Skills get the job done

One of my favorite shows of all times is M*A*S*H*. It is a comedy that poked fun at war. The show lasted longer than the Korean conflict which it was supposedly about. On more than one occasion those whacky Doctors would dress up. Hawkey would become Groucho Marx. Everybody wants to know that the doctor which is to do their surgery has training and skills before he presents himself with a scalpel over them. Most people would not go looking for a doctor that was a comedian or plumber yesterday and decided to be a doctor last night. Everyone knows
 it is best to have the best they can find at every station of their surgical team.

No one wants to find out that the person repairing their computer is a carpenter with no experience or training on computers and only learned what a keyboard was when you showed it to them. But would it be ok if, that person which came to work on your computer brought with them the main designer and programmer for a major computer company, and that person had the entire team back at the company working with them? Most people would instantly gain a new respect for that carpenter. Life is like that. No one has the experience and skills to be successful at anything until they are given to them. They may be handed to them in a book, taught at a school which teaches theory, but most would agree that having them taught in a setting with a person which is already considered to be successful in that area leading them. If that person could hand them a book which will allow for them to study ahead and prepare for the lessons it is even so much better.

Doctors spend many years in school then more in internship. Plumbers, electricians, jewlers, and anyone who wishes to be professional in their area find someone they can learn from (commonly called a mentor) . This is so important that states require it for license. Sadly however, when it comes to success, few and very few, ever get true skills training at the arm of a mentor. The first question is, are you willing to have someone teach you the skills that are an absolute necessity for you to find success, or are you so uncoachable that you will always have a flat forehead, because someone with proper skill is able to find success where you only find failure?

An important characteristic of a good mentor is that they truly desire your success. When this is true they will teach you more than they knew when you started and walk with you through the journey because they also are learning and being mentored. The "training for success" link can help you make such a connection.