How I changed my life with FREE offline coaches and mentors

Before I share my experience I am NOT trying to knock paying for coaches and mentors. If they are a good fit and have the proper experience it could really help you along. I just want to point out that if you do not have money for traditional coaching there are other alternatives. Further it is often non traditional coaching/mentors that gives you the best results.

Let me explain.
The best coaches/mentors that I ever had were NOT in the business of coaching. They were simply successful at something that I wanted to learn so I glued myself to them and did anything of value that I could and in exchange for being taken under their wing.

One particular mentor that came into my life named Vince was the most life changing. A retired insurance salesman that had been in the million dollar club for over a decade (selling 1 million+ insurance yearly). When I met this guy the best technology out there was the Mac IIsi If you made a change in a photoshop file it took 15 minutes to render!

I was young, had my first child and owned a small property maintenance company. My laborer shows up for work and tells me about this guy he met. He had done a bit of cleaning for him and the guy not only paid him well but GAVE HIM a computer so his 5 kids could use it. He had even volunteered to come to their home and show them how to use it. Back then this computer was worth money and not many people had one at home that I knew.

Seemed interesting so I went out of my way to meet him. Suffice it to say I was taken enough by his intellect, nature and willingness to help others that I made it a mission to be mentored by him. I immediately tried to figure out what can I do to be of value. He was 72 so I showed up every chance I had to lend a hand. I changed the brakes on his car, went with him to pick up those heavy computers that he bought, fixed and sold (yes they were heavy back then) and spent as much time in his presence as I could while feeding my family with my regular work.

He introduced me to Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and many other great writers. Through reading these books I understood why he placed so much value in giving to others. For me this was life changing. Think and Grow Rich became my new bible. He funded several ventures that involved sales so he could work by my side and teach me sales while we both made money (cars, computers, satellites) and took me from a guy that could not sell a cup of water in the desert to a guy that could sell ice to Eskimos.

My biggest ambition in life before meeting him was to own a scrap yard. He slowly educated me to the big picture. What will your life be like, who will you hang out with, how will you dress and smell, how will your children grow up in the environment you choose, how will different careers affect your marriage etc...

I became much more successful in my property maintenance business and from side ventures with him. It was not long before I had the money to buy a scrap yard and actually sat down with a seller. My mentors words and observations went through my head. Was this the life I wanted? I walked away and 3 years later I had graduated from college in computer sciences and database administration and began my new career and was hired by Alcatel, at that time a billion dollar telecommunications company. When I look back now I see how he slowly molded me into what I am. Constantly telling me "you could be a programmer", "you could be a top salesman" "wow your better and faster at fixing these computers now than I am". I had NEVER been told anything of the sort in the past. I grew up poor and everyone around me had traditional jobs. I though I was thinking out of the box wanting to by scrap cars for $50, them apart with my hands and sell parts at $50 each.

What should a coach/mentor like this cost?
What it cost me was a mutual friendship that is the finest I have ever had, making profits together and continued learning and conversations about subjects that were the most interesting I have had in my life. This is not someone that was for hire.
This breed of person believes that individuals that truly need and deserve their time will be revealed to them by their hunger to learn. Changing brakes in the rain was a small price to pay to get noticed!

He is NOT the only mentor I have had like this but certainly the one with the most impact. I would strongly encourage you to find the hidden coaches and mentors in your life. They can change everything.

There is one more very important thing I want to add.
I see this happen time and again.
As humans we get bits and pieces from different people.
The bits and pieces can be life changing if taken to heart.
Do NOT be one of those people that dismisses these hidden gems because later you find out the person sharing with you was NOT perfect.
Nobody is perfect. Do NOT bother looking for heroes! You will ALWAYS find a flaw that later will make you dismiss something that came from them that was truly valuable irrespective of their flaws. I see this here on warrior forum all the time and its sad. Everyone here has some value and everyone here can be a total let down on the wrong day. We should not so easily dismiss value.

There can be more wisdom some days in the words of a drunk or someone that lost everything than the best hired coach.