I don’t know everything. I don’t even know close to everything. The moment that I embraced this truth is the moment that I felt I could truly begin learning. So, how do I learn? Yes, I learn from reading books, but the most useful activity that I have learned from in my lifetime is honest and open conversation with mentors. My mentors are those individuals which I look up to and know that they have been through a lot of life already. They have probably encountered the same situations that I am going through in the present moment and they have also done life well. Those are the people I want to learn from. And if I am introduced to ideas that challenge me and I want to know more, the internet has made it easy to find great idea makers and connect us quickly through email and a phone call.
Why do I subscribe to seeking out inspiration from these people that I look up to?
Life is all about learning from those who know more.
I have my strengths, but I also have my weaknesses. Through understanding what these are, I have learned to surround myself with people who make me better in almost every area of life. These are the people that I call, mentors.
You see, people like to compartmentalize life and be great in one area and be terrible at another and are ok with that . For me, I don’t subscribe to the mentality that being great at your career, but doing family life terribly is ok. I used to be that guy, but I am not ok with that anymore. I used to be ok with working endless hours, but now I am not ok with that. I used to be the guy that was ok with not speaking to my wife and keeping to myself, but now I am not ok with that. I used to be the guy that was relentless in seeking out my happiness in material things until I found it left this gaping void in life, but I am not ok with that anymore, either. Why?
Because the closest people to us need all of us, not a fraction of our lives.
The people around you need the best you there can possibly be. So, where do mentors fit into making you better? I believe that people can help develop you in different areas, even where you are lacking. I also believe that people can increase their capacity as people pour into their lives and help them along in their journey. For me, a face-to-face mentoring relationship works best, so I have found this in people close to me that inspire me to be a better me. I also make a few phone calls to out-of-town mentors who can inspire me over the telephone. But, maybe it is an online mastermind group that would work best for you. Or maybe it is the face-to-face relationships that work best for you as well. Whatever the case may be, begin surrounding yourself with people who make you better and begin living life better than you are right now.
How do you find the best mentors for you and information that challenges you?
I found that asking one simple question to people that I looked up to began steering me in the right direction. This doesn’t mean to neglect important relationships in your life, but it does mean to soak up the most valuable information that you can from those individuals that you want to learn from. So, do you want to know what that one question is that I ask as often as I can?…
The question is,
“Who inspires you?”
That’s it. Once I began asking the people that I admired most who their mentors were, I found myself learning more valuable insight, their interpretation of these life enhancements and information that I never could have imagined on my own. And I was able to learn from the source of this wealth of information.
So, when you find your selected mentors, keep asking this one valuable question. That is the one question that will change your life. That is the one question that will improve how you do life. That is the one question that will increase your capacity for learning.
Begin with asking the right question.