Hi folks. Today I am going to talk about the importance of coaching/mentoring. No matter what line of work/business you are in, at some point in time, you will reach a plateau. There could be many reasons, but one of the most common seems to be a lack of coach/mentor. Look at anybody who has achieved any level of success, they attribute it to their coach/mentor. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods all had coaches. So if you want to reach beyond where you are, then a coach/mentor can take you there. The reason is that we are so involved in what we are doing, that we cannot see other things that are around us. Also, when you seek someone’s advice, you have to be humble. You automatically lose your pride. Now being proud of what you have done is fine, but you have to watch out for arrogance. The other thing a coach does is hold you accountable. If you have set a target that you want to achieve, it is easy to get distracted by things in our life. A coach helps you focus. Also a coach will tell you the truth and not stroke your ego. They will not tell you what you want to hear. Say for example you are transitioning from one area of work to another area where you have no experience. You need to get trained by someone who is already an expert in that area. After getting my bachelors degree, I went to graduate school. I started a research project and in order to move it forward, I had an adviser who mentored me. He helped me design experiments, formulate a hypothesis. Also when you get results, interpreting the results is also important. I had mentioned before that I try to read books on many different areas. The book authors act like mentors and help you become a well rounded person. So look at where you are and decide if you have achieved what you want to achieve. If you don’t feel like you are where you ought to be, then find a coach/mentor. The important thing also is to follow the plan that your coach has outlined for you.