Need help finding goals to set or overcoming an obstacle? Get yourself a mentor. A mentor is someone who has “been there and done that” and who can help you “go there and do that,” too.
Who is a mentor?
A mentor can be anyone—a teacher, a relative, a coach, your best friend—who has specific knowledge related to your goal setting and success and is willing to share it with you.
How do I find one?
If you can’t think of anyone you know who can provide the information and support you need, meet someone new who can. How?

  • Network. Need help achieving your dreams? Ask your teacher, counselor, friend, pastor, rabbi, coach, family doctor, boss if they could recommend a person for you to contact. It’s a sure bet that someone you know will know someone who knows someone…
  • News. Read the local paper and listen to the local news. Experts who know smart goal setting are interviewed in the news every day.

It’s perfectly okay to contact someone you don’t know for help, but before you do, follow these basic rules:

  1. Tell your parents or caregivers whom you plan to contact and when. Meet with a potential mentor in a public place (coffee shop, library, etc.) until you know them very well.
  2. Figure out as closely as you can what you would like to learn from that person and why you need their help.
  3. When you talk to a potential mentor on the phone, introduce yourself politely, thank the person for taking time to talk to you, and sum up exactly what you want from the person and what you hope to achieve together.

If a potential mentor doesn’t turn out to have the knowledge you need or is too busy to help you, she likely will refer you to someone else.
Most people are flattered to be asked for help and really want to help ambitious young people achieve their goals. Make that call and you’ll see.
One last, and critically important, detail. Thank the person for his or her help, preferably in writing. But you were already planning to do that, right?


Sources: it-career-coach.net; calpoly.edu; careerplanning.about.com;
timethoughts.com/timemanagement