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I found the perfect mentor. How should I go about hitting him up?

jfny

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First and foremost, I know this thread is better suited for the "Finding a Mentor" category but it wouldn't let me post there for some reason. This was the second best choice because it is based off of mindset.

Completely by accident, I discovered that there is a VERY successful multi-millionaire who has been right under my nose living in the same town as me for the last 21 years and I didn't know until today.

I think he is the absolute perfect candidate for a mentor. I want to contact him ask if he could basically "teach me".

I have a few various ways I could do so. I know his social media accounts, and thanks to the help of WhitePages, I also have his address, and phone number (a little creepy huh?).

Anyways, I can't hit him up on social media because he has a huge following and the chances of the messages being drowned out with all the other ones are very high. He will likely never see it.

Technically I have his phone number but I don't think the best route would be to just call him up and be like "Hey, teach me!"

My thought is the best way would be to maybe write him a nice letter and introduce myself, mention how I found him in the first place, tell him I'm interested in the knowledge he holds (lol), and what I would be willing to offer him in return (I don't have a whole lot). Sending a letter seems a little less in-his-face then simply calling his phone unannounced. Also, we live in a relatively quiet town in Connecticut where a lot of people don't even know he is staying, he's doing a really good job at staying under the radar, so I feel the chances of him actually receiving/reading a letter are a lot higher.

I want to get your guys opinions because I would rather not bombard this guy with all sorts of different attempts. I would rather contact him once and hopefully be done with the goal of not annoying him.

That being said. Do you think a letter is the best route? If not, what would you recommend? How should I approach this? What can I offer him in return for some knowledge that might be of use to him, based on the fact that I don't really have a whole lot.

How should I approach this? Thanks guys.
 
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MakeItHappen

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I think the way you contact him isn't nearly as important as what your message will be.

and what I would be willing to offer him in return (I don't have a whole lot)
I think that's a problem. Your chances of success will be 100x higher if you could offer him something specific of value.
Finding something that would be of real value to him should be your priority and not what's the best way to make first contact.

Also I wouldn't tell him, that I want him to be my mentor right from the beginning. You also wouldn't ask a girl to marry you before the first date would you?

Good luck!
 

andrewhook

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Letters? Phone?

Can't you simply meet him face to face? Is he so busy? :)

My opinion: meet him, introduce yourself and ask if you could do something for him.
Tell him he is the person you dream to be and you'd like to learn from him. I'm sure he will appreciate it!

If you can't directly have a face to face, i think the best solution is to phone him and make an appointment :)
 

Goldman snacks

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how I found my mentors was just through meeting lots of people, when they ask me what I do I would tell them what I am doing and what my goals are at the moment ( save 100k over next two years to put into a mutli family apartment complex ideally 16+ units). when they ask me what I did last night, or what i do in my spare time, I tell them what I had just read or what audiobook i am listening to at the moment. just from that they know im alot different from the average 22 year old and that im trying to get somewhere . then its upto them if they can help you, as most of these people started out just like you and probably hold all the same values as you.

first i would research every single thing he has ever done, then find out if hes looking for help, or if hes hiring. you could also ask if you could do a 'internship' and sell yourself. if you read all the stuff on here and the books that people on here talk about then you will probably know a lot of things and be able to hold a conversation with him, most young people will be able to tell you all about when the next rappers mixtape will drop, but they know nothing about finance/sales/real estate etc so as soon as the conversation goes that way he will realise that maybe you are a person he would like to teach.
 
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jfny

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Finding something that would be of real value to him should be your priority and not what's the best way to make first contact.
Good luck!

I think you are right, however I am at a complete loss for what I have to offer him that would actually be of interest to him. I know he is a huge car fanatic so maybe that would be a hint in the right direction? Or I could always just ask if there's anything at all he needs help with.


Can't you simply meet him face to face? Is he so busy? :)

Honestly, no. He appears to be a very busy man. I don't think that's an option unless he's already been contacted by phone/letter and agreed to meet up. Unless maybe I run into him at one of the car meets he always takes part in.

if you read all the stuff on here and the books that people on here talk about then you will probably know a lot of things and be able to hold a conversation with him, most young people will be able to tell you all about when the next rappers mixtape will drop, but they know nothing about finance/sales/real estate etc so as soon as the conversation goes that way he will realise that maybe you are a person he would like to teach.

I actually do hold a different mindset than most of the kids my age, so maybe if I can show him that my chances will be much higher. I still need to get in touch with him to show him that though.
 

jfny

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It's probably a good idea to keep his identity a secret which is why I'm not putting his name out there for you guys, but he kind of hides his own identity on his social media so I don't think it will be a problem to share that with you guys. If you take a look at his profile real quick you can see what I'm working with and maybe it can help create some ideas. So if you care, his Instagram account is (removed). Take a look. You'll see he's obviously got a lot of nice cars, but don't think I'm only interested in his mentorship because of the cars. Obviously to have such cars you need to be very successful financially. I think he's a great candidate because of how successful he is (1), and (2) because of how close in proximity he is to me (same town).
 
