The importance of a career mentor cannot be stressed enough. Literally, they play a huge part in your success. Get yourself at least one mentor; someone who will give you objective advice, make you think outside of the box and challenge your decisions. It makes a real difference.

Having a mentor who will just agree with what you say is never a good idea. Someone independent, impartial, unbiased and unequivocally stands their ground. Your mentor shouldn't make you feel unbeatable, your mentor will make you become unbeatable.

A really good piece of advice I once got was that your mentor should never be your manager or someone you report to. It needs to be someone who has nothing to gain/lose from your decisions - someone completely free of any prejudice or bias.

You can't be speaking about leaving your job for a better opportunity with a manager bc unfortunately he/she will also think of their own interests (perhaps even unknowingly) and the ramifications of that decision.

So who's the best mentor for you? Someone who knows your line of work. Someone who knows the right people in your company/industry and can help influence others for you. Someone who can/will give you time whenever you need it, whether it be a 2 min call or an hour long debate.

How to get someone to become your mentor? ASK. Honestly, it's so sad when I see people with so much potential scared to ask for things bc they don't want to hear 'no'. Most times people say yes (whether it be there and then, or in the future). If you don't ask, you won't get.

Ultimately, no one in life will spoon feed you, especially not in the cut throat corporate world. You have to think about yourself, and you have to make things work for yourself. You can only help others when you've helped yourself; always remember that.

You are your biggest weapon, and you can become your biggest enemy. You make you, you.