Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about who I look up to for inspiration in my personal development and entrepreneurial journey.

I love looking up to people who have been through the transformation I want to go through myself. It helps me get in the right mindset to achieve that transformation myself. But something I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t have to be people who are doing what I want to do, it can be anyone. As long as they communicate values I care about, I’m listening.

Looking up to people whom I deem to be successful helps me define what success means to me. Listening to people I admire helps me stay motivated and focused on my goals as I move forward in my own personal development journey.

Personal Development Journey: Who do you Look up to?

Who do you look up to?

You can really choose anyone you want as a role model. I mean, this is 2023, and everyone and their mother is online sharing their life experience, all we have to do is look around and pick the success stories that inspire us the most! It doesn’t have to be a millionaire or tech guru, it can be your baker, your cousin, or even someone working in a different field from yours.

As long as their message and transformation resonate with you, and wake up that feeling in you of “I could do that”, “this looks cool”, or “wow what an incredible story!”, you’re good to go.

Of course, you shouldn’t put anyone on a pedestal, because it might awaken feelings of anxiety and/or an inferiority complex, but looking up to people in a healthy way can really help you fuel your own journey and transformation.

How to find someone to look up to?

When I started to look around for people to look up to, I wanted to find people who could inspire me to pursue my dreams, become a better person, and live a better life.

Those people can change from one week to another, but I have a strong list of people I always go back to over the years.

I tend to gravitate toward visionaries, people with strong beliefs, and people who in one way or another were able to impact society.

Sometimes the people you look up to are close to you, they’re your friends and family. Sometimes they’re people you’ve admired since you were a kid. But sometimes they’re someone you found along the way in your adult life.

I think those are the most interesting sources of inspiration because you purposefully choose them. After all, they represent something you want to bring into your life.

All you have to do is look around, keep an open mind, and once you find someone who inspires you, dig a little deeper into their message and story and see if they are the right candidate for you to use as a mentor.

If they did it, you can do it too

When I look up to people it’s not to copy-paste their journey to success, we all know that there is no exact formula for success, (though being aligned with one’s purpose and perseverance would definitely be a part of that formula if there was one) but it is a reminder that if they did it, I can do it too.

Whatever it is that you want to do, if someone else did it before you, then it is proof that it can be done and it can empower you in knowing that it means you can do it too.

When I decided to start my YouTube channel and content creation journey, I started to look around to find success stories of people who were able to monetize their channel and create an income from the content they create on YouTube.

I eventually ran across Cathrin Manning’s channel, she went from blogger to full-time YouTuber and “created a life she loves to live” as her motto goes. Shortly after I discovered Kelly Stamps and fell in love with her ability to tell captivating, funny, and genuine stories by sharing her thoughts, journey, and daily life. Those are just a few examples of people who inspire me for something very specific, my YouTube and content creator journey.

These success stories are just confirming that with perseverance and consistency, I will also eventually be able to earn streams of income doing something I love: inspiring and empowering people to follow their purpose, sharing my journey as a business creator, and delivering quality content to help people on their journey.

What if no one has done what you want to do?

And if no one else did what you want to do, here’s your chance to be a trailblazer and set the tone for the rest of us!

Finding someone to look up to doesn’t mean you are going to copy-paste their journey hoping for the same result. And if no one did what you want to do, it’s great news! It means you get to really be known for doing that one thing no one has done before!

Look up to people with a similar vision of the world or shared values for inspiration and be a thought leader, a trailblazer, and do YOUR thing!

Shared values, shared vision of the world

The people you look up to don’t have to be doing exactly what you’re doing. Maybe you look up to them because they share your values or a certain vision of the world.

Communication, authenticity, and purpose are some of my main values. What are your values? What do you want to be known for? What are your non-negotiable?

In this day and age where billions of people share their thoughts online each day, it is easier than ever to find like-minded people with a shared vision of the world.

So maybe what you’re looking for is someone who has the same type of vision and ambition for the world as you do.

When you look up to someone, the goal is to get inspired, not to compare yourself.

Finding mentors is a “tool” to help you on your journey towards following your purpose and achieving your goals and dreams, not just something to feed you a dream you’ll never make a move toward.

If you enjoy my writing and you are interested in finding out more about living in alignment with your purpose, personal development, and the road to living an impactful life, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter where I explore those subjects each month and offer you insights and tips to help you on your journey!

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