recreatingreality.com

No matter how much you think you know, someone always knows more.  No matter how much you have done, someone has always done more.  Regardless of what you have realized you need to learn, someone knows what you want to learn… and is willing to teach you.  Find a mentor!

I was lucky enough many years ago to work with W. Clement Stone.  The time was brief, but perhaps one of the most important times of my life.  I had read his books and those of Napoleon Hill.  And, to be quite honest I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the messages both delivered.  However, it was not until I met W. Clement Stone personally that I realized there is no substitute for human contact. 

Were he still alive, I am almost certain that Mr. Stone would have little memory of me, if any at all.  However, it is my memory of him and the few years of contact that allow me to state that whether he saw it as such or not, he became a mentor to a floundering young woman who had a burning desire but very little know-how.  Please note there is as much difference between knowledge and know-how as there is between night and day.

I have been away from professional public speaking, motivational training and sales training for a few years now.  However, based on knowledge and know-how, I feel completely comfortable standing before a group today to share what I know.  And, of course, one of the blessings of being in a position to teach others is that most often the teacher is the one who learns.  There are always new questions, new ideas, and in today’s world new technologies.  In fact, I have never walked away from the podium after a question and answer session without having a new seed of thought at the bare minimum.

A mentor is different from a mastermind alliance.  Within the framework of a mastermind alliance, a couple of people, several people or a group are all working together toward a final result.  The alliance shares ideas that will promote progress toward the goal.  The alliance takes part in reaching the goal.

A mentor is a person who has experience, who has knowledge and know-how, and has demonstrated his or her abilities by having accomplished his goals.  A mentor is a person who has reached the goal you are striving for or has accomplished a significant step in doing so.  He or she) is an expert in the field.

I speak of mentoring today because I am looking for a mentor.  For some time I have realized the need to find someone who not only can demonstrate his knowledge, but can demonstrate know-how.  Additionally, he must be willing and able to teach me. 

Obviously, I am confident that I understand how to set goals and achieve them.  Otherwise, I would not be wasting my time writing daily about the subject.  However, sharing what I know online is a new phenomenon for me.  I know my subject.  I know how to deliver my message.  But, I don’t know all the ins and outs of getting people to this site to read what I have to offer.  In other words, I have the “want to” but I don’t have the “know-how.”

One of the first things I discussed was that there are two reasons we do not do something.  We either don’t know how or we do not want to.  My “want to” is working fine.  I am highly motivated to share my knowledge and my know-how.  I enjoy teaching what I know and seeing others use the principles to achieve success.  I am quite comfortable with the skills I have.  However, if I post an article everyday and there is no one to read it, I may as well be keeping a diary of my thoughts or writing a memoir that won’t be published.

For that reason I have begun the search for a mentor.  I have visited several sites that offer suggestions and always end up wanting to make me an affiliate of something or other.  I don’t really want to sell someone else’s ideas.  I want to present what I know.  After weeks and weeks of searching for the site or person who can teach me what I need to know to get this blog out to the masses, I may well have found what I am looking for.  But, I’ll let you know more about that next week, after I have spoken with a few people who may be able to help me.

For now, let me just say that most of us need someone to guide us and to teach us.  We need a go to person who can answer the questions we have when we get stumped.  There is no shame in admitting that you don’t know it all or that you need help.  In fact, seeking experienced help… a mentor… is the fast track to getting where you want to be.  Simply put, there is no need to waste time re-inventing the wheel if you can roll one created by someone else.

As each of us set out to recreate our realities, many of us should be seeking a mentor… or several mentors.  Why not draw on the expertise of several?  For example, one person with whom I correspond decided that weight loss was the goal for the year.  There is no need to go into great detail.  The person came to me to learn to properly state his goal and how to best track the goal. 

However, when that person asked me about weight loss plans I admitted that I have no real workable plan.  I have never been extremely overweight.  (I have needed to lose a few pounds from time to time, but nothing like 300 pounds.)  The search began for a mentor. 

I suggested that the person look for someone who had lost 200 or 300 pounds… and kept it off.  At first, the person with whom I was working came back to me with a diet he had found online.  He showed pictures he found of the site and on and on and on.  I asked him if he was able to talk to the person directly.  Not much of a mentor when you can talk to him.  Regardless of the influence of the Internet in our world, we still need human contact.

Interestingly enough, the person pursued the internet route.  He found someone who had lost weight.  They talked on the phone for a little while and discovered that they shared much in common.  I believe they have talked occasionally since then, but they mostly correspond by email.  I find that quite acceptable since they can actually talk when it is needed.

The point of all this is simple.  We all need guidance.  We all need help from time to time.  We can be stubborn as hell and try to figure it all out for ourselves, and maybe we will be able to do just that.  But, think how much easier it is to at the very least have a conversation with someone who has “been there and done that.”  And, if you are lucky, you may find a real mentor.

Look, none of us can know everything about everything.  In today’s world as we are striving to recreate our realities, we may need to enroll in school for a few courses or to earn a degree, we may need to spend time studying and learning.  We need to stretch our knowledge and our “know-how.”  And, we need a resource we can turn to when we get stumped.  That is a mentor.