History, the perpetual mentor
Wouldn’t it be nice to press the easy button and know exactly what it takes to be successful? New entrepreneurs can spend years stumbling through the dark while trying to start their own business. Like in anything else, where we aspire to achieve success, as an entrepreneur if there isn’t someone who encourages and helps us along the way, the journey can be isolating and seemingly endless.
There’s no doubt that having a mentor is powerful. Someone who we can with chat regularly. Someone one who challenges, questions, and guides us to reach our goals. A mentor brings decades of failures and success (and a network!) to the table that can inform what we should or shouldn’t do next. But mentors have their limitations. They can’t be with you everywhere you go, and they certainly can’t answer every question in the book.
The Digital Mentor
One cool thing about the digital age is that we have thousands of years of information at our fingertips, including the journeys of highly successful individuals and businesses. At the click of a button, we can learn about all of the stumbling blocks and leaps during their climb to the top. More than only seeing what to do and what not to do, we can often come out of their stories with specific actionable steps to take in our own journey.
History can be the perpetual mentor, we just need spend the time and dig in.
Start reading (or listening #audiobook)
The stories and research are out there. Authors have interviewed, analyzed and captured what makes someone operate above the norm and achieve hyper success. It’s not a secret, it’s out there. Is there a formula for success? Maybe not an easy button, per say, but look at history, and it will show a common thread.
Here are Five Essential Books that can get you started with your mentorship:
1. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Published in 1937, this book was an instant hit, selling over 15 million copies. Today, it is considered one of classics of dealing with people and effective communications in business. Warren Buffett said that it changed his life.
2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Reviewers comment that this book changed the lives of presidents, CEOs and students alike. It was first published in 1990 and has sold over 12 million copies. It’s considered the preeminent book in personal effectiveness. Fortune magazine named it one of the Top 10 most influential books in management and it was named the most influential business book of the 20th century.
3. The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber
Inc. magazine called Gerber “the world’s #1 small business guru”. In the E-Myth Gerber brings over 40 years of experience working with startups and small businesses. He calls out overly complex business theories and why so many entrepreneurs never get past their first year. Gerber provides a very clear, simple road map of how to be successful in building a new business.
4. Zero to One by Peter Thiel
The co-Founder of PayPal, Thiel analyzes how the next line of entrepreneurs can bring innovation to the future by learning how to ask the right questions and discover value. He brings in all sorts of writings from history to anthropology and economics to culture to human nature. It’s full of practical insights and tips every entrepreneur should consider.
5. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
In this quick read, Gladwell analyzes how small things can lead to dramatic and unexpected change. His fun and engaging style helps draw the reader in to better consider our culture and how it can be shaken by the small, rather, than big differences. Tipping Point opens your eyes to start paying attention to why the masses, including consumers and businesses, react the way they do.
Who’s your perpetual mentor? Share the love in the comments below!
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