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The women and men who came before us are great inspirations to live our lives, fully whether or not, they’re actively in our lives as mentors or just in our minds as role models. They are examples of how we can do great things. Despite the fact that moving forward may be hard.
A lot of times when we think of the words mentor or role model, we think of famous or accomplished people the Gandhi’s, the Oprah’s or even CEOs, but mentors can come from anywhere and they don’t need to be people of tremendous power notoriety, either of that. People often ask me where my positivity and optimism came from.
Why are you positive?
My answer is that I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants, mentors and role models, which came not just in books, or at the University, or on television, but also from within my own family.
Growing up, my great uncle was just such a mentor and role model, he had an exercise routine of going out on his Sunny Los Angeles, balcony, and writing his recumbent stationary bicycle for exercise for 30 minutes daily, he did this every day until he passed away at 102 years of age, he just got up and did it because it never occurred to him, not to.
There’s many a day when I wake up with excuses as to why I don’t want to go for a walk or to the gym. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. My belly hurts. I have too much work to do. Then I remember my great uncle and I think if he can stick to his exercise plan at 100 years of age or better, I can get my butt to the gym.
+100 years and still going
Now my grandmother on my mother’s side buried two husbands and a son before the age of 50, she escaped the programs from Russia to come to the New World. Unfortunately, it was not so easy, even in the land of the free and the home of the brave, for a widower to survive in the 1930s and 1940s, there were laws that only men could own or rent property and yet Grandma needed a way to feed her children after her second Husband died.
Did I mention he was murdered? My grandmother had it rough. Anyway, she had a male family friend rent a little grocery store so she could make a living. It was hers to run. But when the rent collectors came to collect, the rents, the man who passed as the grocery store owner would be there, so that she could get around this ridiculous law.
This is living life fully finding a way Despite All Odds. She’s my inspiration every day.
My grandfather was a role model of optimism and positivity to me. He wore a suit and tie every day of his life at 103. He went shopping for a new suit. My papa saw three suits that he liked, and he bought all three. Seriously, who expects to need three suits at 103 years of age? That’s optimism. He wore them well, enjoyed them.
He wore them every single day till he died at 105 to this day long after he is passed. I’m reminded of that optimism in the toughest of times, when the easy route would be pessimism or negativity.
Mentorship and role models have played such a huge role in our lives. In my experience, mentors guide you not just by being a sounding board and by providing their own experiences for you to learn from. But also, by directing you to the ideas, the places in the people that will best age you on your journey towards your mission.
Find the right inspiration
Furthermore, I want to stress the point that the people from whom you draw inspiration don’t actually have to be in your life or even be alive to have an ongoing impact on you. How many people have taken Role models or even forms of mentorship from books, written 100 or even 1000 years ago?
Gretchen Rubin is a role model of mine. Once said during an interview that she believes everyone should have a guru. However, she told me her Guru wasn’t Deepak Chopra or someone she studied under in her undergraduate life, instead it was Sun Terrace of lissu, a Roman Catholic nun, who lived in the late 1800s.
Personally, I have many gurus and role models that I’ve never actually met, which illustrates the point that we can draw inspiration and motivation from anyone anywhere at any time whether or not they’re actually in our lives.
It also illustrates the point that when it comes to quality mentors, the more the merrier. In my life, I have mentors who guide me in business, mentors who guide me spiritually, mentors who give me emotional wisdom and mentors who helped me be my healthiest fittest self.
Just as with all relationships, these mentorship relationships do take time and energy to develop. But boy, are they some of the most valuable and rewarding relationships in my life.
So, I think it’s really important to remember that mentors come in all different shapes, sizes, and ages and to take a broad view of what mentorship means to you and your life.
But sometimes Finding good mentors Takes a little bit more work than that, for this reason We want to urge you to very deliberately seek out mentors and role models who fit your values and your mission and then work towards developing a relationship with them whenever possible.
You should especially look to people who are creating the types of meaningful lives you want to create for yourself. Not everyone will say yes, and not everyone is available, but please don’t let that deter you from seeking out new mentors constantly and from taking away wisdom from everyone in anyone who inspires you.
