Posts Tagged ‘personal development’

Set the intention to surpass your mentor

Monday, December 12th, 2022

Everyone needs a mentor. In order to achieve any level of mastery, we have to find mentors in the areas where we need to grow in next. We need to find the kind of people who want to take us on. One thing to recognize as you’re choosing a mentor: don’t hang on forever. We are in that relationship for a period of time to learn a certain thing. And our goal should be to surpass the mentor—that’s the best gift we can give to a mentor.

Now if somebody chooses you as a mentor—first of all, what an honor. But don’t allow the feeling of honor to blunt your usefulness. Remember that the best mentors know how to be abruptly truthful with the mentee. Sometimes we get stuck, and we just need someone to slap us around a little bit—figuratively, of course—to help us understand that there’s something more for us.

Years ago, I had a mentor. And I said something to him. I don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I’m appalled by your thinking. That’s very pedestrian thinking. That’s not how you think. You need to think at a higher level.”

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Who do I want to be today?

Monday, August 23rd, 2021

What if you started today, and every day, by asking yourself this question: What kind of person would I like to be today?

What one word would describe me? Well, that’s an interesting thought.

Maybe you’re gonna say kind. Well, that would change the way you’d go about your day.

Maybe you’d be innovative. That would change the way you’d go about the day.

Maybe it’d be resourceful. I’ll just figure everything out. That too would shape the choices you made throughout the day.

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Set the intention to surpass your mentor

Monday, April 12th, 2021

Everyone needs a mentor. In order to achieve any level of mastery, we have to find mentors in the areas where we need to grow in next. We need to find the kind of people who want to take us on. One thing to recognize as you’re choosing a mentor: don’t hang on forever. We are in that relationship for a period of time to learn a certain thing. And our goal should be to surpass the mentor—that’s the best gift we can give to a mentor.

Now if somebody chooses you as a mentor—first of all, what an honor. But don’t allow the feeling of honor to blunt your usefulness. Remember that the best mentors know how to be abruptly truthful with the mentee. Sometimes we get stuck, and we just need someone to slap us around a little bit—figuratively, of course—to help us understand that there’s something more for us.

Years ago, I had a mentor. And I said something to him. I don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I’m appalled by your thinking. That’s very pedestrian thinking. That’s not how you think. You need to think at a higher level.”

(more…)

Who do I want to be today?

Monday, April 5th, 2021

What if you started today, and every day, by asking yourself this question: What kind of person would I like to be today? What one word would describe me? Well, that’s an interesting thought. Maybe you’re gonna say kind. Well, that would change the way you’d go about your day. Or maybe you’d be innovative. That would change the way you’d go about the day. Or maybe it’d be resourceful. I’ll just figure everything out. That too would shape the choices you made throughout the day.

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The personal development plan

Monday, May 26th, 2014

It’s never been easier to keep learning. Not that many years ago, there was exactly one public website on Earth. If you wanted information, you had to trek down to your local library for a book. Now there are over 600 million websites putting the sum of human knowledge at your fingertips. It has literally never been easier to learn and grow.

But too many people don’t take that advice. Once they finish school, they get a few years into their careers… they figure they’ve arrived, and there’s no more learning to do. They couldn’t be more wrong.

One of the best ways to keep that growth happening is with a personal development plan.

Start with the end in mind: Where do you want to be 5 years from today? Then list the skills, habits, and learning you need to aggressively pursue to get you there. Then, plan out the steps…and get aggressive on your learning plan. Finally, make a detailed list of necessary steps toward each goal.

That’s it. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, nothing long—just a concise plan to keep you sharp and moving forward.