Someone to guide your way or at least someone to look towards and say, “I want to be that guy.”
How important is that? Can’t you be your own person and carve your own path and all that?
Of course. But I think it helps find your own path if you have a goal in mind or maybe better yet: a person in mind. Or maybe it’s just me.
In any case, I have found a few mentors recently. People I look up to and respect. People who are doing now what I want to be doing soon. They’re not so famous or successful that they’re out of reach. In fact, just a few short years ago (as they remind us on occasion), they were in our shoes, right where we are now.
So what’s the difference between where they are now and where you (or I) are now?
That’s the best part. Some of these guys are happy to share their stories of how they reached the levels of success. If you were friends with them, they’d probably just tell you over dinner, but if you’re not friends, they’ll also spell it out for you in books and/or courses. Sure, you’ll pay for them, but you’ll be happy to because, without such a road map or hand holding, you might not get to where they are ever or at least in any sort of acceptable time frame.
Mindset
Although they’ll spoon-feed you the “work” you have to do. They’ll give you checklists and cheat sheets and tricks and tips in such volume that you’ll feel that you can’t possibly take it all in. But one thing they can’t necessarily give you is a mindset shift.
Frankly, I think this is possibly at least as important as all of the lists and the screencasts, the podcasts and checklists, even the walk-throughs and swipe copy. At some point, you’re going to have to believe you’re making a change. You’re going to have to change your mindset from one of “I’m not yet one of those guys I’d like to be” to “there’s nothing between me and them except a bit of time.”
A shift from if to when. From impossible to possible. From should do to am doing.
Dare I say this is the hard part. Anyone can follow a checklist and read the manual. But it takes some mental gymnastics to change how you think and, hold onto your hats, change how you think about yourself.
I didn’t begin this post with the idea of mindset. It just came about halfway through writing it. The post was supposed to be more of a glorified love letter to my newest mentors. How I admired them and how great they are. Don’t get me wrong: they’re great, I admire them. But I have to give myself credit for Writing Every Single Day for the past, wait, let me check, 1,764 days in a row. I’m not sure it’s possible to have at least a tectonic shift of mindset after changing a habit to the point where it’s Beyond the Habit, to the point where my mind has shifted, my life has changed, I’m practically not the same person I was 1,765 days ago.
Back to my mentors.
Mindset is catastrophically important. I’m not sure how to change yours other than how I changed mine: through deliberate passion, perseverance, and patience. If you figure out a way to change yours, please let me know.
But this was going to be about them. I have two in mind:
Had you asked me yesterday, it would have just been Mark Dawson, but today I started reading one of Johnny’s books and it just struck so many chords with me, I can’t let him go.
Both of them are doing exactly what I want to be doing and they’re doing it well:
- Writing fiction–and making a good living from it.
- Helping authors. Through courses, books, podcasts, etc.
- Having fun. Johnny mentioned this so many times in the book I’m reading it’s why I’m putting him in here today. Fun is a huge element, maybe the biggest, of my goals and lifestyle.
That’s it. Those sum it up. I might make #3 into #1 because if I’m not having fun, none of the others matter. There you have it. My mentors and goals as of 2017. I should do this every year.
From Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Signing off.