no longer follow closely. I’m still familiar with the great work they do but our paths no longer closely align as they once did. This is normal as mentors are meant to change, just as the seasons do. 

Mentors who come into our lives for a lifetime are those whose values and behaviours we deeply align with and who we have so much to learn from. For me, there are mentors whose wisdom is so deep that there is no end to it and no end to what I can learn from them. 

So where do you find a mentor? 

Thanks to the internet, it has never been easier to find people to learn from and to learn from them. 

Mentors we know through the online world can be found through their books, podcasts, videos, social media channels, newsletters (mailing lists) – basically everywhere! 

Mentors in the real world can be official mentors in that you have signed up to be their mentee or to be coached by them. Mentors in the real world can also be anyone you come into contact with. I learn from everyone, if our paths have crossed in the real world, then I have learned from you. 

Learning is everywhere if you want it to be! 

Do you have a mentor? 

Who do you learn from?

Who would you like to learn from?

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Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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