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How to Attract a Mentor For Business, Life and Success Jim Pagiamtzis

· Web viewPublished Author ,Speaker and Elite Entrepreneur. Table of Contents. Introduction

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Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………… Page 3

Quote ………………………………………………………………….. Page 4

My Experience ……………………………………………………….. Page 5

Role Models ……………………………………………………………Page 7

Coach ………………………………………………………………… Page 9

Virtual Mentor……………………………………………………….. Page 13

It’s all about You……………………………………………………. Page 15

What to look for?........................................................................ Page 18

Why do I have a Mentor………………………………………….. Page 21

Analysis of Quote from Mentors Mentor………………………. Page 24

Business, Life & Success………………………………………… Page 27

Books and Audios…………………………………………………. Page 29

Conclusion………………………………………………………….. Page 30

About the author……………………………………………………. Page 31

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Introduction

It a few short years I have been able to write and speak about the importance of

having a Mentor.

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Quote

“Everyone needs a mentor, regardless of what stage your are in your career.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, you need a role model to guide

you through your journey of success”

-Max Haroon-

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My Experience

In the spring of 2003 I decided to go out networking to learn more about business

($ales and marketing) and attended an event where through a referral, I met Max

Haroon who at the time had done a lot of work in the Internet and IT training for

many years.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity to sit down and have a coffee with Max and

learned more about what he had accomplished in his 35 years in business. He had

completed many consulting assignments, forging alliances, as well as initiating

various entrepreneurial enterprises. His work had spanned many countries and he

has spoken at conferences and symposiums.

Max ran an organization call Society of Internet Professionals(SIP)

(www.sipgroup.org) – a not-for-profit group in the Toronto and Richmond Hill area.

For the first year I had the opportunity to volunteer and participate at various

symposiums and attended multiple networking events with Max. Quickly, I realized

his wealth of knowledge and learned more about his experience in growing

companies to certain levels of financial success. Max calls himself a “social

entrepreneur” The title suits him well (by the way he dress a well and has a great

handshake).

A memorable moment occured when we attended an event in Richmond Hill,

Ontario met a wonderful woman whose experience was in Business Protocol. She

showed us a VHS movie (yes your read right VHS!) on “How to Run An Effective

Booth At A Trade Show”. To this day, I remind Max how the movie completely

changed mine and also his perspective. Not only in Marketing and Sales, but also

the specific reasons things are done to create an atmosphere and environment not

only for attendees, but the code and conduct of the booth participants.

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As time progressed I became more involved with SIP and began to market and

promote events through word-of-mouth, handing out flyers at different events and

sending out an monthly newsletters (great story about that later).

We held symposiums every couple of months where we featured specialists in the

Internet/IT field and, special guests in marketing and sales.

As the months progressed I had also done some data-entry work and helped to

maintain our database. Monthly newsletters called the SIP Post were sent out to

our sponsors, volunteers, and participants advising on events occurring with SIP

and associated partners.

As confidence and self-esteem began to grow, I had the opportunity to speak and

make some small announcements at the events, which to this day, I remember

being nervous and bubbling my words. It was the start of the journey that would

give me an environment to propel me on the entrepreneurial journey of success.

Role Models

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Role models are a great source to learn from. You can learn from their stories of

how they achieved success. From Jim Carrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick, the

founder of Body Shop, to Oprah Winfrey.

Friends and Family - For some people this may be a great resource to learn from.

They may have family members who have run or who are currently running

successful businesses. While others may have friends who have their own

business, and you may want to learn more about it, take the opportunity to have a

coffee or lunch with them to learn more about their experiences.

Professional Associations - There are many fantastic associations in Toronto

from Enterprise Toronto (www.enterprisetoronto.com). This runs morning seminars

throughout the Toronto Region on various topics. Some other organizations are

listed below:

Bizlaunch.ca Where entrepreneurs start (through seminar and webinar.

Teachers at School - We may have had teacher from our College/University or

high school days that we admired and learned some great lessons from.

Community Leaders - Every community has its leaders and there are many ways

to learn more about them. There are neighborhood newspapers that have featured

stories on successful businesses in the area. There are neighborhood events that

take place, focusing on community and political events. In the spring and summer

time there are many events held by different cultural groups and organizations that

you could attend.

