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Stress Defence Number 1 - Find a Mentor

Written by: David Oliver

Article Overview: Having spoken to over a quarter of a million peopls and consulted thousands of companies david Oliver draws from his life experience to share the biggest stress defence of al. Find a mentor. DISCOVER WHY

Stress Defence Number 1 - Find a Mentor

Find a mentor

I had the privilege recently of addressing some of the top young business leaders men and women in Britain 350 of them. And I was tasked to give a keynote speech. And I found myself reflecting if I were their age what the three most valuable pieces of advice have been. And number one of the three was to find a mentor. More than almost anything else mentors in my life have been a source of development, direction challenge and stress relief.

Right now I have an informal life board. Three people from very different backgrounds who care about me, believe in me and are prepared to give me a thorough slapping if that's what it takes.

If I would give you one key above the others it would be this - find a mentor. I understand it's not easy - there are few of them around but I also understand that what we focus on, and seek for, we usually find. If we aim at nothing here, we will certainly achieve it. A business coach or a life coach is great, they can achieve some of these things and they do, but a mentor in my experience will achieve more.

It may be easier at least in the first instance to find a 'life-board'. These are respected people, folks you trust who you could meet with, say once every quarter or once every six months. They are there to challenge and sharpen, and give honest objective feedback on major questions and major decisions. I share my dreams and visions with them, and to some degree hold myself accountable. Almost certainly you will find such people more easily.

Some of you ladies in the home may not find this so either but two of my friends Chris and Ruth have found a simple alternative. With a handful of close friends they explore the same possibility they calls them Costa conversations. A set time to chat over a Latte or cappuccino, deep conversations, conversations that care, conversations that challenge, and conversations that can bring a perspective. When asked what is the major benefit of these relationships and stress my answer is simply this, they help us in the big scheme of things as well as with the small to catch challenge change - they give a perspective and they give a very real sense that we are not on our own.

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Article Tags: business coach, business leaders, close friends, conversations, decisions, development direction, dreams and visions, first instance, friends chris, handful, keynote speech, life coach, men and women, mentor, mentors, objective feedback, perspective, privilege, six months, stress relief



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Famous Entrepreneur Question? - First name to come to mind was Sam Walton. After reading his aoutbiography, I feel so connected to him. My one Question would be...(after getting on one knee) "Would You Mentor Me?''
how much for a franchise fee? - Dear Colleague There is no easy answer to this question. Things to consider: [list=] The sizeof the Franchise Clent base Expected Turnover Intellectual Property costs (recoup) Number of Franchises Number of employees Original Set up costs Franchise admin costs An example: A franchise that I was involved in setting was to a simple "lawn mowing/home repair" franchise. The Franchise included national/local advertising - preparation of client lists - general admin - central accounting etc The Franchise involved 300-500 clients - and an annual turnover of about $300,000 . The annual franchise fee was $30,000. Hope that this gives you some idea Take care Ian[/list]
On Mentors - I've been fortunate that in every endevour I've taken on I have found a Mentor within that niche to guide me and help me learn from my mistakes. I've matured so much faster and more focused just by having someone listen to where i am at in my current day and in having someone to be accountable to. I've been blessed by having mentors naturally come into my life but if I wanted to approach one how would I go about developing the relationship and then asking them to mentor me?
Re: Infographic: The 4 Main Stress Factors - I'd like to reference that article in my next blog post as well.. I worked in sales for years and found that days when I was positive, relaxed where days that it was easy to sell. On days that I was stressed I found I would not reach target. Stress is good at times, but it very easily becomes problematic. I do a lot of very physical exercise and work now, to manage it.
A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!! - This is to my Mentor{ideauniversity} who invited me here,A Big thank you to you for giving me the opportunity and having so much hope in me,because of you have being able to learn so much in this forum which has improved my business skill. A Big thank you to all my new friends who have helped me express myself and also contributed to my growth through your post and answers you have given to my post. Thanks Evan and Kevin for giving me this oportunity. cheers. Tope


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