What if I told you?
That you can get the best of the best in any field.
To mentor you 24/7
For free
What level of impact do you think that mentorship will have on you?
How well do you think that your tech career would grow as a result?
Well, enough imagination.
Let me show you how.
My journey into tech started in 2011.
Even though I was living in Lagos then, Nigeria’s Tech capital.
I didn’t have any form of access to anyone in the tech world.
There was no form of Tech Meetups in Ijegun, Ikotun where I lived.
I didn’t even know that tech was a thing.
I just discovered the power of the Internet from reading Newspaper articles and I decided to dive as deep as I could.
After much reading, I decided that whenever I get an internet-enabled device I would learn Information Marketing.
My Uncle gifted me a phone some months later and my adventure online started.
Since I didn’t have the reach to be an information marketer, I started learning how to blog.
My first online mentor was Jon Morrow.
The purpose of this chapter is to teach you how I got someone living on another continent as a mentor.
Let’s go.
Table of Contents
The Principle of Permissionless Mentorship
It is important to note that I applied this principle for years unknowingly.
It was in 2020 that Jack Butcher gave it this name.
The normal process of getting a mentor is this.
- You discover something that you want to learn
- You do research and find people who are a master in that thing.
- You approach them and ask to be mentored
This process is good but it rarely works.
Most people who are masters in any field don’t have much time on their hands.
And even if they accept, you might need to pay a good sum of money for their time and attention.
However, I have tested and taught a process that has time and time again never failed.
- Discover something that you want to learn
- Do the research and find people who are a master in that thing.
- Look for the ones that teach that thing online.
- Start consuming their content in a practical way.
This was what I did and discovered Jon.
His blog Boost Blog Traffic (now Smartblogger) was a top three blog for learning how to blog.
His content taught me things that I still apply today.
I even leveraged some of his principles to make money on WhatsApp.
People who clone themselves with content in various fields are one of the greatest gifts to humanity.
For years, my life has been greatly impacted by the content of people who don’t even know that I exist.
I became their mentee without asking them for permission.
I just study and act on what they post on the Internet.
Now, this does not mean that you will get value from just choosing anyone.
There is a process to it.
How To Pick a Mentor
The fact that someone creates content online doesn’t mean that they are your best option.
Learning is long-term, you will want to optimize so that you can get significant compound Interest.
These are things to look out for.
Engagement Level
The best type of person to pick is one who engages with their community.
The easiest way to check for this is in the comment section.
Do they respond to questions and comments from people consuming their content?
Do they create content based on feedback from their community?
The answer to these questions will help you know the people to focus more on.
But also understand that no one owes you a reply.
So if you see someone who doesn’t respond, don’t antagonize them.
Creating content itself is already a helpful action.
Most people don’t even attempt.
Skill Vs Earning
Learning a skill is very different from knowing how to make money from that skill.
When picking mentors, look for people who share the process they take to make money from that skill.
Doing this early would help you a lot and would teach you how to monetize yourself the right way.
There are people out there who think that making money from skills involved learning as many skills as possible.
But the truth is that if you don’t figure out how to make money from one skill, adding one or two more won’t help.
I made money from each skill I learned in a shorter period of time than normal because I learned how to sell myself.
The Fewer The Better
The maximum amount of mentors that you can have for each skill is two.
And even picking two has a condition.
Many people distract themselves by following so many mentors.
And the major reason for this is that they are looking for shortcuts.
There are no shortcuts.
The shortcut is to stop taking shortcuts.
Find one person that teaches both the skill and sales aspect of what you want to learn and follow them exclusively.
There were a lot of blogs online teaching blogging.
But I focused on just Jon’s content for a long time.
But if you find someone that teaches only skills that you connect well with.
You can follow them, then find a second person that you can learn monetization from.
Conclusion
Finding a mentor is one of the first steps to building a great career in tech.
It is one thing that you need to be very intentional about.
And always remember that the process is what matters the most.
Seeking shortcuts won’t help you in any way.
About The Book
I am writing a book that would help you understand how to build a successful tech career.
This is the fourth chapter. I will be publishing three more.
In the first chapter, I gave a solution to the problem of knowing what skill to learn.
It also helped those who have started learning to understand if they are on the right path.
You can read chapter one and other chapters here: 📖 HTS Book
I am sharing lessons and experiences that have helped me work with several global brands.
I am publishing the book for free on my blog chapter by chapter.
You are welcome to share your thoughts and also stories in the comments below.
I will feature some of your stories in the book when publishing.
Please share this chapter with a friend.
You are also welcome to join my WhatsApp community.
I teach on my status daily.
Joining will also help you get access to the coming chapters faster.
Message me on WhatsApp with this link 👉🏽 Hello Ajulu
I have over 7000 contacts and get an average of 1400 status views daily.
Looking forward to your comments and questions below.
