What a roller coaster!

With another riveting Olympics wrapping up last weekend, over 1 billion people (including me) were glued to the TV for 17 days watching the amazing opening/closing ceremonies, along with all the edge-of-your-seat, world-record-setting competitions.

Now that was good reality TV!  (Heck, I’m still watching some of the games on my TiVo!)

Of course in all of the coverage, virtually everyone put the athletes and their medals in the spotlight.  And rightfully so considering all of the winners devoted their entire lives to their sport, often at the expense of everything else around them.

However the unsung heroes (who also devoted decades of time themselves) are the coaches and mentors…the people who inspired, trained and shaped the athletes into world class champions.  Take Michael Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, who has worked with Phelps since he was 11 years old.  Talk about dedication!

That’s why I wanted to update this popular post about finding a good mentor to help YOU achieve your goals and break world records in your chosen endeavors.

How do you find a good mentor and what should you look for and be willing to do?

A few years back, I highlighted the importance of a good mentor in my “mega-success” article series.  Today, I’d like to expand on that and share with you a 9-part “checklist” you can use in your search for your own gold medal coach….

KEY #1) First and foremost, find someone that you have access to. Your mentor needs to be available by phone and whenever possible can meet with you face to face. Setting up a regular schedule to meet in person or talk on the phone promotes accountability aimed in the right direction. (Tip: A great meeting place is live seminars.)

KEY #2) Become attached to someone who’s greater than you. If you stay at the same level as everybody else, there’s no growth. You must stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and reach upward – not backwards or sideways.

KEY #3) Make sure when you find someone “greater” than you, that you find somebody who’s walking in the shoes that you want to walk in one day, someone who is where YOU want to be. If you want to make $100,000 in six months, follow someone who makes $1 million (or more!) in three months.

My buddy Mike Filsaime (doing $10 million+ a year online) says he can’t teach someone how to just make $1,000/month – he only knows how to help people make $10k, $20k and more each month, because a thousand dollars is simply thinking too small for him.

You want to learn from someone like that who can stretch your thinking!

KEY #4) Going along with expanded thinking, make sure you align with a mentor who can help you aim higher than you would aim if left to your own devices. Don’t deceive yourself by trying to attach yourself to someone who just looks good, but find someone who’s actually making their goals happen now – and your association with them will you make your goals happen NOW, too.

KEY #5) Find someone that you respect and can hold you accountable for what they ask of you. Your progress needs to be gauged in measurable steps.  An effective mentor can direct you to tools and strategies that help you measure results – resources you would never have known about otherwise.

KEY #6) You should become a model protégé and follow your mentor.  Copy exactly what your mentor tells you to do and always have the attitude of a student.  A good mentor will care about you and want to walk you through the process, someone who will want to make sure that you’re moving toward successful goals. Remember, they’ve probably “been there, done that” on their own road to success.

KEY #7) Use good judgment when choosing a mentor and stay focused in reality. Rather than being dazzled by what your mentor has been able to accomplish, grill them on their failures as well as their successes. You will often learn as much – if not more – from their mistakes.

KEY #8) Have more than one good mentor. Learning comes from many sources, and having one, two, three or more good mentors broadens your knowledge of how to reach your goals. You’ll find that although mentors share common traits, each is unique and has his or her own story.

Find a mentor or coach for each area of your life you want to work on: business, financial, health, relationships, spiritual, etc.

KEY #9) Last but not least, trust your instincts and be willing to disengage from a mentor if the fit just doesn’t feel right. Even though good mentors are busy meeting their own goals, they still find time to support those who follow them.

Keep in mind it’s important you have wholehearted trust in the person you choose to emulate, otherwise the relationship won’t work out.  Don’t waste time trying to force it…but ask yourself “What went wrong?”  Then learn from it and move on.

And what happens if you can’t get to your perfect mentor in person?

Study their works.  Read their books.  Buy their products.  Attend their events.  You can still gain a huge amount of knowledge from the mentoring they are providing to the masses.

In many cases, you need to start at this level and take action before you contact the mentor personally.  That way you show you are serious and goal-oriented.

Whichever route you choose, a good mentor or coach can help you change your life for the better, so become associated with as many as you can and learn from all of them. The sooner you start, the sooner you’re on the road to success!

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Please feel to leave your comments below.  I’d love to know what you thought of the article, as well as what tips and strategies YOU use for finding good mentors!