“A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained.”—Shawn Hitchcock

This quote is right on when it comes to my experience with mentors. When I doubted or didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted or how I was going to do it, my mentors helped me to refocus on where I wanted to be and how to get there.

They could do this because they had already been through the process themselves and had come out on the other side. I was just fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their years of experience and wisdom.

In fact, I had placed myself there intentionally.

You need to do the same.

In fact, the day I decided to take a huge financial leap of faith to hire a successful mentor and coach, my life changed completely.

See, I had come to this realization:

You don’t know all this, and you need to find someone who does.

I have had many mentors and coaches along the way, and here are some of the biggest things I have learned:

Mentors are people who have already walked the path before me and can share their lessons and help me to avoid certain pitfalls.

• Mentors give me the map to get me where I want to go—I can model them.
• Mentors keep me encouraged, hopeful, and accountable.
• Investing in mentors gives me skin in the game, which makes me take much bigger action.
• Mentors push and stretch me so I do the things that, on my own, I may have been too scared to do.
• Mentors help me see a bigger vision for myself and believe in me.

In addition to having mentors, I am also part of a mastermind group; in fact, I have been part of masterminds for years.

In these groups, participants challenge each other to set and accomplish goals as well as being catalysts for growth. (The mastermind groups I lead as part of my Impact Academy have encouraged many members to get to the next level of success.)

But, when it comes to finding a mentor, where do you start?

1. First, know what you’re looking for.
2. Once you know what you want, start your search where you are–look to colleagues who already are where you want to be, or look to your existing networks for references.
3. If you’re not finding what you need, broaden your search online.
4. Look for resources geared toward your chosen destination. (In my case, I was looking for people who had started their own businesses successfully online. In other words, I did my homework.)
5. Be ready to invest your time, money, and resources into making the mentor relationship work.

Know what you want, then be willing to invest in yourself to get it. Having a mentor or coach is worth it. Every penny.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this investment.

Mentors and coaches were instrumental in my life and business. I know it’s cliché to say, but there is no way I could have gotten where I am today without the help of mentors and coaches in my life and journey.

It’s because I realized that no one who is truly successful got there alone.

I knew I needed to believe in myself enough to invest in my own dreams.

So, I just did it. And you can do it too.