Over the years, I’ve developed a few personal mottos and quotes. I just think people seeking to achieve more out of life should never stop growing their personal list of wise and helpful sayings for personal development. One of my favorites is, ”If you don’t write it down, it never happened, and you will never fail…but you will also never succeed.” You need to hold yourself accountable to the goals you set for yourself.
After recognizing that some great people I was emulating had mentors themselves, I came up with #23 : “Find a mentor. Be a mentor.”
It’s short-sighted to think that we can individually––without any outside help––learn what it takes to be all we can be and reach new levels of growth. Jim Rohn often speaks of his mentor Mr. Schup and all the lessons he learned from him. My high school youth minister often refers to his mentor, with whom he connects at least once a year. I may look up to both these men, but they have someone they look up to as well. More than likely, so does someone you admire.
However, even with a mentor at our side, it’s not rational to assume that we’ll become the person we can be overnight. Being a great spouse, friend, employee, employer, parent or any other role takes time. Don’t hold yourself responsible for reaching your destination as fast you want to get there. Things developed quickly just as quickly lose their resiliency and strength. Cook a steak too fast and you’ll burn the outside while the inside is still raw. Heat a metal during forging too quickly, and it becomes overly brittle; breaking much faster than something tempered for a longer period of time.
So invest in yourself. Invest in time. Invest in plans to reach the goals you’ve set. Invest in time spent with the right people. Realize that your time has value and that when you share it with someone, you’re investing in them as well. How do you spend your “free” time? Learning a new skill? A new vocabulary word? A new process? Reading books? We all need time to watch mindless TV like The Office and Seinfeld, but don’t let too much time pass without doing something to improve the core of yourself. If you’re not thinking ahead, you are already behind. Be committed to excellence, accept nothing short of the best you can get from yourself.
And when you find a person to be your mentor, learn all you can from their experiences. Let their life lessons become yours, then pass that hard-won knowledge on to others who can learn from you. It doesn’t always have to be the GREAT things you’ve done; there’s a lot to learn from mistakes. In the words of another of my favorites: “A Smart person learns from their mistakes, but a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.” So don’t feel like you have to hold back on your mistakes. Let them help others avoid them and learn from them.
So today’s takeaways:
- Find a mentor: Be a mentor
- Write it down!
- Invest in yourself – wisely
I once asked a potential boss what you needed for success. He replied”You need your hammer and an angel. Your hammer is the thing you do really well. Your angel is someone helping from above, but, often, not directly above”.