Young People and Choosing the Wrong Mentors
Where do we find our mentors?
I nearly died a neuron when I saw a young woman posing with one of those motivational speakers who pays you money to teach you how to succeed.
The young woman considered this speaker her mentor.
She will probably change her mind in a few years when real life hits her full force, but in the meantime the problem remains, young people choose the wrong mentors, the ones they follow in life, the ones who influence their set of values.
They’re easy to manipulate, especially at first.
I know, because I’ve been there myself.
This problem with choosing the wrong mentors is not only their fault, but also because we don’t have real mentors, role models.
In our society all values are turned upside down.
You see businessmen explaining how they made a success of themselves, even though they were lucky enough to make some combinations.
You see cardboard celebrities getting media coverage everywhere, even though their only talent is that they look good in photos and/or have a sponsor behind them.
You see all kinds of speakers at conferences, promising to teach you how to make money, be successful, live healthy, find your ideal partner, although if you analyse them a little you find that their real life does not reflect these achievements.
Where do we find our mentors?
Not among celebrities, not among speakers who take your money and promise you the big bucks, not among businessmen who are overly publicised everywhere.
I’m not saying there aren’t mentors among them, but the rarer it is, the more desperate a man is for attention, the fewer values he has worth taking on.
Good people who can positively influence our lives, from whom we can learn a set of values that can help us in business and on a personal level are usually much more discreet, not people who want to be in the spotlight.
They are among us, they are doers and doers, people who inspire through their daily behaviour and actions, not through snide speeches.
My parents taught me to be fair to others, not to cheat, they taught me that to succeed in life you have to work hard, and when it comes to money you can’t spend what you don’t have.
Want more money?
First you work for it, then you spend it.
I had teachers who showed me that school is never over, that it’s not enough to grow to learn the subject, but you always have to be curious, learn new things, read, improve yourself.
I have friends from whom I stole their passions and good habits when I saw they could help me have a better life.
They and many others have helped shape me into who I am today.
In my opinion, you can’t have just one mentor in this life, but you can take from everyone you know certain values, habits, ideas, no matter the field, as long as they are genuine, and the people you take from really succeeded in life because of them.
However, remember one thing, a true mentor is not the one who asks you for money to help you, even though he cannot help himself.
I’m not saying their help won’t work, but real mentors are those who really are passionate about what they do, really are successful in their field, and pass on to their mentees what they’ve learned because they feel the need to give back.
