Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

Mentors. Everyone is telling you that you must have a mentor if you want to be successful. Great!

Now you have one and, Nothing. Has. Changed. He or she is not helping you fast track anything…

As a matter of fact, your mentor has more questions than answers. WTF!

Here is What I’ve Learned About Mentors

1. Your mentor is not Yoda and you won’t be taught how to use the force.
2. Mentors are not teachers, they are guides.
3. You need more than one mentor.
4. Mentors are informal relationships, you don’t have to officially ask someone to be your mentor.
5. The questions your mentor ask of you have deeper meaning than it appears on the surface.  It’s your job to go deeper on your own time.
6. You must come prepared to all meetings with your mentor with specific questions and be prepared to get your answer in a form of a question back to you.
7. Always bring something to take notes with when you meet with your mentor and always take notes.
8. Mentors always give you homework, but they will rarely tell you this.  It’s your job to figure out what the homework is and turn it in.
9. Mentors want feedback when their guidance helps you out, this is one of the best gifts you can give to them.
10. Mentors like introductions as well.  Keep expanding your network and make the connections that make logical sense.
11. You are never too old to have a mentor and your mentor doesn’t have to be older than you.

You Don’t Have to Know Your Mentor

Another thing I’d like to add is that I’ve never met some of the best mentors in my life.  Through books, videos, podcast, etc. I have received some of the best advice from experts that I’ve never met.  I’m not talking about just going surface level by reading one book from a specific person either.

For example,  I’ve read 5 Seth Godin books so far (one of which helped me get the confidence to quit my job and start a business).  I’m currently listening to his weekly podcast Akimbo.  I also listened to his limited series podcast Startup School.  On top of that I read his daily blog every morning and routinely search YouTube for new videos he is featured in.

This is going deep.  Seth Godin is a mentor I’ve never met.

If you can’t find a mentor at your job, in your neighborhood, or among your friends and family then finding multiple experts in your industry who have a wide body of work in the your area of  interest is the next best thing.  There is truly no excuse for not having more than one mentor.