The key point is to meet new people and ask questions on what they do and how

they achieved their success. They are all around you and the journey begins when

you go and make the effort to put energy into seeking and learning.

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Coach

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The key focus of a coach is her or e gives you a “specific direction”. A Great

example of this is a few years ago myself, my brother and a friend decided to learn

how to skate and play hockey. So we signed up for beginner lessons and we were

very excited about the experience. We bought brand new skates, helmets and

hockey pants.

Prior to the classes we practiced dressing up in our hockey equipment to

comfortable. We felt like “gladiators” on skates! Very soon the lessons were to

begin and the excitement was growing as the day got closer.

And finally the day arrived! At the first practice we met our teammates. We had a

variety of ages and backgrounds on our team.

As we got on the ice I quickly realized that this was going to be a very challenging

experience. I had skated very briefly prior to this and did not have many happy

memories. The coaches put us through some drills and I and few other participants

were lagging behind. Frustration began to set in and I was beginning to have

doubts. During the second lesson, I had a friend come and watch me practice and

this is where I had a significant experience. I ended up falling on the ice very

heavily, headfirst, suffered a brief concussion, and was bed ridden for the next few

days. This was a turning point for me. My brother and his friend ended up quitting

after three practices, and I also had a choice to make after suffering the

concussion. I had a lot reasons to quit, but many more to stay! I wanted to learn

how to skate and was willing to put the effort in to do so. As I continued the lessons

the coach made this statement, “You’re not going to learn how to skate coming one

day a week. You are going to have to go on your own time and practice”. I took his

statement very seriously and that’s exactly what I did. I went to indoor family skates

on Sundays and to open skating arenas in my neighborhood. We got some

practice times at the local arena with our teammates and gradually we got better. I

got some great tips from my co-worker who had been skating for many years. He

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told me to practice skating with a puck and learn to control it, also to overextend my

skating to allow the body to feel the extra tension.

I began to apply his tips and suggestions and through practice and persistence my

skating got better and better. Confidence and self-esteem began to grow and I was

more balanced on my skates when I was in front of the net. It worked because

that’s how I scored most of my goals!

A great personality I like to watch is Don Cherry. He does a first period rant with

Ron Mclean on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday Nights. Don Cherry was an

NHL coach for many years and shares some great examples and highlights of

players who are persistent and achieved their goals.

I recently listened to a lecture called “Everyone’s a Coach!” by Don Shula and

Wayne Blanchard. Shula was a successful coach for many years in the NFL and

Blanchard has written many books in the personal development field. It was great

series to listen to and learn more about Shula’s coaching experiences and how

they tie in to Blanchard’s teaching. Key statement was in the title “EVERYONE IS

COACH”.

School

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Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a program called “Economics of Staying in

School” with a co-worker of mine. We spent the better part of the day teaching a

specific course outline, utilizing interactive board games to teach budgeting and

dream building to a gifted class of grade 7 & 8 students. It was a memorable

experience and the students had a better understanding of why their parents plan

and follow a budget, and how to evaluate a pay cheque and how that affects what

they can buy for themselves.

Teachers - Throughout my school experience I had some great teachers. During

the 1st year in college I had a teacher named Mr. Allison Griffiths who taught a

class in Purchasing Management. The one thing you need when attending this

class was lots of paper!

During high school I had a great teacher who taught us how to type. To this day I

thank her for those exercises she put us through. Becoming a writer and author

made it easier to use all the eight fingers and two thumbs!

Later on, I will be mentioning more books that have made an impact on being an

effective coach.

Virtual Mentor

Max Haroon had mentioned having a Virtual Mentor at a talk that he gave in

February 2008, at the Mariott Hotel in Toronto. I feel it important to give a few

suggestions he mentioned:

Why books?

Through this booklet I will be mentioning many books that been crucial in learning

and developing through the years.

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Books on Coaching, Mentorship, and Leadership are available in many places from

bookstores, libraries and yard sales. Personally, I am an avid cyclist and go bike

riding on the weekends throughout the city. I have come across hundreds of great

books, CD’s, and DVD’s of every topic. Roadside treasures, as I call them, are

available all the time. People are spring cleaning or moving and always discarding

things.

