The #1 Reason Most 20-Somethings Get Stuck

I feel like working with a mentor would help me squash excuses and help me get my mindset right. I know I'm more than capable of building a massive business, and the people I look up to have done exactly what I want to do, but I think working more closely with them would help push me forward even faster.

True honest help that could make the difference. Almost like moses splitting splitting the sea. on either side is insecurities, doubt, excuses, scams and false mentors and on the inside is a friend, a guide someone who has been there and they're waiting to throw you the hail Mary of success.

I have second guessed myself in the past and I had to pay the price. Having someone to guide with true advice and mentorship i feel that anything is possible from having success with a small business, to large scale booming businesses. Success is possible

If I had a mentor I would ask their advise on prioritising in my current work, business and personal life balance. I'd ask them to challenge and dig into my life goals, and make sure my short-term goals are in line with those goals.

My specific situation: I quit my job as a meatworks labourer just over 1 year ago. I started a web app company living off my savings and teaching myself. After over one year of work I ran out of savings and had to find a job to support myself. I took Ramit Sethis Earn 1K course, and together with the experience I developed in the last year I landed my dream job a few months later: location independent, lots of free time, helping a great tech startup in Australia. Throughout this time I also completely upgraded my health and lifestyle (Bulletproof diet, meditation, philosophy, life views, business podcasts etc)

Now, I'm confused. My work with this company will be dropping to 10h p/w in 3 months time. I also want to push forward on my first business now that I have time and money, but I have doubts about it. Should I find a new job, concentrate on my first business, spend the time to assess my life, scrap my first business, start bar tending or suffer a short drop in lifestyle and live on 10h per week doing awesome work and not bother with anything else?

I also want to make strong connections and have actual, physical fun with people in my daily life. My work life is fulfilling though, but those types of happiness are different and I need both.

I would do anything for someone who helped me with this! Some honest pushes, wise words, experienced opinions and an outside perspective would be life-changingly invaluable.

I'm not sure what having a mentor would accomplish. I've done pretty well for myself being my own guide, finding my own way, putting things together, etc. I don't necessarily have mentors but I have managed to find people in my age group that live this life and who, just through being themselves and open about their journeys, give me a sense of reassurance and direction. It isn't so much as someone steering the ship as it is me already knowing where Im going and having peers explain the process to me. I like that dynamic. I like the personal freedom.

I will say though, getting to this point maxed me out. All I ever wanna do is faint and sleep and cry and feel awesome and drink alcoholic slurpees. I wanna be able to enjoy it. I wanna be able to take it easy and just make some friends and eventually go through the rest of it together. Having a mentor might relieve the burden on my shoulders and it would definitely save me time and unecessary effort/energy expended. I just feel like my life is completely unique to me and I'm uncomfortable with the notion of being directed.

I've never been outside of the leadership capacity so I honestly have no clue what a mentor would accomplish at this stage. I know it would take my stress levels ALL the way down, I know it would make reaching my goals more streamlined, but I also know it would make me accountable to someone who doesn't have intimate knowledge of where I've been and my specific destination. I'd rather just have a friend. I'd like one person BESIDE me piecing things together, not above me.

It would be really dope to have someone in my life who reminded me of everything I'm doing right and helped me navigate through rough times. Companionship isn't an accomplishment but it's definitely my number one need. Can a mentor be a companion to me in the same way a friend would be? That would accomplish personal healing and who knows what comes after such a refreshing reboot.

If I had an honest mentor, I would want them to guide me on starting a genuine freedom business.

I would ask my mentor how to set up a business and then how to transition from my 9-5 job with out losing money

I would love to know more successful self-made artists. I'd ask their advice on: how to not starve in the meantime (day job? try to start a business I can automate, then go all-in on my project? Freelance?)

I suspect day job. But I'd love to have someone who would hear me out for 20 minutes and say, "you're on the right track. Also you need to be talking to X, Y, and Z."

What I'd accomplish: probably get a day job for more structure in my week. Get introduced to people in my mentor's network with specific skillsets I want (e.g. music producers). Apprentice for free on the weekends to learn the ropes. Get clarity with my finances more predictable, and finally start working on what I want to do: ship & promote creative projects.

They say patience, faith and persistence are your best friends, but them alone aren't enough without the right team to advice you and what it's most important, believe in what you want to do.

Two months ago it appears that I found, unexpectedly, the right person who could mentor what I want to do, at a Japanese/Korean pop culture event. I had a chance not only to buy from his stand but also to talk briefly about how they got there, as well as sharing with them what I've done so far. As you can expect for such an event, it's art and comics related.

Only two weeks ago did he finally add me to FB, after sending him an inbox asking to do so (his privacy settings wouldn't let me add him without any common friends), pointing out to that day and how I was dressed so he could recall me easier. However as of now he has yet to like and follow my tiny project page with only 50 likers since I opened it, while I do my best to be an active commenter on his. And I still have to plan a one-on-one meeting with him, even if online for the moment as we still live on different cities.

Why do I believe this guy could be a good fit for me? Not only for being an artist, but also because the content of his art is pretty similar to mine, and he happened to overcome many of the struggles I'm facing now to place his art out there. He mentioned a job, but maybe now he and his girlfriend dedicate to their art (she's a fashion designer). And that he has been working on it for only two years, while as of me I've been drawing for ten and haven't made a single cent off of it. OK, can't ask too much on the latter as I've only wished that for the last year or so.

