I have read so many books that cover the need for a mentor. When I first read this, I thought of those people throughout my life who were organic mentors to me. My friend Heather was a spiritual mentor, Carolee Capp was one of my Physical Therapy clinical mentors, and others guided me in different areas of my life. I never thought I would look into an organized mentor-mentoree relationship due to cost and time. Now that I have a business mentor, I think having a mentor should be in almost every area of your life.
Let me tell you about my business mentor, Jim Miller from the organization Score.org. My friend Shawna who is a successful businesswoman, suggested I look into Score Mentors when discussing my new small business. I went on the website and decided to check the box for sales. Then Score matched me with a volunteer mentor who specialized in this area. Before our first online meeting, I was feeling unsure. I thought how is some businessman who likely is not working in the healthcare field, going to help me? I was put at ease as soon as he started the conversation. Right away he was teaching me a lesson. His approach was kind and curious. He was one of the first people in my career who genuinely wanted to know exactly what a Physical Therapist does in their job and challenged me to explain it to him in a way that others would understand and want to know more.
I am reading a book by Bonnie Hammer, "15 Lies Women Are Told at Work... and the Truth We Need to Succeed". She has a chapter devoted to finding mentors to help you succeed. She describes two types of mentors, supportive mentors and a challenging mentor. She defines a supportive mentor as someone who usually is the one to cheer us on when we succeed and cheer us up when we fail. The challenging mentor is the one who refuses to go easy on us. She states that challenging mentors are critical to our growth and success and that they will do more in the long run than the nicest supportive mentors. To follow up on this, she says we need "different things from different people at different stages of our lives." She reminds us, "Being able to hear feedback, recognize where it's coming from, and eventually seek it out proactively is the mark of a good mentee."
It is good to look around you and take time to think about your previous and current mentors, and what you may need in future mentors. I know that I need financial help for sending my daughter to university and retirement planning. I am setting up appointments to meet with a financial advisor who can also be seen as a mentor. Where are you with your health and wellness? You can also look to me as your mentor with Physical Therapy, Personal Training and Massage.
Please contact me through my website: https://www.garagetrainingrehabgym.com, email: garagetrainingrehabgym@gmail.com, or call or text: 971-719-3162.
#LiveInspired, #Compassion&KnowledgeToHeal,
Karen Baltz Gibbs, PT, DPT, CSCS, CMP, LMT, Owner Garage Training & Rehab Gym
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