You have to hang with the big dogs....

How I got the mentors I needed!!!

I had the opportunity to travel out to Chicago on a business trip.  I was going to learn from the top business minds in Physical Therapy, how to grow and build a successful company with the right team.
After having a couple opportunities to have one on one time with a couple of business leaders, including a fortune 500 company CEO, I walked away feeling motivated and encouraged with the direction I was heading in business.  I learned how important it is to spend time around those who have success oriented minds and those who have achieved great success already.  This is applicable to any goal we have, whether it be business, relationships, or improving life in any way!
By spending time with amazing people it gives us the drive and the examples we need to be amazing!  It drives you to want to be better.  Check out this blog post on FORBES MAGAZINE on that topic!
The other principle I learned is that when I spend time around amazing people you are being given an awesome opportunity to be mentored.  At my conference I was able to talk one on one with super successful people because I was willing to approach them and ask them the questions I had.  We cannot be afraid to try things outside of our comfort zone.  Because I approached some of these successful people I was able to obtain personal contact information so I can continue to mentor with them.
The more we can observe and talk to people who have achieved higher levels of success, the more likely we will achieve success.
Every human being has great potential, but sometimes we need others help to guide us in unlocking that potential!

Hmmm...Mentor's, Mentor's, Mentor's!!!

Over the last 2 weeks I keep coming across information that says get a mentor, get a mentor, get a mentor!  In my initial posts I talked about already having a mentor in my spiritual life and in Physical Therapy, but I figured other areas I would use a non-contact mentor from reading books and using LIFE Leadership. However, with the goals I am trying to accomplish I have decided that won't be enough!  

A friend sent me a link to a TED talk about having mentors (see video below), and that pushed me over the edge!  Not over the edge as in I went crazy, rather over the edge to where I decided if I want to accomplish amazing business and financial goals, I need a mentor that has accomplished similar amazing things!
In the video below it talks about having someone mentor you that has achieved 10x the amount past the level you want to be.  Having goals of millions of dollars and being job optional in 5 years narrows the candidates that can mentor me, especially with my limited connections.

Who can I ask? 

 In the town I live there are only a few people that I can think of that have that type of money and business success, and I only know one, and it is a weak relationship.  He is also difficult to get a hold of since he runs an international Billion Dollar company! I am going to try and get Frank Vandersloot to mentor me! 

The other candidate to be my mentor is a man I have studied and been so impressed with over the years.  He is fun, smart, good with people, super confident, and has an amazing work ethic.  He believes in the same principles I believe in such as the power of intention and you can achieve whatever you can believe.  He has international celebrity status and to get him to talk to me would be nuts, but I figure you never know until you ask!  I am referring to the actor Will Smith!  I am going to do everything I can to get this Crazy Accomplished Person to be my mentor!

How do I get incredibly successful people to be my mentor...I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out and let you know!

In the mean time, check this video out!

Tai Lopez and the Law of 33%

Find a MENTOR!

"One good MENTOR can be More Informative than a College Education and More Valuable than a Decade's Income"

-Sean Stephenson

I have read over and over again about the importance of having a mentor in my climb to success.  There is so much value in having someone who has been through the tough times, learned from their mistakes, and can give me experienced insight.  Having access to someone like this will not only sling shot the time frame of success forward, but will prevent me from making mistakes and help me avoid hurdles that they already have leaped.  

I recognize the importance of a Mentor, but where in the world do you find one?

I don't know anyone personally that has achieved the kind of success that I want to achieve, so does that mean there is no one qualified to be my mentor?

After some research and study, this is how I have decided to approach this dilemma!


Look for Wisdom: 

• I initially thought I needed to find someone oober rich in order to become oober rich, but I have learned that in choosing a mentor that I didn't need to find a person who has done, seen, and knows it all, I just need someone who has more wisdom than me in the area I want to achieve in!  It doesn't matter if they are 15 or 50 years old, as long as they have experience and wisdom that they can share with me.  Typically with age comes wisdom, but that's not a principle carved into stone.  I've known some pretty dopey old dudes!  In my case, I want to become more business savvy in the Physical Therapy world.  I asked my big boss man, Jay, to mentor me.  He doesn't run a corporate business and doesn't possess millions of dollars (that I know of), but he has been successful in private practice ownership for 30+ years!  He has a lot of Wisdom and Experience and is an excellent resource for me as I explore and learn that avenue.  

Choose multiple Mentors: 

• As I mentioned previously I have asked Jay to be my mentor in the Physical Therapy business world, but does that mean my business mentor is also going to have wisdom and experience in raising children, growing spiritually, or creating an online business?  As awesome as Jay is, there are likely going to be roads that I want to travel that he hasn't.  So I have tried to find multiple mentors.  For example in my spiritual life I have chosen my dad as a mentor, and for exercise and nutrition I chose my friend John, who is a year younger than me.  

Mentors, in all their forms: 

• Finding someone to mentor you for every avenue of self, financial, and business growth would be, well, insanely time consuming.  This is where reading books and watching videos of professionals and leaders in their respective fields can act as a mentor.  It's obviously not as personal, but books from men like Dave Ramsey, Napolean Hill, Jim Collins, Malcom Gladwell, Steven R. Covey, and many others is wisdom and experience from some of the greatest minds in the world!  I think that definitely works as a mentor!  I have joined Life Leadership, an organization from the brilliant minds of Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, that has an unending source of knowledge in almost every avenue of life presented by some of the top leaders and experts in the world.  That has been my primary source of knowledge, and it also plugged me into connection with other like minded individuals.  If you are ever interested in learning more about Life Leadership shoot me an email at vshurtliff@hotmail.com.  Take a peak at their website at www.lifeleadership.com.  The other source of great knowledge that I frequently visit is TED TALKS at www.ted.com.  TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short 10-20min talks that cover almost all topics--from science to business to global issues--and is powerful in changing ideas and attitudes!

Score.org

• My friend Ronny just introduced me to this website.  It is a mentor website where you can choose the area you need guidance.  They connect you with mentors that you can contact for education and mentor-ship.  This is a free or very low cost program.  I haven't done it personally but from what I have seen on the website and talking to Ronny, who is using it, it sounds like a pretty good resource.   I'm sure there are multiple programs like this, but this is the only one I'm familiar with and it appears to be pretty effective.  Check it out:  https://www.score.org/