No matter where you are in life, having mentors is important to reaching any goal and helping you grow. Mentors, however, are particularly important when it comes to building wealth. Actually, you will need many mentors throughout your money accumulation lifetime, including basic money mentors, business mentors, stock mentors, real estate mentors, legal mentors, etc. The great news is most people feel good about teaching and helping others, which make mentors plentiful.
To find your mentors, think about the profile of the person you are looking for and where you may encounter them. You may find them at work or at a social club, industry associations, or through a referral.
Know what you want to get out of having a mentor and what role you expect your mentor to play.
Provide value so there is a mutual beneficial relationship. It may require becoming an “apprentice” and doing some work in exchange for some valuable lessons or experience.
Be selective with your mentors and work with people whom you respect and want to learn from, who truly know what they are doing and are well connected.
Don’t be shy and approach your potential mentor with your intentions and how you propose you can create a mutually beneficial relationship.
Be professional and courteous of other people’s time.
Update: It is pure coincident that an hour after this article was published, CNBC aired a special edition of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch: Join the Millionaire’s Club in Just 5 Years, which stressed the importance of finding a mentor to help you succeed. It is no coincidence, however, that this was discussed as a key element to becoming wealthy.
