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Success Advice

Your Mentors Won’t Last Forever: They Come And Go.

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I wanted to say a little something about mentors. I think many people have forgotten a few details.

Let’s start with this: Mentors come into your life when you least expect and they leave in the same way. Most mentors do not stay in your life forever.

Over the last five years, I’ve had many, but six of them stick out. They are Andrew, Ben, David, Walter, Shannon and Karl.

Each of these mentors came into my life during a time when I thought I was hopeless or didn’t know what was next. Right now, in my career, I’ve reached that familiar crossroad again. The existing line-up of mentors have no answers.

That’s when I realized once again that mentors don’t last forever.

As you get to the various levels of life, you need different mentors, and mentors that are consistently playing several levels above you.

Why are mentors important?

They help you get out of rock-bottom, they challenge you, they tell you what you don’t want to hear, they give you suggestions, and sometimes, they even give you opportunities.

The crux of a mentor is to be an advisor. They don’t make the decision for you though and often they have more questions than answers.

Many people have reached out to me to be their mentor and thought that somehow, I would have lots of answers for them.

The truth is I don’t have many answers but what I do have is some powerful questions.

How will you know a mentor has arrived on the scene?

Mentors are leaders looking to create more leaders.

Not everyone fits this description. Mentors give without necessarily expecting much in return. Their return is seeing you grow, which often helps them grow. Said another way, mentors grow through you and your progress in life.

That doesn’t mean that mentorship is a one-way street.

“Many people think that a mentor is your free servant to push around and drain with 101 questions”

This idea is wrong. Mentors owe you nothing and a one-way relationship leads to Nowhereville.

With my mentors, I always try to find some way I can add value back to their life. It may not be in the same proportion to what they’ve done for me, but it’s not a competition to see who has the bigger you-know-what.

Going into a mentorship relationship with a mutual value mindset (geez that’s a fancy sounding phrase Tim!) is how you make sure you don’t burn mentors.

Just because someone has answers today, doesn’t mean they will tomorrow.

There are times when my mentors are all out of advice or they repeat the same advice over and over which I’ve already heard. That’s one of the reasons why mentors don’t last forever.

“There’s no one Yoda Mentor that will guide you for the rest of your life and career”

Mentors need to come and go based on where you are today and where you’re going.

Don’t be afraid to move a mentor on.

Sometimes it’s best to own up to the fact that regular chats with a mentor may no longer be valuable. It’s okay to thank someone for their time and move them on.

You’re in charge of your life and career remember? As long as you start with respect and end in gratitude – that applies to everything in life – you’ll never burn a mentor or another human being for that matter.

And what about you young mentee?

That’s right – when are you going to return the gift of mentorship?

This is the question I’ve asked myself recently. Mentors have been great to me and you have to return the favor. We all have hidden value and wisdom inside of us, and it’s a crime not to let it out through 1-1 mentorship.

Actually, nothing lasts forever.

Mentors are not the only thing that won’t last forever. Everything you’ve ever known won’t last forever. So, let’s not dwell on what was, what is, or what could have been.

Mentors will come and go and that’s a good thing.

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

Aussie Blogger with 500M+ views — Writer for CNBC & Business Insider. Inspiring the world through Personal Development and Entrepreneurship You can connect with Tim through his website www.timdenning.com

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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Success Advice

10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind

The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy

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micro financial habits
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You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)

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