Can one be successful without a mentor?

16 years ago

Yes - of course.

Many of us were successful before ever having anyone else show us the way.

If you have a solid sense of your own value and how you plan to share it with people - you don't need anyone to tell you anything.

All information is available for free.

Everyone can benefit from a mentor of course, but essential they're not.

Andy

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ARVolund 16 years ago

Yes. Read and then Read some more.

Decide how you want to proceed then start working. Treat it like a real business and do not expect to get rich overnight.

There are a lot of different business models. Find one that you think fits YOU and not what may have worked for somebody else. Once you have found what you think is a good fit go to work. Make sure you do something everyday to make your business better.

Take Action, Learn from your mistakes and make money.

Richard
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- Tina Golden 16 years ago
  
  You absolutely don't need a personal mentor. I have several people, both on this forum and off, that I think of as mentors. Most of them are completely unaware that I think of them that way but they are people that I know are where I want to be so I follow their lead.
  
  Tina
  
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Trina Freeman

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

In my personal opinion and experience I say yes. Now you can always learn from other successful personnel that have been in the same industry, but your attitude, work ethic, and dedication along with certain skill sets you possess will bring you success! Keep working hard!

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Shaun Lee

16 years ago

Why not?

You just have to spend more time to get to your destination.

Think of it like driving a normal car and a sports car. With a mentor, you're driving the sports car.

-Shaun

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Richard Tunnah

16 years ago

Yes of course you can be successful without a mentor. Although I believe a good mentor well versed in whatever area you are keen to explore can cut your learning curve down considerably.

Rich

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Raydal

16 years ago

A mentor is there to guide you away from the time-wasters that you are likely
to run into but you can learn these from experience (sometimes called trial
and error).

Without are mentor you'll have to do more work, make more mistakes but
you can also build more self-confidence because you knew that you did
it 'your way'.

Not many people talk about another advantage that mentor-ship gives
you--it can place you in contact with people in your industry that you
wouldn't reach on your own. Plus the association with the mentor gives
you some rubbed-off credibility.

Some people prefer to go it on their own and others want to be taught
the way and each path has its advantages and disadvantages.

-Ray Edwards

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acrasial

16 years ago

GODDD!!! SAVE YOURSELF DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT get a PERSONAL mentor.

They will MESS YOUR HEAD UP so badly, that you WILL BECOME WORSE. Having people you look up to, and model after is one thing, but specifically having someone take you by the hand and show you everything WILL NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU in the long run.

As someone else said to me on this forum (I believe it was Tina (TMG Enterprises) Originally), it's good to get ideas from EVERYONE. NEVER LET JUST ONE PERSON have that kind of power over you, wherein you literally think they know everything that is necessary to get you ahead.

THE ONLY THING A MENTOR KNOWS IS WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET THEMSELVES AHEAD, because THOSE THINGS WORKED FOR THEM.

SO they might tell you not to use adwords, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that adsense is just pennies, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that squidoo or EzineArticles sucks, because it didn't work for them....but what if those were to ACTUALLY be YOUR goldmines?

Thus, use EVERYONE as an example for your mentor, AND BETTER YET, LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES, so you DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE...either. That way, you can do things better than others, you still have mentors and guidance BUT BUT BUT, you wouldn't be missing out on your own potential gold mines!

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Richard Tunnah

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

GODDD!!! SAVE YOURSELF DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT get a PERSONAL mentor.

They will MESS YOUR HEAD UP so badly, that you WILL BECOME WORSE. Having people you look up to, and model after is one thing, but specifically having someone take you by the hand and show you everything WILL NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU in the long run.

As someone else said to me on this forum (I believe it was Tina (TMG Enterprises) Originally), it's good to get ideas from EVERYONE. NEVER LET JUST ONE PERSON have that kind of power over you, wherein you literally think they know everything that is necessary to get you ahead.

THE ONLY THING A MENTOR KNOWS IS WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET THEMSELVES AHEAD, because THOSE THINGS WORKED FOR THEM.

SO they might tell you not to use adwords, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that adsense is just pennies, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that squidoo or EzineArticles sucks, because it didn't work for them....but what if those were to ACTUALLY be YOUR goldmines?

