by Michelle Anama Abari | May 23, 2022 | Personal Growth
Every human being that has ever lived has had or would have had the potential of owning their life, not just because of riches, but because of the inner wealth within. The world we live in today is so focused on making money and more money that we fail to realize that we can be the boss of our lives without money!
Knowing how to become a boss with no money should be a very good way to invest in yourself. You should be able to control your happiness even when you do not have money. I’m pretty sure a lot of you would be wondering how possible this is, but it is very much possible.
I too can say that I have been able to become my boss, with or without money. These tips that I’m about to share with you on how to become your boss with no money are tips that have worked for me and have made me a better person and see life from other aspects aside from fiscally.
1. Decide on What You Want To Do
Before I got to realize that I can be my boss without money by thinking about what I wanted to do, I used to just do whatever I needed to do to stay afloat. But it is different now that I know that I can decide and do whatever I want to do.
You may already have an idea for your business. If you don’t know what business yet, there are plenty of ways to help you make a decision. Here are 3 directions:
- Solve a Problem: You may be thinking about what problems you could solve. The truth is that you can solve problems no matter the size. You can solve problems like fixing a broken shelf, helping people in areas you are good at, listening to people who need a listening ear, or even donating blood to the hospital. These are things you can do without money that will make you feel like a boss.
- Do What You Know: Try doing something you know makes you happy. Do something you know like, writing a story for fun, cooking, debating, just anything you are familiar with really.
- Be Inspired By Others: This is something you can do without having to acquire money. You can decide to follow people and get motivated and inspired by what they do. It could be their routines, jobs, pets, etc.
By taking these 3 directions, you are deciding what course to take in your life, and being your boss.
2. Analyse Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Ask yourself what can make you successful as your boss. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will tell you where to focus your energy and how to plan for the future. Evaluate your abilities and assess your level of self-discipline and time management skills.
When you’ve gathered these answers of self-analysis, remember no circumstances should stop you from becoming your boss.
A lot of people focus only on their strengths thinking that is all there is to being human forgetting that you can also work on your weakness and be good at something you never thought you could be good at. This act lets you know how to become a boss with no money.
3. Have Self-Confidence
Having self-confidence is one of the few things you don’t need money to have. Once you have self-confidence, you become a boss instantly without even having to do much. All you have to do is believe in yourself and always put yourself first.
You don’t need validation from anyone to be perfect or think for yourself. All you need is your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. A lot of people do not have self-confidence in themselves which makes them seek other means to make themselves whole, which is money. You need to understand that being a boss is having confidence, whether you are rich or not.
There is this belief that some people have and it is that, most rich people don’t do what poor people do because of pride. Now that I think about it, it is beyond pride, it’s a lack of self-confidence. Most poor people have self-confidence because they have nothing to lose, and their confidence, which is most times regarded as rudeness can’t be bought.
So why not learn something from a poor person today? Let it be confidence in yourself. Hold your head up high always, with or without money.
4. Think, Dream, and Dream Big
A dream because no one can take that away from you. I don’t mean to be all biblical and all but what I’m about to say fits this. We should all be familiar with Joseph from the Bible. He was a dreamer, a big one if I might say, but his dreams lead him to be a governor and own more than half of Egypt! Even though he was made fun of and sold by his brothers, he never stopped dreaming. It wasn’t money that got him to where he was meant to be, but it was his dreams that couldn’t be bought that got him there.
Think because no one will ever have the same thought as you. You have a thought? Write it down, manifest it, affirm it, believe in it and lastly, pray on it. Most of these great people like Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, all believed in their thoughts and today they have made history!
Plan because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always plan your next move, write it down, you don’t need money for this plan, all you need is to know your next move and strategize it. That’s all it takes.
By just thinking, dreaming, and planning you are already halfway to knowing how to become a boss with no money. The truth is you don’t need money for these acts, you can be a top-notch boss by doing all these.
5. Always Be Kind and Easy On Yourself
Be easy on yourself, you don’t need to be hard on yourself always. Appreciate where you are, and be grateful, only then will you know your next move and go on with it.
Be kind to yourself, because no one will love you the way you love yourself. Try rewarding yourself once in a while. It could be watching Netflix, or buying ice cream and all. It just shows you’re being kind to yourself.
