If you’ve ever read biographies of successful people, you might have noticed one thing they all have in common — they have great mentors. If you’re wondering why finding a great mentor is so important, consider that knowing someone who’s been in your shoes and has achieved what you want to is an invaluable source of information for navigating the tricky path to success. Considering that mentors are so critical to our success, it is astonishing how unprepared most of us are to find someone who can guide us.
Jim Rohn says that we are the average of the five people we surround ourselves with the most. Take a moment to consider who those five people are in your life. Would you find them successful? If successful people do not surround you, how likely are you to achieve your own goals? Chances are, you’ve realized that you need to surround yourself with better, more successful people if you want to live the life of your dreams.
Omar Ascha, a rising star in the world of finance, is an avid believer in mentorship, leadership as well as paying it forward. As an active member of his local community, Mr. Ascha dedicates his spare time to nurturing the minds and ideas of young professionals. Below, he walks through a few essential tips to ensure you find the appropriate guide for your career.
1. Isolate your most pressing concern, and seek help:
If you were to take an unbiased look at your life right now, which is the one thing that you desperately need help with? Which is the one skill or discipline that would have the most positive effect on your life right now?
Once you’ve isolated this problem, you can start seeking people who can help you with it. Make sure you are talking about a clear, unambiguous problem statement that the person you are seeking has overcome in their own lives.
For example, you might be looking for someone who can teach you how to get 1,000 unique visitors to your website every single day. Once you’ve understood the problem clearly, you can move on.
2. Share your problem with your current network:
There’s a substantial probability that you are already connected to someone, directly or indirectly, who can help you with the problem you are facing. If you have a specific objective, make sure you share it often with the people you meet. Make it a point to bring up your goal in social situations. For example, the next time you encounter an acquaintance over dinner or drinks, you could say something like “I’m looking to grow my website to the point where it has 1,000 unique visitors daily.” Look at how they react to this statement.
It is possible that they might know someone, or know someone else who can put you in touch with the kind of person you are looking for. At the very least, it doesn’t hurt to try.
3. Be where the people you are looking for are:
You could have a particular problem and share it with your network of friends and acquaintances all the time. But if you want to give yourself the best chance of finding a successful mentor, you need to get out of the house and attend seminars, conferences, and events where these successful people hang out.
Industry conferences, startup meets, and other events of their kind are great places for finding mentors and like-minded people.
4. Be a good listener:
Instead of trying to impress the people you’re seeking help from, try to listen to their stories and understand where they’re coming from. Understand if there is a way your association will be mutually beneficial. Ask honest questions and then listen. If you approach people with the intention of adding some value to their lives, they will be more likely to be interested in helping you.
5. Be persistent:
Expect some of your actions to fail. Once you expect failure, you’re not as fazed by it. What is important is that you never quit. Analyze why something doesn’t work and then hone your approach incrementally until you hit the jackpot. Never stop trying.
6. Hold yourself accountable to others in your community:
Once you’ve found some people who have similar goals, the next thing you need to do is push each other to greater heights. Hold yourself accountable to someone and set measurable stakes for your actions. For example, if you’re looking to lose weight, find someone who wants to do the same or has already lost a lot of weight and then make them your accountability partners.
Finding people who are inspirational and motivate you is crucial if you want to succeed in life. Use the steps above to seek out mentors and other successful people. When you surround yourself with a thriving community, you will be amazed at how quickly your life changes.
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