Thus, use EVERYONE as an example for your mentor, AND BETTER YET, LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES, so you DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE...either. That way, you can do things better than others, you still have mentors and guidance BUT BUT BUT, you wouldn't be missing out on your own potential gold mines!

Does shouting make your point more valuable?

Rich

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Richard Tunnah

Does shouting make your point more valuable?

Rich

This IS something which NEEDS to be shouted! (trust me

)!!

I would literally go and scream it in the OP's ear if I had the chance too, that's how passionate I am about this particular subject at the moment. Which should say something in itself...

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Leslie B

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

This IS something which NEEDS to be shouted! (trust me

)!!

I would literally go and scream it in the OP's ear if I had the chance too, that's how passionate I am about this particular subject at the moment. Which should say something in itself...

Even if you believe you need to be shouting out your message, it is still considered rude to other people. Plus there are people who benefit from a personal coach when they do their first steps in online marketing. It all depends on who you are and how you work.

Leslie

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken Leatherman

Acrasial,

Common online courtesy is not to yell and it does not lend more credibility to what you are saying. If this is the case of sour grapes, perhaps you should think about, when you point a finger, you have 3 others pointing back at you.

Ken Leatherman

Originally Posted by Leslie B

Even if you believe you need to be shouting out your message, it is still considered rude to other people.

Let it be regarded as RUDE then. That is my opinion and how I wanted to get it across for this particular subject. When I first came on this forum, I was told not to write using colors either....just plain black text for every message, even though the option is there to write using colors.

I guess the whole idea here is "what if everyone did that?"...so that should be a reason why I cannot express myself as I am. I need to be toned down and changed, so that people can feel happy reading my posts for a change.

I understand that the way I do things is NOWHERE NEAR what is considered to be acceptable on this forum, and TONS of people disagree with me because of my actions therein.

I also agree that you find this to be rude, and that many others will find it rude as well.

Thankyou for the compliment

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Zeus66

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

This IS something which NEEDS to be shouted! (trust me

)!!

I would literally go and scream it in the OP's ear if I had the chance too, that's how passionate I am about this particular subject at the moment. Which should say something in itself...

Will you scream in my ear, baby?

Seriously, though, mentors are great, but only if they really have something to offer that works. You don't need a "yes" man/woman, you need someone who isn't afraid to dish out some tough love. In that case, a mentor can be very valuable indeed. They can seriously shorten the path from zero to full-time income.

John

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Zeus66

Will you scream in my ear, baby?

.... How would anyone respond to that in a positive manner? I give up! I literally give up.

Alright: YUCK!!!!!!!!!

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Zeus66

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

.... How would anyone respond to that in a positive manner? I give up! I literally give up.

Oh honey, relax. It's all in good fun. We get your point, but you did shout a lot. Shouting's ok in some situations, but it's bad form here. Don't let it get you too uptight. It'll be ok.

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Zeus66

Oh honey, relax. It's all in good fun. We get your point, but you did shout a lot. Shouting's ok in some situations, but it's bad form here. Don't let it get you too uptight. It'll be ok.

No need for everyone here to get my point. It was for the OP, who may even be too lazy to read my long-butt "negative" dramatic response which apparently has "hijacked" the thread from it's main point. And I am SOLELY responsible for that, and should be locked into some sort of jail cell, wherein the key is thrown away.

I am not uptight either, this is literally just my personality, which is often misinterpreted but that's fine.

However, I am not your baby (since when did you become my father?), not your honey (I am not a packaged good!), and I most definitely will not accept very suggestive passes thrown my way (screaming in your ears would make you lose your hearing).

And I still stand by my "screamo" post, wherein I depict just how horrible something can be if a person were to actually look up to a mentor so heavily, which I made the mistake myself of doing once.

That's what happens if a person passionately takes on something like that, which people may when they are first starting out online, because they desperately want to succeed...so they may also desperately take on a mentor and just put them on such a huge pedestal that the end result will not be good.

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dbonline

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

GODDD!!! SAVE YOURSELF DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT get a PERSONAL mentor.

They will MESS YOUR HEAD UP so badly, that you WILL BECOME WORSE. Having people you look up to, and model after is one thing, but specifically having someone take you by the hand and show you everything WILL NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU in the long run.

