The Perks of Having a Mentor

By jordan e. Taylor

Marketing Coordinator

The formula for success is always different for each person, however the common piece to every equation is mentorship. Behind every successful person is at least one mentor. Whether you decide to climb the corporate ladder or pursue entrepreneurship, having a mentor will enable you to accomplish your goals faster and with fewer stumbles along the way. Here are some of the perks of having a mentor:

1. Direction – This world is full of talented people, however if they don’t have a plan for their career or business, all the talent in the world will not be able to help them succeed long term. Mentors help you map out where you want your career to go and the steps you need to take to get there. 

2. Wisdom – The hardest lessons in life are the ones you learn through your own failures, the easiest lessons are the ones you learn from the failures of others. A great success story is a story about failure, that didn’t end there. Mentors have a wealth of knowledge and information from their years of experience and they’re always willing to share. You can learn just as much from a person’s mistakes as you can from their success. 

3. Accountability – It’s easy to see the faults in others and sometimes harder to see them in ourselves. Mentors help you see your professional blind spots- patterns, habits and behaviors that we need to correct in order to become our best selves. They hold us to a higher standard and inspire us to rise to meet them. 

4. Connections – A key indicator of whether or not someone will be successful is their network. The people that make up your network can determine your net worth. Your network can help you land that next job, gain new business, give you good referrals and so much more. Having a mentor helps you to expand your network and make more meaningful business connections. 

5. Investment – Having someone believe in you is one thing, but having someone invest in you makes a world of different. The best mentors invest in you. Their key investment is their time. Mentors listen to you, teach you, provide helpful insights in situations that are unclear and they give you that needed push to get you to stretch yourself.

​Mentors are an amazing combination of life coach, therapist, and friend. Having a mentor transforms your career and positively impacts your life. Once you find a good one, make sure you nurture the relationship so that it can continue to grow.