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Leadership DNA · Teams and Culture

What Is Mentorship? How to Find a Mentor and How to Be One

Mentorship is a relationship where someone with more experience invests time in your growth, sharing what they learned so you can move faster. It can happen with a teammate, someone outside your field, or a digital mentor through books, podcasts and courses. The mentee drives it. The mentor gives honest guidance and gets sharper by teaching.

TL;DR
  • Mentorship is giving back: taking someone under your wing beyond the nine to five.
  • The mentee drives it. Show up prepared and respect the mentor's time.
  • Digital mentors count. Books, podcasts, courses and communities open anyone's world.
  • For a business, mentorship is a competitive advantage that attracts and keeps talent.

What is mentorship?

My co-host Arturo Gomez has led teams for 25 years. To him, mentorship is giving back: taking someone under your wing and coaching them at a high level, often beyond the nine to five. For me, mentorship is about learning. If you have already shown me the way, I get better from your experience without paying for every lesson myself.

Someone helped you on your journey. Pay it forward.

What are the types of mentorship?

TypeWhat it looks like
InternalA leader develops a teammate they see every day. This is where Arturo has spent most of his mentoring.
ExternalCounsel from someone outside your company or field whom you see now and then.
DigitalBooks, podcasts, courses, communities and events from people you may never meet.
Two wayBoth people learn. I learn from people younger than me who are skilled at specific things.

How do you find a mentor?

I have never once asked someone, "Will you be my mentor?" My mentors came from building a relationship first.

  1. Get clear on your vision. See what is possible for you, then find who is already doing it.
  2. Start with their books and podcasts. Anyone in the world can become your digital mentor.
  3. Get closer through their work. If they have a course, program, community or event, pay to be part of it.
  4. Provide value and stand out. I often invite people onto a podcast. Comment on their posts or send one specific question in a DM.
  5. Build the conversation. Jumping straight to "Can we get on a call?" rarely works with busy people. Earn it over time.

I can't make you want me to mentor you. You have to be proactive in this.

Rob Cressy, Episode 57

How do digital mentors work?

Digital mentors have been one of the biggest game changers of my life. After my first Grant Cardone book, I binged three of his books in a row, took his courses and went to his 10X Growth Conference. On that stage I saw Jesse Itzler for the first time, and within five minutes he became my spirit animal. I joined his Build Your Life Resume community, then his Big Ass Calendar Club and 30 Days of Excellence.

Arturo adds a simple rule. If you haven't found the right person yet, become your own mentor. Read, research and find the answers yourself. Autobiographies are full of mentors. Try Bob Iger, Daymond John, Richard Branson, Rich Roll, or Phil Knight's Shoe Dog.

What makes a good mentee?

Show up and respect the time. When I mentor someone, the structure is set: a call every other week, 15 minutes, on Zoom. Every call opens with one question: what is the intention of this call?

One man I mentored for years started by saying he had listened to all my podcasts and read my content, and asked for ten minutes of questions. I offered him a weekly call to ask one question. Each week he had to arrive knowing exactly what he wanted. Over those years he went from a job he hated to starting his own business, getting married, having a child and landing his dream job in the sports betting industry. He went from living by default to living by design.

What makes a good mentor?

Arturo gives a significant amount of himself and goes in deep. It has to be part of your DNA. A good mentor is also honest. You can't just be a cheerleader. You have to guide people with real time feedback, which is candor in action.

Sometimes the person doesn't ask for it. Arturo once spent six or seven months reaching a team member who resisted his coaching. He kept teaching anyway, so people are prepared for the future, whether that future is with him or not. She slowly started to come around. Leading through questions and teaching is the core of the coaching leadership style.

What are the benefits of mentorship?

  • For the mentee You learn from someone else's experience, so you skip mistakes they already made.
  • For the mentor Steel sharpens steel. Teaching marketing fundamentals reminds Arturo what got him here and has sparked new business directions.
  • For the business Knowledge share, retention and succession planning. Arturo calls it a competitive advantage.
  • For recruiting After 25 years in hospitality, Arturo's reputation for mentoring attracts talent to his teams.

For Arturo, it all adds up to legacy: the time you invested still living on in someone else.

Do you still need a mentor as you grow?