Stories of Celebrities

Either when you go the movies, the local bookstore and/or the local newspaper

there are always some great feature stories on local and worldwide celebrities that

you can learn more about from afar. Jim Carrey is one my favorites. The Ontario

born actor has had a phenomenal career , but his early days were not as easy. He

had some challenges himself but his abilities and talents that he kept working,from

being on “In Living Color” for many years propelled him to movie stardom and

became the actor he is today, due to the antics he did on the show.

Will Smith is also an interesting story. Recently, I read a mini-biography called Will

Power by Jan Berenson. The story covers the start of his career as a rapper to

then being a young star on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air leading to the ups and

downs of his life and to extraordinary movie career featuring Independence Day

and Men in Black.

Biographies

There are many amazing biographies available to read from past and present

people, such as, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Donald Trump, Anita

Roddick founder of Body Shop, and Living the Good Life by David Patchell-Evans

founder of the Good Life Fitness.

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DVD’s

Movies like Remember the Titans, Facing the Giants, Rudy, and Pursuit of

Happiness are true stories that capture the spirit and essence of having a

successful and fulfilling life.

Audios

As mentioned earlier I have either purchased or found roadside treasures such as

audio cassettes on various speakers and leaders. Local libraries or bookstores are

a great resource for material like this.

It’s all about YOU

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Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, repeatedly

talks about “begin with the end in mind”. To reach any point of success it is very

important to have people available along your journey to talk to and discuss your

journey with to make sure you are on the correct course.

A great book by Burke Hedges called, You Inc., where he states in literally every

chapter that YOU are the where it begins and where it ends. Being able to market

and present yourself is the key to attracting and meeting the right people who will

be the resources you will work with and talking to in your journey.

A few years ago I created a slogan that says “Get Connected, Make it Happen” I

learn to “connect” with a professional handshake and then give a brief infomercial

about my business to “Make it Happen”. It takes two people to make a business or

project happen.

Social Networking

Social Networking websites have spread like wildfire on the Internet with the key

purpose of maintaining relationships between friends and family or create social

entrepreneurial organizations. Websites from LinkedIn, Sprouter, and Twitter have

been utilized by people of all ages to keep connected and have a professional

profile (LinkedIn) or market and promote yourself (FaceBook).

For the past year I have been on Facebook and have had some tremendous

success from getting connected to old school mates, meeting entrepreneurs who

are authors, speakers and writers, getting referrals and having the ability to

promote speaking engagements and events that I have attended. These are

simple and effective resources that can be used with “specific intent” to promote

yourself or business activities.

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Albert Einstein has a quote that says “the significant problems that we face in life

can not be solved with the same level of thinking we were at when we created

them”.

There are solutions to problems that require fresh thinking. The ability to find and

seek people who can assist you in overcoming certain challenges is how you get to

the next level.

Preparedness meets Opportunity

Being a prepared professional and knowing your unique skills and strengths will

allow you to be the best you can be when opportunity arrives.

What to look for?

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The important thing to remember is looking for in attracting a mentor is that they

have the “fruit on the tree” as Max Haroon has told me many times and have

achieved some success already.

Accomplishments

I recently heard Andrew Patricio, founder of Bizlaunch.ca, a training and coaching

organization that has had huge success in a span of four years. Andrew explained

that he started up locally and he gained momentum and expanded. He has only a

few sponsors for his business but those are the likes of Scotia Bank of Canada.

Achievements

An important indication in looking evaluating a mentor is have they have any

achievements in their field from awards, recognition. Have they reached levels of

business in a specific business. Key indicators of results in achievement.

Professional in Specific fields

This is the most important aspect of what to look for in a mentor. Depending in

what particular field you are looking for such as internet related, real estate or

coaching there are various events happening throughout the year. Enterprise

Toronto has monthly events on various topics and Bizlaunch.ca has various

seminars throughout the Ontario region and Canada.

Power Within and Soho.ca, and many more organizations are available. Simply

perform a search on Google to find many more.

Experience

As you progress and begin to meet more professionals you will learn more about

the types of industries and more about the experience that is available in those

particular fields. Many of the speakers that I heard at Enterprise Toronto have had

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great success in the field of coaching, running their own business, consulting

and/or working with other key leaders in different industries.

