Top Tip for Finding a Mentor: Having Something They Need

This is my fourth blog post on the topic of mentoring and so I will start by giving you a little recap of the previous three. I have explained about the importance of activating your internal satellite navigation system, and how this happens automatically once you start transforming from a Sleepwalker to a Daydreamer. I explained how important it is to recognise a mentor and how to grab the opportunity to be mentored. Finally, I explained the importance of being enthusiastic, inspirational and hard working. Today I want to talk about the next crucial stage in finding a mentor.

Make sure you have something that they need

It is rare to get something for nothing these days. Even the saints among us would not be able to find the time for everyone who needed their help. So even the most warm hearted of individuals need a way of cutting through the people and selecting the right ones. So in order to make sure you stand the best chance of attracting the very best mentors, make sure you have something to give them. Even better, make sure you have something to offer that is different to anyone else.

Now this something doesn’t necessarily have to be materialistic. On the contrary, you could offer someone inspiration, hope or a good laugh. If you are going to approach a prospective mentor then make sure you do your homework. Using the example of Dr Giggy, I had read his blog and watched his training videos, and through those mediums I was able to create a character profile. I then used the profile to determine what I could offer him in return for his services.

Create a character profile

When I asked Dr Giggy to be my mentor I wrote a personal e-mail to him. In the blog post entitled Top Tips For Finding a Mentor: Be a Good Storyteller I explained how I told my transformational story from Sleepwalker to Daydreamer. In the blog post entitled Top Tips For Finding a Mentor: Observing and Grabbing Opportunity I explained how I wrote the letter in language I thought he would appreciate. But I also offered him a few incentives that I knew would pique his interest.

You scratch my back and I will scratch yours

I told Dr Giggy that if he mentored me then I would write about the experience in a poker magazine. I also suggested to him that we could create a poker training video series showing the world how Dr Giggy turns Lee Davy into a professional poker player. I believed that both of these incentives would interest Dr Giggy because it would increase his exposure as a poker player and coach. Whether or not it was the story, the language or the incentives that did the trick, Dr Giggy did agree to mentor me, but as it turned out it wasn’t his personal mentoring that gave me the most benefit. Instead it was something I have dubbed The Chain Reaction. What is The Chain Reaction I hear you say? Stay tuned and you will find out.

Have you offered something to someone in return for mentoring…share it with us?

Inspiration

I have really enjoyed writing about Finding a Mentor and until I started writing, I had no idea how much detail that this topic contained. If you are interested in writing blog posts and want to know how I can manage to write 100 consecutive blog posts then this is a great example of how to stretch material.

All you have to do is think about the process from start to finish, compartmentalise relevant sections of that process, stick a headline on the top and write. That is what I have managed to do with this mini-series and I am I have decided to go one stage further and even write a more detailed PDF on How to Find a Mentor and offer it on the blog as a downloadable product.

So the inspiration for this post has just sprung to life out of the first blog post that I wrote about mentoring.

Photos courtesy of eschipul (cc & flickr.com)