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https://biteable.com/watch/embed/mentors-1916337

Mentors on Biteable.

Last week we discussed the wealthy‘ s obsession with reading. The wealthy are MORE obsessed with finding coaches, role models, and MENTORS. “It’s better to hang out with people better than you.” We cannot know everything, but can find the right people to help us learn and be better. Your assignment – Work harder at getting successful people on your side.

One summer my Dad assigned me to work with a bricklayer, who was doing a project at our home. In other words, do all the manual intensive labor, for ZERO pay. I hope Dad got a discount! That bricklayer became my mentor that week and I learned far more than I would have if I had read a how to book or looked at a You Tube video. He answered all my questions and showed me the short cuts he had learned over the years. He was a very nice person to boot. Attempt to find mentors who treat people with respect.

Successful self-made people: athletes, engineers, surgeons, CEOs, Millionaires and Billionaires, know the importance of surrounding themselves with the right people. They chose their mentors and friends carefully. If you want to become an expert at Bit-Coin, Stock Picks, Acquiring Rental Properties, or starting a business, find those people who have succeeded.  You should also be around people who are fair, honest and you enjoy being around. Make it a win-win relationship. Share what you can with them!

REASONS WE NEED MENTORS!

1.ONE ON ONE CONVERSATION:
While there are tens of books written about Warren Buffett, last week, some rich guy pledged $2.68 million (WTF -F= Fruitcake- Get your mind out of the gutter!) to a San Francisco charity in exchange for a lunch date with Warren Buffett. There’s only so much about a person’s experience you can gain from books. Is a lunch date with Warren Buffett worth that much money? Apparently, that is how much this guy values a one on one conversation with Mr. Buffett. Why else can this be a good investment if you have $3 million in pocket change? {Hopefully he read “How To Win Friends and Influence People”, prior to the lunch.} You may impress him enough, he allows you to speak again in the future. After all you just donated millions to a charity he cares about. Warren Buffett is the KING of Networks – maybe he will introduce you to a few influential people you need to meet. Just about everyone that is anybody returns Warren Buffett’s call! Bottom line, while the most expensive lunch you have ever attended (wonder who pays), this is a GREAT networking opportunity. Fortunately, we normal folks can get by offering to buy someone a Starbucks drink. What’s that- $7?

2. PROBABILITY OF SUCESS INCREASES:
My personal view, majority of college undergraduate courses teach you little to nothing about investing. Eighty percent of CEOs said they received some form of mentorship. Ninety three percent of startups admit that mentorship is instrumental to success. Your chances of success in creating wealth through solid investments, is amplified by having the right mentors. The valuable connections, timely advice, occasional checks — together with the spiritual and moral guidance you will gain from having a mentor — will leapfrog you to success.

“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor.” — Denzel Washington

3. NETWORKING:
A successful mentor has an unlimited network of people who can help you. If you want to flip houses and locate an experienced mentor, she most likely has a very good crew of carpenters, roofers, plumbers, electricians, etc. If she invests in your success it makes sense to let you tap into her network of people when the need arises. Try getting that opportunity by reading! This is an opportunity you cannot tap into if you do not have a mentor.

“Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” Warren Buffett. Charlie Munger, Buffett’s live time mentor/coach added, “If this gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group, the hell with ’em.” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO puts it this way- “Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.”

4. NEVER SURRENDER!
There is a restaurant close to my house on its third owner in four years. Personally I know NOTHING about managing a restaurant and I wonder just how much the first two owners knew about managing a successful restaurant. Even I know the food better taste good (it did not)! If you want to have the most successful lawn care business, Physical Therapist Center, etc., find the best performers and learn from them! If your hard earn money is going to work harder than you – learn from good, preferably GREAT investment mentors! And when it feels like you are about to fail, your mentor give valuable advice from his/her successes and failures. A great mentor is invested in you, and does not want you to fail!

5. Encouragement.
Enduring the consequences of failure on your own can set you back. In hard times, having a mentor will help you keep your head high. As we have seen in recent weeks, everyone deals with depression. Inexperienced investors often deal with depression when they are unable to meet their goals and expectations (LOSE THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY). A mentor who has experienced the highs and lows of investing is in the perfect position to give positive advice when things refuse to go your way. Not only do they have the right words to share, they have ideas to help you navigate your way to success.

6. FREE!
A good mentor is PRICELESS and free! A mentor does not do it for the money. Instead, they are driven by the satisfaction of helping another entrepreneur or investor; paying it forward from a similar experience they had when starting out.

CONCLUSION
I am fortunate and have had several great mentors and in a position to return the favor to others that are just starting out. Having a mentor is not a sign of weakness; it shows you are smart enough and are driven enough to succeed.

Some of us are born with the best investment mentors, a family member or family friend. But the majority of us have to find the absolute best mentors we can. How?
* Join local financial clubs.
* Start your own investment club. Pick excellent mentors you want to learn from you and inexperienced members you can mentor.
* Join LinkedIn and Face Book groups.
* Take investment courses at local colleges and meet both professors and students.
* Network as if your future depends on it!

HOMEWORK
I would love to hear from you. Are you looking for a mentor or do you already have one or more? Please take time to leave a comment and share what value you have received from a mentor. If you’ve found this article insightful, please take a moment to share it with your network.

Pay it back and mentor others, as you become an investor whose money is working harder than you!