As is the case for most entrepreneurs,
When I first got into business for myself,
There were certainly some very lean years.
In the wild west of the real estate business,
It often appeared to me that other people just had it easier.
Whether they seemed to come across better deals,
Or maybe they were just better salesman,
Whatever it was,
It often felt like there was a glass ceiling that I just couldn’t break through,
Some invisible barrier standing between where I was,
And where I wanted to be.
Shortly after moving to Chattanooga in the fall of 2018,
A close friend of mine invited me to fly down to New Orleans to celebrate her 30 th birthday,
And while I definitely didn’t feel like I could afford it,
She was a life long friend and I really didn’t want to miss out.
My plan was to take a Greyhound to the Atlanta airport and to fly out from there,
But as you may know,
The Greyhound scheduling system can be precarious at best,
And about 15 minutes after I arrived at the station,
It was announced that we didn’t have a driver,
And it would be at least a couple hours before one arrived.
Knowing that my timeline didn’t have a wide margin of error,
Without so much as questioning how this could happen,
I got up,
Went back to my car,
And started driving.
By the hair of my chin,
I ended up making my flight,
Getting to New Orleans,
And having a great time,
But that’s not the moral of this story.
The point is that in my hurried drive down,
I got a chance to catch up on one of my favorite real estate investment podcasts,
And the episode I listened to featured two young investors who’d been in the same business as I am for
just over a year;
And in that year had done more business than I had in my entire career,
Well over 5 years at the time.
Now, obviously,
Hearing this was a pretty big kick to the stomach,
But as the episode went on,
Something else became clear.
When the hosts asked their guests how they’d come by so many deals,
It turned out they’d also spent far more in marketing dollars than I ever had.
In fact,
When it came down to it,
I’d probably gotten a greater return on the money I had spent;
I’d just never been willing to take the same financial risks.
This revelation viscerally reminded me of a principle that I’d been taught over and again throughout my
business career,
That when you see somebody getting results that you’re not getting,
It’s likely not because they’re smarter, or luckier, or more advantaged,
it’s because they’re doing something that you’re just not doing;
but if you look closely enough it will become very apparent,
That success leaves clues.
No matter what the endeavor,
Be it business, art, science, or sport,
Having a mentor to model your behavior after can be an invaluable asset in life.
When you attempt to progress towards a goal using nothing but your own keen wits and experience,
There’s no telling how long it might take to come across the insights necessary to grow,
Or if you’ll be able to adapt and survive in times of scarcity.
But when you have a direct example of someone who’s experienced long term sustained success,
It can help you to turn decades into days,
and take years off the learning curve of getting where you want to be.
It can obviously be very beneficial if your chosen mentor is a close friend or colleague,
But especially as you begin to expand your horizons and widen your knowledge base,
Its likely that your mentor presence will be more than just an arm’s length away.
One of the great benefits of living during this information revolution,
Is that there’s a seemingly inexhaustible number of podcasts,
Courses,
And coaching programs created by people that are actively crushing it in your industry,
As well as fakebook groups,
Masterminds,
And in person meet ups of people in your industry in your area.
And when in doubt,
At this point,
Almost everybody has a book or 5 that you can dive into,
To gain deep insight into who they are,
And how they think.
But again,
As Tony Robbins says,
“Proximity is power,”
And the closer you can get to the people doing whatever it is you want to do,
The more likely it is their rising tide will carry your ship.
Though it should be said,
If you simply approach someone successful and ask if they’ll mentor you,
It’s unlikely they’ll jump at the opportunity,
as you’re effectively asking if you can give them more to do.
The key is to find something that you can do for them better than they can do for themselves,
So that you can offer to bring more value and ease into their daily life.
Maybe this comes in the form of bringing them leads or connections that can help grow their business,
Maybe its applying for a part time job in their company just so y’all can share a little more time together,
But the bottom line,
Is you want them to view your relationship as more synergistic,
Than just another person trying to profit from their experience.
And keep in mind that when all else fails,
You’d be amazed at how many doors might open for you,
If you’re just willing to buy enough people lunch.
In our present day western culture,
It takes a big person to admit that they don’t have all the answers,
and they could use a little help,
As the hardest words for most people to say in the English language,
Are often,
“I don’t know,”
But facing this reality is the first step in finding the people you need,
to help you get where you’re going.
Though pride is a very hard thing to overcome,
At the end of the day,
Time is our only real asset,
And the only way to get back as much time as possible,
Is to have a qualified mentor to show you the shortcuts and potential pitfalls that may lie ahead.
Whether your mentor is someone in your direct circle of influence,
Or someone you’ve connected with through the modern miracle that is the World Wide Web,
The important thing is that they can provide occasional feedback to help guide you on your journey,
And to help identify any blind spots that may be keeping you from making progress along the way.
It may be somebody who’s already in your life,
Or like most good things,
It may take some time to know just who’s lead you'd like to follow.
But once you’ve found them,
And once you’ve done as much as you can to be of service in their life,
and to spend as much time around them as possible,
It’s almost certain that events in your own life will start building greater momentum toward where you
want to go.
And in times of uncertainty,
you’ll know just where to turn for some light to help find your way out,
Because as has always been the case,
Success leaves clues.