Find a mentor in money thinking. Choosing the type of mentor. Where and how to find a mentor
When you're trying to build the freelance career of your dreams, without a mentor to teach you the ins and outs of the profession and the lifestyle itself, it can be tough.
Even if you are confident in yours creativity and having no trouble finding clients, talking to another experienced freelancer can help you develop your career as quickly and efficiently as possible. A more experienced colleague can tell you how to solve problems with clients or find new ones, teach you some tricks, and may even throw you a little job.
However, finding a mentor is difficult. Unlike people in large companies with access to many potential mentors on a daily basis, you work alone. There is no one to teach you. Everything is only in your hands.
We've put together some tips to help you find the perfect mentor (online and offline) to help you advance your career!
Finding a mentor in your city
Most traditional way finding a mentor is to use local connections... Even if you don't work for a company with a large team, there are many great ways connect with potential mentors in your city.
Look for courses. If you live in a large city, you can find special training programs, courses, and even mentoring programs - when interns are recruited into the team, with the prospect of employment.
Use dating. Stay connected with everyone you studied with or taught you at some time. You never know where to find an amazing mentor. LinkedIn is an extremely valuable (and forgotten) resource for this type of network. Look for people you already know working in your area locally.
Attend events... Various conferences and other events are one of the best ways to meet other freelancers in your city. Even if you live in a small town, chances are good that someone near you is working in your industry.
Finding an online mentor
Since you work online, why not find a mentor right there? Especially since modern technologies making it as simple as shelling pears. In many ways, digital mentoring is simpler and more effective than traditional mentoring: you don't have to worry about making time to meet in person, you can easily track shared resources and notes, and so do you. big choice among coaches, this is better than limiting yourself to people living a few miles away.
E-learning plans. Even if you are already an expert in your field, platforms like Skillshare can be in an amazing way find potential mentors. Check out their courses to see what teachers in your field seem to be suitable, and contact directly saying that you enjoy chatting.
Search Twitter. Most people think of LinkedIn as the holy grail for finding professional contacts, but Twitter isn't bad either. The main reason is that the freelance community is incredibly active on Twitter, and you're more likely to find someone here than on LinkedIn. Use the search and filter the people you want. Start reading a few people whose work you like and start getting to know each other. Comment, retweet, make it feel as natural as possible! After a while, write a private message, invite on Skype.
Internet communities. The opportunities to connect with other freelancers online are endless. Sign up to Behance, find interest groups on social media, go to Dribble.
Follow other designers you like in the comments on their work. Similar to how you handle new contacts on Twitter, slowly start building online relationships with certain people which you like before contacting directly. Check out other communities like The Designers League, which are often home to many amazing freelancers around the world.
How to get the maximum benefit from communicating with a mentor
So you've found a mentor and are ready to start building relationships. Remember that he is giving you time, time that he could use to focus on his own career.
Write down a list of questions you want to discuss before each meeting so that your mentor can review them in advance.
Always discuss next steps. Take the last few minutes of each conversation to discuss actions and next steps.
Create a shared online space. Use a platform like Evernote or Trello to create a shared folder where you and your mentor can share notes, inspiration, and projects.
Be grateful. Mentoring takes time and a lot of mental effort on the part of your mentor. Always be on time, don't ask for too many appointments, and be incredibly grateful! Always offer to buy coffee if you meet in real life or offer collaboration if you have an online mentor.
And don't be afraid to admit to yourself that you need help. It's better to find a coach than to stuff your own bumps and do outright stupid things.
When hard trials fall, anxiety and anxiety grips, people ask for help from God or the wise men to get advice, recommendations for solving their problems. And then there is a need to find a person who can send to the right way and will help you to understand yourself and your own troubles. It is such a person that often becomes a spiritual mentor who helps to open up the soul, repent and make a decision to change your life.
Why is spiritual guidance needed?
Without a leader, one cannot live a life of holiness. You can find a teacher in the church, where you need to come and pray to the Lord to send a confessor who will console, advise and direct thoughts in a godly direction. The role of a spiritual mentor is great. He, communicating with his child, conveys what the spirit of God conveys to him, instills peace and harmony in the soul.
As a rule, a spiritual mentor is a person with great life and religious experience, and he is obedient to lead the religious life of other people. The confessor plays huge role in the life of a layman and a clergyman, and he is necessary in order to listen to his advice, live piously and achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Church history has several options for mentoring. But the main ones are:
- the service of the priest in the parish, where he is the spiritual healer of all parishioners;
- eldership, it was it that became widespread in Russia.
