Having the right mentor/ teacher plays a very major role in most success stories. Who you listen to and learn from really does matter. You have a lot to gain by forming a relationship with a seasoned elder who is willing to share his or her wisdom with you.
When you are starting out in business, academics, ministry etc, you’ll probably make a few mistakes, due to your lack of experience but you can limit the frequency of such occurrences by finding a mentor. A mentor will bring his or her wealth of experience which will prove invaluable on the journey to living the life of your dreams.
One of the best things you can do to achieve your dreams is to seek out advice from the people who hold the very position you desire, or who have attained the height that you hope to attain.
I realized early in life that it is better to learn and study from those who have already gone ahead of you and gotten the answers to what you are looking for rather than starting from scratch and trying to figure everything out by yourself. A lot of people put pressure on themselves and think it will be too hard for them to succeed. Mentors are there to say, “Look it’s not that tough… it’s not as hard as you think… here are some guidelines and things I have gone through to get to where I am in my career“.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what they do for a living, if they do it well, I’m sure there was someone cheering them on or showing the way – a mentor!