Mentors Are Everywhere

I’ve had the privilege of interviewing successful entrepreneurs, and one thing I’ve found with all of them is they’ve all had mentors in their lives. Mentors who have walked in their shoes, and who have felt the wisdom of defeat and the thrill of expected and sometimes unexpected victory. All of these successful business people have told me stories about their mentors and what they learned.

I wrote on this subject about two months ago and had a subscriber e-mail me and ask, “Joe, how do I go about finding a mentor?” While listening recently to a new CD on leadership, I realized that mentors are everywhere and their messages can come in many forms, such as books, CDs and face-to-face interaction. Listening to this leadership program I realized the mentors in my life include individuals like Anthony Robbins, Dale Carnegie, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey, Nelson Mandela and Michael Gerber, and the list could go on and on.

These are all people who I have never met but who have changed the way I look at things. The right book at the right time can change your life. When I was young, I needed to hear the Personal Power inspiration from Anthony Robbins. Later when I started my career, I was interested in processes and growing a business and relied on wisdom from Gerber, Collins and Carnegie. My current journey has me focusing on leadership ideas from Mandela, Lincoln and Covey. I also have a host of mentors who I actually talk to as well!

If you’re going to lead you’ve got to read! There are great books on CDs and other audio programs that you can listen to in your car or on your iPod. I just heard a quote that reads (and I’m paraphrasing here): “It’s just as bad not to be able to read as it is being able to read and deciding not to.”

It’s so much easier to be successful when you have help along the way. If you need a source to begin your journey, visit www.mondaymm.com (Monday Mastermind). Good luck and good reading!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Ask for recommendations from business people you respect about books and programs to help get you started on your journey.