Elders - soul healers
Arising in Byzantium, it firmly entered Russian culture and took one of the significant places... The elders bore a vow of obedience and, by their word and deeds, were called to expose sins and console people entangled in their own doubts. With saving conversations and instructions, they healed souls, brought them peace and tranquility.
The Russian eldership takes its origins from the Monk Paisius Velichkovsky and reaches its development thanks to the monks of the Optina Hermitage. Monasteries with their spiritual mentors have long been the center of pilgrimage for the Orthodox people. Elderhood had its own peculiarity, where strict asceticism alternated with active exits into the world. These exits were expressed in contact with the people and in the service of the world as a spiritual assistant, mentor and advisor.
Achieving simplicity with humility
Engaging in the religious education of their disciples, the elders taught wisdom, promoted moral growth and improvement. During the earthly life of their spiritual disciple, they coordinated and directed the deeds and actions of the child. The bond between teacher and student was very strong, because it was built on trusting and respectful relationship, humility and love. Father Zacharius instructed to preserve one's conscience and strive for simplicity, which can only be achieved by humility.
They came to the elders for advice when there were doubts and arose difficult situations... They expected consolation and help from the confessor. The uniqueness of the elders in Orthodoxy lay in the unshakable faith and spiritual strength of the elders and in the delicate work that they carried out in the soul of their disciple. Influencing the human psyche, they delicately and accurately guide a person on the path of gaining love for the Lord.
Finding a mentor
It is a great grace for a believer to find a priest who will be responsible to the Almighty for his disciple, who will pray for him, control the growth of spirituality, guide his actions and instruct in worldly life, and also direct him to the path of virtue that leads to eternal life. ...
For a believer, the way of solving problems is different from the way that unbeliever laymen choose. People who are far from religion, as a rule, try to solve their problems that have arisen, relying on the help and advice of their acquaintances and mainly people who are far from religion. And often the problem is not resolved, but only aggravated. This is due to the fact that all the difficulties are concentrated within us, far from God. And as a result, under the accumulation of sins, spiritual harmony breaks down.
A church-going person with the appearance of unforeseen situations should go to his spiritual father for advice. At the same time, the believer understands that by asking what to do, he is waiting for an answer to his question from the Lord. Seeing his humility, God through the priest gives correct advice and blesses. A Christian will never have doubts that it is necessary to follow what the confessor has said. He is sure that it is the Almighty who is sending him his support. Only if you transfer your heart and soul into obedience to the confessor, God's grace will dwell in a person.
The Church does not put restrictions and provides an opportunity for a good Christian to choose a spiritual father himself. How do I find a spiritual mentor? It will be good if it will be a priest from the church, where you often come to pray. But everything is individual, and sometimes it is not easy to meet a confessor with whom a trusting and cordial relationship would be established.
The mentor's task
Spiritual guidance seeks to improve the personality and the manifestation of the image of God in it, to upbringing spirituality in a person. Orthodox Christian you should definitely read and feel the teachings of the holy fathers. They read:
- the spiritual thoughts of any Orthodox should be guided by a priest, to whose help it is necessary to turn both in confession and in teaching;
- try to communicate with your confessor throughout your life, revealing your sins and godly thoughts;
- following the teachings of your spiritual father, you will certainly gain the Kingdom of Heaven;
- if you entrust your heart to your confessor, then God's grace will dwell in your soul.
How to Choose a Spiritual Father?
How to Choose a Spiritual Guide? You shouldn't look for any ways. No need to apply special efforts starting a search for a spiritual guide. This will tell the heart. The understanding of whether this is your person or not will come by itself if:
- Father's advice has a beneficial effect and heals the soul;
- you get comfort and support;
- feel joy and serenity communicating with him;
- feel and believe in the power of his prayer and mutual benevolence.
How to Start Searching for a Spiritual Father
For God to suggest how to find a spiritual guide, you need to pray a lot and passionately. Starting the search, you need to look closely at the parish in which the priest conducts services. A good priest always has a welcoming atmosphere in the church. It is worth talking to the parishioners, to find out their opinion about the pastor.
You should not go to distant lands, wondering where to find your spiritual mentor. He may be close and closer than you think. You don't need to tell anyone about your mentor when you meet him. Religious life is private, and there is no need to put it on public display.
Come often to the church you like. Open yourself to the priest in confession and pray for him, and then God through him will reveal his will. When communication with a clergyman is confidential, then it is worth following the advice of the priest and, having received the parting words, carry it out. There is no need to come with one question or problem to many priests, hoping for a change of understanding.
