All successful people have one simple fact in common with each other: they all have relied on the tutelage of a mentor at some point during their journey. No one achieves success in life without assistance and mentors provide us with a valuable source of information, allowing us to learn more about the journey that we are about to take.

If you allow yourself to underestimate the value of having a mentor, you are missing out on all of the benefits that they can provide. Their insights are much needed and the peace of mind that they have to offer is second to none. When you are charting a course for future success, the presence of a mentor can make or break your ability to reach your desired objective.

Having a knowledgeable mentor in a particular niche is far more meaningful than many realize and by reading on to learn more about the advantages that they have to offer, you can find out why you need a mentor in your life.

Timely Confidence Boosts

When we are on the road to our chosen goal, there are going to be moments of doubt and when these moments take place, we need someone who has been there before to guide us through the rough patches. Feeling low is normal and that is why mentors are important. Having someone in our corner who is experienced in the matters that we are currently going through makes a world of difference.

This is especially true when we find ourselves struggling to keep hope alive. While other people can certainly offer you a timely confidence boost, there is simply no substitute for the guidance and encouragement of a mentor who has already achieved their chosen goals. Their words will help to keep you on the right path and allow you to avoid moments of extreme discouragement.

Avoiding Errors

Learning through trial and error is great, but how much better would it be if you could avoid this form of learning and speak to someone who has already touched all of the hot stoves and can let you know just how dangerous they are? A mentor’s presence helps you to avoid common mistakes that are being made in your chosen field by explaining the rationale behind the decisions that they have made in the past.

They walked the same path that you are trying to walk and they can let you more about the pitfalls that you will face along the way. Having a tour guide for the path that you have chosen gives you a major advantage over your competitors. Listening to what your mentor has to say gives you the chance to enjoy a much smoother path to the top and you are also able to save valuable time that can be better spent elsewhere.

Pinpointing Weaknesses

Whether we like to admit it or not, we all have weaknesses and a mentor is able to help us pinpoint them and eliminate them for good. There are aspects of your personality that will keep you from achieving the success that you seek and with the help of a mentor, you can prune these parts of yourself away before they have a chance to become a true detriment to your plans.

If you have a quality mentor, then there is a good chance that they will say certain things along the way that you do not want to hear. This is the mark of a top notch mentor and it means that they want you to succeed. Keeping your mind and ears open, even when their words are not complimentary will give you a major advantage over your more close minded peers.

Identifying Your Strengths

A mentor is not there to simply criticize us and point out our weaknesses, they are also able to help us when it comes to identifying our strengths. No one gets to the summit of the mountain without the proper coaching and mentors are able to identify aspects of our personality that we may not even be able to see in ourselves, which makes their presence absolutely invaluable.

It takes a special type of person to identify the strengths of others and help bring them to the forefront and a mentor can not only pinpoint these strengths, but also give you valuable assistance in developing them. Talent is not something that can be taught, but a mentor will be able to bring out the best in you by letting you know exactly where your talents lie.

Complete and Total Honesty

When you have a great mentor, you are able to ask them any question and receive an answer that is 100 percent honest. They are always going to tell you the truth, because they want you to be successful. Their primary goal is to make sure that you reach your true potential and as a result, they may need to share some relatively harsh truths with you along the way.

Most of us have friends that we can talk to about the problems that we face and while they can make for a great sounding board, they are not always capable of telling the truth. A mentor, on the other hand, has been there, done that and lived to tell the tale. They know that the downside of potentially hurting your feelings for a moment does not outweigh the upside of giving you valuable information that you can use in your future endeavours.

Umair Khan