“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” Sir Isaac Newton.
This man, Sir Isaac Newton is celebrated for having discovered the force of gravity. Nonetheless, despite his exploits in matters of physics, Sir Isaac still knew the importance of having mentors in his life. And, going by his quote above, they were not just ordinary people but people who were high up and ahead of him and they must have achieved much.
I know this matter of mentors has been discussed in this forum and many others but it can never be exhausted. Imagine if you were dropped at Mt Everest,a place you have never been to with no guide or Sherpa* to show you the way and act as guide? You will end up getting lost and worse, falling down those steep mountain cliffs and dying.
Life is like a jungle or a heavily wooded mountain and to be in a position to navigate through safely, you need a guide who knows the area well, somebody who knows where hairpin bends are, steep inclines, falling rocks and dangerous ravines are. Note that I use the above as a figure of speech. If you want to be an entrepreneur, it would be imperative that you look for a person like the CEO of Centum Investment Mr James Mworia. If you want to get into sports there are so many successful sports people who are ready and willing to help.
In a nutshell, I would say a mentor is a person who helps you to cut your success journey by a huge margin because s/he knows the quickest and most effective ways of achieving something or getting something done. Experience is the best teacher but life is too short for us to make mistakes and learn the lessons. Sometimes it’s good to talk to people who have already made the mistakes and learn from them.We don’t need to re-invent the wheel but we can put it to some profitable use.
So, as you working to achieve your dreams and actualize your vision, look for a mentor and you will get there faster. Best wishes from Mwangi.
* Sherpa – Hundreds of climbers every year attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. It is a dangerous mission so most climbers rely on help from mountain guides, known as Sherpas. [Source: BBC ]