There is no need to rush and call the first father you come across as your spiritual father. When attending church, confess and ask the priest for advice about your problem. And then it is possible to meet a confessor close to oneself.
When communicating with parishioners, find out where to find your confessor, and which priest enjoys the authority and respect of the flock.
You need to start reading with simple and understandable texts. Spiritual books will help you to correctly determine the goals and priorities in life.
Does a person need a spiritual mentor
In any field of activity or in sports, a novice specialist, athlete or student always has a mentor. He helps to master the profession, shares his experience, advice. The mentoring of a clergyman is aimed at achieving the student's strength of spirit, religious self-awareness and the fulfillment of divine commandments.
The relationship between a child and a confessor is not measured by the amount of time spent together. Sometimes a few sentences are enough to calm the soul and the questions are resolved. It is important to follow all the advice given by the confessor.
In worldly life, it is important for families following the laws of God to confess with one confessor. It happens that the arising internal family problems can be solved together.
It is advisable for a church-going person to keep a record of their sins and then confess them to their spiritual father as often as possible. Salvation is believed to be in a multitude of tips. Therefore, it is useful for the soul to seek answers to questions from several priests. But it is better to reveal thoughts and sinful thoughts only to your spiritual father.
Some believers do not know that, when going to the pastor, they need to read the prayer: “Lord! Give me mercy and inspire the spiritual father to give me an answer according to your will. " Trusting yourself to your spiritual father is The best way in order to embark on the path of correction. The devil will not be able to intervene where everything secret and sinful was revealed to the confessor. It is important to obey your leader, for through him you obey God.
Spiritual teacher
A confessor is like a teacher who reveals the true meaning of many things and the truth to his wards. The teacher, the spiritual mentor must expand the inner potential of the individual, influence him, make the mental world of the pupil consonant with his own.
Mentoring is also the prayers of the confessor for sending him wisdom in teaching his disciples. This is his appeal to God in unsolvable situations, a request for support from the Heavenly Intercessor in moments of doubt and helplessness. The spiritual father is responsible before Jesus Christ for the children entrusted to him.
Spiritual guides of man
On our way, we come across many people who call and consider themselves spiritual mentors. Often they have their own teachings, schools, or they call themselves followers of famous spiritual personalities. These mentors have students, like-minded people, and admirers who support their views and beliefs.
In addition, each person has his own invisible spiritual helpers. These include angels who protect and preserve throughout life. If you can learn to understand them, then life will become much easier and easier. Coming into the world with a born baby, angels leave it after death.
A believer who seeks to follow God's commandments with a clear conscience and thoughts, before adversity. They only strengthen beliefs and perfect his soul. Going to his confessor, he realizes that he is asking for advice not from a person, but from the Lord, who through a priest gives necessary advice and blesses. The parting words of the spiritual father, strictly followed, will lead to help from God. For the purpose of man's existence on earth is to cleanse his heart and feel the closeness of God.
It would seem that in our time, the availability of a wide variety of information should not be difficult to obtain new interesting work, with the creation of a business project or with the search for oneself in the spiritual world but it is not. From time to time, there are messages on various forums of the global network, for example: “I'm looking for a teacher”, “help is needed experienced specialist"," How to find a mentor - a millionaire. "
The word "Mentor" has many different synonyms. A similar term can be found in the vocabulary of the most different nations, but the meaning is essentially the same - a person who prompts, advises, guides a newcomer in a certain area. As a rule, the mentor, in other words the teacher, is older and more experienced than his ward.
The school of mentoring itself appeared a long time ago. References to the practice of mentoring can be found in a variety of historical works. For many centuries in different countries the role of the first teacher was played by the father. After the grown-up child, he was sent to study with a master. Of course, the medieval rules of learning have long sunk into oblivion, but still a similar practice is still used in many large companies. Thus, entering the service of a large organization, you almost immediately find a mentor whose task will be to help you adapt to new job, reveal you as an irreplaceable employee. Will such a specialist help your career growth? You can only learn this by experience.
If you decide to develop on your own, without working for some business giant, you will have to look for a mentor on your own. Usually they are people who, in their development, are two or three steps higher than their ward, namely, who have reached certain heights in their field. However, getting to know such people without proper connections is not so easy.
The situation is different with the search for a mentor or teacher for spiritual development. There is a prejudice among those who are engaged in spiritual practices today - there is no need to look for a teacher, he himself will come to a student when the time comes. And as long as the student is waiting for his mentor, he must engage in self-development. For those who do not want to wait, there are special forums, where asking for more experienced user you can find a temporary teacher.
