Inspiraelevation

One need not re-pave a path that has already been trod. He or she simply need to find a guide so that his or her footsteps may be sure.A mentor is a guide. He or she is person who has traveled the road you are traversing and has arrived at the desired destination.

Due to the wisdom of experience, a mentor can shed light on the pitfalls one may encounter along the journey as well as divulge in secrets for strategic success.

Choose wisely

When selecting a mentor select someone who embodies the character traits that you admire. You will be reflecting or mirroring a lot of the behaviors and habits of your guide. You want to pick a mentor that is a true reflection of who you desire to be.

It also works best when you select a mentor who operates within your desired field. Cross-mentoring may have its place. To learn industry, career, skill, specifics you need someone who has vested in the same goal as you.

Good mentors care and share

Your mentor should be open to sharing his or her experience, and open to answering your questions. A mentor should not be out of your reach. It is difficult to guide someone effectively from afar.

If you have selected an individual and he or she is  not open to sharing with you or aiding in your growth process then you must find someone else. Mentoring is about nurturing and information exchange for the purpose of growth.

Your growth is your responsibility

Remember that you are responsible for asking the questions and initiating the learning process. An individual can only meet the expectations you set.

Above all it is you that has the genuine concern for growth and development not the mentor. The mentor has achieved, its your job to receive all the insight he or she has to offer.  You must be motivated to initiate and maintain that relationship.

A good mentoring relationship does not come with a price tag. 

If you are paying for mentoring you are simply paying for someone’s advice and access to their brand, growth model, strategic plan etc… One can derive worth from this. You do not need to seek out someone to simply pay them for their advice. This is more in tune with consultation or counseling. There are many books available for purchase that can accomplish the same things.

You want a mentor relationship where there is a mutual respect, beyond a contractual exchange.

Mentor-ship is valuable

Mentor-ship is a gift. When one decides to mentor they are giving their time, effort, and extending their intellectual capital and for many this is done without  the exchange of currency. Rather, mentor-ship  is  extended due to the generosity of the giver not the recipient. Treat such relationships as extremely valuable and glean all you can while that gift is extended. Having someone with a vested interest in sharing knowledge for growth can make all the difference between success and failure.

Everyone must learn to market themselves. It is your goal to make them want you. The best way to market oneself is through a well-built brand.

Your brand is an external representation of what you represent. What compilation of skills, character attributes, values and beliefs  distinctly identify you. What is your reason or purpose.  It is that which sets you apart from all others.

You are a walking billboard. Everything you do, partake in, participate in, watch, or read defines who you are in all your individual complexity. These external displays are the signals, that those external to your person, use to  determine who you are? Such observances are also used to measure congruity (alignment of self and actions).

Is what you represent in action and deed (your brand) in alignment with whom you proclaim to be.  What do people say about you when you leave the room?

Do you have integrity

Integrity is a trait where a persons actions are in alignment with what they proclaim. They are who they say they are. They can be counted on to do what they say they will do. They do not invest in counterfeit branding, they are the real deal. Integrity is a necessary component of longevity in success.

Many people have failed on this level. Despite all their hard work and efforts, they do not build a brand (external marketable representation of themselves). They are thus unmarketable. Thus, they are rejected time and time again or,often the last to be considered.

this can be contributed to a lack of knowledge. It can also be attributed to inattentiveness or callousness. Some simply don’t pay attention and others simply don’t care.

inattentiveness to the activities one immerses him or herself in (specifically misaligned activities), can  lend the observer to paint  ill-fitting images, thus branding one as an undesirable candidate.

What one is lacking in knowledge one can recover from seeking instruction and understanding.

Always be aware of what you do, where you go, what you say, who you are around. Do not engage in anything that does not align with the image or brand you are trying to build.

When looking to achieve, ascertain a position, or a goal, you have to prove your worth and value.  That burden falls upon you. Remember people want to know what they are getting before they invest in you. If you do not know who you are or what you represent, then you have already failed. 

If you do not know what you stand for, represent, value, or believe start your quest for discovery today. The time to build for success is always now.

If what you are doing is not in alignment with who you proclaim to be cease from indulgence.

actions speak louder than words. It’s not merely your words that define you but all those things which surround you.

I would like to believe that in  everyone’s life there are defining moments. Moments which, alter the entire course of your life. Moments where one is arrested dead in his or her tracks, breathless, yielded spirit, forced to give pause, to reflect. A moment that changes every fiber of your being. You are no longer the same. The same perhaps in form but not otherwise. A point of conversion, evolvement, a point of transformation. From these points in time your life can in no means reflect the brief moments before. Your entire core is shaken, you become unsettled, and your old ways of thinking are just untenable. Its like passing through a door with a one way entry.

I would like to think that everyone has such moments. I can not fully rest on my supposition. My experiences can not be held as model to that of the whole. Each of us are significantly different beings with varying experiences on this vast planet. Each with a different path to travel.

in a most defining moment I came to touch the coldness of humanity. I came to experience the hardness of the world and harrowing experience of isolation. To see the dearth that can exist between yearning and fulfillment. The absolute nature of the raw sting of  fevered desire when met with in-opportunity and diminished or defunct resourcefulness.