As someone else said to me on this forum (I believe it was Tina (TMG Enterprises) Originally), it's good to get ideas from EVERYONE. NEVER LET JUST ONE PERSON have that kind of power over you, wherein you literally think they know everything that is necessary to get you ahead.

THE ONLY THING A MENTOR KNOWS IS WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET THEMSELVES AHEAD, because THOSE THINGS WORKED FOR THEM.

SO they might tell you not to use adwords, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that adsense is just pennies, because it didn't work for them. Or they might say that squidoo or EzineArticles sucks, because it didn't work for them....but what if those were to ACTUALLY be YOUR goldmines?

Thus, use EVERYONE as an example for your mentor, AND BETTER YET, LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES, so you DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE...either. That way, you can do things better than others, you still have mentors and guidance BUT BUT BUT, you wouldn't be missing out on your own potential gold mines!

well said, I totally agree 100%

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by dbonline

well said, I totally agree 100%

You sure? I think my "screaming" may have offset some people. lol Oh well! Once in a while people get me.

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Dennis Gaskill

16 years ago

Originally Posted by acrasial

GODDD!!! SAVE YOURSELF DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT get a PERSONAL mentor.

They will MESS YOUR HEAD UP so badly, that you WILL BECOME WORSE. Having people you look up to, and model after is one thing, but specifically having someone take you by the hand and show you everything WILL NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU in the long run.

THE ONLY THING A MENTOR KNOWS IS WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET THEMSELVES AHEAD, because THOSE THINGS WORKED FOR THEM.

It appears you had a bad experience with a mentor, or know someone who has, but your experience is limited to ... just you. Not everyone has a bad experience with mentors. For many, a good mentor can seem like a life saver who can literally save someone time, money, frustration, guilt, and from bad experiences.

Stereotyping is usually a bad idea that says more about you than those you stereotype. Your experience and reality does not mean that will be everyone's experience and reality.

I've got a folder in my email program that's filled with emails from people thanking me for something or other. Some call me a mentor, some say I'm like a big brother to them, some say a father figure. Many of these people have never bought one thing from me.

I've literally spent hours composing answers to a single person's email because their questions were about life situations that were very critical (to them). Rather than lumping all mentors into one dark pit, the reality is you only need to be careful about who you choose to follow.

In the end, each of us is responsible for our own life and the decisions we make, whether we take advice from a million dollar mentor or a hobo passing through town in a boxcar. A good mentor doesn't seek disciples or followers, but will try to help you stand on your own without his or her help.

Edit: I just realized I never answered the OP. Yes, you can be successful without a mentor. It takes a belief in yourself, a willingness to invest time and money in your mind, and after some reasonable preparation, the willingness to make a plan, to take action and calculated risks, and the perseverance to see it through.

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Leslie B

16 years ago

If you have the mentality to succeed, you don't need anyone to hold your hand. Off course, following a course can be helpful, but a personal coach really isn't needed with all the information you can find if you look for it.

Leslie

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EvcRo

16 years ago

There is no hidden secret and those that are really secrets get obsolete and stop working once "mentors" start to sell them to "students".

Just read and test without throwing in to much cash. When you found something that works than invest some more cash for more money. Is really that simple.

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Ken Leatherman

16 years ago

I have to agree with the others about you don't need a mentor. However, I screwed around for about 2 years trying to make it online.

Once I hooked up with one that is when I started seeing results. And the very first thing he told me was to Focus! Focus! Focus! The next thing he taught me was to hold myself accountable and also have someone else that would hold me accountable for my focus and actions. (of course that applies in all walks of life IMHO).

Then take action with what I learned.

And the other thing he said was stop looking for the silver bullet to riches and concentrate on building a long term business.

Now think about what the others and I said. It's just plain common sense IMHO. Yes a mentor is great and can really help (but only if you act on her/his advise). But you also have the ability to push through, by using what you have learned on your own.

Tina mentioned she has formed relationships that have resulted in her continuing to develop her business and those other folks did not know she looked at them as mentors. The same thing has happened for me time and time again. See the common sense kicks in again.

Now you can do what we have done, with or without a formal mentor. Don't you agree?

Ken Leatherman

The Old Geezer

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Kevin Riley 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken Leatherman

I have to agree with the others about you don't need a mentor. However, I screwed around for about 2 years trying to make it online.