A lot of people don’t take the time to know and understand themselves and this makes it hard to be easy and kind to themselves. You should try and slow down once in a while, take in your environment, embrace it and always try to breathe in and out once in a while. Honestly, this in its way is a very good way to know how to become a boss with no money.
6. Do You
In anything you set out to accomplish, you should always do what only you would want to do. You can’t expect to be your own boss when you are trying to be someone else. You are actually not being your own boss. You’re actually allowing someone indirectly to rule you.
Do what YOU want and need to do. Be YOU, because no one else can be you. You have to do what only you can do because it’s only you that knows best. Most people may take this as being selfish, but actually aren’t being selfish. You are simply being you and in the process, learning how to become your own boss with no money.
Being you and doing you doesn’t require money at all. So why not get into it and explore all your potential.
The Bottom Line Is…
There are a million and one ways to know how to become a boss with no money, it all depends on if you are ready to explore all these ways. Don’t ever believe anyone who tells you that you can’t be the boss of your life without money.
Always believe you can and you’re already 80% a boss, the world just has to realize that. Always start with yourself and don’t let it be about money always.
FAQs
What do you need to be your boss?
Evaluate yourself, determine what you want, always smile and be happy, and always pray and believe in yourself.
How do you make a mindset for a boss?
You can do this by, feeling and embracing fear, knowing your worth, shattering the status quo, rooting for other bosses, and always showing up 110%
What can I gain from being my boss?
You can gain things like greater control over yourself, open-ended career progression, and higher motivation and morale.
by Precious Alex-Toji | Apr 18, 2022 | Personal Growth
When the word “mentoring” is mentioned, what usually comes to our mind is the picture of people in suits giving speaking to a gathering of people, and giving advice. What if I told you, that everyone is and can be a mentor to someone? In this article, I’d be showing you how to be a mentor to someone using 7 working strategies, some of which you might have been exhibiting without knowing.
Mentoring involves helping someone consciously grow and develop. Most times, it forms into a relationship between the mentor and the mentee (that is, the person being mentored).
Some mentorship relationships may last for a long time, others for a very short while. I have had conversations with experts in the writing field that lasted less than an hour but have had a tremendous impact on my career.
How to be a mentor to someone is not a daunting task. It involves some of the skills you probably already have like listening and curiosity. If you have younger siblings, it’d not be surprising if you know just how much influence you have on them.
What are the 7 strategies for being the perfect mentor?
7 Ways on How to be a Mentor to Someone
1. Ask Your Mentee Questions
One of the key tips on how to be a mentor to someone is being able to question your mentee on various aspects of their life, goals, and aspirations.
First, you need to know your mentee. You need to know who they are, their background, their likes, and dislikes among other things. This helps you start the training process on a relationship basis.
Secondly, you need to know their goals and aspirations. What do they aim to get from you? What aspects of their life or career do they want to see progress? These questions help you understand what challenges your mentee is facing and how you can help.
When I first contacted my “short-term” mentor, he asked me straight up “Alex what do you want to learn from me. Write it down and I’d give you a call in the next one hour” and that was it. Asking that question helped me gain clarity on what I actually wanted to gain.
2. Be an Active Listener
Active and attentive listening is a skill everyone needs to practice, especially those who are or want to be mentors.
As a mentor, you should give your mentee the freedom to speak. Think of it as a conversation between siblings.
You might have a vast knowledge of what you want to teach your mentee but paying attention to what they have to say can give you insight into how to teach. While you might have ready answers to guide your mentee, allowing them to speak can give an insight into how they think.
Learn to listen. Listening helps you understand their point of view. It can give you clarity on what your mentee really wants and how to help them through.
3. Create a Step-by-Step Plan to Help Them Grow
I’m fighting the urge to write “failing to plan is planning to fail”. Then I’d drop the mic and you guys would clap for me. On a serious note though, creating a plan is important when mentoring someone, especially if the mentorship is a long-term one.
You can create a plan that helps you work around the goals you’ve both set out from the beginning. Setting mutual goals gives you a blueprint on what you both want to achieve from the relationship. For example, if your mentee’s goal is to learn how to be a better public speaker, you can use that as a yardstick when creating a plan to help them out.
A plan also contains the schedule of your meeting. How would your contact meetings be? Offline or online? Google Meet or at a cafeteria?
