THE POWER OF MENTORSHIP

Most times some of us take for granted what having an INFLUENCER, MENTOR, COACH can do to/for us. These set of persons are often times called ROLE MODELS:

People we epitomizes after;

People that shorten and reduce our life's struggles for us;

People that have already blazed the part we want to thread;

People who's advice even if given in a jovial mood should not be taken lightly because it can change the course of our life forever.

Below is an illustration of this using Ronaldo de Lima and Neymar JR.

Twenty years ago in the summer of 1997, when Ronaldo was signed from Barcelona to Inter Milan for a then world record fee of $27 million (£20 million), making him the most expensive player and the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice, a young admirer joined him to snap a selfie. That young admirer was Neymar JR and that was the beginning of a dream.

Twenty years later, the young boy with him, Neymar is today the most expensive player, ten times his hero at a record £200 million.

It brings me to the realization that although dreams do come true, they actually come through faster when there's someone to mentor you. 

It is good to have a dream, but it is greater and more important to have an INFLUENCER, COACH, MENTOR or ROLE MODELS that can help in the actualization of that dream faster.

Reigner Davies puts it this way: "It is not a bad thing to copy something Good".

Moyo Akin-Ojo says it this way: "If you read the book of someone who has 50yrs experience on a subject and assimilate 50%, you have gleaned 25yrs experience from the writer".

You don't have to tread unprofitable paths if you can learn from people who have passed that route before you. Mentorship cuts your journey short. 

You are doing yourself a great deal of harm if you live your life without a mentor. Like Neymar, every champion you see today is riding on the shoulders of someone. No one grows overnight.

Mentoring gives you the leverage to learn from the mistakes of others, rather than learning from yours. Your mentor is a preview of your future. No mentor means no future.

The Igbo people of Nigeria are arguably the community with the greatest understanding of Mentorship. Chukwudi will never start a business unless he has acquired enough knowledge from years of apprenticeship under Oga. Emeka. No wonder they are more successful with business ventures than any other tribe in Nigeria. If you can't learn from Neymar, learn from the Igbo's. 

You may be good, you may even be better than everyone else, but you will never be as good as you could be without a mentor. You need a mentor to be effective.

But it is quite unfortunate that we live in a generation where we have a bunch of people who don't value Mentorship. They will rather prefer to be mentored by a slay mama or slay king who massages their ego and panders to their indiscretions, than a mentor who tells them the bitter truth about their lives in order to help them become a better person.

It's also important you understand that mentorship supersedes fasting. This may sound controversial but it's nonetheless true. A week spent with Pst. David Ogbueli of Dominion City, Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church, Pst. E.A Adeboye Of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, or Pst. Isaac of Great Light Ministry will do for you more than what your 7-days fasting does for you. Stop trying to over spiritualize everything. True Christianity is a balanced Christianity.

Ephesians 4:11-16King James Version (KJV):

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Finally, mentorship should not be limited to spiritual things. If you want to become a great athlete, it is better to be mentored by a Usain Bolt than your Fellowship President. Prayer doesn't win a 100m race, skill wins it.

Today, find someone with a proven record in your field, craft and discipline and submit under their mentorship. Don't try to walk through life all by yourself. Someone has already achieved the peak you are trying to reach, so why not leverage on their knowledge and experience?