Do you want to get motivated? Do you want to be even more motivated than you are now? One of the ways to boost your motivational rocket is to get a mentor.

A mentor will boost your motivational rocket and get your motivation flying higher and faster. How will a mentor help you do that?

Here are 6 steps on how to boost your motivational rocket by having a mentor:

1. Two heads are better than one

It’s just a cold hard fact that you can’t think of everything yourself. The great thing about a mentor is they will give you new ideas about how to approach problems and opportunities, based on their experience and expertise.

Many people, when working with a mentor, will get an idea from them and say “wow why didn’t I think of that?” The reason they didn’t think of that is actually quite simple; everyone thinks a little bit differently, and a mentor can bring you fresh ideas that give you a boost and are very motivating.

2. A mentor will push you

The great thing about a mentor is they will push you to try to reach higher levels of achievement. For example if you are in sales you may say “I have a sales quota of 500,000.” Your mentor, if they are the right kind of mentor will push you and say “well your quota is just the company minimum, why not shoot for twice that amount? Like a million?”  

This allows you to see your accomplishments from a different perspective and not limit your thinking. Great mentors will expand your thinking, and get you to understand that you have unlimited potential and talent.

“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.”-Steve Jobs

3. A mentor can provide resources

Mentors may know about or be aware of additional resources that you do not know about. There’s an old saying that says “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I would take that a step further and say “it’s not just who you know, but more importantly, what resources that person knows about that counts.”

All of us have had the experience of working on something for a long time, and then meeting an expert and them telling you about the tool or resource that would have saved you hours of time and energy. You then slap yourself in the forehead and say “if I had only known!” So the bottom line is, mentors can save you a tremendous amount of time and energy by guiding you.

4. A mentor can share expertise based on their experience

When you think about Yoda in Star Wars, Yoda is a tremendous mentor to the young Luke Skywalker. One of the reasons Yoda is a great mentor is because he has a lot of experience and wisdom. That is the beauty of having a mentor. They have a lot of expertise, because they have actually done what it is you want to know more about.

For example, someone who has been in a leadership role for a long time, can teach a new leader different techniques that the new may not know. Experience is a great teacher and your mentor has already learned many lessons from their experience which they can share with you.

5. A mentor can tell you what you can expect

There was a great book out many years ago called “What to expect when you’re expecting.” It was a book for women who were pregnant, and walked them through what they could expect in each month of pregnancy.

This groundbreaking book helped alleviate anxiety of women who were pregnant for the first time. This is what your mentor can do for you. Your mentor can tell you what to expect as you go through your life’s journey, so that when things happen you have less anxiety because you’re not surprised that they happened. Knowing what to expect can be a huge advantage and help you think more clearly when those things actually happen.

The other advantage is if you know what’s going to happen, and you expect it then you can prepare for it. It’s almost as if the mentor gives you a roadmap, and circles one spot on the map and says to you “right here, you will need to slow down because this is where the hairpin turn is on the road- that way you don’t crash.”

6. A mentor will encourage you and support you

I believe that every one of us are like Labrador retrievers. What does that mean? It means that every one of us at certain times in life needs a little pat on the back and a treat. Someone needs to tell us that we are a “good boy” or we are a “good girl”. Yes, everyone needs encouragement and support.

A great mentor will provide you encouragement, tell you what your gifts are, and compliment you for your efforts. They will provide that psychological and motivational support that you need. Sometimes in life we just need someone who will tell you that you can do it, and believes in you instead of someone who’s telling you that you can’t do it.

“Leaders should influence others. In such a way that it builds people up, encourages and educates them so they can duplicate this attitude in others.” – Bob Goshen

If you do not currently have a mentor, I strongly urge you to find one, because to me, a mentor can be a life-changing experience, and a huge massive boost to your motivational rocket.

I think many successful people would say that one of the reasons why they are successful in their life is that at some point they had a truly great mentor. So if you want that boost, don’t wait, get busy finding a mentor today.

How will you reach out to your mentor? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com