Would you like to have a mentor? Someone from whom you could learn the secrets of success? It is not easy to find someone who will share their secrets and spend the time to teach you what they know. But there is a way.
I have had a number of what I call “double-secret mentors.” These are people from whom I have learned without even making direct contact. Instead, I studied what they did and how they did it so I could apply their knowledge to my business.
Not only did I learn a lot, in many cases I later got to meet these mentors. We have since become friends and colleagues, and I continue to learn from them.
Here is how you can get double-secret mentors of your own:
Identify people who are successfully doing things you would like to do. Maybe your goals include being featured in major magazines, creating a successful mail campaign, publishing a book, getting top search engine rankings or doing infomercials. There are people doing these things now. Find them. Your mentors do not have to be in the same field as you. In fact, sometimes it is best if they are not. Remember that your goal is to learn from them, not copy them.
Study them. Read what they have written and what has been written about them. Do a Google search to find everything you can. Visit their blog or Web site often. Get on their mailing list.
Search Google, PRWeb and other sources for press releases that have been successful for them.
Look for lessons you can apply. When you find something that might work for your business, decide how you can translate it for use. Do not copy anything exactly. Learn from it and adapt it to your business.
Make opportunities to interact. Leave insightful comments on your mentor’s blog. That means something more than, “Great post!” Offer your personal experience, or suggest a point not brought up in the post. Likewise, you may email a response to a newsletter article or other communication. Your email may or may not get to them (some people have layers of staff between their public email address and themselves) but it might get you on their radar.
Watch for chances to meet. Will your double-secret mentor be at a conference or other event? Attending could give you an opportunity to meet.
When making contact, have an idea of what you can do for them. Well-known and successful people are approached all the time, usually by people who want something from them. You have a greater chance of getting through to them if you can offer something they want. Perhaps you can introduce them to someone they would like to meet. Consider apprenticing for them, or exchanging services. A friend of mine learned how to write advertising copy by offering to provide other writing services for her copywriter-mentor.
Even if you never meet, your double-secret mentor can teach you lessons that will make you more successful.
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