Mentors...You Can't Succeed Without Them!
Copyright © Scott Bradley
Having a mentor is essential to your success.
The reason for this is because a mentor who has done what you want to do, and has the lifestyle that you want to have, has been right where you are before.
Mentors have learned, what works, what doesn't work, and knows the fastest and most efficient path to where they are today...They have made the mistakes...and learned what not to do...Since you want to be where they are, learning from them is like reading 1000 books on the same topic.
The reason mentors are important to have in your life is because they have the experience to guide you to your destination. They are a person to fall back on...to pick you up when you are down or are there to support you when faced with some type of adversity working to achieve your goal.
I have many mentors of my own in all different industries. They have helped me so much in showing me what books to read, how to do certain things that most people don't know about, and really have told me, "Scott if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
Knowing I have these mentors to always go to gives me peace of mind as I head into graduating next year. While most people are worried where they are going, and how they are going to get there...I personally feel like with all the mentors that I do have...I have nothing to worry about...
Now...I know nothing is going to be handed to me on a silver platter...nothing is ever that easy...but what I do know is this...If I ever need any advice, or guidance, I have the confidence in the mentors that I have to help me along the way.
So you are probably sitting there thinking....Ok Scott...You have all these mentors, but HOW DO I start building my network of mentors.
I would like to share with you what I did, starting the summer after my freshmen year.
1. The first thing that I did was write down all of the business people, and influential people that had some sort of influence over a particular industry that I knew I wanted to be involved in. I chose the industries of Real Estate, Entrepreneurship, Network Marketing, and Creative Ways Of Investing. These were contacts that my father and mother knew.
2. The second thing I did was either call them or send them an e-mail that sounded something like this. "Hi Mr. _____ I hope you are having a great day. I wanted to contact you because I know you are in ___________ industry. I think I may have an interest in being a part in that industry down the road and wanted to talk to you about your past experience in it. I know you are a very busy person, but would appreciate any time you could give me to talk about how you got to where you are today.
I am also in the process of creating a group of mentors to help and guide me along my life path and was wondering if you would have any interest in helping me in my journey.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Regards,
Scott
3. After sending that e-mail I let the powers at be take control. Now you don't have to use this e-mail word for word...even though you have my permission...but really speak from the heart when writing e-mails to those who you plan to contact.
4. The reason an e-mail like this is so key is because 1) You are being REAL with them...2)By you going to THEM and asking THEM you are stroking their ego...3)More likely than not they will want to help you because THEY KNOW exactly where you are because they have been there BEFORE.
5. When you schedule a time to get together be sure to be presentable, but comfortable at the same time. A mentor in my opinion is just a real specialized friend...you don't have to show up in a suit...just a collared shirt or something dressy casual. I know it sounds kind of corny but thats just how I see it. When talking with them, remember my post about how people LOVE to talk about themselves. I believe it was the post about Essential Keys To Networking Effectively
Ask them everything about them...How long they have been in the industry they are in, how long they have done it, what did they do before? Etc Etc.
You will find as the conversation progresses you will be starting to ask questions like...
How did you overcome this obstacle.
What do you attribute your past success to? Do you have any guidance for me as an up and coming _____________.
What books would you reccommend that I read to help me along my journey.
Trust me they will want to help you! You just have to have enough guts to ask them.
Think about it...If you were in their position wouldn't you want to help someone who reached out to you?
If any of you need any help whatsoever in contacting potential mentors I would be happy to help you. Just contact me by one of the ways on the right panel so we can chat!
As always I feel it is my duty to help you out in whatever you are doing. If I can be of any assistance whatsoever please don't hesitate to contact me. I don't bite, and am very friendly! :) LOL
I hope you have a fabulous day and find this post helpful to your future and well being.
To Your Success,
Scott Bradley
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I Have Moved My Blog To Wordpress.
I will no longer be posting to this blog.
Click http://www.NetworkingEffectively.com to visit the new blog
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3 comments:
You are right on the money there. Providing you listen they can save you a lot of time and money.
I totally agree with you. My story is similar but to meet the people my parents did not know, I made a list of business people in Jamaica that I knew would make a great network and then picked up the Yellow Pages and called their office.
Some did not bother to talk to me, some took messages and returned calls and a very few actually took 5 minutes to talk with me, leading to a lunch meeting.
I pretty much asked them for 15 minutes of their time and pointed out that 15 minutes wasn't too much time to give up, worked most of the time.
No one succeeds on their own.
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