Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

The fastest way to achieve success is to get someone to help you. But how do you do that?
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Sometimes we can feel awkward asking for help. We can think it makes us look weak. We can feel like we’re taking advantage of someone. Most times, we just don’t know where to start. But successful people have never gotten to where they are without the help of others, and it’s the same for you as an advisor.

I’ll never forget hearing Sir Edmund Hillary speak. (Sir Edmund Hillary was the New Zealander who was the first guy to climb Everest, and he shared his fantastic experiences with us.) I got the chance to talk with him one-on-one after the event, and I had him share a couple more stories with me. I said, “It must have been difficult coming back down having seen such a wonderful vision.” He said, “The vision was beautiful, but what made coming down so wonderful was having the opportunity to share it with other climbers and enthuse them about getting up to the top.”

That’s how many people look at having the opportunity to mentor people. Oftentimes, though, we think that people won’t want to spend the time with us. However, I know being an Olympic medalist, I would have never have gotten there if I wasn’t blessed to have great mentors in my life.

I read a great story about 10-year-old chessmaster a couple of weeks ago. He’s a Nigerian refugee. His family was in a homeless shelter, and during that time, he fell in love with chess. He joined the chess club at his school, but his family couldn’t afford to pay the fees. What was really cool, was his chess teacher, Russell Makofsky waived the fees, became his mentor, trained him, and now the boy has become one of the youngest chess masters in history!

That shows you the potential that is in people, but it needs to be nurtured and brought out by somebody who’s been there and done it. As an advisor, you want to seek out people who have “been there and done that,” who have the experience and are willing to share it with you.

So if you are serious about getting help and succeeding sooner, seek out a mentor. To do that,

1. Consider what you want help with. You want to be specific about the ways that these people can help you and know what you’re looking for.


2. Make a shortlist of people to approach. Don’t take a scatter-gun approach and try to start relationships with a dozen people out there. Be specific about what you want help with, and therefore, who would be best to help you. Take some time to learn about them and see how they could practically help you succeed sooner in getting where you want to go.


3. Connect with them. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t feel self-conscious. Don’t second guess yourself and think, What will they think of me? Will they even have time? Ignore those thoughts. Just take the step and email them to see if you can set up a 15-minute time slot for a conversation with them for them to learn about what you would like from them, for you to learn more about them, and you both to see if a mentor relationship might be a great fit.

You’re going to enjoy meeting a new person who’s been there and done it, and you’re going to succeed sooner so that when you’re successful and you receive that email from somebody who is your junior (but wanting to learn how you’ve been successful) you’ll accord them some time and have them following in your footsteps.

I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea next week.