There are two ways to gain wisdom: mentors and mistakes. Mistakes are for those who are unwilling to sit at the feet of a mentor. May I suggest, though, pick a good character for a mentor! It has been sadly mistaken that a "mentor" is someone who gives you advice. That is not only false, it's damaging! Instead, a mentor is someone whose advice YOU FOLLOW. A mentor is not necessarily someone who we have day-to-day contact with. Sometimes it's the latest musician, actor, or even wait for it… that negative voice inside of us constantly telling ourselves how messed up we are! The voice you listen to and advice you follow-that is your mentor. Daily, I have to remind myself I will not listen to all the voices I hear today. (I'm not a psych patient I promise). I refuse to listen to the voice that tells me I've failed, I won't make it, or the one that says I can't do it. Listen, whoever said the sky is the limit obviously has never been to the moon! In 2006 when I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, I even refused to listen to the voice of the doctor who said I wasn't going to make it. I wasn't trying to downplay medical advice, I just chose not to make that my mentor! Several chemotherapy treatments and a bone-marrow transplant later, here I am. The truth of the matter is we all at some point or another are going to experience both mentors and mistakes. Both will produce wisdom. But the mentor will produce it at a far less cost than the mistakes will. When I was a child my mother told me not to touch the hot stove. Had I listened, I wouldn't have gotten burned. Again, I had both principles at my disposal: a mentor (my mother) and a mistake (me touching the hot stove). Today, I regularly seek out mentors. Those who have far more experience and wisdom than I do. I am an ever-evolving student of wisdom. I cannot afford to allow my ego and pride to get in the way. Simply put-I'm not all that and a bag of chips. I need mentors, I need wisdom, I need correction and instruction. I welcome it. Listen, if what you have been doing is working..by all means..carry on. But, if you ever find yourself standing on the ledge trying to navigate the waters of life...take my advice...invest in a mentor.
Here's today's take-away:
1. Learn from your mistakes, but also learn from others mistakes as well!
2. Choose what voice and advice you listen to carefully...VERY CAREFULLY! Your best friend isn't your mentor. Your best friend will love you right where you are. Your mentor will love you too much to leave you where you are!
3. Begin to think about WHAT you think about. There's a lot of negative trash that will run itself across the forefront of your mind daily. Filter it. And when negative Nancy comes your way...just smile and nod, you are rising to a place where they can't breath at your elevation. Don't hold it against them. Just keep climbing upwards, you don't have time to waste trying to get them to understand from their level. Imagine an ant trying to understand from a bird's eye view. They couldn't grasp it because all they have ever known was a reality from a ground level perception.
Until next time!