Does your publishing/speaking biz stump you sometimes? Are you feeling left behind? So much information and not sure what to do next? Need some help? Not sure who to trust? Good news: your speaking mentor is here!
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
–Matthew 7:7 -8
Suppose you could sit down with the most successful people in your field and just talk with them to learn what they know.
Well, here is the deal. YOU can learn what they know—and you can probably do it for little or no cost! You just have to get your head in the game (quit focusing on only YOU), be observant, vigilant, coachable and be grateful. Gratitude opens the door for EVERYTHING—generative gratitude.
Follow the leaders for your path to a speaking mentor
Suppose you are a novice who wants to learn the book or speaking industry, an author or speaker who needs to learn how to market books better, or a business/ministry leader who is looking to learn a new skill. In that case, you can get the information you need—sometimes for free—by following the leaders.
I mean really becoming a “student” of the person. That means becoming a disciple and real follower who is disciplined to learn, listen, study and DO!
It’s amazing to me to see folks struggling to do something, and there are mentors online all around. In the age of the internet, a couple of clicks on Google and you can find blogs, books, podcasts, webinars, and websites for some of the best and brightest minds on the planet.
But don’t just find their info—and email them. That’s the lazy way! That’s the way to be put in the spam and “blocked” folder for real.
Finding Your Speaking Mentor
So, what do you do once you find a person you feel is the next link in your destiny?
Follow them religiously. Not stalk but become a protege by doing the following things:
Be social!
Be their Facebook friend, join their groups or be on their biz pages every day! Read their updates and comment on their statuses.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the 400 million folks online, but zone in on your “fav five” or “top
ten.” The folks you need to learn from, folks you admire, model, and want to know how they think, operate and live their lives. Now, don’t copy. And don’t “hate on” them. A protege appreciates a mentor. Learn to give accolades and tell others of the wonderful info you’re getting from your online mentor! Spread the love, and it will come back to you!
(Networking conferences are great for this! Here’s what I learned at the Power Networking Conference)
Be part of every social site where they are—if they are on Twitter, you follow them on Twitter and retweet their tweets. If they are on Facebook or Twitter, make sure you get the SMS updates to your phone. Pick up clues and run with them.
(Before you go, don’t miss these 13 publicity and branding tips to get the media attention you want)
Blog
This is the easiest way to really learn from your speaking mentor and get noticed by them fast. Because this is their weblog or online diary, you know what they’re thinking, doing, working on and can sense the direction their business is going. Read all their old blog posts. Become a student! Do your homework. Also, click all the buttons and links on their blog and find out what they’re into and how you can add those same buttons, widgets or links to your own blog.
But the main thing is to comment on their posts! Be social when social networking.
Of course, you have subscribed to their email list and read every email (even if they send something out every day), right? This is the secret. The mentor’s emails are the keys to your next level. When your mentor sends an email to their list, they are talking to YOU.
So, pay attention—they would not send a frivolous email. They are a Pro, remember? That’s why you are following them and NOT the other way around.
Here’s what you can find out from reading, saving and keep up with your online speaking mentor’s emails:
- Dates of their upcoming events, teleseminars, recent blog posts or media exposure
- Their style, wording of each email – so you can benchmark your email campaigns
- Their pattern for doing things. What days do they send emails, what times?
- What their “hot buttons” are, and what is on the cutting edge in the industry
If they send a lot of emails, learn to manage it. Do you want to learn from them? Deal with it. Put the emails in a folder on your computer desktop or print them out and put them in a binder so you can read during your lunch hours—whatever it takes to be a good student and stay on top of their information—do it!
If the information is coming fast and furious, maybe you’re not ready for the level you think you are. Think about it. If you can’t read emails from your mentor, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with their pace. You’re just reading—they’re doing the writing. Anyway, why would you want to follow an online mentor if their pace was slower than yours?) So, suck it up and get organized.
Finally, and most important – appreciate and acknowledge your online speaking mentor/coach.
This is THE KEY to your success. I find that most people don’t do this, and consequently, they don’t get the results they’re looking for or the FAVOR. Most folks are so self-absorbed that they rarely take time to be kind to others. It is great to have focus, but you need a team to make the dream work. Gratitude is everything!
And a day of favor is worth more than years of labor—any day! So, want to learn from those on the next level?
Learn to:
- Listen, be observant, be vigilant
- Read, scan, speed read, print and save information
- Be curious, click all the buttons! Do what they do, model them online
- Thank the mentor/coach. Let them know you are watching them and you appreciate them. Leave a comment on their blog. Retweet them. Like their posts. Never hate on your help. Don’t be a rival friend. Be a protege. You must learn to get rid of jealous feelings and not be envious.
How? By showing gratitude. This is CRITICAL to getting over envy and getting favor! Sounds easy? It is. Do people do these things consistently? Only a rare few who are ready to get in the game and really win! Invest in your mentorship. If you sow, you grow—bottom line.
Did you learn a lot from this post? Here are three more to read next:
- What I’m Grateful For While I Work From Home #puppylove
- 10 Tips to Build Your Self-Confidence so You can Manifest Your Ideal Client and Collect with Confidence
- How to Build Your Social Media Platform: 5 Stages You Can’t Skip
This post was first published in 2020, but it was updated in 2021 just for you.