Yes. As your vision gets bigger, you play new games with new discomforts, and you need someone who has been there. Arturo calls himself a sponge, learning from people whether they know they are mentoring him or not. Some mentorships also have an expiration date, and that is fine.

How can AI help you build mentorship into your company?

In 2024, more and more CEOs came to me wanting to build a digital university: core values, culture, what each department needs to know, and the books the leader recommends. AI can draft those modules from the knowledge already inside your team. Let AI draft and keep the mentoring human, because the relationship is the part that changes people. Start with AI for leaders if you are new to the tools.

Do this today

  • Audit your mentorship system. Look at how your company passes on its knowledge, from onboarding to the leader's reading list.
  • Set a mentorship goal. Decide how many people you will impact this year, or commit to one mentor, book or podcast to learn from.

Listen to the episodes

Episode 57 · February 12, 2024 · 26 min

Benefits of Mentorship in Leadership

Episode 12 · September 17, 2020 · 17 min

Mentorship

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Questions people ask

How do you ask someone to be your mentor?

Build the relationship first. Rob Cressy has never asked anyone to be his mentor. He provides value, shows up consistently and asks specific questions.

Can a book or podcast be a mentor?

Yes. Digital mentors let you learn from anyone in the world. Joining their courses, communities or events gets you even closer.

How often should a mentor and mentee meet?

Short and regular works well. Rob Cressy uses a 15 minute call every other week, opened by the mentee's intention for the call.

Why should leaders mentor their team?

Mentorship builds the next generation of leaders, keeps knowledge inside the company and attracts talent. Teaching also sharpens the mentor.

Full transcripts

Episode 57: Benefits of Mentorship in Leadership

Welcome Leadership DNA, a podcast for those who aspire to be a better leader. Alongside Arturo Gomez, I'm Rob Cressy. Today's topic, the benefits of mentorship and leadership in Arturo, this is something that you and I are both world class in. In mentorship is more than just giving advice. What does it mean to be a good mentor? Man, what does it mean? I think for me it's giving significant amount of myself to that to that person and it's not even just about time or energy. It's like that 100% being in existence. It's like when I go in, I go in deep and I go in hard. But to your point, I think you have to be somebody that is extraordinary at mentoring. It's got to be part of your fabric and your DNA. Not all leaders like doing it. I would say though that people that I would quantify or classify as tremendous leaders find real passion and happiness in giving back. But also people that fall on a totally different list, that I think are strong leaders that can make great decisions that are driving their business and that very very clearly have said to me and expressed to me that, hey, I don't like teaching. I'm not good at it. I'm really good at doing X, Y and Z. But it is very critical for anybody that is planning on sticking around their business as a leader in that business whether it's your own business or you're in that spot because you've been appointed that or you've been hired into that role. I think the future of all businesses are really dependent on having strong mentorship within the four walls. For me, there's obviously there's the business advantage and what comes from really investing time and energy into your people. To me, it's become a competitive advantage because the more knowledge share and retention and expansion of years of knowledge, at least for me in the different industries that I'm in, has given us real teeth. And I've seen it in different perspectives because I've been within different organizations where I spent a lot of time in the first one mentoring people and building that up. And then almost essentially having to go into the same industry but building another organization from essentially from scratch. And this is in the hospitality industry.

The mentorship piece has also allowed me to attract talent. And so, you know, 25 years of being in hospitality, I guess there's a track record regarding myself in the industry and people they tend to be, I think, attracted to that. People know that I'm going to spend significant amount of my time coaching and mentoring. And so, I think, you know, again, for me the biggest thing with coaching and leadership has always been legacy. It's always like my biggest concern or the thing that drives me is making sure that in the future, whether that future has me as a part of it or not, that there is some benefit, some talent, some human, somebody that can look back on time and energy that was given to them. And to me, that's the biggest form of appreciation possible that the things that you showed, the things that you cared about and the time that you invested is still living on in somebody else. And so, that's a big deal.

There's so many good things that you talked about. And for me, the core for me has always been somebody else helped me on my journey. So I want to pay it forward and help somebody else because I think back to the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey over a decade ago when I'm sitting there at zero, no website, no clients, no revenue, no nothing. I had no growth mindset. I was not self-aware.

