What is a mentor? A mentor affects the professional life of a protégé by promoting insight, identifying needed knowledge, and increasing growth opportunities.
Mentor and help others to realize their victories; in
so doing you too are victorious. Zig Ziglar another
Master Motivator of people said, "You can get
anything in life you want by just helping other
people get what they want", by helping others to
achieve their desires, we help ourselves, our sense
of self-worth and the gratification that we are
helping another person to realize their dreams too.
If any of you have children or grandchildren, nieces,
nephews think of how special it feels when you help
them as children or for that matter throughout their
lives to accomplish some momentous feat, like
riding a bike for the first time, or helping them
rehearse for their very first part in play. The joy and
sense of fulfillment is overwhelming. You feel
connected to that person; you my friend are a
mentor. See we are all mentors or coaches in life.
A lot of small things add to up to a big difference.
Help others as you help yourself; there is no better
feeling in the world. Volunteer your time or your
expertise for the good of your soul.
Some attributes of an awesome coach are:
o As a coach you may be the guardian angel
that someone needs to rev up his or her
career.
o Other people will look to you for support and
wisdom, plus they will like to share their
dreams and challenges with you.
o As a coach you are able to temporarily set
aside your needs and goals in the interest of
helping others meet theirs.
o Building rapport and developing a meaningful
connection with others comes easily and
quickly to you.
o You have a strong sense of values and act
with integrity in both your personal and
business life.
Be a coach or mentor whatever you'd like to call it,
but just do it and see the life-changing events that
will occur in your life and that of your "Teammate".
Let me relate a personal story to you about a time
when I decided to become a Softball Coach for my
daughter's team. A new Softball league was
forming in our hometown and they were in need of
teams to fill the schedule. My daughter was an All-
Star for her previous team and wanted me to Coach
her new team. Now mind you I never coached
Softball before, except from the stands, as I'm sure
many of you parents reading this have done too!
The challenge was to put together a team that could
be competitive against established teams already
chosen. I took the challenge expecting to just field
a competitive team from the "leftovers" of the
other teams. As the season began we were
expected to finish last in the division. But, through
proper mentoring and an unshakable belief that
we WERE good, we bonded as a team and climbed
the standings. I had taken belief in its purest form
and manufactured a winning and fun team to
watch. In the end, we didn't win the tournament
but I made believers out of a good group of young
girls. A lesson I have hoped they have taken with
them on their journey through life that working
together toward a common goal will bond you
together for the greater good of all. This was a real
lesson in mentoring for me. They grew as well as
me.
In the famous book that I suggested you read,
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Even though
this book was written in the early 20th century, its
principles are just as sound today as when it was
written. In it he describes in one of his chapters the
necessary attributes to being a good leader and in
other words a good coach and mentor. Some of the
traits necessary follow:
Have unwavering courage, self control, a sense of
justice, have a definiteness of decision, have a plan,
have a good personality, have empathy for others,
be a master of detail, accept full responsibility for
your actions and have cooperation to meeting a
goal.
Great coaches do more than spend lengthy hours
breaking down game tape and scribbling down x's
and o's; they operate as role models for their
teams, bringing out the best in their athletes
through inspiration, encouragement and leadership.
The following list contains some of the most
legendary coaches in the nation as well as their
insights on how we can relate their philosophies for
success with our own teammates and our very own
lives.
Let me give you a few examples of outstanding
coaches and their patterns for success:
Joe Paterno, College Football Coach
When it comes to motivation, Penn State football
coach Joe Paterno is a legend -- he has the second most
wins of any football coach in Division 1A
history, two national titles and over 50 years of
success at the same College. Most critics had
counted him out before the 2005 season, but Coach
Joe proved them wide of the mark by going 11-1
and capturing the Orange Bowl against Florida
State University.
Applying his style to your everyday life; While he's
a dazzling tactician, Paterno's true answer to
success is his skill at motivating all his players to
drop their egos, work together on the same page
and accomplish their goals as a team.