How to ask him for mentorship without being neither too direct nor annoying?

Glad you asked Daniel ;) I love the concept of standing on the shoulders of other giants. Success leaves clues. I'd say: "This is my mission, this is where I am and this is where I want to be. What's the fastest way to get there? On what should I focus on? Do you think I am ready to take the first step?" It's difficult to determine the moment when you're ready to jump of the cliff by yourself. Sometimes we need someone who stands behind and pushes us a little bit to get us into forward motion.

For once, I would love to have a real, true, and honest mentor to help me start a business.

The biggest advice that I think I could use right now is the best place to start. A strong foundation to make just enough money to get out of the nine to five and start this lifestyle. I believe once you see the progress begin it is easier to build off of it and start moving. The hardest part about beginning is waiting for the results.

Hi Daniel,

I am lucky to have someone who has already gone through what I want to take and is living proof that success is possible here. He is growing in leaps and bounds. He is my mentor and although he has been incredibly busy, and we hardly get to talk, I am still re-assured that with patience and persistence anything is possible. If he wasn't there to help me, in all honesty, I would have failed over again. This sort of venture should never be done alone. I am faaaar from where I want to go but I do see the progress. All I need now is more patience and faith as I keep moving

A good mentor can help a person by advising them on the things that don't need as much time, energy and money spent on them as conventional thinking might suggest. Sometimes I think it's easy to get "stuck" on a detail that really isn't important in the large scheme of any big plan. Fresh perspective is a great advantage to be gained by seeing a situation though he eyes of the right mentor.

So im so over trying to do things on my own and along the way get discouraged simply cause you have no one cheering you on.I have had so many so called mentors who liked the idea of being a mentor but failed at actually doing the mentoring.So I than took it upon myself to forget them and boost myself.But honestly it didnt help,it wasnt for me to forget about getting a mentor but me getting a real dedicated mentor.Entrepreneurs we have a lot of fronters out there, but we need not stop and find the ones who are true. And I have found one.Thank you Daniel.;-)

Dude, I've been struggling with this for the longest time. I'm a lone wolf, and enjoy working on my own - but sometimes it would just be really freakin cool if I had someone who has already 'been there, done that' - that I can talk to and get some advice along the way :).

@manuelmfreg Interesting. Why do you think that it's so essential this person like your idea on Facebook?

Also, is he the only person with the specific type of experience you need advice about? Are there other people who can help you as well?

@mdunnett01 A simple change with incredibly powerful implications. What are you struggling with staying accountable for right now?

@mdunnett01 I'm with Mark. If I had someone to keep me accountable vs. the voice inside my head that constantly makes excuses for why things aren't getting done, that would be great!

@Fabi Yes, sometimes it is hard to make fair judgement calls without having an objective voice to give you feedback. What are you working on right now, specifically?

@labaile1 Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it. :-)

@labaile1 Agreed! What are you working on? What type of adventure would you like to start?

@Nick Graf What do you do right now for work, and what type of biz would you like to start?

@pushfactor Very cool — keep moving :)

@Juliet Annerino I like you.

@preneurpremier Hey :) What are you working on at the moment?

@karimboubker Lone wolf sucks, and can be very discouraging. What are you working on right now that a mentor could help with?

Sorry, didn't get notified of your response! So far this guy seems to be the best fit for the reasons I explained above, more so because we actually got to talk several minutes that day.

There could be others too, like some guys who publish a comics magazine quarterly, but couldn't talk to any because they were too busy drawing portraits of select buyers. And they fill in a gap the other guy doesn't have, which is working on and promoting a comic, should I decided to do one.

@practicalcivilization TOTALLY agreed, John! It'd keep you writing, that's for sure :)

@Rich20Something @Nick Graf From some of the articles I have read on your site I would like to maybe start a business with online marketing but I am unsure how to start. I am looking for automated incomes that I can start to give me time to work on my big dream. The dream would be to be involved with music and the outdoors. Possibly even a restaurant/venue someday.

@Rich20Something @Nick Graf I am currently a Sales Engineer selling HVAC equipment in Iowa. I have been working with a partner to launch a dropship site. We should be launching in the upcoming weeks. I started this business by using some advice I found on your site to develop multiple business to gain income. I would like to develop a few other online businesses that aren't as labor intensive because it is taking much longer to get out of the 9-5 than I had planned. If you could offer any advice or any contacts for mentors I would greatly appreciate it.

@Rich20Something thank you!!

Hey D.:-)hahaha.,i want to start my own decor accessory line.Hahaha I can tell you that I have tried so many options to try make start up money..i studied entrepreneurship development to help me with the foundations. Ya that didnt help cause the mentor was nt invested.so I have tried so many ppl bt mybe I dont knw how to pick them cause they wernt help.i make frame work with working with fabric , I am trying to manage a photographic artist, that im nt doing to well, I want to do staging at the same time.I also studied interior decorating.hahaha email me please [email protected].

Hope to hear frm you soon.

I'm working on an online marketing campaign for a Financial Advisor. When it comes to marketing, there are literally a million ways you can go about each project - and I guess I get stuck because I'm not sure as to what is the best way to get started - and as a result, I end up writing hundreds of headlines, tons of different ads, and without a clear idea of which ones and combination I should use. Having a mentor would keep me on the right path I guess and help me focus on only the important and necessary elements.