So I am a completely self-created person as it relates to pre and post entrepreneurship. And a lot of people will ask in their journey, how do I even find a mentor? How do I even create one? And for me, for the longest time in instill the case, books and podcasts were the first two things for me. So books, you have the ability, whether it's the library or Amazon, to learn from anybody in the world, you can see them as your digital mentor. And then one of the life hacks in businesses, the way that you can get closer to anyone that you want in your life is do they have a course or do they have a program or do they have a community or are they throwing events? And you say, oh, let me pay to be a part of them to get closer access to those people so that when you get that opportunity, you say, cool. When I meet them, let me then show up a certain way where you're not coming across as needy but Arturo, you and I both know what it's like when someone is hungry.

And this is the key to mentorship is that I can't make you want me to mentor you. You have to be proactive in this. And it's one of the biggest blessings in my life because I've always had the vision and vision is one of the notes that I wrote after what you're talking about of seeing what is possible for yourself. And then you say, who out there is doing that already?

And what can I learn from them? And am I willing to reach out to them or a very simple thing? We all have social media, your ability to comment on a lot of their posts, slide into their DMs and ask a specific question. My encouragement might not always be go from zero to jump on a call. Maybe that would work once or twice but as you go higher up the food chain relationships are important and our time is extremely valuable. But for some of us you can get to be by saying, Rob, can I jump on a call? Maybe not directly but let's build the conversation. And I think to one guy that I mentor and I've been doing it for I don't know five or seven years where I saw him go from a job that he hated to quitting his job and starting his own business to getting engaged and getting married to recently having a child and eventually getting a job in the sports betting industry which was his dream. And I think back to where he started, he just essentially came from a place of Rob. I listened to all your podcasts, I follow your blogs, I do all your content so you can tell when someone passes the sniff test they're there. Can I just ask you a few questions for 10 minutes now? I was like, let's go. I would love to do that. And then once that happened, I saw the thing in him and I was willing. I was like listen man, I see the journey that you're going on. I was there at one place. I would love to help you. I will be a massive asset to you if you keep showing up and I offered him the opportunity for I believe it was once a week for several years to jump on a call and ask me one question. That was it. And it was always hey Mike, what's your intention of this call? That was it. So he had to come into the call knowing exactly what he wanted to ask me. It's not, oh Rob, let's catch up. It was boom Samurai sword in this created a level of excellence to him because he respected my time and attention. So Mike, what's the intention of this call? And boom, he's getting a specific thing.

He then when I created my coaching programs, hey man, I want to help you out. I want to help you go through this same thing. My clients are paying me thousands of dollars for. He has gone through the program four times on his own. It's now part of a yearly ritual, something that I imparted on him. And I'm sharing this story because it made me so happy to see him go from a life of living by default to living by design to starting a family to doing everything that he wanted.

And I both live it. He lived it. So the next part of mentorship for me is Arturo you and I live this. This is part experience so we can take our knowledge. And then when I really love that you said that I want to make sure that everybody highlights and this is ding ding ding the alarm bell should be going off in your head competitive advantage because here you and I are and we're like wait a second, we can design and create leaders for people who are interested in this. And of course our podcast is an example of this, but the next level of it is wow, imagine creating a digital university or a personal growth program or something for helping our team and our mentors get 1% better every single day. Yeah, I get that not everybody's about this life, but you and I in our organizations are and this is a massive competitive advantage for us to be able to make people better so much. So my coaching programs are built around this, but now going into teams and saying what's your personal growth plan? How are you in a very simple manner making everybody better because what happens if you don't invest in your people? But what happens if you do?

Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you what happens if you don't and you know, you don't you don't stick around that long. You know, you either get fired or your business just really kind of phases itself out. There is no business or no industry that's not built on the backs of talent that propels those industries and so there's a one person that is the complete team or the organization and so it is in your best interest to be able to translate that information that's hopefully stored in your mind and pass that on to the next individual. Succession planning, this aspect of developing the leaders of the future is something that's really important. I will say to mentorship, you know, this idea of so that mentorship is you know, a coaching aspect. Traditionally viewed as you know, hey, it's got to be, it takes two to tango type of situation. I mean, I'm in a current situation where it's it has taken me probably six or seven months to crack this one person and she has been very very difficult in allowing me to come in and so it never really has approached me about being mentored but I'm resilient in the fact that if you're going to be part of my organization you're going to learn and you're going to learn and I'm going to teach you and I'm going to do these things and and you know what whether you want to absorb it or not, I want to hear myself say it. I want to know 100% that I gave you 100 and I slowly am seeing her come around and I think understanding that my interests are solely for the purpose of the company and for her and that's it. There's no there's nothing else here. It's I want to make you better. I want to make you 100% better because guess I want to win. That's that's the motive.