When forced to study in life’s classroom I learned of the destitution in the human spirit, the impoverishment of humanity, a world writhing in isolationism and devoid of compassion.

Lesson 1: There is very little that separates one from success and poverty. For many the only thing that separates one from success, destitution, wealth, or destruction is one moment in time.  One no, one yes, one windfall, one storm, just one moment can change everything.

Make the moments that you have. Know that on the morrow anything is possible. Never be unprepared, physically, emotionally, fiscally, and even more important spiritually.

Lesson 2: Everyone needs someone. You cannot make it in the world alone.

Lesson 3: Know what to expect. Best their expectations. 

The compassionate human being is a rarity.

This is troubling. Must one always be aware of the environment in which he or she operates in order to rise above.

• Don’t expect anyone to give you anything, not even an opportunity.
• Don’t expect anyone to listen to your story.
• Don’t expect anyone to want you to succeed.

This does not mean that the compassionate soul does not exist, but just that they are few and far between.

Lesson 4: The world regardless of where you go is capitalistic in nature.Money makes the world turn. Be prepared to pay. Nothing is without a price. There maybe times where you will come to a block in the road. You will not be able to pass without investment capital. Financial literacy, and access to capital is imperative. Having access to capital is about improving your options.

Lesson 5: The trek is not easy

Your way in life will not be easy. It will be very difficult. It will be a hard road to travel. There are some for whom this is not a truth, but those are exceptions to the rule.

There are many self-help sites and blogs that will tell you that anything is possible. It is. They do not tell you that life and all it entails is a struggle. Building success is arduous work. Sometimes it will take everything in you and it will leave you spent and tired. For some people no matter what they put into it they will not get that one thing they have labored so hard for.

Truth (In summation)

Though unpopular accepting truth is a necessary component of building success. “Life is not fair.”. “Opportunities are not equal.” “People are not  always compassionate.” Success is  10% talent and skill, 15% effort, but 75% chance. This formula can be flipped based on the level of access one has to resources and network capital. The more resources and people  available to you the greater probability you have of creating your own opportunities.

Hard work does have a pay off. Everything that you build with your hard work and effort will result in a solid and lasting foundation. What you build within yourself, knowledge, talent, skill, and character; no one can take away from you. That is a wealth that can never be depleted or displaced. That which  you possess you can pass on to enrich others and build un-formidable legacies. That is true success.

Always set aside a time to reflect. A period of reflection is a time or rest and a time to recharge. It is the point where one evaluates desired outcomes and measures them against current progress. Periods of frequent reflection are important and should never be neglected.

When gazing in the mirror at one’s visage one aims to correct perceived flaws, enhance (beautify), or simply clean up.When one checks his or her reflection in the mirror it is done as a means of affirmation, to affirm that every part of one’s appearance is in order.  This is a means of polishing oneself before interacting with the world. It is a means of preparation.  One does this solely to make themselves presentable to self and the external world.

When one reflects on his or her goals, motives, or life it is an act of polishing. It is the act of measuring and affirming ones goals, direction, and path. That which is out of sync is realigned and that which is beautiful is enhanced.

Reflection is not an arduous task it is simply the act of purposed thought and meditation. It is necessary for our growth as human beings.

It is through this process, of reflection, that we assess our methods and measures of progress, for success.

This should be done every evening after you have completed all  your activities of the day.

• Reflect on all you have done, learned, and experienced.
• Try to find understanding.
• Pledge to change those ugly things which are detrimental to your progress and build on all those things that beautiful.

In everyone there is a seedling of greatness. No one must be resigned to a mundane life of simple existence. That is a choice that one must make.

Don’t simply strive to do or be  but strive to go above and beyond. Strive to be more than mundane and ordinary, strive to be extraordinary.

Those Five Extra Letters

Those first five letters that hang upon this word is so exacting and makes all the difference in the world. It is that extra that separate the winners from the losers.

It is that extra invested time,  extra smile, extra chapter, that extra push that makes all the difference in the world.Giving not just what is expected, but always more. That is the ingredient for long-term success

 Extra effort is the fuel that ignites those turbines.

Talent is as plentiful as droplets of water in an expansive sea. Creativity and ingenuity are the twin engines of long-lasting success. Creativity and ingenuity often stem from the minds of those who are extraordinarily insightful, extraordinarily aware, extraordinarily dedicated, extraordinarily focused, extraordinarily attuned to the themselves and the world,  and extraordinarily passionate.

The beautiful thing is that everyone has access to all of these traits. If you desire success you must work for it. If you want longer lasting success you must always give more than is required.  Do not be afraid to invest more of yourself , time, energy, and talent it is a necessary investment with a profitable pay off.

Be Extra-ordinary. You can do it.