Is your Mentor half way around the World?

Who is a Mentor?

A Mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person . To mentor is to give advice and instruction to (someone) regarding the course or process to be followed .  Many of us who are still growing long for a Mentor  to take us under their wing. We desire for someone who has already taken the journey to help us navigate the way . The theme of mentoring is beautifully demonstrated in  the movie War Room.   I recently watched it and wrote about it. Check it out  HERE.  In the movie, the older woman describes Mentorship as a  way to show others where the ‘”landmines” are so they don’t step on them.

Marriage Mentor

I’ve had the blessing of being mentored  by excellent men and women for several years .  In most of those circumstances, I didn’t even realize I was being mentored until years later. I now recognize the value of what has been passed on to me.

When I was working on my graduate degree, I was privileged to work with a Christian woman who mentored me for a year.  I was a newly wed , just beginning to adjust to married life and a hectic schedule of school and work. We didn’t always have time to meet face to face but we did the next best thing. We read a book together and we talked on the phone regularly.

The book we read was Power of Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian . We went through it, chapter by chapter, and discussed some highlights. My mentor would then ask me powerful questions that would get me talking about my challenges as a new wife. Drawing from the Word of God and her own experience as a married woman, she would help me come up with practical steps to being a godly wife. That was one of the most valuable mentoring experiences I have had in my life! It gave me a great foundation for starting out as a Christian wife.

Mentor Search

Today, people are finding it harder and harder to take the time to mentor young people. With so many successful people in Organizations and Churches, you would think finding a Mentor would be easy.  There seems to be such a lack of Mentoring relationships! Where are the Mentors?  If we fail to find a local Mentors locally, should we be looking elsewhere to fulfill this need?  If you can’t find a mentor in your Church or your community what do you do? I say pray about finding a godly Mentor or a Life Coach  in  another part of the world. Widen your search and see other resources that may be available.

Virtual Mentors and Coaches

Starting last year, I have had the blessing of being virtually mentored and coached, by two people I have never met in person. I can’t possibly fully express how powerful these two relationships have been. Both are Christians who are running successful businesses. I have come to know how they think,  through  podcasts, personal testimonies,  lessons and live webinars. I have been consistently learning fundamental business practices grounded in Biblical Principles. If I had to wait for an opportunity to meet these two people in person, I probably would have missed missed an opportunity of a life time. Granted, it’s not as personal as having a mentor I can meet face to face with, but technology brings them pretty close!

I also found Micheal Hyatt’s post on Mentoring very eye opening . Here is an excerpt.

How to Find a Mentor to Help You Go Further, Faster

The truth is you can be mentored now if you understand the eight levels of mentoring:
1. Blogs and podcasts. If you could wave a magic wand and be mentored by anyone, who would it be? John Maxwell, Seth Godin, Dave Ramsey or someone else? Chances are they have a blog or podcast and are already churning out a tons of content—for free. Are you taking advantage of it?
2. Books. There’s no greater value than a relevant, well-written book. For less than $20, you can get someone’s best thinking on a specific topic. Never before in history has so much knowledge been available to so many, for so little. And if you don’t have the money to buy a book, go to the library.
3. Courses. I’ve spent hundreds of hours with Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, David Allen, and numerous others. Not personally, of course, but by taking their courses. This is the next level up from reading a book. The instruction is more in-depth and, as a result, more likely to actually transform my behavior.
4. Conferences. When possible, I prefer live instruction. It provides an opportunity for total immersion, focused learning, and interaction with other students. It occasionally provides direct access to the instructor(s). I make it a priority to attend three to four conferences a year as a student.
5. Masterminds. I didn’t start hearing about these until a few years ago. Now they are all the rage. They are actually a very old idea. Benjamin Franklin, for example, had one. It’s a wonderful opportunity for peer mentoring. My friend Dan Miller has a great audio and PDF on how to create one.
6. Membership Sites. This can be a wonderful hybrid of input from specific mentors plus the input of fellow members. For many people this is the perfect combination. That’s what I do, for example, at Platform University. There’s a monthly fee attached, but it is nominal and enables us to bring high-quality content to our members.
7. Coaches. If you are willing to pay for a mentor, a coach is a great option. I employed one for more than a decade. While you may think you can’t afford one, I would challenge you to investigate it before dismissing it. If a coach helps you seize one opportunity, optimize your productivity, or avoid one fatal mistake, it will pay for itself many times over. I recommend Building Champions.
8. Mentors. Though a true mentor may be difficult to find, it’s not impossible. If you have one in mind, start by building the relationship—just like you would anyone else. Don’t lead with “Will you be my mentor?” (That’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date.) Instead, get to know them. Look for opportunities to be generous. Start small and see where it goes.

To find Micheal’s entire post on How to Find a Mentor to Help You Go Further, Faster , Please click HERE.

Today’s technology offers us some unique ways to learn from people who have accomplished what we want to accomplish. With live broadcasts, Skype, phones, email ,webinars, podcasts and more, we have a much bigger pool to draw from. It may not be Mentoring in the traditional sense, but it is definitely a great way to connect with like minded people who are walking where and how you want to walk.

My current mentors live hundreds of miles away from me. What I’m learning from them, is so valuable, the distance doesn’t matter.  They’ve helped me  rediscover my vision and clarify my goals in life. They have also offered me inside information to help me avoid unnecessary pitfalls and cheered me on to pursue my God-given calling. So, why step on those “landmines” when someone else can show you where the are? Does it matter that  your mentor or coach could be on the other side of the world?