It's like I want to win. You happen to hold the keys to one of my businesses and you know as long as you are going to be here, you're going to learn and and I emphasize with her really with everybody over the years it's been I want to teach people so that they can best be prepared for the future whether that futures with me or not. It doesn't matter. I'm not I'm going to continue to teach you and I'm going to continue to coach you and that's just that's just part of my job.

The last thing I'll say about it is that you know steel sharpens steel right and so it's it's there is benefits to leaders that are willing to coach into to mentor because you you're forcing yourself to go through these concepts with with frequency and so you're you're learning you're you're you're continuing to evolve by sharing that knowledge and I think that for me that's that's been a real you know when I sit down and I talk to people about marketing and marketing fundamentals and tactics and stuff like that it's it is it is a very strong reminder that these fundamentals are what's gotten me here and and I love going over these concepts and teaching it and in a lot of times you know there's been innovation and some some new business decisions and directions that have come up come from you know re re-investing time into some of these basic fundamentals that you're you know you're trying to instill in people so so much so much so much opportunity comes from it. So I want to flip this around real quick because oftentimes mentorship is seen most relevant when you are earlier on in your journey when you're green and when you're learning things but for me having a growth mindset and being a lifelong learner I am always learning I'm always looking to level up I'm always looking to be around the best and quite frankly it's it's why I'm doing this podcast with you because aside from being a go-giver and getting the opportunity to share with others that this is an opportunity for me to deepen my relationship with you and learn from you because I value you and all that you've done because you are a world class leader and it's a very simple thing and I'm curious your perspective on mentorship as you get higher up the food chain or as you grow because I don't see age as something that stops me for mentorship because there are people who are younger than me who are very skilled at specific things that by all means I'm going to learn from and then on the flip side as your dreams and your vision get larger they're going to be things that you've never done before where new discomforts or uncertainties are going to pop up where you say hey I'm now playing in a different game and I want to learn from somebody else so I would love to hear from you because I think it's a good perspective on how do you see mentorship as you continue to get greater?

I mean I see it happening more often to be honest. I think as I try to live my purpose my purpose is very intertwined with helping people that's just a fact. I know that that's why I was put here on this earth was to help empower and inspire people and so my hope is that as I get older that I have actually more time to give and I would love nothing more than to be able to see you know people evolve from that information chair. So I actually as I get older I see I see that time commitment towards mentorship actually becoming a bigger part of my life.

And what about you on the receiving end so you being mentored by somebody else whether we call that coaching whether we call it mentorship what does that look like for you? Yeah I think you know I'm a sponge and so wherever I can find some opportunity for knowledge and or happiness I'm going to seek it out. And so I think you know on the flip side it's great question you know and I think obviously I'm a centriper to the original question but I think you know people that are that are great mentees seek knowledge and seek information. And so for me it's always going to be that's never going to stop. And so I find myself you know as I network trying to connect with individuals that can enlighten me. So there's there's so many things that I'm you know that are still occurring in my businesses and in the different industries that I'm in that that's new information. That's new information. And so whether somebody knows that they're mentoring me or not I've established a mentoring relationship because of the extraction of information that's occurring and in the evolution that you know that I'm putting myself through just by association in that network you know.

