Firstly, what’s a mentor? A mentor is a person who provides you with the tools, guidance, support, and feedback you need to thrive in your career.

Being surrounded by people who will help you to move forward when feeling stuck, who will encourage you and hold you accountable, is a key choice for your success. They can somewhat upgrade your thinking and take you to a higher level in a much faster way than you would do on your own. How do I know? Because I have been there, I have experienced that, I speak from my own experience both as a mentee and as a mentor.

I define mentoring as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists a less-experienced person (the mentee) in transforming on a personal and professional level. A mentor is someone who has been there and done it. They have experience in the area you are looking to grow in and have previously solved the challenge you want to solve.

If you asked me who my mentor is, I could name at least 10 people who transformed my thinking with their stories, ideas, careers, and actions. But if I had to choose only one mentor in life, I would choose a book. I am still fascinated by how much you can change by reading a book. People who might have been the best mentors in the world are not among us anymore, books carry decades and centuries of knowledge and wisdom. For example, Socrates said, “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have laboured hard for.”

Here are some best books, in my opinion, for those who want to grow personally as well as professionally. The most influential mentors in my life include Tony Robbins – Awaken the Giant Within, Marisa Peer – I Am Enough, Dale Carnegie – How to Win Friends and Influence People, Louise Hay – You Can Heal Your Life, and Chris and Karene Lambert-Gorwyn – Grow Your Heart Centered Business. These mentors have taught me how to get crystal clear on what I want in my life.

Invest in yourself! How?

Dedicate at least 30 minutes a day for reading. I prefer to read right after waking up for 30 minutes just because it allows me to get creative into the thinking, after reading I get a sense of achievement and inspiration.

You can tell me smart is not sexy but talking to an attractive person who is also smart and knowledgeable, curious and willing to learn, is very sexy, isn’t it? Knowledge breeds confidence, and it is probably the most important difference between successful and unsuccessful people.

If you read about successful people, you become smarter and ready to grow more.

In conclusion, books allow us to receive information through the lenses of the author and compare that mindset to our personal experiences. Reading expands our viewpoints, our beliefs, and our knowledge. It allows us to sample a variety of topics and tailor learning to our unique circumstances and style.

A book is the wisest investment in yourself, it opens your mind, widens your perspective, and inspires you to take action. Just a single idea in that book can change your life.

The post Can a Book Be a Mentor? appeared first on Lenka Pagan.

I define mentoring as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists a less-experienced person (the mentee) in transforming on a personal and professional level. A mentor is someone who has been there and done it. They have experience in the area you are looking to grow in and have previously solved the challenge you are wanting to solve.

Not everything in my life has gone always smoothly but I have been fortunate enough to have great mentors who were willing to take me on and provide meaningful opportunities for growth. These mentors have taught me about what is important in my life.

Now, let me introduce to you one of them – my wonderful mentor Anita Koch who made the biggest impact in my life. She is a holistic health coach, successfully runs a Lifestyle Centre in North Carolina and has transformed the lives of thousands of people from all over the world. I can still recall the first meeting with Anita very clearly. It was at a chiropractic clinic in Florida, where we both lived many years ago, and where she was running health programmes.

At that time, I was very ill, desperate to get well and so confused about my illness and what I should or shouldn’t do. I believe that as a mentee you need to listen and trust your mentor and put things into action. I decided to join Anita’s programme and things started to change rapidly on weekly bases.

I also had the honour of meeting some of her other mentees who succeeded in a battle with illness, and I was totally blown away to hear such inspirational stories and that assured me that I was in good hands. I wanted to get well too and therefore I took all her advice seriously. I trusted her because I could see my progress from the early days.

Anita showed me another perspective on life, she offered a different solution to my health problems. Through her knowledge, I gained clarity. She also showed me how to live and keep a healthy lifestyle. She lent me some wonderful books about alternative health.

At that time many years ago, it was a new thing. She was confident that I will get well again after changing my diet and quitting some bad habits, such as taking painkillers and using harmful products.

She advised me on how to read food labels, how to identify good ingredients from the bad ones and how to prepare nourishing meals from scratch. I followed her advice, reorganized my kitchen, bought ethical products and applied all her teachings to my life. And I never looked back. I recovered from my illness in 3 months and have not been ill since.

Anita’s message “You don’t have to be sick!” had inspired me so much that I wanted to pass it on and transform people’s lives too. I arrived at Florida to study management and left a few years later as a completely new person and excited to further study health, nutrition and yoga.

You can imagine how much I am grateful to have met this wonderful person, my mentor Anita, who completely changed my life.

I suggest that all of you, lovely people, explore what area of your life could do with a mentor and work with him or her.

Enjoy the journey!

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