The Art of Being Mentored

“It is a lot easier to copy genius than it is to create mediocrity.” We’ve been saying that for years. Too many struggle too long with too little accurate information on what will make their business and/or their life successful. If they would just ASK an entire world would open up to them.

Over twenty years ago, I spent nearly a year going around the country interviewing people I thought were doing things that I might want to do for a career. College graduation was nearing and I was unsettled as to the exact place I should start. So, I started asking!

Sixty mentors later I had made up my mind. With all of the research I had done and all of the people I had talked to, there was no question in my mind what I should be doing. So I packed up my Volkswagon and traveled over 1,200 miles headlong into the adventure in which I am still engaged…life!

My first conclusion after one year of eagerly pursuing mentors was that there was no better educational experience anywhere than asking those who had done it. It is a habit that I follow to this day. In fact, you can catch at least one of my monthly mentor interviews every month on the Crown Council Mentor of the Month Program. (www.CrownCouncil.info)

Here are a few tips from experience that will make any mentor search more successful:

1. Look for those who have “done it.” Search for people with a proven track record of getting the kind of results you want. If you ask people who have failed at what you want to do, they will tell you what not to do. In fact, they will probably tell you that it can’t be done. Some of that may be useful information, but what you really want to know is how to do it successfully. You are better off asking someone who has done it so you can learn and understand what was done to make it happen.

2. Do your research. Know a lot about your mentor before you meet. Look them up on the internet and every other source you can find. Live by the Natural Law of Knowledge: “The more you know about them, the more they think you know about what you are doing.”

3. Get introduced by someone who has influence with the mentor you want to meet. How you are introduced to someone sets the stage for the entire relationship. If you try to make the approach on your own, it may be a long, up-hill battle. If someone that your mentor respects and trusts makes the introduction, you will be welcomed with ease.

4. ASK the right questions. Having done your research, you are in position to ask well-positioned “how” questions. “How did you do it?” Etc. Most of your research will have told you “what” the person has accomplished. What you want to know are as many details of the “how” as possible.

5. Pay promptly! Mentors share because they enjoy helping others with no strings attached. So there is no money involved. The pay you give a mentor is gratitude. Send a hand-written thank you card within 48 hours of your meeting. Then…

6. Follow up. The biggest compliment you can give a mentor is applying what he or she shared with you. From time-to-time send your mentor an e-mail or note with an update of how you have implemented what you learned from him. Doing something with what he shared with you is the highest form of flattery and gratitude.

7. Keep on asking. If you are applying what you learned, that opens the door to more opportunities to ask and learn. It is a continuous process if you manage and build the relationship.

Eight years ago, my then, 80 year old father, sent all of his children a letter that said in effect that a mentor of his had recently shared with him the fact that you never stop being a father. His mentor shared that with him. My dad was 80 at the time and he had mentors. He’s 88 today and he has mentors. He is learning and growing every day.

So no matter your age, continue the process of learning and growing by developing mentors. It may be some of the most powerful learning in which you will ever engage.