7 THINGS I LEARNT FROM MY MENTOR

7 THINGS I LEARNT FROM MY MENTOR

In 2011, I met this very successful man, I mean in my assessment of him. And the weeks and months that followed he committed about 5 hours every other Saturday to teach young people the principles of success and that helped him get to where he is.

At this point i would like to mention that;

Success is a result of the combination of principles.

No one singular standalone principle can make you successful. You have to learn the different principles that will take you to your envisaged future.

Back to the story, those training that he organized help me to become who I am today and it’s still propelling me to make further progress.

It is interesting to know that most times people know what they need to do that will help them accomplish great goals but they won’t still do it. What an irony!

Hence, these are the things I learnt from my mentor and it is imperative that you use them and also apply them to your own life.

1.      Everyone is designed to become a success: In his voice; for you to be on this earth, it means that you are a winner. You were once among millions of sperms fighting and running to see who will fertilize the eggs in the womb. And among that millions, you ALONE won. You are a success by design and God has a purpose for you here on earth. Therefore you must discover and fulfill your purpose. Therefore see yourself as a success already.

2.      Life is predictable: This almost became a slogan. He keeps letting me know that I can actually determine how the next 3 years, or the next 5 to 10 years will be like. Once you know that you have control over what happens in your life then it gives you a certain sense of responsibility to set goals for yourself that you really want to achieve in the future and take actions to actualize them.

3.      Start investing in your future early: I remember him asking this question in one of the sessions. What is the future? Quite a lot of us think that the future is maybe a year from now or 10 to 20 years from now. But it’s not quite true.

The future is any interval of times that has not yet existed. It is anytime that is coming after the present.

Therefore, a second from now is the future, 5 mins from now is the future. Hence, how are you investing in your future? For young people, your mind is your most important asset. Invest in your mind, read books, academic books and self-help books that teach life lessons. And then, saving a percentage of what you earn is another. Look out for things that you can do, that will count towards the future.

4.      20 children cannot play together for 20 years: Friends are good, but the right friends are best. 20 friends playing together will not play together for 20 years. Consequently, life has a way of separating them. However, time will reveal what each person is doing with their time, whether they are investing it or expending it on irrelevant things. He said to me, work hard and smart so that when you see your friends tomorrow, you wouldn’t be ashamed.

5.      Value TIME - Your time is a currency: It is the highest currency of all. Amazingly everyone has equal amount of it. With this time-currency you can acquire other currencies of the world. And he made me realized that the poor exchange their time for money while the rich pay money to buy more time. Therefore the way you use or value your time will definitely determine how your life would be.

6.      Understand Money: Money is not an end in itself. It is simply a means to an end. And money isn’t the Naira note or the dollar bill; it is simply a store of value. I have few hundreds of Indian rupees notes in my drawer but I can’t even use it to pay anything here in Nigeria. So when you have this understanding of money, you will realize that real money is encapsulated in creating value.

 7. Don’t cry over spilt milk: (Smiling) I recall how he keeps giving us different stories and illustration concerning this last point. When you spill your milk, it’s spilt and gone forever. Don’t cry over it. In other words, when you make mistakes in life, don’t bury yourself there. Learn from it and move on. Consequently, mistakes are part of life, and how you view it matters a lot. Success is sometimes defined as the minimization of mistakes and errors in one’s life. When you do something that is wrong; what you need to do is learn from it and change your attitude. In fact, it gives you edge over those who have not made such mistake and you can stand now as a counselor.

 Last Word

Success is in each and every one of us. Don’t let your life count-less. Impact the world around you with your uniqueness. You have a lot to offer this world: Your skills, talent and even your attitude. Take actions that will make the world around you better. Nike said it rightly - “just do it.”

I believe you have learnt a thing or two from this article. So go ahead and apply them to what you do. Remember, you are a success by design; don’t allow anyone to talk you out of it. Live your dreams and impact the human race.

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