In Paterno by the Book, Coach Paterno writes the
following: "In teaching excellence in football, we
have to reach the soul of the player... at the heart
of our curriculum, as important as skills and tactics,
are the purposeful uses of emotion, commitment,
discipline, loyalty, and pride." Loyalty and pride; if
you're one of Paterno's players, that is what you are
living for -- the loyalty of your fellow teammates
and the satisfaction of adding your name to the list
of legends who have gone before you.
Phil Jackson, NBA Coach
Applying his style to your everyday life; As a leader,
tell people why you are taking a course of action
before you explain how.
According to Michael Jordan, who was coached by
Jackson to 6 NBA Championships, Jackson
effectively melded diverse styles and abilities, and
fostered accord among his team. Realizing that
each athlete possesses distinctive emotional,
mental and spiritual attributes, Jackson's
achievements relied on taking a natural approach to
leading his players to new heights of achievement.
Joe Torre, Major League Baseball Coach
Applying his style to your everyday life; Treat your
fellow teammates as separate, multifaceted
persons and try to distinguish the root of their
behaviors that you hope to encourage or
discourage.
Here's what you can learn from his actions; Torre's
first law for success is accepting each and every
one of his players; he knows their abilities, their
potential and their personalities -- on and off the
field. Torre claims this knowledge is the only way to
unify diverse personalities into a cohesive Team.
How does this make you a better team player; Take
a lesson from Torre's playbook and get to be
acquainted with your fellow teammates. What are
their individual and professional hobbies? What are
their families like? Getting to know your "players"
shows you really care about their personal welfare.
Vince Lombardi, NFL Coach
Applying his style to your everyday life; Lombardi's
motivational skills are renowned. He once said:
"Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are
a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their
players and motivate." And inspire he did;
Lombardi's players were loyal to him and his
viewpoint of hard work and victory so much so they
won Superbowl 1.
Here's what you can learn from his actions; For
Lombardi, second place was not even a choice. He
put his players through exhausting workouts and
expected extraordinary commitment to the cause of
winning. While it's debatable whether Lombardi's
style would work in today's NFL, he did strengthen
the perception of the leader as a motivator. In your
life, take on this role for yourself; friends and
colleagues are searching for motivation, and if you
don't make it available, they will search for it
elsewhere.
Pat Riley, NBA Coach
The legendary Basketball Coach of the New York
Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, Pat
Riley had as his strongest characteristic, his
capacity to convey his vision of success to his
players. Here's an example of his ability to move his
players to action: between the 1986 and 1987
seasons, Riley persuaded his players to develop
their game skills by 1%. The effect would seem
minimal at the outset, but as 12 athletes bettered
their performance by 1% -- across a variety of skill
sets -- the combined advancement would mean a
team that was 60% improved. In fact, the players
went further than Riley's request and improved by
5%!
Applying his style to your everyday life; Seek out
aspects of yourself and your teammates that need
upgrading, then make solid, incremental steps on
the road to fixing your team's performance in these
areas.
John Wooden, College Coach
John Wooden, the Hall of Fame College Basketball
coach of the UCLA Bruins, who won over 80% of his
games sought to develop his players by focusing on
their physical, intellectual and emotional strengths.
He knew that everything joined as one to create the
definitive player and team -- studying hard
demanded excellent mental power, which helped
circumvent mistakes on and off the basketball
court.
Applying his style to your everyday life; Wooden
had a seven-point creed that rings as accurate
today as when he first made it up: Be true to
yourself, make each day your masterpiece, help
others, drink deeply from good books, make
friendship a fine art, build a shelter against a rainy
day, and give thanks for your blessings every day.
He said no characteristic of coaching is more
important than teaching. The best teachers, he
advised, used direct, clear and concise language to
make sure everyone understood explanations.
Here's what you can learn from his actions; See
yourself as an instructor and lavish praise when it's
acceptable. Your team will repay you with more
accomplishments and victories than you could have
envisioned.
Put a Game Plan in place for your success:
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