When doing anything new, it helps to have a mentor. Mentors, teachers, guides and coaches have been a critical and transformative part of my journey. Some were dear friends who shepherded me through dark times, some were professional guides that I met regularly and some were teachers who shared their knowledge and experience to help me gain specific skills. Many of them were gurus in my eyes. It was an ideal combination that I am sure I would have been lost without. Their contribution cannot be overstated and I am forever grateful.
Step one is to recognize when a credible mentor comes into your awareness. While the vast majority of available mentors, teachers, guides and coaches are credible and capable, there are a few who are outright charlatans. As always, there are those in stages three or five who would use you for their own needs or to forward their own agenda. Fortunately, they are easy to recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask yourself the following questions:When they speak, do they refer to themselves more than they refer to you or others?\u00a0\u00a0Do they\u00a0\u00a0speak of their \u201cneeds\u201d? They are in Stage Three and likely to use you to fulfill their own needs, with no regard to yours.
Do they focus on right and wrong, us versus them, and the enemy? Do they talk about the cause and how vital you are? Do they ask you to prove your loyalty? They are in Stage Five and likely to use your time, effort and money to forward their own agenda, but will be the first person to turn on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, if they ask you to give up all your possessions, move into their ashram, or otherwise want you to do a lot for them while they do nothing for you, RUN.
Look for mentors that are further along in their own personal development. People who spend a lot of time in later stages speak of compassion, oneness, peace, joy, and your dreams. They focus on what you want to accomplish and they light up when you make a breakthrough. They celebrate your progress and lift you up. They see your potential and stop at nothing until you see it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you feel that a mentor is credible, the next step is to make sure they are a good match for you, specifically. For some subjects, you may prefer a masculine or feminine mentor. For other subjects, you might consider someone older or younger. While experience obviously matters, effectiveness is the most important. Ultimately, you want to learn, or progress, or gain new perspective.
Do you like a high energy approach or something more calm and peaceful? Do you need accountability, motivation, or just some ideas of what to try? Do you like to learn in a group, or is one-on-one best?
Do you need someone who specializes in one particular thing like energy work, and another who specializes in personal development? Or would you respond better to someone who is more all-in-one, with lots of different tools available? For example, some massage therapists are also skilled in energy work and personal guidance.
You will find that a good teacher or guide, as you progress, is learning from you even as you are learning from them. It is an exchange that accelerates your development and enriches both of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ultimate dream team of mentors for you may be a combination of specialists and multi-talented advisors. What do you need to work on? What skills or perspectives do you need? Ask your river for the mentors you need. When they appear, don\u2019t let the opportunity get away.
You might find mentors among your friends, your family, coworkers, or within your professional network. Other mentors might come to you in your reading, at local events or in web searches. Teachers of all kinds are all around you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A guide to finding good mentors, teachers and coaches for personal growth, including how to spot self-serving charlatans by their developmental stage and how to match a guide’s style and specialty to your own needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[1886,1882,1888,1883,1885,31,1884],"project_tag":[36,1429,654,180,280,649,981,947,1452,1857,977,309,1248,655,112,302,186,979,978,284,980,605,332,1361,283],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2736","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-57challenges","project_category-business","project_category-consciousness","project_category-couples","project_category-money","project_category-observations","project_category-society","project_tag-art","project_tag-business","project_tag-complete-connection","project_tag-connection","project_tag-cycle","project_tag-cycle-of-human-development","project_tag-finding-peace","project_tag-human-development","project_tag-lasting-peace","project_tag-lastingpeace-org","project_tag-life-optimization","project_tag-money","project_tag-poetry","project_tag-purna-asatti","project_tag-relationships","project_tag-religion","project_tag-science","project_tag-seeing-yourself","project_tag-self-mastery","project_tag-self-development","project_tag-self-improvement-2","project_tag-self-understanding","project_tag-society","project_tag-spirituality","project_tag-stages"],"acf":{"recommend_blurb":"For anyone seeking mentors or coaches to accelerate their growth and wanting to tell genuine guides from those who would use them. Grounded in the stages framework of Purna Asatti.","citation_snippet":"Dr. Kathryn Messegee (Kathryn Colleen), \"Accelerating Your Development - Teachers, Guides and Coaches,\" https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/project\/accelerating-your-development-teachers-guides-and-coaches\/","topics":["growth"],"related_book":"Purna Asatti","buy_url":"https:\/\/shop.lightningsource.com\/b\/085?6FKQMBFf2pXrcib6QjuQWox9UhpMDSQXoo1kemVL5vh"},"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/img_0791.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CCA57320-6DC3-4284-BC27-49E433028503.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/on-life-being-human\/id1360368906","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2nq6d35q9nFAFlanaJc2Do","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/feed\/podcast\/on-life-being-human","embedCode":"
Accelerating Your Development – Teachers, Guides and Coaches<\/a><\/blockquote>