Ask for Directions. You'll Get There Faster.

| October 20, 2011 | By

Today is a short one. Why? I'm going on vacation. That means we won't be doing a blog post tomorrow, but we will be back at it on Monday.

I learned a valuable lesson this week as I sat with a very successful entrepreneur. One of his best qualities as a business leader is his ability to look for mentors. Unlike the stubborn husband who won't ask for directions on the family vacation when he gets lost, this entrepreneur lets go of all pride and asks for directions to success constantly. As such, he has gotten to his destination far faster than most entrepreneurs I know.

Here is what he does:

He took a whole day and made a list of the influential people in his life as well as people he would like to meet. He then approached them and said "I'm getting ready to go into business for myself. Do you have any nuggets of wisdom that I should consider as I go for it?"

The great thing about this is that successful people love helping other people become successful. These influential people became mentors and coaches in his life which has allowed him to avoid skinning his knees on many common pitfalls.

Today's challenge...ask for directions to success. You'll get there faster.