
Every hero needs a mentor
Daniel-San had Mr Miyagi. Luke had Obi-Wan. Marty had Doc. We all know the story of the lost young soul, faced with a seemingly insurmountable task, who meets a wise old mentor who helps develop him into the hero he needs to be to save the day.
Business, or life for that matter, is no different.
Mentors in real life have a story to tell. Rich experiences not only from their successes, but more importantly, from their many failures. Don’t reinvent the wheel. I mean, why would you want to? Especially as an entrepreneur, you’ve got enough to deal with, so if anyone has some advice that will make things a little easier, I’m all ears.
This topic has been written about so many times that I don’t know if I’d be offering up anything new. I do think that “mentor” is a bit of a buzzword and trend that people do or say just to make themselves feel better. That by going through the motions of getting a mentor and sitting down for a coffee is sufficient. It’s not. You need to be prepared to get schooled and hear some hard truths about you and your business.
It’s like going to the gym and sitting on the bench press taking selfies or wearing activewear 24/7 because it looks like you workout. That’s just the beginning. You’ve got real work to do.
This actually sucks because people that do this ruin it for the rest of us who are serious about our personal and professional development. If great mentors feel like people are wasting their time, they’ll shut their doors.
I had an incredibly enlightening experience yesterday with a new mentor of mine which inspired me to write this post. Not a “how-to” or “must-have” type of post. Just a few things I felt were really important.
1. Choose the right mentor
There are a lot of successful people out there in every field imaginable. Great mentors with great knowledge to share. But are they right for you? Look for similarities, like you work in the same industry or you have similar personality traits. This gives the relationship a foundation before it’s even started.
Don’t get me wrong, you can be mentored by anybody. But if you have a strategic purpose behind it, you’ll reap larger rewards from the relationship.
2. Confirmation
A mentor shouldn’t just give you the answers. You’ve connected with the right mentor, now couple that with your own research and learning about the topics or problems you want to discuss. It saves them time having to explain the situation to you and having to bring you up to speed. Instead, they can jump straight to the meat of the lessons to ensure you get the best out of the session.
3. Humility
It can be tempting to go on and on about how amazing you and your business are and the opportunities that surround you. Easy to get swept away in your own glorified story. It’s definitely a 2-way conversation at times, but you’re there to learn so the more they talk the better. Also, try not to get too defensive. Open your mind and let them speak.
4. Go for it
Sometimes you know who you want your mentor to be. You see characteristics that you admire and aspire to. But it can be really intimidating thinking about how you can approach them. You don’t want to sound desperate or perhaps you don’t want them to think that you’re wasting their time. If you’ve done your research and are genuine about wanting to learn, I say go for it. There is a chance that they are too busy and just can’t do it. But I’ve noticed that a lot of them really appreciate it and can identify with someone in your position.
5. Offer something in return
Always have something to offer in return. Either by paying them or giving them a bit of your product or service. This is purely about respect and making them feel like you value their time.
My dream mentors would be Conor McGregor, Dwayne Johnson and Gary Vaynerchuk so if you know them, please pass on my details.
