Be Your Own Mentor: The Modern Day Warrior

Albert Lynch, Jeanne d'Arc, engraving, 1903

It seems like everyone is talking about wanting the same thing. A mentor.

Someone more experienced to look up to and who will give you permission to act and do the things you’ve been wondering about.

I want to encourage you to stop thinking that you need permission to do it. You don’t need a mentor.

From an early age, we’re held accountable by our parents, to brush our teeth and to go to school. At school, we’re told to study hard to get into university and to get a job. We get the job and we’re held accountable by our bosses to make sure the work gets done.

I’m a firm believer that having something or someone to hold us accountable is a sure way for us to succeed.

But what about holding ourselves accountable and being your own mentor?

We’re all a lot smarter than we think and have the answers to a lot of the questions we seek out guidance for.

It comes down to some serious thinking time, brainstorming and weighing up all the options.

In the world we live in, it’s so easy now to self-publish, record our own music or to host your own exhibition. Traditionally there were gatekeepers in a lot of industries that would hold us back from doing these things. This is still true in a sense. But it easier than ever now to begin.

And beginning starts with you.

It is picking up your tools and getting to work, sharing what you’ve made and openly receiving feedback from people we admire and whose opinions matter to us.

Earlier this week I wrote about rejection, which can be hard to deal with when we’re striving to excel and we get knocked back.

Getting knocked back is hard when we have our heart set on something but it’s important for us to remember why we’re doing what we doing and that we can only keep on getting better if we keep on trying.

It is only you holding you back.

Pick yourself first and get creating.