Just to be clear in the history of my life I've never actually asked someone to say can you be my mentor? So it's not like this is a contractor shaking their hands of like cool so you're my mentor now and we're doing this there yes there are coaching relationships there are paid relationships there's a variety of ways to do this and in our tour I like both ways that you took this from the as you get older the ability to create more time to be more of a mentor. And I would encourage everyone that's a very natural thing where you can be more selfless and give as you learn more but I would also encourage people to not see that is well I'm not there yet I don't have anything to give and and I think back to so many people that I coach or I mentor a lot of them creators who want to create speaking from stage or a podcast or YouTube channel and one of the things you hear is why would anybody care about what I have to say in the answer is always if you have something inside of you that can help one person then it's your duty to share it with the world and the encouragement is always speak to what you know and where you are don't try and speak above that someone was where you were and taking that allows you to see the the opportunities for mentorship and I get the people who say I just don't get it or it's not for me but I would always push back on that because someone helped them along the way and you're telling me that there's nothing inside of you that can help somebody else and yes, it's being a little bit more intentional about it but I'm not closed minding when it comes to these things I always like to open up the aperture because if you've ever received a direct message or had a conversation with someone that says thank you for changing my life this is meant autonomy it's the gift of all giving where you say holy smokes I'm so thankful that I did this because we don't always see the impact there's a I use this phrase in content there's a silent majority and a vocal minority in the same is true for our mentorship we don't actually know the real impact that we're having on people and I know it's actually something that's a challenge for me on a regular basis because I do give so much and you and I we don't actively go out there trying to receive being like hey everybody share me with praise that being said it doesn't doesn't hurt occasionally for someone to be like I like what you're doing or or thank you for it but when you do receive it man, it'll carry me for the rest of the day the rest of the weekend it's like this is why I'm doing what I'm doing. Yeah, it's the emotional currency we need you know it's um you know there so this morning in fact I have a good friend of mine that started started a boxing gym and you know long story I've known him for like 10 years and and he's a salesperson in like the CPG space and wanted to start a gym and so you know over the years I kind of helped him get involved in that space and then recently was able to connect and with a huge real estate developer that's actually building out an entire state of the art gym for him for for for free essentially he's just like hey I want you as my tenant and I have this new building that we're building out and and um you know we spoke this morning and he's like you know I'm so so grateful for you know these connections and this stuff that you and it's like there I didn't there's no gain zero gain or interest to gain anything from it it was just like hey let me let me try to help this this individual that I think is really doing some remarkable things in in his community and and this other person that I connected with it with him with saw rate through all that and saw the goodness and it was just like you know this is though those are the things any any opportunity to help people whether it's through coaching mentoring or connecting um it is you know the people that do it often do it for the for the for the reason of that potential for me the feel good moment is to see this individual flourish and to know that uh he's doing exactly what he loves and he's been you know listen the universe speaks to people that really want things in very unique ways and so he's being um he's been blessed for it yeah so now let's get to our action item or takeaway and I have two number one as I've mentioned multiple times on the podcast this is an area that I specialize in I have programs designed around this I coach teams and companies and leaders around this so if you're someone looking to level up the leadership or the personal growth or to create the system or the culture or have that regular drip with you or your team hit me up rob at robcressy.com and then number two and this is an action item I would encourage you audit your system for mentorship within your own company have you built out a digital university in Arturo one of the things that I'm hearing a lot more right now in my coaching is uh CEOs and leaders who are coming to be saying Rob I want to build out a digital university of the knowledge that we have within our company it's not just personal growth but imagine the ebbs and flows of people who are being onboarded in our ability to take a system or process of here's our core values here's our culture here's some things to learn whether it's by department so maybe everybody has a certain baseline and then each department has their own levels of knowledge all the way up to the leader having a growth mindset and being like these are the books we recommend you read here's the things that I've learned on my journey audit that system because success leaves bread crumbs and if I continually hear clients coming to me saying we want to build a digital university we want to build a digital university ding ding ding the light bulbs going off that this is where the best of the best in the world are living what about you what your action item or takeaway oh god i don't know that i mean we've left a lot on that we put a lot on the table uh you know during our discussion i just you know i think that um uh leaders and or people that are you know maybe potentially listening to this that aren't necessarily in that leadership position there's there you know we've kind of touched on it before there's so much to give even if you don't think that you're a true mentor there's there's always knowledge as information that you can be sharing up and or down that you know corporate construct ladder don't be afraid to do it don't be afraid to ask for help or information because you know what you get when you don't ask is you get zero and so um you know i think that uh you know make it a year make it a year approach where you're going to be really focused on giving and or receiving and i think uh you know that that puts everybody in a better in a better spot yeah and and we would love to hear from you tell us about your view of mentorship whether you've been on the receiving end or you're on the giving end what does your structure look like we've got a LinkedIn page to search for leadership dna artura working everybody connected with you best place is going to be artura go ma's linked in and you hit me up on instagram or linkedin at robcressy

Transcript cleaned up for reading. Sign-off trimmed.

