WEBVTT - Consult your inner mentor

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to consult your inner mentor. We all

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<v Speaker 1>know about the importance of mentors. Since Telemachus got advice

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<v Speaker 1>in the Odyssey from the character named mentor, really the

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<v Speaker 1>disguised goddess of wisdom Athena, plenty of us have sought

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<v Speaker 1>advice from wiser, more experienced sorts. Some of us have

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<v Speaker 1>been fortunate enough to serve that role for other people.

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<v Speaker 1>Mentors are wonderful. The trouble, though, is that most aren't

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<v Speaker 1>disguised Greek gods. They are busy human beings. They don't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily have time to meet with us when we need them.

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<v Speaker 1>If we need to make decisions quickly, they can't always

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<v Speaker 1>squeeze us in, and there are other issues wise. As

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<v Speaker 1>they might be, your mentors might not be unbiased about

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<v Speaker 1>your dilemmas. Your manager, for instance, is not neutral on

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<v Speaker 1>the question of whether you should accept a job offer

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<v Speaker 1>from a competitor. Your mentor from outside your company, the

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<v Speaker 1>one who put you in touch with his friend at

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<v Speaker 1>that competitor, isn't neutral about it either. So what can

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<v Speaker 1>you do. One of my favorite ideas is to consult

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<v Speaker 1>your inner mentor alongside any external ones. I first learned

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<v Speaker 1>of this idea from Tara Moore's book Playing Big. More

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<v Speaker 1>is a coach who helps people focus on sharing their

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<v Speaker 1>breakthrough ideas on as big a stage as possible. This

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<v Speaker 1>often requires courage. Doing anything new is quite likely to

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<v Speaker 1>bring out our inner critics, that voice that asks who

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<v Speaker 1>you think you are to be shaking things up. But

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<v Speaker 1>More suggests that you can also tap your inner mentor.

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<v Speaker 1>This quieter, wiser, inner voice can offer all sorts of insights.

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<v Speaker 1>Your inner mentor can give you a kind of support

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<v Speaker 1>that no outer mentor can give you more rights. He

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<v Speaker 1>or she's not a replacement for outer mentors, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is a necessary compliment to them. Because she's inside of you,

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<v Speaker 1>she'll always be there for you unfailingly. There are no

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<v Speaker 1>issues of competition or betrayal. Because it's your inner voice.

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<v Speaker 1>The guidance won't be a reflection of what worked for

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<v Speaker 1>someone else. It will always be just right for you.

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<v Speaker 1>To start to listen to this inner mentor's voice. More

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<v Speaker 1>suggests visualizing yourself twenty years in the future, but not

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<v Speaker 1>just any you twenty years in the future. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a vision of you that is whole, centered and loving.

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<v Speaker 1>As More puts it, if you were to be wonderfully

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<v Speaker 1>fulfilled twenty years from now, what would your life look like.

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<v Speaker 1>Where do you picture this version of yourself? What is

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<v Speaker 1>this person doing? How does he or she act? In

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<v Speaker 1>my time management fable Juliette's School of Possibilities, I suggest

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<v Speaker 1>a version of this future visioning by having my main

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<v Speaker 1>character imagine herself at a dinner party given in her

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<v Speaker 1>honor twenty five years from now. As people stand up

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<v Speaker 1>to give toasts about her impact twenty years in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>she sees what truly matters to her. She starts to

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<v Speaker 1>ask what she can do now to bring herself closer

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<v Speaker 1>to this vision. You could try envisioning this future dinner

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<v Speaker 1>party in the toasts too. Once you have a vivid

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<v Speaker 1>sense of this older, wiser, more authentic version of yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll find that she exists as a voice within you. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>More says, when you're facing a dilemma, try asking this

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<v Speaker 1>inner mentor what he or she would do. After I

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<v Speaker 1>met my inner mentor, More rights, when I was faced

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<v Speaker 1>with an important decision, I'd ask myself which of these

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<v Speaker 1>roads moves me closer to becoming that woman I saw

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<v Speaker 1>in the visualization. That criteria helped me quickly say a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of nose and some significant yes is. It helped

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<v Speaker 1>me tune out external pressures and helped me find the

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<v Speaker 1>answers that were right for me. So at some point today,

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<v Speaker 1>try sitting quietly for a few minutes and picturing your

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<v Speaker 1>inner mentor, how would you, with twenty more years of

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<v Speaker 1>wisdom and experience deal with your current challenges. When you're

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<v Speaker 1>debating how to answer a difficult email or solve a

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<v Speaker 1>work crisis, picture what your inner mentor would do what

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<v Speaker 1>he or she would tell you to do. You might

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<v Speaker 1>be surprised at just how swiftly you can start to

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<v Speaker 1>make tough decisions in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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