Mentors can be a great thing.
If you work directly with them it can be great.
But I also think you can glean lessons from mentors without ever speaking with them.
For example, sometimes mentors are successful and doing certain things but tell you to do other things. Maybe they didn’t go to college and it allowed them the opportunity to obtain skills that led to their success.
But now they’re telling you to go to college.
There is another kind of mentorship I’ve been thinking about. This kind involves something a little different, but stick with me for a second…
Results
I’m big on results.
In 2011, I wanted to make a change to my diet. I decided that I would stop listening to unhealthy people’s advice on eating.
Seems obvious, but if you were anything like me you probably were listening to unhealthy people spew their advice about eating.
Heck, people will spew advice about anything.
I started looking for people that were healthy. Then I started doing what they were doing.
And guess what…it worked.
And it’s still working.
Reverse Mentors
You can also turn results on their head.
Let’s take the diet lessons I learned all those years ago.
I could look for reverse mentors. The people that are unhealthy.
Take what they’re doing and do the opposite.
Why wouldn’t that work?
Maybe you know someone that has really bad luck with their work life. They’re changing jobs. Maybe they’re getting fired or always having some kind of drama in the office.
Start looking closer at how they act. Look at what they’re doing and not necessarily at what they’re saying.
I’m big on actions. Words are pretty cheap, but actions are what matter.
In the case of reverse mentors, see what people have done and are doing. They may tell you about their big ideas and how they’re going to do something in the future.
But look at their actions.
Their inaction could be a clue. In your case, if you want to find success then taking action could be the ticket.
Or maybe they are taking action, but they’re not finding success.
Now you know how not to do something.
Final Thought
I don’t mean for this to be a complete downer. Maybe you have a great friend that just can’t seem to get their life together. Or maybe it’s a family member.
You don’t have to disown them. Just analyze their life while you’re also analyzing your own. You can learn from their mistakes. When they make a bad decision you can use it and do the opposite of what they’ve done.
If you notice that someone in your life is constantly making the exact opposite decisions it may be a great opportunity for you…to make the right ones.