Well, there are those who don't need mentors, there are those who do need mentors, and then there are those who need help finding the bedpan. Having been forced to spend time with you, I put you in category 3.
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Ken Leatherman

16 years ago

Acrasial,

Your opinion of personal mentors sounds a great deal like sour grapes and you as much said it.

Common online courtesy is not to yell and it does not lend more credibility to what you are saying. If this is the case of sour grapes, perhaps you should think about, when you point a finger, you have 3 others pointing back at you.

We both know when we get advice we have to take the responsibility to either follow the advice or not to follow it. So even if you pay someone big bucks to have someone mentor or they do it because they want to help you, the buck stops with you.

To the OP your the one behind your own 8 ball. Take what you hear from one, compare with what others have to say and then base your decision on common and business sense on what you think will work for you.

Ken Leatherman

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Underground SEO

16 years ago

I can definately say yes it is possible to succeed without a mentor, I and many other warriors are testament to this

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Ken Leatherman

16 years ago

I guess the whole idea here is "what if everyone did that?"...so that should be a reason why I cannot express myself as I am. I need to be toned down and changed, so that people can feel happy reading my posts for a change.

Acrasial,

That is not what I said, nor what I meant. Please express your emotions anyway you feel like doing. I apparently was rude calling you rude. So now we are both rude. Okey-dokey.

Now lets get this back on topic for the OP.

EquestrianGirl, there are so many folks you can listen to, but you really have to balance what they say. I'm thinking maybe if you can focus on your strength and skills, you will be able to move forward with or without a mentor. As I said before it all comes back to you.

Ken

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Jimian

16 years ago

You may not need a personal mentor, i.e. a living breathing human being standing by you day and night, but you can have mentors through books, videos, dvd's, etc.... these
are part of your mastermind group that educates, informs, motivates, stimulates, encourages you, through thick and thin.

~ Jim

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fasteasysuccess

16 years ago

I feel we can be succesful without a mentor but the right mentor can definitely speed up the process. It's important to learn from the people that are actually doing what they say to do and take action.

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Lisa Gergets

16 years ago

However, I am not your baby (since when did you become my father?), not your honey (I am not a packaged good!), and I most definitely will not accept very suggestive passes thrown my way (screaming in your ears would make you lose your hearing)

You sure you're not uptight?

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Daniel Brock 16 years ago

I think everyone has a mentor.

If you bought a product before, you have a mentor. If you have ever learned something from this forum, you have a mentor.

However, I don't believe that you NEED a personal mentor to guide you along on your journey.

Sure, it would help you out a lot.

But that doesn't mean you need one.

I personally have never had a mentor and have done pretty darn good for myself considering its about my 10th month in the business.

Im sure if I had one I would probably be a little bit ahead of where I am now, but by no means is it required.

Regards,
Dan Brock
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acrasial 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets

You sure you're not uptight?

Nope. I am literally just like this. I don't sit here getting all red faced because some guy is asking me to scream in his hear. But I do sit here finding that strange.

People find me strange too, but I don't immediately start tooting the "uptight" horn their way. LOL
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- Zeus66 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by acrasial
  
  I don't sit here getting all red faced because some guy is asking me to scream in his hear. But I do sit here finding that strange.
  
  I'm sorry. Would you rather be the screamer instead of the screamee? How thoughtless of me.
  
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Sam Mlambo

16 years ago

Of course you can succeed without a mentor. But having the RIGHT mentor can greatly accelerate your success. So the question becomes... "How quickly do I want to succeed?"

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John Atkins

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

No the only way to succeed is to find a mentor and pay him $1000s
to teach you how to succeed.

- Just kidding.

Of course you can succeed without a mentor. A large amount
of 'succesful people' never did have a mentor.

Actually they did have one... their brain!

I'm not mocking mentors though. Not at all. I'm just saying
that you don't need a mentor to succeed.

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Kay King

16 years ago

Acrasial -

I don't find you strange - but it seems to me you hijack threads just to find an argument and get attention. Doesn't matter the topic - you will take an opposing view and then argue it whether it makes sense or not.

Your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's - and no more valid than anyone else's.

In this case - you seem to have changed sides since yesterday when you posted the comments below in another thread....

