The Importance of Mentorship
Just as no one achieves great success without a great team, no successful person reaches the top without personal mentors.
What is a mentor?
The dictionary defines the word #145;mentor#146; as: A wise and trusted counselor or teacher. Another common definition is #145;a coach.#146;
Why do we need mentors?
First, a mentor can give us perspective. Often, we are too close to see things objectively. We are caught up in the emotions of the situation#151;the fear, the excitement, the wonder, the anxiety, the confusion, the overwhelm. A mentor is detached and can see things from a distance. Experience plus time equals wisdom. A mentor can give us the wisdom of a lifetime of experience.
Secondly, a mentor can give us proficiency. A mentor fills in the gaps of our ignorance. In mastering any new task, an experienced mentor can simplify the process, guide us through the complicated parts, help us avoid the pitfalls and warn us about the dangers. In short, a mentor helps us avoid the #145;school of hard knocks#146;#151;the most expensive kind of education in terms of time, money and emotional pain. A mentor gives us a shortcut.
Third, a mentor gives us patience. In learning any new skill, there is a learning curve. A mentor can teach us patience as we struggle through failure to achieve mastery.
Do you know any successful person who doesn#146;t have a mentor? Tiger Woods. Oprah Winfrey. Warren Buffett. Look behind the scenes of each and you#146;ll find a series of mentors.
Warren Buffett is the richest investor in the world#151;a billionaire many times over. Do you know who his mentor was? When Buffett was a senior in college he read a book by Benjamin Graham called The Intelligent Investor (still today, one of the great stock market classics.) For Buffett it was an epiphany. The young Buffett learned that Graham was teaching a business class at Columbia University in New York City, so Buffett enrolled there for his Master#146;s degree in Economics. After graduation, Buffett tried to get hired by Benjamin Graham#146;s investment firm (even offering to work for free) but it wasn#146;t until 3 years later Graham agreed to hire his young Proteacute;geacute;. Buffett spent the next two years being mentored by the famous author. The 25-year old Buffett returned to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska and launched Buffett Associates with 7 investors. Buffett#146;s original stake was $100. Within 5 years Buffett was a millionaire on his way to becoming the mos famous stock investor in history.
This is the power of mentorship. Who are your mentors?
copy; 2001 Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen
Contact Robert G. Allen at
boballen@robertallen.com
or visit his website at
www.robertallen.com
Permission granted for this excerpt from the forthcoming blockbuster, The One Minute Millionaire with Mark Victor Hansen; Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