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jon.a

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I've already read that article. I know who he is, and what he's done to make his money, but the point of the mentorship is more to coach me down the right path of making my own money in a more personal interaction.
I think that your time is better spent here unless you and RB happen to become friends.
Your worlds are just so far apart.
 

jfny

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I think that your time is better spent here unless you and RB happen to become friends.
Your worlds are just so far apart.
Yeah but look at all his friends. Even if he is unwilling, possibly he knows someone that would be.

One of my favorite books is "The Richest Man in Babylon" - The poor man watches the rich man come strolling through town with all his luxuries. They grew up in the same town and went to the same school, but the poor man doesn't have all those luxuries. He basically asks what does the rich man know that the poor man doesn't? The rich man shows the poor man a thing or two and eventually the once or poor man makes something of himself too. In this case I'm the poor man and RB is the rich man.

It's a least worth a shot, isn't it? "Take the chance, or lose the opportunity."
 
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jon.a

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Yeah but look at all his friends. Even if he is unwilling, possibly he knows someone that would be.

One of my favorite books is "The Richest Man in Babylon" - The poor man watches the rich man come strolling through town with all his luxuries. They grew up in the same town and went to the same school, but the poor man doesn't have all those luxuries. He basically asks what does the rich man know that the poor man doesn't? The rich man shows the poor man a thing or two and eventually the once or poor man makes something of himself too. In this case I'm the poor man and RB is the rich man.

It's a least worth a shot, isn't it? "Take the chance, or lose the opportunity."
There are many, by normal people standards, successful people here already trying to help others.
 
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vitality11

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Just remember to keep your integrity throughout the whole process.
And don't put too much of your self-worth/importance into this one interaction. Just give it an honest shot since that's the only thing you can do.
Your life and future success does not depend on one person. Life is abundant.

We are all fortunate to live in the age where the knowledge we need for any purposes if typically a few clicks away.
 

SteveO

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SteveO

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By the way. Your conclusion that he would be a perfect mentor says a lot about how you view the business world.

Assumptions are being made.

The best mentor for you will be someone that can teach. They may not be a millionaire.

Not saying that this person would not be a good one. You make some leaps to come to that conclusion though.
 

jfny

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By the way. Your conclusion that he would be a perfect mentor says a lot about how you view the business world.

Assumptions are being made.

The best mentor for you will be someone that can teach. They may not be a millionaire.

Not saying that this person would not be a good one. You make some leaps to come to that conclusion though.

You are right. I'm not sure how good of a teacher he would make. Maybe there are better ones. Or maybe he actually is great. Just saying "perfect mentor" as in, why would I want someone who doesn't have the things I want to teach me how to get it? He's got what I want, so he appears to be a great fit. You wouldn't take work out advice from someone who is out of shape, or financial advice from someone who is poor, as I'm sure you know.

But either way, I do understand what you're getting at.
 
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Andy Black

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Do something to help him or his business, without asking for his permission beforehand and without him knowing?


I help businesses generate more sales. It means I deal with business owners all day long. What a great way to "network" and be "mentored" by successful business owners.

One time I was waiting to meet a prospective new client about their (lack of) AdWords campaigns. While I waited I created an ad and got them to perform a Google search. They were quite impressed as you can imagine.



"Show don't tell."

I can help you.

vs

It was me who did that.



Say I wanted to meet Gary Vaynerchuk. Maybe I could create stunningly good ad campaigns for all the wines in his family business and give the campaigns to him? Do you think he might be interested in something that could grow his business? Do you think he might then be interested in talking to whoever just moved the needle in his business?



You're thinking about what he can do for you, instead of what you can do for him.

You're wracking your brains to come up with ways to meet him, when you should be wracking your brains to come up with ways to help him.


@Nicoknowsbest sent me a PM telling me my video and audio was out of sync in one of my videos. He offered to help fix them as he'd spent time editing videos in a marketing agency.

How do you think that approach went down?




Work out what will help him.

If you can, just do it.

Think of this as an exercise of getting *him* to contact *you*.




Also... re-read @jon.a 's replies. You may be better served finding peers or people a few steps ahead of you in this forum.
 

Runum

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You are right. I'm not sure how good of a teacher he would make. Maybe there are better ones. Or maybe he actually is great. Just saying "perfect mentor" as in, why would I want someone who doesn't have the things I want to teach me how to get it? He's got what I want, so he appears to be a great fit. You wouldn't take work out advice from someone who is out of shape, or financial advice from someone who is poor, as I'm sure you know.

But either way, I do understand what you're getting at.