What I know only came from my mentor in the first place.

Well according to them, for the least year and a half, they have pretty much said that others don't really know what they are talking about or what they are doing.

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Kay King

16 years ago

EquestrianGal-

I think a mentor is wasted on someone who is brand new to IM. It's good to flounder a bit and work your way (trial and error) through learning basics of working online.

To many newbies, a mentor is someone that is right behind you telling you what to do all the time - and that's not good. Too much like a job.

You should have many mentors along the way - once you master the basics, a mentor can show you how to automate, do things better, suggest improvements and move you ahead faster.

I see an IM mentor as more like a good college professor who gives you tasks that you must do on your own - than like a grade school teacher who hovers over you as you learn each small task.

kay

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Robert Puddy

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

EquestrianGal-

I think a mentor is wasted on someone who is brand new to IM. It's good to flounder a bit and work your way (trial and error) through learning basics of working online.

To many newbies, a mentor is someone that is right behind you telling you what to do all the time - and that's not good. Too much like a job.

You should have many mentors along the way - once you master the basics, a mentor can show you how to automate, do things better, suggest improvements and move you ahead faster.

I see an IM mentor as more like a good college professor who gives you tasks that you must do on your own - than like a grade school teacher who hovers over you as you learn each small task.

kay

Kay's reply is about as spot on as your ever likely to find...

get some basic IM skills first... then read the last paragraph of Kay's post

Once your at that point think about a mentor this way

Most people complain about information overload, thats because they go to a libray on their own and look around at the 1000's of books to learn from and have no idea where to start so they just get a load of books down at random and start reading

They get nowhere fast

With a mentor... he/she goes and gets the books you should be reading and steers you away from the stuff you would otherwise get caught up in. they are also there to get you over the parts you have difficulty with, so you dont get hung up on a section

Without a mentor if you get stuck on something, there is no way to get unstuck except by starting to get random books off the shelf again hoping your going to hit the right shelf.

BUT YOU DO NEED BASIC SKILLS FIRST...

Robert

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acrasial

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Acrasial -

I don't find you strange - but it seems to me you hijack threads just to find an argument and get attention. Doesn't matter the topic - you will take an opposing view and then argue it whether it makes sense or not.

Your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's - and no more valid than anyone else's.

In this case - you seem to have changed sides since yesterday when you posted the comments below in another thread....

Of course I changed sides. Once in a while I DO take on new ideas, listen to people, and hear their opinions...and if I cannot prove it to be wrong, I will side with it in the end.

There is nothing wrong with changing my opinion or views, which TINA changed actually, by telling me that it's not good to just be taking examples from one person alone.

So I realized that yes, that is in fact true. I wouldn't have realized it, had she not pointed it out, but she's right....how will I ever know what's wrong or right or what other things I could be doing, unless I actually consult a few people, rather than just one?

So she's right. Nothing wrong with that! As for what I do, when I do it, which is now termed as "thread hijacking", I express what I think about that subject, and if that DOES NOT make sense to others, I can't help it then.

But I have found that it does at least make sense to ONE person each time that I do express my "opinion" on something. Those people however, are too chicken to come and outwardly agree with me most of the time, so they end up sending me PM's and whatnot else....and why are they chicken?

Well because of the above. They might be labeled just like I am always being labeled. And unlike me, they actually have sigs and products and other things to take care of, and they value their money more than their own freewill. (By this I mean, that they will be quiet and silently keep their opinions and ideas to themselves, because they are scared that actually being themselves might damage their source of online income.)

But there are some people who are not chicken to disagree with my disagreements, because they want me to agree with the original subject, and they have NO issues expressing that either. Which is fine. But I don't go around tooting the "hijack horn" when people disagree with me in my own threads.

So everyone who wants to toot their horns today, let them. I am listening, it's been heard, and it's quite the musical!

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richhaz

16 years ago

With all of the great information available on the net and in books, etc. you can have as many mentors to help you succeed as you want...and you don't have to know them.

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Scott Ames

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

No one taught the Wright Brothers how to fly.

