5 Reasons why you need a mentor

A lot of young people want to be successful; they want to unleash their full potential and be the best that they can ever be. Most of them are self driven; they know what they want and are going for it but no matter how talented one can be, no matter how brilliant you can be, you still need to have a mentor. You still need someone who will guide you and give you all the support you need. The role of a mentor is not to tell you what to do or to do all the work for you. They are just there to make sure that you’re on the right track and to also make sure that when you fall, you pick yourself up and keep moving forward. You can have more than one mentor for different areas of your life; a career/business mentor, personal mentor and spiritual mentor. Here are 5 reasons why it is important to have one;

• They have achieved what you’re trying to achieve

It is always advisable to be mentored by someone who is already doing what you want to do because they are knowledgeable in that particular field and they will be able to advise you accordingly. They have already achieved what you want to achieve and they will be able to show you how they did it and if you want, you can follow in their footsteps or you can just get some lessons from their story.

• You can confide in them and not feel judged or ridiculed

You can talk to your friends and family about a number of things but sometimes when you do that, you might feel like they’re judging you or if you were talking to them about your goals and dreams you might feel ridiculed; you might feel like they don’t get you and that they don’t really understand your vision. That’s where a mentor comes in. You can talk to them about anything and they will be there to listen and offer sound advice.

• They will open doors for you

A good mentor will open doors for you that you never even knew existed. They will introduce you to their contacts and help you network with people who will help you achieve what you want to achieve. We live in an era where having good relations with people from different spheres of life is mandatory. If you really want to be successful you need to go out there and meet people who are already doing what you want to do and a mentor will help you a lot with that.

• They will cheer you up when times get tough

The road to success is not smooth at all. There are so many challenges that one has to face along the way and when you come across those challenges it’s either you turn them into lessons and move on or you let them destroy you. When you have someone who will cheer you up and motivate you to keep going no matter what you go through it becomes much easier not to give up and to choose to turn your challenges into lessons. A mentor will help you a lot with that. They will be your personal cheerleader.

• They will help you set clear goals

If you really want to turn all your dreams into reality, you just can’t afford to do things haphazardly. You need to have clear goals and have a clear plan of action. Sometimes when you have exciting dreams you get carried away and you come to a point where you just want to do everything all at once so your mentor will be very helpful in that case because they will help you set clear goals and make sure that you achieve them one step at a time.

I believe you now understand why it is important to have a mentor and you will go out there and look for one. There are many people who are passionate about mentorship and would be honoured if you approach them and ask them to mentor you. Just remember that this is a two-way street. You are the least experienced in the relationship but it doesn’t mean that you’re less valuable. You need to always remember that you have so much to offer. Learn from your mentor but do not live in their shadow. If there is something they’re suggesting and you’re not comfortable with it, you don’t have to do it. They are there to guide you and support you not to be your dictator. When you approach mentorship with such an attitude, you will learn a lot, you will grow and you will turn all your goals and dreams into reality; one step at a time; one day at a time.