Where and how to find a mentor
For those who do not give up trying to find their Mentor, various coach publications give the following tips:
Take a closer look at your friends and family. Perhaps your future teacher is much closer than you previously thought. As a rule, someone who knows you well will be able to help you with difficult moment advice based on your life experience suggest what you can do in the boundless future, for example, where to go to study, work, etc.
Pay attention to your line manager or colleague. As part of the planned working project, you will have a great opportunity to regularly meet with such a mentor right at work and discuss pressing issues with him, for example, how to increase sales and interest a potential client.
Choose a mentor from among new acquaintances you meet at a conference, personal growth training, or at an important business meeting for you. To establish personal contact with the future teacher, use the data from the business card... After the conference, you can call or write email asking for support and assistance. As a rule, such requests are very flattering to self-respecting businessmen, business people, scientists, professors.
Refer to the help of the Internet. V in this case you choose a tip / advisor for correspondence, namely, via mail, icq, skype.
Find your mentor on the screen or on the bookshelf. Studying the biography of famous people and not so, reading historical essays or novels, you can emphasize interesting thoughts for yourself, acquire the necessary motivation. And here it does not matter at all whether you know your “mentor” personally or not.
But what age, gender, rank, religion your mentor should be - there is no clear definition here. The main thing is that you are comfortable with him, and he is interested in you.
An acquaintance of mine, Edward, who lives in Chicago, won a competition run by a well-known newspaper. The prize was this: to spend one day with a multimillionaire and the president of an it-company.
Two months after Edik spent this very Day with the Multimillionaire, everything changed. He quit his hired job and opened his own startup, which began to develop rapidly. All his friends were shocked and asked:
Edik, what SUCH unknown did the Multimillionaire tell you that you started so lightning fast? What bombing business secrets did he reveal? With what words did he pull you out of the "couch" of a hired job and push you into the world of his company?
And Edik once "split":
“When I came to Henry's office (that was the name of this Multimillionaire), I expected to see Mister Efficiency, a super businessman who knows the answers to all questions. In my opinion, he should have been able to do everything - he's so rich and influential.
But! First of all, when I went into his office, I saw three ties in front of him. He chose which one to wear. 40 minutes. Once again: “He. I chose. Tie. 40 minutes". Then he had a planning meeting where the team did brainstorming for one project. Henry himself at this time did not offer anything, but only periodically jumped up, straightened his tie and happily shouted: "Wow, the idea is fire!". After lunch, there was a meeting at which an important tactical decision had to be made. To do this, Henry called his deputy, and he had already advised what to do.
Well, at the end of the day, when we were alone, Henry said: “You know, bro, I have no talents, except for one thing: I can clearly see which person needs to be entrusted with which work. I don’t follow techniques and business tools, I hate making decisions, I don’t know how to come up with anything. But I have 100% developed one skill: to feel which person will do a certain job better than me. "
And for Edik, this day became defining. He said: “I understood the main thing: in order to achieve what you want, you do not need to be the coolest. The main thing is not to be afraid and develop at least one skill. Indeed, everything is very simple. "
I also had a similar story. A couple of years ago I attended a seminar a la " Personal growth"To one girl. She was in her early 20s. In terms of information or knowledge, I didn’t get anything new (although she said the right things and now I’m friends with her), but then her self-confidence pissed me off in a good way. I thought: “Why the hell am I afraid to say out loud what I think about this life, and she - in her 20s with a ponytail - thinks about it so confidently? Where did I get the idea that I have to wait 70 years to have the right to speak on deep topics and write books? Why not now?".
And this thought set me free. At that seminar, I gave myself the inner permission to do what I want. This is why I always insist on talking to "cool" people. Once you understand that they are the same as you, it will become easier for you.
There is nothing special about people who achieve outstanding success, which would not be in any person! They are the same indecisive, self-doubting, reflective, they often make mistakes, fall, feel sad, compare themselves with others, do not know what decision to make, and sometimes it’s hard for them to get out of bed. Their only difference is that they constantly do something, despite all this.
Why do you need a mentor and how to find one?
It was one side, but now let's look at a completely different one. Let's talk about mentors and mentors - people who have already achieved results in a certain area and can tell you how to do it. Well-known entrepreneur James Altucher writes about the types of mentoring:
"Straight. A person who is next to you, who will show how he succeeded. What is it"? Wait. By the way, mentors are not gurus from karate movies. Most mentors will hate you.