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andr3w84 16 years ago

As a quick, general answer I'd say, yes, of course, it's possible to succeed without a mentor.
However, a mentor could indeed save you lots of time and keep you motivated when things seem still too distant. On the other hand, imho, the success of a mentor-disciple relationship is going to depend to a great extent on both's personality, work style and expectations. It's not just a matter of picking the most successful expert that you can find, but someone to whom you can relate on both a personal and professional level.
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Manda

16 years ago

I haven't had a personal mentor in IM but have in other areas.

My opinion is that a personal mentor can be great but you need to know what you want from them and how you expect them to help you.

My successful mentoring experiences occurred when I could clearly say I am at point A, I want to get to point B, but feel I'm lacking in xyz - can you help me build my skills in xyz. By being clear on what you want you can evaluate whether a particular person has the right skills to help you and also establish a relationship with clear expectations on both sides.

I don't think there is any benefit in finding a mentor when you are completely new to IM. I would investigate the various areas in IM, decide what your business plan will be, decide what skills you need learn and then figure out how you are going to learn those skills. Then you can make a decision on whether to work with a mentor.

Manda

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Nicholas Kemp

16 years ago

Yes! Instead of a mentor find and hang with people who are achieving what you want in your life. Try to keep it just a social thing and observe their mindset and how they see the world. Also, try to offer them value to them.

I think you shouldn't have just one mentor, but rather learn from as many people as possible.

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davidjames42973 16 years ago

Yes you can definitely be successful without a mentor, but I do suggest making friends in IM that can hold you accountable for what you're doing.

The #1 thing that was holding me back in IM was jumping from one program to another. Find a method that makes you money and stick with it. Avoid the latest and greatest online courses. If everybody is hopping on the latest internet marketing trend, just stay focused on the methods that are working for you.
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Christian York

16 years ago

Wow I am so surprised with all the responses here on this post.

In order to really succeed I believe it is 100% essential to have a mentor. Someone you trust and someone who knows what they are doing, can dramatically decrease your learning time.

But a personal mentor doesn't have to literally be someone standing next to you. Like Jim said, they can come in the form of books, dvds, etc.

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HorseStall

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

Absolutely! You don't need a mentor, it just might make the educational process a little easier, but its certainly not critical to success.

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Mohammad Afaq

16 years ago

You can make money without a mentor, but you should definitely seek friends and partners because many times you will feel lonely and you will need some help.

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WikiWarrior 16 years ago

Yes you can definitely be successful without a mentor. I've had a lot of business success and never had a mentor but I do wish I'd had one from back when I first started in business (or at least someone I identified with that I could model). In fact I'd have two if possible. One to help with mindset and one who was already successful in business and could suggest new ideas and different ways of doing things.

I was always really confident on how to run my business but this lead to a bit of tunnel vision in terms of how best to grow it and capitalise on each success. I am sure with a mentor I would have experienced some or all of the following benefits:

1) Faster growth due to more ideas/feedback
2) Better mindset through wisdom learned from other successful businessmen
3) Less time wasted reflecting on the past and instead focusing on the present and future.
4) Opportunities/trends I may have missed had I not been told about them.

Like others have mentioned though, you can find mentors in all sorts of ways whether that be books, CD's from well-known successful businessmen, friends and people from the forums.

Finding someone who could guide you on a day to day basis one to one could be challenging though. Even if you are paying someone, which could get expensive, you need to know exactly what you want out of it and they need to be a good fit for you for it to work.

That's why forums like this are so great. You are surrounded by potential mentors to readily exchange ideas with and get feedback from and you never get stuck for long before you're making progress again.
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Phillips Pierce

16 years ago

As others have said, yes, of course you can be successful without a mentor. After all IM was once uncharted territory as well and someone had to find success first at some point

A mentor will cut down the learning curve significantly (assuming they are good) but your success still boils down to one thing only; You.

If you can become successful with a mentor you could find just as much success alone. Even if it takes you longer. It works vice versa as well. If you fail alone you will fail with a mentor the minute he lets go of your hand.

A mentor is only as good as his student and a student is only as good as himself

But I have projected mentor relationships onto people who I don't personally know. Find someone in the industry you can trust and learn from consistently, through their products or even forum posts. Learn from them and let their knowledge guide you. Assimilate what you learn from them with what you learn elsewhere and make their knowledge stepping stones of your own success.

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Louise M

16 years ago

As a newbie IM, this is so wonderful to hear! Because I have mostly been going it on my own.