Episode 12: Mentorship

Welcome to Leadership DNA, a podcast for those who aspire to be a better leader. Alongside Arturo Gomez, I'm Rob Cressy. Today's topic, mentorship. Arturo, what is mentorship? Well, for me, it's been about giving back. It's been about taking somebody under your wing. It's been about really coaching somebody at a high level and beyond the framework of kind of the 9 to 5 structure. I think I've always been a little guilty of that.

You know, people that really were open to more development, finding a lot of time being invested in that relationship and again, sometimes outside of the work structure. But I think mentorship, you know, mentorship is a word, is a concept that we're hearing a lot today. And sometimes, you know, you find younger individuals that are constantly on the hunt for their next mentor. And, you know, I think mentorship happens in two different forms, at least the way that I've experienced it. One is the mentorship and coaching and that evolved relationship that can happen with somebody that you are working with on a daily basis. So, an employee, a teammate.

And then there's this outside concept where you're going to get some feedback or some counsel from somebody who doesn't work in your space, you don't see on a regular basis. I've been, I've been, I've been more, I've gravitated way more towards the one where you're really kind of working with people on an internal standpoint. I've been approached by a lot of, a lot of individuals that, you know, that have never ever worked for me or have never, we've never interacted in any type of a work environment that have wanted this additional counsel. And, and I've done it. I've done, I've done both ways. It's just, for me, it's always been a little bit more difficult to give time outside of the things that I'm super passionate about and super invested in.

Um, but I think that, um, you know, we've spoken in previous podcasts about what real leadership means at the end of the day. And when it's all said and done, it's really, it's about legacy. It's about being able to look back and actually show that you have individuals that you've invested large amounts of time into developing.

And that they then have gone off and had some success in their own individual careers and have developed into, you know, these greater leaders. And so, uh, I think mentorship, um, in any capacity is a huge benefit to, um, corporate structure, to society. The world needs more mentorship. Um, and so, you know, I'm a big advocate of individuals who really have something to contribute, getting out there and actually investing that time into that development.

Yeah. And it is extremely important that that other person shows up for you because a lot of people may want your time and attention, but I have found from the people that I have mentored, it is the ones who show up and respect my time. Every single time. I'm a, I'm extremely structured in my own mentorship. When I work with someone, boom, I'm like, we're doing a call every other week for 15 minutes at four o'clock on zoom.

I want you to come in and tell me what is the intention of this call. So, because I, people will get very comfortable in a mentorship role as they get past the initial, oh my God, we're sort of talking together. Um, I want to make sure that I'm helping you on the journey. This isn't for me. This is for you. So asking the simple question, what is your intention of this call?

I make them outline what it is they want to talk about. So I can then write those things down. I'm like, cool. Number one, let's go with this. Hey Rob, I need help. Blah, blah, blah. Because now a lot of it can just be someone wants a sounding board or another ear perspective that they don't have and they value your opinion. So, so often mentorship doesn't have to take a lot of time. I've actually found it's the inverse.

I'm an extremely good mentor and small little nuggets because I'm going to get right to it. I'm going to remove all the different fluff. And as much as I love building relationships, we both know why we're here for this thing and good things can come from it. I will also say this. I have never in my life actually said to someone, will you be my mentor?

Similar to what you've sort of talked about with people that you've worked with have become mentors in a very organic nature. I've found that number one, I've had to go out and make it happen myself. Find someone who I aspire to do things like and say, boom, typically for me, I'm going to get somebody on a podcast.

So I'm going to use my own methods for building a relationship because at the end of the day, that's what you're really looking to do is you're saying, hey, I want to build a relationship with someone and I want to help get some knowledge that might be able to help me on my journey. So boom, I'm going to provide value out of the gate, get someone on a podcast and then find ways to continue to both show up and provide value and be different.

