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The Magic of Mentors

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: If you are traveling on an extended road trip along a divided highway, there are two sets of cars. There are the cars on your side of the road going the same direction that you are, and there are those on the opposite side of the road going the other way. If you were to stop at a rest stop to inquire about weather or road conditions ahead, you would not want to ask those traveling the same way you were. Instead, you would want to ask those traveling in the opposite direction, because they have already been where you are going.

The Magic of Mentors

If you are traveling on an extended road trip along a divided highway, there are two sets of cars. There are the cars on your side of the road going the same direction that you are, and there are those on the opposite side of the road going the other way. If you were to stop at a rest stop to inquire about weather or road conditions ahead, you would not want to ask those traveling the same way you were. Instead, you would want to ask those traveling in the opposite direction, because they have already been where you are going.

This is a major key to success in life. Too many people ask opinions of others, when others have not yet been where these people wish to go. This makes absolutely no sense, but it happens every day.

My mentor in the television business has been Ted Turner. Mr. Turner, over the years, has given us very valuable advice, and while we rarely seek his opinion, it is very valuable to us because in our industry he has gone where everybody wants to go.

As an author and a platform speaker, my mentor is Dr. Denis Waitley. He has advised me many times and has kept me from wasting much time, effort, and energy-not because he is necessarily any smarter than I am, although he probably is. The reality is that he has been for many years where I wish to go. When I asked Dr. Waitley why he was willing to take his valuable time to mentor me, he told me that, years ago, Earl Nightingale had mentored him, and it had made all the difference in his career. He went on to tell me that in the last days of his life, Mr. Nightingale implored Dr. Waitley to find someone whom he could mentor. I am very fortunate that Dr. Waitley chose me.

In the past several years, I have had the privilege of mentoring other people-some for a brief period of time, others over several years. Initially, I thought that this would just be my way of giving back the many benefits I had received from Mr. Turner and Dr. Waitley. Instead, I have found it to be a wonderful learning experience for me. It reinforces many of the principles I have learned from others and causes me to rethink how I am conducting my life and my business.

When we learn, knowledge has been imparted. When we teach others, it has been transferred. But, the magic of mentoring happens when we teach others to teach. Then and only then does the knowledge become the property of everyone who can benefit from learning, teaching, and sharing.

Today is the day!

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Article Tags: Denis Waitley, Jim Stovall, mentoring, Ted Turner



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