Steal The 5 Mentors Who Helped Me Shift My Mindset and Change My Life
Mentorship is about guidance.
Most entrepreneurial resources always have these guides and how-to articles on finding the right mentor for you so that you can reach your life and business goals sooner.
Studies have proven the multiple benefits of mentorship on how your brain works when trying to stay disciplined, how you take more risks and stay motivated, what your energy levels and focus are, and so much more.
And if you think about it, you can make a profile of such a person.
A mentor needs to be more expert than you on the aspect of life you’re trying to improve. He needs to be your trusted advisor, someone you look up to, but who also challenges you.
Here’s a sweet definition of mentorship:
‘Mentoring is a long term relationship where the focus is on supporting the growth and development of the mentee. The mentor is a source of wisdom, teaching and support, but not someone who observes and advises on specific actions or behavioral changes in daily work.’
Let’s be realistic, that mentor you can get wouldn’t be someone like Richard Branson, who’ll tell you how to build a successful brand, be a serial entrepreneur or make billions. Or Tim Ferris for that matter, who knows how to hack his body and mind in more ways than we ever thought possible.
That’s simply because people like that don’t have the time to deal with teaching individuals, but they are still sharing their journey to a point where we can replicate their actions from the past, skip their mistakes, and learn from their advice.
If it’s something short-term, task-driven and without forming an actual relationship but mostly being told what you struggle with and what to do, then that would be coaching. And there are quite many differences between a coach and a mentor.
The usual trajectory for finding mentors though, goes like this:
- Actively seek one by getting out there, connecting with people, showing you’re a good mentee;
- Excelling at your job and looking for more responsibilities (thus attracting those who want to give these to someone);
- Joining mastermind groups;
- Following someone you admire online, trying to provide value and form relationships over time, before you contact them personally;
- Asking and getting rejected many times;
- Going to every networking event in your area and being social and prepared;
- Finding and visiting entrepreneur hubs in your city (places where smart, strategic and purpose-driven successful or aspiring businessmen gather to meet, learn, do work, start projects, socialize, etc.);
- Constantly seeking guidance from anyone you meet, with the hope to form a lasting relationship and turn someone more experienced than you into a mentor.
Okay, so far so good.
That kind of communication and such business goals might be your thing. If they are, I’m excited for you.
There are literally millions of hustlers and already established entrepreneurs out there ready to give you advice and direction.
But I believe there’s another way mentorship can happen these days.
I know that, because that’s how it was in my life, and the overall effect of learning from other people’s experience, being inspired by them and taking action because of their advice, is the same.
The idea is simple. I’ve been following a number of people online over the last few years.
In the beginning, I read their stories, checked out their businesses, took notes during their podcasts, felt their personality through what they posted on social media, and admired them in a friendly way, without really believing I can live the lifestyle.
But, oh the lifestyle.
It was all about that, and still is. The business happened in order to provide freedom, or to complement the life they were already loving.
Not all of the people below can be called lifestyle designers, but they all have the elements I was seeking to have in my life, I just didn’t know it yet cause my environment was completely different.
Now, whatever new thing I do, goals I set, realization I come to, or vision I have for the future, is somehow related to something I’ve read in one of their posts over the years.
That makes me smile. It shows me that even though these people are mostly Americans in their 30s, at a different stage in their life, and often making millions, it’s a rich mindset so many other individuals all over the world share.
When I first got to Thailand, which was my first time outside of Europe, my biggest travel moment, my ultimate getaway from my comfort zone, and so many other things, it felt not just right, but exactly like what I’ve imagined it. Because almost all the people I’ve been following and learning from online, ended up at that place when they earned their freedom for the very first time, even thought they didn’t have the money or authority yet.
All that, but experienced on another level, of course, as it was through my eyes this time.
So, the list of mentors I’ll now share, which I encourage you to steal (although their way of thinking doesn’t necessarily needs to resonate with you, of course), isn’t what you might be expecting.
I’m familiar with a ton of success stories on the Internet, all of which of cool, down to earth people who started from nothing. But I share these on the blog in the form of interviews, and I constantly mention them in my writing and link to their resources.
That includes people like Alex and Lauren who earn $100K/month blogging, Suzi who retired her husband thanks to her income online, McKinzie who mastered Pinterest to increase her income, Marc who earned more than $1 million from 3 blogs, and more,
The people I’ll now point you to are something else.
I won’t be going into details about the life of each, but will mention some important facts. I believe you can choose the right role model for you.
The factor you should use when deciding how to find the type of mentor I’m talking about, is deciding what person is currently living a life you’ll want to replicate some elements of and also have a few years from now.
That’s the best criteria I think.
Let’s get to the point.
Names are in no particular order of importance.
The 5 Guys Whose Work and Life Helped Me Get to Where I Am Today
Dan Andrews
That’s Dan (and Ian) from TropicalMBA – a popular blog, podcast and community for location independent entrepreneurs.
He’s more business-oriented, but also left his corporate job long time ago, traveled a bit, then moved to Thailand to start even more businesses.
He’s a player when it comes to entrepreneurship, and has interesting chats or even shares his own musings on the podcast on anything from what city to relocate to, the harsh truths of working for yourself, how others won’t really understand what you’re doing, making good money and managing it even better, taking things further with a business, but also knowing when to quit and move onto something else, and so on.
You should check out this page with the top posts and episodes.
But here are some that can give you an idea of his way of thinking and personality:
Tynan
When I say the guys (it’s guys only actually, that must say a lot about me!), in this list are basically mentoring me and I feel like I know them, it also means that on autopilot once or twice a week I head to their blogs to see if there’s a new post.
There always is (depending on their posting schedule, of course) and in each they mention what’s currently going on in their life.
So after reading a piece, I continue my day, and week, feeling good knowing what others are working on, and what I’m working on. Different, but motivational.
I’ve linked to posts by Tynan quite a lot. He’s a pretty unusual guy, and definitely one down to earth.
He’s doing what everyone will agree is called unconventional living.
Having lived in an RV, ditched his belongings and mostly