Because I would like to think that the people who have unofficially mentored me, they've seen something in me that has made them want to continue to talk to me because I'm different, because I've got an energy, because of the things that I work on, because of my passion and the drive. You can see something in someone where you say, I want to help this person. And that's what I always love in seeing other people who are driven. If someone finds their way to me, and we're going to have a conversation that would look like something mentorship related, congratulations, because you are doing something correct. So I do believe it can be formulaic while at the same time, almost an element of art without saying we're mentors.

Yeah, I mean, and to your point, I mean, it's critical that if you are going to mentor whomever, that that individual has to come prepared. I mean, that's, that's really probably in the past why I've gravitated more towards mentorship of people that I'm, that I get to see at a higher degree, whether they're, like I said, teammates, because you just know what that there's potentially more opportunity for passions being aligned.

And I think, you know, the mentorship program, although it needs to be, it is a bilateral kind of contribution and work. If somebody is reaching out to me and asking for me to be their mentor, they need to be the one that's, that's driving that kind of relationship. And they need to be putting in the work because it's, it's not, it's not something that I'm, that I personally have time for to sign up for right now. And it's, and again, I have my own passions and my own goals.

And so I find it a lot easier to provide mentorship and guidance to people that I'm surrounded by and the more with a, with a higher level of frequency. The other thing that, you know, that we all should understand is that, you know, whether you're going to seek out a mentor or you're actually the, you know, you're, you're mentoring somebody that, you know, this idea of candor and transparency.

And honesty comes into that as well, because you, if you're going to, if you're going to try to develop somebody, or if you're going to actually provide that type of jump into that relationship, you can't just be a cheerleader. And you have to actually be somebody that's going to guide them and really provide, you know, real-time feedback for the, for the development. And cause that's really the purpose of it. So, but yeah, I think it's, it's, it's a critical thing that is, that is happening right now.

You're seeing more and more people reaching out to individuals to get mentors. And you're seeing more people that are donating in time and energy to actually, to mentorship. But, you know, the other thing too, you know, you and I have spoken, I think there certainly have been people throughout my life that have had lasting impacts. I mean, that's for sure. But it's a short list.

I mean, there's probably four people that I can, that I can say, and that will, that I will say probably to the day that I die that had, you know, a lasting impact on, on who I am today. And, and, and some of them at higher and some of them at lower degrees. And there may be somebody that I meet in the future that comes into that fifth position or the sixth position, who knows.

But I think the people should also understand that there's, there's a world of information that people can get from reading and from doing research. I mean, you, if you haven't found that individual that is moving the needle for you and giving you that guidance and that, that additional level of development that you're looking for. Well, you have to become your own mentor.

You have to force yourself to go and find the answers that you're looking for, because, you know, you can't just, you can't just stop. And just because you haven't found somebody that's going to link up with you and it's going to spend time with you to kind of hold your hands, so to speak, and kind of give you that guidance. You gotta, you gotta figure it out and you gotta do it yourself if that's what it takes. Yeah.

And I would say that digital mentors have been one of the biggest game changers of my entire life, because a lot of people will go, how do I find a mentor? And they'll sort of rest on, I can't find that. Whereas books and podcasts and courses, because for me, mentorship is about learning. What can I do to get better from somebody else's experience? It's great if I don't have to do something because you've already shown me the way of what not to do.

So all of a sudden I'm like, what are all of the things out there? And I remember when I heard Grant Cardone's name for the first time, I read one of his books and I immediately binged, read three of his books in succession. I was like, holy smokes, I am all in on this guy. And then he's got a digital platform and I started taking his courses. And then I went to his 10X Growth Con conference. And I was like, this is incredible. I just deep dived into the world of Grant Cardone.

And I actually recommend doing deep dives into these digital mentors. You're going to find people where there's a lot of resources because I'm a creator. I've been doing my entrepreneurial journey for the last seven years. So if someone wanted to deep dive into me and I have people who do, there is an insane amount of stuff by design because I want to help people.

So deep dive into someone and it just so happens when I was at the 10X Growth Conference, there's this guy who spoke on stage named Jesse Itzler. He was wearing just like a t-shirt and jeans. He had a headband. I'm like, I've never in my life heard of this guy. Like, who is this guy? Within five minutes of him speaking on stage, he became my spirit animal. I was like, this guy is incredible. I want to get into his world.

