Whether you're brand new in business or a seasoned veteran, mentorship can skyrocket your success in a way that nothing else can.

This week, as I'm heading to the Sanctuary in Franklin, Tennessee, to learn from Dan Miller (48 Days to the Work You Love) and connect with a few dozen other coaching professionals at Dan's Coaching With Excellence seminar, I've been thinking about the value of learning from good mentors.

It's really a shame that school teaches us that knowledge comes from books (or the Internet), when in reality knowledge is most powerfully communicated through relationships.

In earlier time periods, society seemed to understand this concept a little bit better. For example, in the 1700s, you could become an apprentice to learn the trade of silver-making. You'd study under one silversmith, who would teach you everything that he knew and shepherd you through the process of beginning your own silversmith business. An apprentice would be paid very little (and in certain cases the apprentice would pay the mentor) and would receive the benefit of his or her mentor's decades of experience.

In modern society, we've placed so much information on making money quickly that we have lost sight of the value of long-term mentoring relationships. In the end, these types of relationships yield much more profitable returns than the quick "use-them-up and burn-them-out" relationships that seem to be the norm in the corporate world today.As an attorney at a Big Law firm, I saw first-hand how damaging the lack of mentoring is both to morale and, ultimately, to a business' bottom line.

Here are 4 Reasons Why Mentorship Matters:

1. You will not get the best out of yourself without a mentor. The right mentor will be able to draw out your strengths and help you break through any blocks and limiting beliefs. Oftentimes, the things that are holding us back have been holding us back for so long that we cannot get rid of them without outside help.

2. You will not get the best out of your team without being a mentor. Sure, you may get people on your team who do their jobs (and even do them well), but I guarantee that if you do not nurture and mentor your team, they will leave for greener pastures at the earliest opportunity. People who invest in their team get a team who is invested in them.

With Pat Flynn, one of my online mentors, at Amy Porterfield's B-School Business Accelerator (plus an Amy Porterfield photobomb:-) )

3. Mentorship will speed up your success timeline. Your mentor can show you the ropes in your industry. She can set you up with the tools and resources that will help you grow your business much more quickly than if you had to figure everything out on your own. She can also give you systems and processes that will increase your productivity and allow you to spend your time on the parts of your business that are firmly within your zone of genius.

4. Your mentor will help you develop key relationships with others in your industry. For example, in the coaching industry, your Success Coach can likely refer you to a social media marketing strategist, a graphic designer, a website developer, and a copywriter. All of these referrals can help you build a key network and trusted team of professionals as you grow your business. Without a mentor, you are almost sure to struggle to find the best professionals in each of these areas. You will likely waste both time and money trying to figure this out on your own.

Are you convinced that mentorship will propel you toward living out your purpose and growing your business? But still not sure which mentor is right for you? I'd love to offer you a complimentary Discovery Call with you to see whether my 90-Day Mentorship is your solution!