The Internet has evolved into a new, fast-developing information and communication platform, offering exceptional growth prospects. It is a fantastic tool for communicating, exchanging, working, meeting, learning, and even marketing. Moreover, the Internet is great for locating information and knowledge quickly and efficiently.
Thousands of resources are available online, from podcasts, YouTube videos, articles, and various documents, on several topics and fields. The best part about it is that they are free! However, to which extent can this accessibility of information be beneficial? Are they alone sufficient to our needs, or do we need a mentor to guide us?
Are Free Resources Enough to Succeed?
Let us imagine a world where professors, teachers, coaches, and managers do not exist. A world where all the information you need is accessible, available, and free. How possible would it be to easily navigate through hundreds of fields, be it math, languages, physics, sciences, sports, etc. without the guidance of an expert?
Would the results really be the same without the presence of a mentor to guide us through the process and explain to us how things work?
Mentoring, in theory, is intended to assist a person in mobilizing their resources, conducting research, and executing their ideas. It is an interpersonal connection in which an experienced individual, the mentor, shares their gained wisdom and competence to encourage the growth of another person, the mentee, who is seeking to acquire certain skills or information, to accomplish personal or professional goals.
How Can Mentors help?
Mentors are there to follow up with the mentee’s progress, to hold them accountable for the steps they have taken and those they are yet to take.
It’s true that information is available everywhere nowadays and is accessible to all. However, the mentor’s role is to help guide you to achieve your goals, and to the best of your abilities, attempt to help you make fewer mistakes than you would on your own.
A mentor is ideally suited to ask you the right questions so that you can make informed decisions. They are individuals who can help you develop your skills and step outside your comfort zone.
What Does a Mentor Do?
A mentor can fulfill a variety of functions:
- Listens to you without judgment, and helps you expand your avenues and perspectives.
- Provides you with a fresh viewpoint to a subject while remaining objective.
- Motivates and inspires you to take positive action.
- Contextualize your problems and supports you in finding solutions.
The highest priority of a mentor is to help you assess your potential and your skills. Mentoring should be seen as an exchange between someone who can help and another person who wants to succeed. However, if the person is not willing to put in the work, both their effort and time will be in vain.
People often underestimate and take for granted the free available resources. In that sense, they will work less than someone who has paid a sum of money to receive appropriate training. The mentor’s role, in this case, is to follow up on every point in the training and guide their mentee towards their goal.
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