As a business owner you play the role of a mentor to your team, your clients, and to your peers. You are likely to have also engaged a mentor to help you and your business.

Mentoring begins at birth and will be part of your life till death. Throughout your life mentors will have come and gone, and some of your mentors may be alive or deceased. Let’s take the time to acknowledge your first mentors, your parents. Then, there are your teachers, your sports mentors, as well as your first role models when you began your career. All of these people have shaped your life and helped you become who you are today.

In The Invisible Entrepreneur and The Invisible Branson we discuss the importance of choosing the right mentors for your needs and the needs of your business. As you know, mentors don’t only come in the package of a business mentor, or a sports mentor, or even a spiritual mentor. And, your mentor doesn’t need to be alive and having a conference call with you weekly or monthly! In fact for the most part, you may never get the opportunity to meet your mentors.

But what I want to focus on is a mentor that may be an untapped resource in your life. What I want you to think about is your best mentor might be sharing your bed.

My wife. My mentor.

Yesterday I was having a conversation with a client and I had one of those moments where I got present to how grateful I am to have my wife and business partner Louise as my mentor.

For some people, the mere mention of the words “wife” and “mentor” in the same breath is unthinkable. Perhaps even a scary prospect. And, some business owners might say, yeah.... but...... my partner has never been in business so how could they be my mentor?

And, this is my point. When we begin working with an entrepreneur, we ask to speak to their life partner, regardless of whether he or she is working in the business or not.

The reasoning behind this is that life partners are intrinsically woven into the business. While they may not turn up each morning to the business, or have a specific role, they are there, with you, in mind and spirit every second of the day. They get to experience the high’s, the low’s, the successes, and the failures with you.

If you allow them to be, then life partners can be your biggest supporters and your most generous fan club. They often know you better than you know yourself. And on the whole, they want you to win.

What got me thinking about this subject was when our client, Rhonda (not her real name), said that she advised Joe (her husband) not to hire a particular person as the operations manager. However, Joe over-ruled her. What Rhonda went on to say was “I don’t want to be thought of as a person who is constantly whining and complaining.” And, in not feeling heard she had decided to back off.

I could totally relate to, and understand, both their points of view. There was a time I used to dismiss Louise's input. In the early days of our personal and working relationship I saw her more as a tormentor than a mentor.

I simply resented her ideas because my belief was “I knew better.” My internal dialogue was on overdrive with the words reverberating silently “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Are you willing to be mentored?

You could easily think that I have just mellowed with age or have learnt to compromise simply to keep the peace? Most of you do know how unreasonable Louise can be. However, the truth is, I began to realise that I was losing out on all fronts.

Louise is a great sounding board. She listens without judgement and when it comes to making decisions she has me work through all the surface issues and enables me to get to the core of what is best for me. The more I allowed myself to be mentored by Louise, the better our business, and our life became.

Take Action: Are you open to being mentored by your life partner? Or do you feel this is not their specialty?

This week, why not have a conversation with your partner and be open to receiving their feedback. You never know, the solution you are seeking might just be right in front of you (or lying beside you)!

And, take the time to acknowledge those people who have made an impact in your life.

We thank you and acknowledge you for the difference you make in our life.

William & Louise

For further insights about this topic we highly recommend reading:

The Invisible Branson Chapter Four Inner Dialogue	The Invisible Partnership Chapter Eight The Power of Alignment