By Sequoia Blogett
Originally published Jan. 28, 2018
Paul Brunson is an entrepreneur who has been co-signed by Oprah, mentored by Ed Neff, and so on. He has some key advice on how to land high-profile individuals as mentors.
BECOME MENTEE MATERIAL
It’s time for some self-reflection. He asks, Are you open, flexible, resilient, and respectful? He believes you must get to that point before asking anyone for mentorship.
MAKE SURE THE PERSON SHARES YOUR VALUES
He wants you to make sure the person is in alignment with you.
“Don’t simply see their awards and accolades and believe he or she is the right person to guide you because you aspire for those same things, says Brunson. “It’s critical that you know your potential mentor has the same values you do. Values are essentially your guidebook to life. If your mentor has different values, it means they play by a different set of rules from you, some of which you may consider immoral or unethical.”
ADVOCATE FOR THEIR WORK
Champion them. “Tweet their posts, comment in a positive way on their blogs, share their updates, start a discussion on LinkedIn about a post they’ve made, promote and attend a live talk they’re giving, and the list goes on. In short, offer your unique voice, perspectives, experiences, and resources to further the action and conversation that these influencers have sparked.” Basically, show up for them if you want them to show up for you.
ELEVATE YOUR VALUE TO THEM OVER TIME
Add value to their lives. “Go beyond the comments and offer ideas, refer new clients or business to them,” continues Brunson. “What finally placed me in a position of strength with Ed was when I introduced him to a potential acquirer of one of his businesses. This increased value will move you from someone your possible mentor sees as merely a member of their audience to a member of their network.”
DON’T ASK FOR MENTORSHIP, MAKE A STATEMENT
Brunson assures you that you know when it’s right when you don’t have to ask. Sounds a lot like a successful romantic relationship. “You’ll know your relationship is in the right place for formal mentorship when you don’t have to “ask” but simply say—“you’re my mentor.” I recall when I made this same statement to Ed, we were having dinner and toward the end, I simply said “thanks for being such a great mentor.” That was seven years of stellar guidance ago.
