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Why You Need A Mentor
Jason Johns
Years ago, I decided I wanted to play the guitar. Keen and
eager, I rushed out and bought a guitar, amplifier, effects
pedals and a few books. I got it all home, plugged it all
in and then made a noise that sounded like a herd of cats
all caterwauling out of tune.
After some days and weeks of struggling and irritating my
family I decided that I needed to learn properly. The best
way to learn properly is to get someone who is already an
expert to teach you.
So I went out, found someone who was an expert guitarist in
the style I wanted to learn and studied with them. I also
watched my favourite guitarists playing; watching exactly
how they played and moved their hands. I, of course, copied
them (though I now realise it's called modelling!).
With an expert teaching me, I soon became much better at the
guitar and was no longer banished from the house when I wanted
to play.
I could probably have taught myself guitar from books and
from fiddling with the guitar, but it would have taken me
a lot longer than it otherwise did. Through using a mentor,
I sped up the learning process and avoided a lot of the pitfalls,
bad habits and mistakes many self taught guitarists pick up
along the way.
Later on in life, I worked as a consultant for a large computer
corporation. Again, I was learning the ropes and was given
a mentor; an expert who already knew the system and the company.
My mentor advised and guided me through my career as a consultant.
He saved me a lot of trouble and made me aware of all the
loopholes in the company's processes and procedures, which
helped me get more pay raises and a better company car!
Whatever area of your life you want to develop in, it is important
that you have a mentor. Whether this is in your career, your
personal life, your business or your hobbies. A mentor can
speed up the learning process and help you to become the expert
and success you want to be.
So how do you find a mentor?
Well, you may know someone who is already an expert and could
approach them and ask them. You could join forums on the Internet
and find experts there (though check their credentials first).
Search for websites of people in the area you want to learn
from. You may find they have books to help you or even provide
a one to one coaching service. You can also read biographies
and auto-biographies of people you want to learn from and
model them.
Sometimes you may have to pay a mentor, whether with money
or through providing them some service or help. Other times
people will be happy to mentor you for free just to help you
out. When you become an expert you too may want to give something
back and mentor other people.
If you are looking for a business mentor, then often local
chambers of commerce provide mentors free of charge. Professional
bodies will often be able to put you in touch with a mentor
too.
A mentor will save you a lot of time and effort in the long
run, and it is well worth your time and effort to find one
to shorten your learning curve. Whatever area of your life
you are working on, business, personal or pleasure, find yourself
a mentor to help propel you forwards to the level of success
you desire.
Jason E. Johns is a personal success coach specializing
in helping you to set and achieve your goals. Discover how
you can create your dream life at his goal
setting website, www.LivingMotivation.com
Article Source: http://www.upublish.info
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