There is a common African proverb,

If you want to go fast, go alone

If you want to go far, go in a company.

These proverbs reiterate the importance of working together with other people in order to realize and achieve your objectives in life.  I remember my growing days as a young child when my father always encouraged me to keep striving to be a better person. He was very instrumental to my passion for reading books, I believe he was a great influence on the kind of books I still read up to date.

Behind every success in life, stands a mentor, someone who lovingly tells us when we are drifting away from the path, who also gives us a pat on the back when we do right.  They are found everywhere.

Mentors can be found at home, school, church, sports fields, and in business. My father was my first mentor in the home, I remember when I will come back from school, despite the fact that I was on the top 3 list of exceptional students in my class, and in sports activities, I felt like a nobody because of my size. I was the ‘shortest’ in my class, which gave me a kind of complex that I struggled with even in my adult years. My Dad was always there to speak boldness and confidence into me.

I believe because of my ‘petiteness’, if there’s a word like, and brilliance I could easily draw attention to myself, and as such found people who wanted to help me get out of my ‘complex’ issues and maximize the potentials they saw in me. I found mentors and coaches in my teachers also. I could easily walk up to them and ask questions, and receive guidance on different topics from academia to peer pressure stuff.

Something funny began to happen as the years passed by, as I grew older, my desire for mentorship faded away with the passage of time. The older I get the fewer my mentors. How come I couldn’t get them again? I even lost touch with daddy’s life nugget.

Maybe it is because as we grow older we want to do things our way, we want to be architects of our own destiny and make a name for ourselves, which isn’t a bad thing, but the truth is we will always go further faster with a mentor(s).

Some years back, during my university days, I began to make a conscious effort to look for mentors again, Some I found through reading their books-I devoured all the books on Leadership by John Maxwell, and Myles Munroe (I even got a chance to meet Dr Myles shortly before his transition to glory). 

Aside from reading the books of some mentors,I made a conscious effort to reach out to some others within my reach, and from time to time we always connect to glean from their wealth of knowledge.

Recently, One of my mentors, and life coach Lillian Adegbola, held a successful boot camp for all her proteges, men and women from all works of life who have found their path and meaning in life as a result of the mentoring relationship. It was such a great evening as each of us shared our stories of triumphs and success.

Again, I was reminded of the reasons we all need to have a mentor, just by listening to other people talk.

#1. Clarity- A mentor can see the path in front of you.

We don’t get clarity by thinking hard. Have you ever wondered why it is so easy to solve other people’s problems but we have the same problems to deal it, the reverse is the case? it becomes extremely difficult. A case of “Physician heal thyself”.

like the saying, “It’s hard to read the label when you are inside the bottle. 

We need an outside perspective if we must go further in life.

#2. Potential- A Mentor has the ability to lift the lid on possibilities

Remembering my sessions with Coach Lillian she will always say, “Do it afraid, Do it anyhow, Just do it! She would always give reasons why it is possible, encourage and charge me to go for the best, and break away from any limiting beliefs and hindrances.

#3. Focus- A mentor can infuse confidence by giving guidelines on pitfalls here and there.

Focus is a sacred gift. It is how lives get changed, courses get launched, and books get written. It is evident that nothing great can ever be achieved without a great amount of focus, Coach Lillian taught me about the importance of getting rid of the nonessential that beclouds one from achieving great things. You must stop doing the good so you can spend time on the great.

There was a session we had, and it was in that focus session, I got the inspiration for the song, ‘Good to great’ Coming soon.  Mentors strip away excesses from you by offering you the gift of Focus.

#4. Accountability-A mentor can help you take ownership of your life, business, home and your future. 

Sometimes, we perceive the word ‘accountability’ as a negative word, it’s like having someone to ‘police’ your life or work, but really at the centre of true accountability is ownership- You own your life, your time, and resources, when you have someone who checks on you at every point in time, it gives you a sense that you can’t afford to be frivolous about the gifts that God has bestowed on you.

If you and I must reach the dreams God has placed in our hearts, then we must be ready to step into a new level of ownership with our lives and work. when you have a mentor who breaks your workload down to the essentials-‘first things first’ and then follows up with your progress. I tell you that’s a blessing.

#5. Result-Oriented- Dreams to Reality.

Everybody wants results, whether in our personal lives, our business, or relationships we all desire to see results. We want results.

When you have clarity about your life’s purpose and you are focused and accountable you can’t help but achieve outstanding amazing results. 

Most of us who are proteges to Coach Lillian have a platform for networking called ‘Dreams to Reality, and I can tell you that indeed we all are on the journey of turning every dream into reality. Because at some points in our individual lives, we knew that we couldn’t afford to go on the journey alone.

I have mentors and life coaches for other aspects of my life-Most of whom I readily avail myself of their materials from time to time. Benjamin Hardy, Ted Dekker, Bob Allen,Sam Adeyemi,Tom Jackson Karen Kalis.

Coach Lillian Adegbola is one of the Founding Partners of The John Maxwell Group. Click here for more details.  Lillian Adegbola

Do you have Mentors? Will you like to share your lessons as well? I love to hear from you.

To your Success

OBA 2016@The kingsoracle.