4. Deliberate on Ideas Together
Do you notice how I keep saying “relationship” rather than “mentorship”? That’s because, as a mentor building a relationship with your mentee helps them connect with you better.
When a connection is established, you can then begin to deliberate and ponder on ideas together. Yes, I know you have exactly what your mentee needs but have you ever thought that they might actually have an idea on what to do but don’t know how to do it?
When I started writing, I had no idea how to monetize my skill. I met up with some of my friends, turned mentors who had experience in building careers. Rather than tell me how to monetize my skill, they asked me a few questions.
- Why do you like writing?
- What do you need to be a good writer?
- What platforms do you know hire the type of writer you are?
- If you were a client, would you hire yourself?
I had answers to some of these questions immediately, and some I did not. Instead of showing me platforms that hired writers, they made me research and bring to them platforms that best fit my style. In the end, I made the choice myself, with their guide.
When you brainstorm ideas together with your mentee, rather than provide all the answers yourself, you are helping them develop as thinkers.
5. Introduce Them to Your Network
Sometimes, someone might want you to be their mentor because they noticed how much access you have to people and they want that. Honestly speaking, I’ve had conversations with people I ordinarily wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for my mentors.
As a mentor, if you have several connections that would help your mentee develop better, feel free to network your mentee with them.
However, do not feel pressured to do these. If you feel your mentee isn’t developed enough to be granted access to your network, don’t make that introduction.
6. Give Words of Encouragement
Guiding someone through a developing phase can be hard. And I mean, very hard. Some days clicking with your mentee would be difficult. As with every relationship, good days and bad days happen.
This is where you come in as a good mentor. Rather than dish out criticism at the slightest opportunity, substitute it with words of encouragement.
I remember days when I felt like I wasn’t doing things right and I would run back to my mentor and complain over the same thing we’ve gone over a thousand times and all he’d say is “be patient, Alex. Work on your patience”. And that was it.
7. Avoid Being Bias and Judgmental
One key tip on how to be a mentor to someone is to keep every form of bias or prejudice you have aside when mentoring someone.
As a mentor, you need to keep an open mind when meeting your mentee. Avoid projecting any form of prejudice or stereotype towards them because it can affect the mentorship process.
Be a safe space for your mentee. Let them know you are there for there. Listen to their frustrations and vents. Avoid judging. You never know what things they might be going through.
Conclusion
These 7 tips on how to be a mentor to someone are practicable. Sometimes, people can choose you to be their mentor because they see what you have been doing and feel you can help them through too.
Being a mentor can be a fun experience. As you’re helping someone grow and develop, you’re also developing yourself as an individual.
Have you ever had a mentor or are you a mentor yourself? What experience would you like others to know? Share your thoughts in the comment section. I’d be looking out for tips to share.
FAQs
Who is a mentor?
A mentor is someone who serves as a guardian, an adviser, and support to you. They are usually experienced people who take the time to understand your challenges and help you out.
What is a mentor supposed to do?
A mentor, is expected that share insight about your career and provide strategies, guidance, emotional support, and maintain a friendly relationship with your mentee.
What are the three A’s of mentorship?
The three a’s of mentorship include being available, being an active listener, and being analytical. These three characteristics are necessary for being a good mentor.
What are the 7 roles of a mentor?
The seven roles every mentor is expected to perform include- role model, coach, teacher, sponsor, agent, advisor, and confidante.
What are the benefits of having a mentor?
A mentor provides you with knowledge gotten from experience, helps you improve as an individual, and gives you access to professionals in their network.
How to be a good mentee?
As a mentee, you’re expected to be responsible for your learning, respect your mentor’s boundaries, be trustworthy and be open to learning.
What are key skills necessary for mentorship?
As a mentor, you should have good communication skills, be able to listen attentively, have good emotional awareness, and must be open to learning too.
How old do I have to be to be a mentor?
In most cases, mentorship comes with experience rather than age. If you have experience in a particular field, people would naturally want to learn from you.
Why should I become a mentor?
Being a mentor gives you the opportunity to share your skills and experience. This way, you are building a community of people with value, as individuals to the society.
What should I do when mentoring for the first time?
If you are mentoring for the first time, it is vital that you get to know your mentee, know what skills you have to pass on, and learn to help with the little things.
