[THREAD] How To Find A Mentor (No Matter What Industry You're In)
I have attracted dozens of mentors since I was a teenager. As I've gotten older, I've realized these relationships were the secret to my growth.
Here's how to find mentors of your own 👇👇👇
1/ Don't obsess over finding The Expert.
This is the BIG mistake anyone looking for someone to "mentor them" makes.
All you need is to find someone who knows the very-next-thing you want to learn. Technically, anyone "a little bit further along" can be your mentor.
2/ Start to see everyone around you as A Mentor
- Your co-worker with 1-2 yrs more experience is a mentor
- Your family friend who is always telling "war stories" is a mentor
- Your neighbor, cousin, aunt, uncle who has done what you're trying to do, can all be mentors
3/ Start with 1 question
Mentorship isn't a formal agreement. You don't ask, "Will you be my mentor for life?"
The key is to ask 1 question. See if the person gives you guidance.
Take that guidance. Apply it. Go back and ask a 2nd question. See if they reciprocate.
Repeat.
4/ True mentorships are mutually beneficial
Mentors want to share what they know with people who listen carefully & apply their wisdom.
Why?
It allows the mentor a "2nd chance" at walking their path, imagining what might have happened if they'd known what they know now, sooner
5/ Listen more than trying to "prove yourself"
Mentors stop giving guidance when they feel the person they are trying to teach isn't listening.
After all, why keep trying to teach someone who *clearly* already has all the answers?
Shut up & listen
6/ If you find a mentor, respect what they're giving you
If you find someone generous enough to share what they know, it is your duty to honor the relationship by implementing the knowledge & prove their time wasn't wasted.
Don't take it for granted.
7/ Mentors can be found in EVERY industry.
As a teenager, my 1st mentor was a pro World of Warcraft player. I sought him out b/c I wanted to go pro too.
1.5 years later, I had surpassed him and became one of the highest-ranked players in North America.
Mentorship = key
8/ Mentors want to see YOU are investing in YOURSELF
A lot of people want mentors before they've even taken the 1st step themselves.
But mentors are like investors: they want to see your venture is up-and-running before they get involved.
Get some traction on your own.
9/ Mentors will become lifelong friends
Ask 1 question. See if they reciprocate. Implement what you learn. Ask 2nd question. See if they reciprocate. Implement what you learn.
Repeat this process for years with someone and THAT is how a true mentorship bond is formed.
Fin.
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Hemingway vs. Faulkner: The Little-Known Rivalry Between 2 Of America's Most Famous Writers
🧵✍️👇
1/ If you thought the 2pac vs Biggie feud in the 90s was competitive, let me tell you the story of Ernest Hemingway versus William Faulkner.
Hemingway grew up in the Midwest, and shortly after high school entered WW1. This inspired his 1st novel, A Farewell to Arms (1929).
2/ Faulkner meanwhile grew up in Mississippi in an educated household. His mother (and Gma) were painters & photographers, and are credited with informing Faulkner's later visual-heavy writing style.
He did not enter the war, and instead attended the University of Mississippi.
“Drop-in” audio is what’s emerging, not necessarily Clubhouse as a product. Don’t get sucked into playing a “better-faster-smarter-cheaper game.”
Be Coke, and never acknowledge Pepsi.
2/ Allow Discovery of Drop-in audio mid speaker.
Twitter’s unfair advantage here is it’s massive fast-moving community. Being able to discover people speaking (literally mid-sentence), hold down, listen to preview, and decide whether or not to stay/keep listening is powerful.
[THREAD]: Here are 10 (painful) lessons I've learned writing 3,000+ articles on the internet over the past 7 years.
On writing advice, growth hacks, going viral, and feeling fulfilled in the process 👇
1/ There is only 1 secret to online writing.
Volume wins.
There isn't a writing platform on the internet where this ISN'T the case. Social platforms. Major publications. Every growth period of my writing career happened during months/years of consistent volume.
Period.
2/ Growth hacks are overrated.
In my early 20s, I spent a LOT of time reading digital marketing blogs about how to get 50% more views here, or 20% more subscribers there.
A lot of it is mental masturbation.
You're far better off just consistently creating new content.
🚢 Atomic Essay #21: “Find Your Niche” Is Terrible Advice
Creators who stand out don’t “find” their niche.
The reason why is hidden in the phrase above. 👆
Finding your niche is another way of saying “figuring out where you fit in.” And people who stand out don’t fit anywhere. Which is the whole reason why they capture and keep people’s attention.