Indirect. Books. Films. 90% of mentoring comes from books and other materials. 200-500 books are equal to one good mentor. Everyone asks me: "What book should I read?" I do not know the answer. You will find 200 to 500 good books which you should read. Read inspirational books. Whatever your beliefs, strengthen them every day through reading.
A mentor is anything you want. If you’re at zero and eager to change yourself, everything you look at will become a metaphor for what you want to achieve. The tree you see and the roots you don’t see, with the underground water feeding it, is a computer programming metaphor if you tie it all together. And everything you look at will tie together that 500 books can replace one mentor. "
I have never had a mentor: he was replaced by 1000 books that I have read over the past few years. But now I feel the need for a “living” Mentor.
One of my friends - designer - I found myself a mentor a couple of months ago. He said that investing in the Teacher - this is the best investment in the last few years. “The point of mentoring is that the teacher saves you a lot of time. For several meetings, I received knowledge and information, which I would “reach” on my own for 10 years! ”, - he said.
So how do you find a mentor?
For starters, it's tedious to choose one specific area of life that you want to improve. Then remember those who are successful in this area. If you do not know such, then you can ask friends or even arrange a survey in social networks... Once the person is selected, make a plan for how to get to know them.
“One of our key clients, a young man named Neil, who owns a small shipping business, wanted to expand his business. He chose one of the biggest figures in his industry.
This is what Neal said on the first phone call: “Hello Mr. Johnston, my name is Neil. We are still strangers. I know you have a lot to do, so I'll be brief. I have a small shipping company. Over the years, you have achieved incredible success by creating one of largest companies in our field. I am sure you faced difficult tasks at first. I am still at the beginning of the journey and trying to cope with everything. Mr. Johnston, I would be very grateful if you would agree to be my mentor. It's about ten minutes telephone conversation once a month so I can ask you a couple of questions. It is very important for me. Do you agree?"
The last question is usually answered "yes" or "no". If the answer is yes, hold back your joy and ask something else: "Would it be convenient to call you in a couple of weeks?" Then agree on a specific time for the first meeting with the mentor. And immediately send a message with gratitude.
If the answer is “no,” politely thank the other person for their time. And go to plan B - call next person from your list.
Neal was doing well. Later, Mr. Johnston raised the "telephone" relationship to the level of real friendship. "
You can make a list of, for example, 10-20 people and contact everyone. One in twenty will certainly not refuse you.
Summary:
Find people who have nice results in the area that you would like to improve. Do everything to communicate with them. This will be useful anyway, because you have two options.
Or, as in the case of Edward and Henry, you will understand that your Mentor is nothing cooler than you, and his strength lies only in the fact that he is not afraid (and you tremble like a field mouse). And this understanding will set you free.
Or the Mentor will still teach you something and shorten the time to your goal.
That's all for now. Previous post on environment. And the three criteria by which I choose my environment,.
And the next post will be, I hope, very interesting! The other day I met a guy who managed to defeat cancer, although the doctors promised him that he would live for a maximum of six months. Let's find out how he succeeded, and how the values of a person who realized that everything could end in one minute changed.
upd: 100 Ways to Change Your Life is out now! She has even more motivation and inspiration. Under the cover - new unpublished "ways", a concentrate of 1000 books on self-development and dozens of real stories. Dream. Do it. Change.
For Look At Me, education has always been one of the most important. We try to talk about important industry trends and new opportunities that arise for those wishing to learn new skills. We have already written about for fundamental education, but what if there is a desire to communicate with the instructor in person? We've put together the best resources to connect you with industry professionals around the world.
It is an educational platform and a complete community for language learners. On Verbling you can order individual sessions with an interested teacher. They cost between $ 15 and $ 50 an hour, but some teachers discount if they buy multiple lessons at once. Also, here you can join group lessons or participate in a practice discussion with other students. A subscription to participate in 10 lessons per month costs 777 rubles, for an unlimited number of lessons - 1,840 rubles. However, you can buy them individually - 614 rubles for five lessons.
Among the resources that do not have a clear specialization, one of the most popular is Jukebox Lessons. Here you can find a variety of instructors to help you learn 170 different disciplines and skills, such as chess, blacksmithing or longboarding, not to mention the more "traditional" ones like yoga, math and music.
This is not a service, but a complete online school for motion designers with a 36-week training course. The fundamental difference: each student has his own tutor who works with him and criticizes his work. After graduation, the tutor will look with his graduate permanent job in partner studios. Mo-Graph Mentor classes are held on the Internet with an interactive component. Third semester students gain access to an online campus where they can connect with other alumni of the school. Semesters start in January, May and September. Each costs $ 1,999.