When you think about “mentoring” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Probably “advice”.

And it is.  But it isn’t (just about that).

MOTION MEANS RESULTS

While many people think of mentoring as the wise old sage imparting wisdom to the young one, that’s only a snapshot of what needs to happen (and it’s not always the old teaching the young as I mentioned here).  You need to take the knowledge and advice and use it to take action.  Immediately.

When you get good advice do something (new) with it within 24 hours.  Someone took the time to share ways you can do something new; respect their time by making something happen.  Make that call.  Send that email.  Finish that project.  You get the idea; it’s a matter of creating SOME kind of forward motion.  The litmus test that you’re doing it right is:

A new result happens.   This isn’t a silver bullet – not every result is perfect; some are not so perfect BUT they serve as learning experiences that will jumpstart your next life experience (and you’ll be a little wiser too – which will help you help others avoid making the same mistakes).

After you take that action report back to the person who advised you – let them know you took their advice to heart and ran with it.

Speaking of helping others…

BRING OTHERS FORWARD WITH YOU

“No man is an island unto himself” is a very true saying.  When you move forward bring other people along for the ride.  You can do this is a variety of ways:

  • Mentor someone else who’s on a similar path as you.
  • Find an accountability partner to check in with.
  • Have someone new directly involved with whatever you’re working on to support you.
  • Share your story with someone and inspire them to take action to.

WARNING: When you do this a lot of opportunities will open up; you’ll be meeting more people and doing a lot more in life.  This is a great thing on the surface but can also spread you thin and have you moving in a million directions.  That being said…

How can you keep track of forward motion without burning out or burning bridges?

SAY-DO-DONE-RATIO

You don’t want to create TOO many opportunities or you’ll have a bunch of projects half done or barely started before you’re off to the next shiny object.  A simple way to avoid this is to keep track of your “Say-Do-Done-Ratio” every day.  You can do this on paper, online, in a program or whatever works for you.

It’s the ratio of what you said you would do compared to what actually got done.

Here’s what it will look look:

 

SAY

DO

DONE

WHO
When did you say it? What did you promise to do & by when? Check this box when it’s done Who did you promise to do it for?

 

Whenever you create forward motion fill out the columns above.  The “DONE” one stays blank until you’ve fulfilled your promise.

The test here?

STOP MAKING PROMISES when that “DONE” column gets too long and is filled with nothing but white.  This will keep you on track, keep you honest and help maintain and build your relationships with people.

Simple enough, right?

Now it’s time to take action…

What project can YOU Move forward TODAY to get new results?