There are lots of guys that don't have those things that are light years ahead of you and would make great mentors. Just because they don't have them does't mean they aren't in the wealth area that you are looking at. Judging people by flash can get you the wrong result.

Good luck.
 

SteveO

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There have only been a couple of people that I would have considered mentees. Neither worked out well. They wanted advice but would always find reasons to not take it. Not that I cared that much but over time there was less inclination to try and teach.

It seems that the mindset to learn should be there if you really want to get something out.
 
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Lex DeVille

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It's a least worth a shot, isn't it? "Take the chance, or lose the opportunity."

Just do it already. Your chance is slipping by. Tick tock.

Could have met him 10 times in the time spent in this thread.

Do something. Report back with what you did. Whatever results you get, someone will learn from it.
 

jfny

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I can help you.

vs

It was me who did that.
Love this idea, I just don't know him well enough to know what he could possibly need help with right now. Love the rest of the post too.
It seems that the mindset to learn should be there if you really want to get something out.

Trust me, if he was willing, I wouldn't let the opportunity go to waist.
Could have met him 10 times in the time spent in this thread.

Was I supposed to just show up at his mansion and start knocking on the door? I get it though. I need to take action. I was really thinking about the car meet idea but there doesn't appear to be any going on all that soon. I think I'll end up writing a letter, rather than call him. He only lives a really short drive away. Maybe I'll go drop it in his mailbox myself for faster results. If I don't hear back, I'll definitely keep an eye open for his next car meet, or look into other options. Either way, I'll let you guys know what the outcome is.
 

Lex DeVille

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We already know the outcome based on your posts. He's a millionaire not a god. I'd never respond to a letter in a million years. Don't got time for pen pals. Either way, do something. Get results. Learn.
 
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jfny

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We already know the outcome based on your posts. He's a millionaire not a god. I'd never respond to a letter in a million years. Don't got time for pen pals. Either way, do something. Get results. Learn.
A letter is just a starting point. On top of that, aside from calling him, it's one of the quickest/easiest options. I can have it done tomorrow. "Fail Fast". Like I said, if I don't hear back I'll try something else. But what would you recommend since you seem so sure?
 

jfny

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I don't get it? What makes you so special?
Why should he care if you even draw another breath?
Maybe he doesn't, at all. To be completely honest, I'm well aware that that's the most plausible outcome. But also, what if he does? You need to look at it as a risk/reward ratio. Worst case scenario, I lost a very small amount of time writing a letter. Best case scenario, he responds, and takes an interest in it. Now I have a mentor that's probably accomplished more in his life than any of the people of this forum currently. I read this article one time, although I can't recall it now which sucks, because it would make you guys more understanding. It was a guy telling a story about how he met his first mentor. It was something about a very successful local businessman that I think owned a newspaper company or something like that. He wrote a *letter*. Got a response. The guy actually agreed to mentor him. The guy said something about he was getting old and had actually been waiting for someone to come around who he could teach, or something like that. I really don't remember but the point is, it worked. It could also come down to the fact of just giving back to his community. We are from/grew up in the same town. He was in the exact same spot I was when he was my age, and maybe he'll actually appreciate that the neighborhood kids are interested in learning about all he's accomplished. But either way, I know what I'm going to do now, so I don't need you or Lex's negativity.

THE RISK/REWARD RATIO IS GREAT.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Maybe he doesn't, at all. To be completely honest, I'm well aware that that's the most plausible outcome. But also, what if he does? You need to look at it as a risk/reward ratio. Worst case scenario, I lost a very small amount of time writing a letter. Best case scenario, he responds, and takes an interest in it. Now I have a mentor that's probably accomplished more in his life than any of the people of this forum currently. I read this article one time, although I can't recall it now because it would make you guys more understanding. It was a guy telling a story about how he met his first mentor. It was a very successful local businessman that I think owned a newspaper company or something like that. He wrote a *letter*. Got a response. The guy actually agreed to mentor him. The guy said something about he was getting old and had actually been waiting for someone to come around who he could teach, or something like that. I really don't remember but the point is, it worked. It could also come down to the fact of just giving back to his community. We are from/grew up in the same town. He was in the exact same spot I was when he was my age, and maybe he'll actually appreciate that the neighborhood kids are interested in learning about all he's accomplished. But either way, I know what I'm going to do now, so I don't need you or Lex's negativity.

Lol. Good luck.

Maybe he'll hand you a million bucks after he reads your letter and realizes you're the one he's been waiting for all his life.

Let us know how that goes for you.
 

jfny

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Lol. Good luck.

Maybe he'll hand you a million bucks after he reads your letter and realizes you're the one he's been waiting for all his life.

Let us know how that goes for you.
Look at it this way. You're mocking/laughing at me for TRYING.

Meanwhile, I'm laughing at you, because you must not understand what a risk/reward ratio is, which is a pretty simple concept, in which case, good luck in the business world! LOL
 

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