Recently I heard Vernon Vatour on Mastery of Sales at Enterprises Toronto and at

one point he mentioned Michael Gerber who wrote the book E-Myth, at which point

I said “that everyone should read it” literally forty heads turned my way with utter

amazement. Vernon without missing a beat walked over and shook my hand and

walked backed and continued his presentation. I was very surprised that nobody

else had heard of Michael Gerber (who I heard speak a few years ago) who has

written a tremendous book on three facets of a successful entrepreneur (manager,

technician and entrepreneur). I have had similar situations happen at other events.

The reason being is that I was plugged in and reading great books and listening to

awesome speakers.

Business Owners

From real estate to speaking and writing there are various types of business

owners you can learn from. As I went networking through the years, I have

collected thousands of business cards from various business owners. Just

recently, I went through my database to re-connect with a few due the fact that I

have done some writing, speaking and been published. This was a good

opportunity to share this great news and see what projects they had currently been

working on.

Summary

The key ingredient to remember is that you are building relationships with many

different people. You will be learning aspects of various business is and at the time

it may not seem relevant, but keep the business card and contact. Down the road

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you may have started a mentor-mentee relationship that you may have not known

you needed at the time.

Why do have a Mentor?

There are six reasons to have mentor are listed below.

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Accountability

In the book called The Secret there is a tremendous illustration of this. It was a

story of homosexual male who wanted to be comedian, the challenge he had was

that he was accosted either on the street or at work which made him frustrated and

miserable. His coach at the time had been communicating verbally but also via

email. The coach pointed how negative he was on his emails and recommended

he alter his attitude towards the situation. Within the next few weeks the most

miraculous thing happened. He began to listen to CD’s, read great books, and

through encouragement of his coach he stopped being accosted and people at

work either left or changed jobs. At last he was a successful comedian! The story

illustrates that everyone has challenges and it’s what you do about them that

changes the outcome.

Listen to your words

In the book Mentor’s Mentor by Corey Olynik, he states that a mentor listens to

your words, understands where you are, and convey that it’s only a state mind and

you have to bring brightness to the future you want to create.

You may unconsciously be saying the words but not be aware that not only you are

saying them for your mentor to hear that also you are hearing them yourself. Self-

talk is mentioned by every great leader as the most destructive way to limit

ourselves of our dreams and goals is the words that we say everyday coming out

of our mouths.

Constructive Critism

Your mentor has many years of experience and knowledge and the simplest ways

to convey anything is through stories.

The solution to life challenges through their success is how the next three can be

explained.

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Walked the Journey before you

You can learn from their journey since you may be on a similar path. Learning their

experience and lesson will make yours seem a little easier or perhaps

understanding it is a journey of small steps moving forward.

Experience challenges you are going through and will encounter next

My favorite example my mentor, Casey, uses is “they have already crossed the

mine field, you’re just trying to avoid the mines.” The mines signify various

challenges you may be having along the journey of success and learning to avoid

the mines will help you reach you goal in one piece.

Challenge you to reach to the next level

A couple of years ago I heard T. Harv Ecker, a famous speaker and author of the

book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” speak. He has given a simple example that if

you rated your problem on a scale from 1 to 10, (one being minor to ten being

major) and below you had another graph on from one to ten in solving the problem.

Would that be easier to overcome your challenge? Perhaps learning to do

something about it? He said something like, “Just frikking do it!”. I guess he was

being polite. There were thousands of people in that room and I remember saying,

“Well everyone has different issues and we have business ethics in mind, so why

not?”

Problem Solution

10 10

9 (9)

8 8

7 7

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6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

(2) 2

1 1

Analysis of Quote from the Mentor’s Mentor

Corey Olynik so eloquently says in his book “a mentor who holds up a mirror for his

protégé helps him to see who he is: see his possibilities, his gifts, and his

greatness. A mentor focuses on strength and not weakness. A mentor identifies

potential and creates momentum. A mentor puts aside his own agenda and his

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protégé expresses his own unique talents. A mentor accepts his protégé for who

he is now and sees the potential of who he can be”.

This is such a powerful paragraph that it requires explaining and examining.

“Sees his possibilities, his gift, his greatness”

As we go through our entrepreneurial journey, our mentor helps explore the

possibilities that are within us. encourages our gifts, which may be explored.

Speaking or working with our team, greatness is how we explore the world around

us and project ourselves to others as evolving servant leaders.

