Learning What You Need to Succeed Part 5

5. Surround yourself with experts

I’ve always felt weird about the term “self-made millionaire”. In fact, the image it portrays in my head is quite sad. I picture a person who has finally “made it” (I use that in the loosest terms possible), and had no help or support from anyone along the way. I know I may be using a strict interpretation of the phrase, but it still provokes some interesting thought.

Will you one day be declared ‘self-made’ or will you be able to point to people and resources that have guided your success? Much wisdom can be gained from those who have gone before us. If you haven’t already, seek out a mentor that you can learn from and consider anything they may have to say. Look for someone in your industry that has years on you or has already retired.

The week before my rummage event took place I received a random phone call at night. The older gentleman on the other end of the line started asking me all about the event I was putting on. His questions were very pointed – almost like he was quizzing me.

It turns out that he was a very well-known promoter in our area since the early 70’s. He is no longer in the business, but is still very connected with those who are. As he was shooting down every response I had (apparently, I was doing everything wrong!), part of me wanted to dismiss him and continue on in my blind ways. But instead, I decided to keep listening, filtering everything he had to say.

In fact, all weekend I had curious promoters visiting my event to see what was going on. They each had their own ideas about what was going well and what could be done better. The best thing to do was to keep smiling and soak it all in.

Are you turning down potential quality advice from anyone? Don’t feel like you have to do this on your own.

Sure it says a lot about a person who went from rags to riches by their own will-power. But is the lonely journey to get there worth the title?