Mentor??? Who Needs A Mentor?

Who needs a mentor. . .everyone who is truly serious about achieving more of their true potential, personally and financially. In fact, Richard Brooke says:

"If you're someone who wants to break out and do something extraordinary that you would not do on your own initiative, you better have a coach -- and you better have a great one."

If you doubt Mr. Brooke's quote may I suggest you investigate all top success icons in any field and you will find they all have Mentors and Coaches. It is reported that Michael Jordan at the peak of his career had 11 coaches.

You may be asking: what's the difference between a Mentor and a Coach? Webster's dictionary defines a . . .

Mentor as: "An experienced and trusted friend and prudent advisor."

Coach as: "a private tutor; one who instructs or trains a performer or a team of performers."

We have defined two types of Mentors - Life and Area Specific Mentors. A Life Mentor is one whose successsystem or methodology is universal and the foundation for success in every area of a person's life.

Finding a Life Mentor whose success system is universal to everyone, no matter his or her education, talents or social status, is extremely difficult. This is why Napoleon Hill, author of Think & Grow Rich, is so unique and the ideal Life Mentor because his success system is the foundation for every outstanding achievement and fortune ever made.

An Area Specific Mentor is a mentor, often referred to as a "coach," whose knowledge and expertise is in one or a few areas of life. For example, a head coach of a National Football League (NFL) team possesses knowledge, skills and a system encompassing all aspects of the game. However, he utilizes coaches skilled in the different areas of the game such as offense, defense and special teams.

Below are six areas in life where we can use Area Specific Mentors/Coaches:

1) Physical/Health
2) Family
3) Mental/Educational
4) Career/Financial
5) Social/Civic
6) Spiritual/Ethical

Seriously you say, do we and specifically myself really need a mentor? Let's look at the facts:

No one person will live long enough to make all of the mistakes

In simple terms, mentors speed the learning process and are the reason for advancements in technology and the standards of living we enjoy today.

The last half-century has seen very little change statistically.

Using the oft-quoted post-war study published by the Social Security Administration and Denvey's Economic Tables, less than 5% of the population at that time retired wealthy or financially independent. Sadly, a study done in March 2000 by the American Economic Review reported that the gap between "the haves" and "have nots" is widening.

Grade-Point-Score averages, according to studies, have barely been maintained over the last 50 years. Moreover, in professional sports, with all the advancements in mind and physical development, one would think that the number of super stars being produced would have increased dramatically; however, as a percentage, it remains virtually unchanged.

With the explosion of entrepreneurial opportunities in franchising and network marketing beginning in the 1980s, plus the same explosion from the mid-1990s on in Internet businesses, why does less than 5% of the participants in these ventures enjoy success and make any money. WHY?

Research and my own experience, which includes teaching an entrepreneurial course at a major community college for several years and working with several thousand participants in my Success and Wealth System course, leads me to one indisputable conclusion - Most people are without mentors, especially "Life Mentors."

You may say: It only happens in movies or for those talented few you say! How about the heroics and courage against unbelievable odds in athletics, the military and in everyday life. These qualities of character and achievement were learned from a true Life Mentor such as parents, teachers and those who have paid the price to be called a Mentor.

Yes, we all need good Life Mentors and Coaches at every stage of our lives. But be careful to choose those who walk the talk and demonstrate and exemplify the life qualities and achievements in their own life.