Where can a teenager find a mentor?
Formulate for finding mentors that I've implemented multiple times.
This is part 2 of 8 of a series called, “From Nothing to Something.”
In case you missed it, here’s part 1.
Here are 4 steps that would be an effective way to find a mentor regardless of your age or field of interest:
Thoroughly read the writing (or watch interviews) of someone you deeply admire who you want mentorship from.
Implement as much of their advice as much as possible
Once you get stuck, email/tweet/message them and first, let them know one thing you appreciate most about their writing OR tell them the results of implenting their advice, second, tell them your current business challenge, third, tell them your current thought process in regards to the problem (factoring the potential mentor's writing), and lastly, ask for their opinion.
Repeat steps #2 and #3 until they no longer respond, they offer to meet you in person, and/or give you their personal phone number
The reason why this works is because talk is cheap and few people ever take action, so demonstrating your ability to do so will likely float you to the top of a potential mentor's inbox.
I've offered free mentorship to many people but 98% never take any action and thereby disqualifying themselves from getting any more of my time. The ones that I happily continue to invest in are the ones that implement my advice and let me know their results.
Here's a message from someone who asked me for mentorship on Quora in January 2015 and then followed up with me in July 2016 with his results:
Subject: Update from Quora Message from January 19th, 2015
Hello Mr. Lee,
I don't know if you particularly remember me, but I sent this email to you a while back after I discovered you on quora.After I emailed you, you told me to read a 158-page pdf called "50 Proven Email Scripts." Can I just tell you that was one of the best gifts someone has ever given me? Since we've spoken and my application of the principles given in the book, I used my newfound communication skills to work with an international team of designers working on my company, Ripple and launched a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter with no network.
As of today, not only was I accepted to Stanford, Yale, UChicago, and Berkeley among others, I also received a $100,000 scholarship in which only 4 out of 6,000 kids are awarded from around the country. I appreciate your seemingly small token of assistance that eventually led to what I've become today.
I know you are extremely busy, but I am working on a new project to improve investment know-how and financial literacy amongst college students. Do you have a few moments to answer 3-5 questions regarding this topic via chat or email? If not, perhaps you can recommend me to someone who might?
I'm looking forward to your response - and thanks again! Gave the book to my sister and see ended up getting a job because of it!
Thank you,
I met with him for coffee and am super excited for what this guy is going to be doing in the future!
If you found this answer helpful, check out some of my other answers about mentorship:
This answer was originally published on Quora and had over 4,300 views.
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