So right now, because of digital, we have the opportunities to get into people's worlds. And since then, I joined Jesse's Build Your Life Resume community. And then he created something called the Big Ass Calendar Club and 30 Days of Excellence. And there are these ways where I can learn from him and be around other like-minded people that are part of these communities. And oh, by the way, I'm going to continue to do the things to stand out, to build a relationship.

So one day, I will work with Jesse Itzler because it's the mindset of it. You can learn from someone. And if someone comes to you and puts in so much effort to understand you and they're passionate about it, and you're so value-driven, the world is your oyster. Anyone you can think of can become your mentor if you make it happen. Yeah, I love it. I love it. That's a super valid point.

I mean, I think, you know, more so obviously today because of just the environment that we're living in. But so, you know, education shouldn't stop, doesn't need to stop. And there's a ton of tools available for people to actually have access and resources to these individuals. So super valid point. On my end, I find that mentorship, like relationships, can have an expiration date.

Sometimes you reach a point in your journey where you know what? I'm good here. I'm moving on to something else. It is what it is. It's not a good or a bad. Sometimes people in relationships serve you for certain periods of time. And I think it's an important thing to know because not every relationship is going to go on forever. And, oh, by the way, as you continue to ascend in your life and your business, all of a sudden you're reaching different levels where something a year ago wasn't on your radar.

Wait a second. I want to learn something. I want to get closer. Who knows? Maybe, Arturo, you introduced me to someone where I'm like, you wouldn't believe it. This person became a mentor of mine. So for me, I see it as a constant evolution where it's part of my growth mindset. I just want to be better and I want to build relationships with awesome people. And I also find that mentorship can be a two-way street. You can mentor me.

And, oh, by the way, I can also help you at the same time because it's part of the learning mindset. Totally. Yeah, and that's a really valid point that the idea of actually showing people or coaching them strengthens – it really strengthens you. I mean, you get an opportunity to really exercise these ideals or these beliefs. And it's just – it's a good – it's kind of like when you write something down.

You tend to retain it a little bit to a higher level than if you don't. And so by actually going through these steps and coaching and sharing with another individual, I think what you're doing is you're actually re-strengthening and emphasizing some of these particular things that you're trying to teach. So it's great. So now time for some book recommendations. And for me, I would say go to autobiographies.

Bob Iger's book, Daymond John, Richard Branson, Rich Roll, Arturo. Are there any autobiographies that you like? Yeah, I mean, we've talked about Shoe Dog and Phil Knight. I think that's another great one. I mean, you know, all these books that you mentioned they have, there's people littered throughout each one of them that eventually helped shape the final outcome of these great companies.

So – and I think that, you know, even though I may say, hey, there's only, you know, four or five people that have stood out, we're all a byproduct of our experiences. And there's probably many more, and I'm probably not doing it all justice and giving everybody the credit that they all deserve. But, you know, we will all have individuals that I think had a more meaningful place in our lives.

But, you know, there is a constant opportunity for us to be learning from our surroundings and the people that are, you know, that are part of our lives on a daily basis. So – Love it. So let's get to the action item or takeaway. Arturo, what is your action item or takeaway? I would say if you feel like you're the individual that is a mentor, to establish some goals for the year in terms of what your mentorship outlook should be. How many people are you going to actually impact this year? And what are you going to – how are you going to do that? And I think if you're the person that is looking for mentorship, to make a commitment. Make a commitment that you're going to have somebody or something, and that something being a book or digital guidance like you suggested, that you have that locked in, that you can really look at the last quarter of 2020. And I know everybody's hoping for this year to be over sooner than later. But I think it's a really great opportunity to roll into the fall with some strong goals related to either your giving or you're going to consume at a high level to get yourself ready for 2021.

And on my end, my action item is I would love to hear one digital mentor that you have had. Is there a book or is there a podcast that has stood out to you that has helped you on your journey? And we would love to hear from you. If you enjoy Leadership DNA, let Arturo and I know about it. We want to know that you're part of our community. We want to know, hey, is there a way that we can help you out or build a relationship with you?

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