Intuitively, I feel that following a mentor is giving my power away to another and like someone else mentioned, if that's the case then I might as well get a regular day job.

At the same time, as Mohammad just mentioned, it's good to have friends' help along the way. I have one IM friend who gives me advice or a helping hand when I ask - and of course this forum and threads like this keep me on the right track...it's a more empowering type of mentoring, isn't it??

Equestrian thanks for introducing this thread!

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kongming 16 years ago

I'd say yes, a mentor is absolutely helpful for us to grow, learn, and become mature. But I'm more of the opinion that those who needs to be pushed occasionally may have a hard time succeeding without a mentor.
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craigc1980 16 years ago

Hello

I have been involved with a few mentors in the years. Some are great and some didnt even know half the crap i already knew.

I think that my experiences with them taught me a good lesson.

It taught me how to fail which is a good thing.

Everybody should fail at least once, just so you have the experience.

I cant say i havent succeeded with a mentor because i have learned alot from 1 particular one. Wont mention his name but im sure most heard of Mike Dillard haha

I would just be careful if you do follow someone.

Do a full investigation and you should be ok

Craig
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innocent07

Banned 16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

You should have one mentor, and this is yourself!

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Olivier Vasquez

16 years ago

Well, the simple fact that you are in
the warrior forum means that you have
access to a Brain Trust that you will not
find anywhere for free! This is one of
the Best Mentorship Programs Ever...

I don't think anybody can make it online
without having access to somebody or
somebodies who have tried and tested
methods experienced by the whole community...

And if you try to go the whole way
alone, that's just NOT SMART...

The best way to become a Great leader is
recognizing what you are good at and Focus
on becoming a Genuine expert in that - All the
while, learning from others - or leveraging
others to do what you can't...

Networking and Mentorship even when indirectly
or Done by Internet Lurking, is certainly a MUST...

In My Humble Opinion...

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Robert Puddy

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Olivier Vasquez

Well, the simple fact that you are in
the warrior forum means that you have access to a Brain Trust that you will not
find anywhere for free! This is one of the Best Mentorship Programs Ever...

True except that just like any forum you will get 10 wrong answers to every right one...

Being able to sift through bad answers/advice is part of the downside of relying on forums to point you in the right direction.

You could spend years failing because you listened to the wrong person, or you listened to too many people.

Robert

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John Pawlett 16 years ago

I think there is a great deal of confusion about what a mentor is on this forum.

What most are talking about is a 'coach', you would pick a coach in a general area of expertise that you wish to master, i.e.: list building, ppc etc.

For coaching you would expect to pay for that service.

Mentoring is totally different, you would pick a mentor who is in a position that you would like to be in. My first mentor was Dan Pena (Dan Pena - Business Success Coach, QLA Seminars, products), I started on his coaching program first then later he became my mentor.

I choose Dan because of his Business knowledge and the fact he was worth $400 million.

Although he was worth a lot he still had mentors that were worth more.

Bill Gates had (may still have) Warren Buffet as his mentor.

To build a truly massive business you can't do it without a mentor! (bold claim but I stick by it)

You should never have to pay for a mentor, in fact the best way to find a mentor is to find someone near you that is in a position you would like to be in, contact this person and explain your circumstances and that you would like to take them to dinner (on an evening of their choosing).

Never make it a chore for your mentor, pay for dinner, keep the time down to about an hour and a half. Most wealthy people have been in your position and are only to willing to help providing it doesn't inconvenience them to much.

My second mentor was Sir Ralph Halpern (the first UK CEO to pay himself £1m a year, plus lots of other controversial stuff!) After a while he would fly up to see me some weekends (at his own expense) to help me with my business, this guy used to charge around £10k a day for consulting work, because of our relationship I receive world class advise whenever I needed it.

To sum up, you need to decide which is for you? I suggest both but don't get the roles mixed up!

Kind regards

John
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Ken Leatherman

16 years ago

Kevin Riley is a true mentor. He taught me how to find the bedpan and where to put it so he could empty it for me. Now that is a true mentor.

Select the mentor who can and will empty your bedpan.

Ken

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LoveMoney

16 years ago

I would suggest you go it yourself. Mentors are only as good as the money they earn or you pay. Remember that.