“focus on strengths”

We all have positive traits that we use in our daily lives. We walk this earth from

sunset to sundown dealing with many people in our journey. Some are friends for

the short-term while others are lifetime partners, associates and mates. When we

use our strengths for being a good listener and speaking to friends in a social

gathering, we are exchanging our strengths and evolving to become better every

day.

“identifies potential and creates momentum”

When our mentor is listening he is assisting us in evaluating and pinpointing our

natural abilities and shows us, through example, how to generate necessary

movement forward.

Howie Mandell a comedian and actor used to get in trouble all the time for talking

out of turn and waving his arms in school. Now he does the same thing in his adult

life and makes thousands of dollars doing it.

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“express his own unique talents”

Unique talents are explained as Unique Ability by Dan Sullivan, Catherine Nomura,

Julia Waller and Shannon Waller explains in depth how we can evaluate and

decipher our own abilities which have evolved through the years and become part

of us. We need to be consciously-competent that we are using them to our best

abilities. This book goes through those insights in depth.

“who is now and potential who he can be”

Frank Freather, well known futurist has explained,” the present is fleeting a

nanosecond” and goes on to say that “only the future is manageable”. A mentor

wants learn who you are now but also the goal to get you to strive and grow to who

you are going to be.

In exploring this paragraph in detail I hope you have understood that having a

mentor along the path increase your success will make the journey richer and

increase your ability to explore yourself in ways that will make you a better

individual and more succesfull in business and life.

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Business, Life & Success

Mentors will be required in all stages of your journey as an entrepreneur. All the

speakers I have heard, the books I read, and the audio that I have listened to all

mention in some way that mentorship is esscential for in business, life and

success.

Business

In doesn’t matter what level business you are at either starting out or a seasoned

veteran, a mentor can assist and direct your business to new levels. Economic and

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social trends affect business and are the key to fit your business to your customer’s

needs.

Recently, a coach I heard mentioned that there were thousands of coaches who

had different experiences. Either a life, entrepreneurial, or success coaches had

various types of specific knowledge which they had created a particular business

around. All the coaches were looking for potential clients and they all found them

due to their expertise, even though they are in the same field.

Life

As we grow and pass through the different age brackets we are guided by different

people who may not be called a “coach” per se at the time. They are called mom,

dad, teachers, friends, and social circle. They begin to affect and shape our outlook

on life. The choices we make are where the journey will begin to take shape. As we

continue to educate and learn we begin to make clearer choices as to where we

want to be and who we want to become.

As mentioned earlier reading biographies about successful people will give you a

better focus on the future. Futurist Frank Feather says it best, “only the future is

manageable”.

Success

A great quote that I have heard that is attributed to many is “success leaves clues”.

It is a short statement but has a powerful meaning. During the past few years I

have read many thin books that were full of great quotes, ideas, and suggestions

that were easy to do and made a significant impact in my current and future

success. When reading books it is important to highlight, underline or bend the

pages.

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When hearing a presentation make sure you take notes and review them

periodically, this is great way to remind yourself of the stage you were at during

the time, and how perhaps you have grown since then.

Books

The Mentor’s Mentor by Cory Olynk

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Crucial Conversations by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler

How to Coach a Fish by Peudan & Herzog

How can I get myself to do what I need to do by Terry Gogna

Search for Excellence by Tom Peter and Nancy Austin

Conclusion

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My mentor always says that in business, life and success you will require different

types of people throughout these stages. You have just read what to look for in a

mentor and why should you have one.

Take the time to go through your contacts and business cards and take the time to

meet you future mentor for a coffee and find them at the event in your area or find

a virtual mentor.

Taking the first step in your journey as an entrepreneur is the exciting moment

which will lead to many doors opening for you in the future days and years to

come.

About Author

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Jim Pagiamtzis is owner and founder of Get Connected Make Wealth Happen! He

works with consultants, entrepreneurs and corporate professionals on effective

communication.

He has written articles for Centennial College, Toronto Public Library and

Metroactive.org (blog),

He has appeared on That.Channel.com with Hugh Reilly on the Liquid Lunch

Show.

He can be reached [email protected] Check out

www.getconnectedmakewealthhappen.com, www.jimpagiamtzis.blogspot.com

Jim Pagiamtzis is available for speaking engagements and writing opportunities at

416-894-7859

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