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Ken Leatherman

16 years ago

Originally Posted by bmatthews

I would suggest you go it yourself. Mentors are only as good as the money they earn or you pay. Remember that.

Originally Posted by kongming

Wow, this hits me. I agree.

Originally Posted by kongming

I'd say yes, a mentor is absolutely helpful for us to grow, learn, and become mature. But I'm more of the opinion that those who needs to be pushed occasionally may have a hard time succeeding without a mentor.

You guys are kidding me right? You are painting all mentors with the same broad paint brush.

Not so! Not so!

Ken

The Old Geezer

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Yogini

16 years ago

If you are someone that has trouble focusing and sticking to one method then I think a mentor could be useful. However, you would need to see that the mentor's success ranking has been over a period of time and is not just a fad that may disappear. Also, the method itself should be something you can envision doing regularly. If you are not someone who likes to write or has the money to outsource, don't pick article writing as your main approach.

Some people do well without a mentor by having a blog where they are accountable by posting daily or every few days what they've been doing.

Debbie

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EquestrianGal

16 years ago

Excellent! Thank you so much for all of the insightful responses.

My issue often is TIME. I work 9 hours a day outside of IM then try to soak up all I can on several evenings a week (while watching 2 small children!!). The learning curve a few years ago was high but I was learning from a couple of 'mentors' which were teaching in their membership forums.

I think that a really good mentor can help steer in the right direction provided it isn't just a marketing tactic to make themselves richer... reading tutorials from 'mentors' in the past has taught me not to necessarily do everything they teach but to figure out how to do what they do! How are THEY making money? How do they come up with the ideas? Once I started thinking in the mind set, the ideas started really flowing.

So yes, and no. I think one can succeed without a mentor. I also think a GOOD mentor can most definitely help with shortening the learning curve.

And Kay -- your words are always put together so well and it's like you can take a topic and answer the question perfectly. I just sit back and say, wow. I always feel like I sound like a child - and I'm 33!!! :-)

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orlando cassara

16 years ago

Yes it is possible to be successful with out a mentor,if you have the motivation and drive to do it yourself, but a mentor also can help drive you in the right direction to get were you want to be faster, by giving you steps so you dont make mistakes as some have.

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Ken Troyer

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

Yes...but it's best if you can at least develop one close "friend" (a few if possible) in the same market. Friends often inspire each other to keep going, or try new ideas.

This is easy to do with so many online forums these days....just join a community, show yourself to be a respectable person, and then you will automatically become friends with the regular/loyal members.

Ken

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MIB Mastermind

16 years ago

Of course it is, all it take is hard work a willingness to learn and more importantly implementing what you learn. Thats not to say a mentor is not a good thing and could speed up the process, to me though it was an expense I could never of afforded at the time so I had to learn most of it myself, and I picked up alot from this forum and one or two ebooks on adwords, seo etc.

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warcher

16 years ago

Originally Posted by EquestrianGal

Is it possible, in your opinion, to become successful online without having a personal mentor?

Boy, I sure hope so.

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Troy Trump

16 years ago

I would say you're better off just getting a partner to work with at first. Save that money you would spend on a mentor to use on advertising.

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kml

16 years ago

I think at some point - a "good/great" mentor is beneficial. Personally, I think grinding through the basics is essential. Finding the right one for where you're at is probably the bigger challenge.

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dany1987r

16 years ago

i did it without a mentor i just study about the marketing world and figured out every about affiliate marketing without a mentor..

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TelegramSam

16 years ago

Don't forget that most mentors are also marketers who market their mentoring services.

So you could form the opinion that you need a mentor to succeed.

If you do want to use a mentor, do yourself a favour first and learn some basics. This forum is full of valuable information which you can learn without a mentor.

Having said that, there is proabaly a place for them, but mainly regarding getting one to take action in a correct direction.

Personally I have never used one. I do however belong to a small network of like minded people and we share ideas from time to time.

Sam

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TJCarter

16 years ago

Watch ya there.

You will find it easier with a mentor and achieve your goals in a faster time but l also believes you can be a success without any help from a mentor. You can get a lot of information on starting an online business of the internet for free. As long as you have got the right mindset than you should be okay.

Good luck to ya

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Can one be successful without a mentor?

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