“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Previous President and COO at Waffle House Inc., Bert Thornton, presented his 10 Basic Laws of Success to the Gulf Breeze Rotary a few weeks ago. These laws can serve as guidelines for continual growth in your career and life.

Bert speaks from his 40 years of experience of progressive growth, as he experienced Waffle House grow from a few southern restaurants to an iconic national presence. Bert frequently speaks on leadership and is the author of “Find an Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life.”

Bert’s 10 Basic Laws of Success

1. Always take notes (always keep pen and paper)

Bert warns that your mind is always at work and you must find ways to make best use of it. It is impossible to always remember an idea. If you write it down, you have a better chance of remembering it again later.

2. Hang around the right people

Your network is your most valuable asset and will provide either a positive influence or a negative influence. So, you should be proactive to ensure you allow the right people to have an influence on your life. Bert encourages you to be around people that: have things you want, do things that you want do to, and hold positions that you aspire to achieve. You should be around these individuals and listen.

Bert stresses the importance of finding a mentor for guidance. The greater the mentor is respected by peers, the greater chance of your success as a mentee.

Learn more about finding the RIGHT mentor.

3. Be honest

Honesty is the key to long term survival in business and life. You can find short term success being dishonest, but the truth will eventually always come out. In the end, it is easier to just be honest.

4. Keep a great attitude – Always

More than your car, house, appearance; your attitude is the single most observed thing about you. Having great attitude is a magnet for great experiences.

5. Get up earlier than your friends 

Waking up early is a great routine to set yourself up for success. If you are in business,  get up earlier than competition. Remember the saying, “the early bird gets the worm.”

Learn more about setting your morning routine.

6. Learn to say yes & learn to say no

Leaders set their own agenda that align with their goals. To follow their example, when you are asked do something that does not align with your goals, learn to say “NO!” If you say “yes” to something that does not align with your goals, you will make two people unhappy: yourself and the person you said “yes” to.

If you are asked for something that does align with you goals, then say “YES”.  Bert warns to never just say “ok”. Go forward with a task with passion or just say “NO.”

7. Nourish yourself

Three important parts in need of proper nourishment:

1. Body
   You must take care of your body by starting with breakfast every morning. Without nourishment, you are not at your best to complete your goals!
2. Mind
   Your mind is a muscle that needs to be exercised daily. One easy way to do that is to read every day.
3. Soul
   You should practice prayer or meditation frequently for clarity of thoughts. Every culture understands that there is a greater power in charge.

8. Learn to manage time 

All have same amount of time. By focusing on these three areas, you can be a better time manager:

1. Set Goals
   Define purpose and set goals. This will provide direction so you know where you are going.
2. Create an Action Plan
   You can avoid distractions by creating action plan. You can be a bird chaser and frequently running a different direction, or retain focus by following an action plan.
3. Learn to establish deadlines
   To get anything accomplished, you must have a deadline.

Extra: Never underestimate the power of small things repeated frequently over long period of time.

9. Give away all credit – take all the blame

People who do this are called great leaders. People that do not are called great followers.

10. Give away anonymous things of value 

Following this law will give you power and fulfillment.

In conclusion, Bert shares his driving motivation as the age-old adage: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

For an abbreviated version of Bert’s presentation, see the video below titled: CMO Talks: Basic Laws of Success with Bert Thornton

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
— T. S. Eliot

We all have goals. Either expressed in statements like “one day, I plan to …” or you actually have it written down as a goal, we all are working towards a dream.

Our goals are only as good as the action we put to support them. It is human nature to loose focus, cut corners and skip steps. However, these actions prevent us from achieving our goals and are avoidable. The magic component to stay on the path to success is accountability!

Accountability is easily accessible and comes in many forms! You can set up an accountability partner or a group of partners. The idea is to have someone keep you honest to your goals. Below are a few ideas and resources to find accountability partners:

1. Paid Coach – Connecting with coaches is easier than it has ever been, as many are available online with many tools for communication. There are coaches ranging from small to large budgets and communication ranging from daily to monthly. A few sources worth considering:
   1. Coach.me – For $15/mo, coach.me is a very affordable way to get immediate accountability. You select a coach that best meets your needs and get started right away.
   2. Tony Robbins Coaching– For a bit more premium cost, Tony Robbins Coaching starts with a DISC assessment. Then, aligns a coach and style what best supports your natural working working style.
   3. Nigel Cook – For a more personal approach to coaching, Nigel will work to review long term goals with you. Then follow-up every few days to ensure you are moving forward.
   4. EMyth Coaching– In connection with the popular business book, The EMyth, EMyth coaching appears to take an analytical approach to understanding your goals and steps to achieve them. I do not have personal experience with EMyth coaching, but it looks great!
2. Paid Mastermind – More than just group accountability, mastermind groups are usually groups of 8-10 individuals with shared interests in success. There are many mastermind groups in various industries and budgets.
   1. M1 by Rock Thomas – The M1 program helps you create a wealth and success mindset and creates opportunities for connections with high net worth individuals.
   2. Internet Business Mastery Mastermind – The guys at Internet Business Mastery provide great content on their podcast. I assume their mastermind would be great as well. I do not have personal experience with this mastermind, but is looks legit.
   3. Screw the 9 to 5 –  This group is run by a fun couple, Jill and Josh Stanton, that found success in affiliate marketing. I was a big fan of their podcast. I do not have personal experience with this mastermind, but is looks good.
   4. A longer list of mastermind groups from a blog I found. You may find a gem in this list.
3. Public – You can leverage the accountability of the general public. Facebook is an ideal platform for this. The concept is simple. You just make a public claim like “I will run a marathon in 6 months”. Then, periodically post on your progress.
4. A Few Other Ideas
   1. Meetup.com – Meetup.com is a bit more hit and miss. I once found a great real estate investing mastermind group on Meetup.com. So, it is worth a try.
   2. Start your own – If you can’t find a group, then start your own. Michael Hyatt has a great blog post about the topic of starting your own mastermind.

Much like my recent article about finding the right mentor, it is vital that you find the right accountability group that meets your budget, communication style and commitment.

Like launching a rocket , the majority of the effort is in the first stage – getting started! Today is the day. It’s time to get stop thinking about “one day” and get started today.

“A great mentor helps you achieve what seems impossible” – Mariela Dabbah

Dating back to the Ancient Greeks, there have always been mentor/mentee relationships. Closely related to apprenticeships, the knowledge and experience of the mentor is utilized to speed up the process for success. A great mentor is one that aligns with your values and pushes you beyond your comfort zone to achieve more and be more. There are many types of mentor relationships and mentors can be found in various ways. Although the mentorship is often the act of a successful person volunteering their time and attention, it is a two-way relationship where the mentee can provide return value.

Not only speeding up success, a mentor can help with times of failure. The proper mentor can help you recover from those failures or reduce the collateral damage as you work to fix a problem. You can leverage a mentor’s experience and guidance to help with planning so that many failures or mistakes can be avoided in the first place. In addition, the right mentor help you with creative approaches by providing alternative perspectives to problems you are facing.

While most think of a mentor as someone you know or meet with personally, there are actually mentorsship you can establish on a virtual basis. We can discuss these types of mentors as in-person and virtual.

In-person Mentor
The most common mentorship, in-person mentors, allow you direct access to an individual that you chose and has accepted the status of mentor in your life. This individual can be someone you respect in your career or place of employment (or anywhere).

Some think of a perfect mentor as one that is 10 steps ahead of you and someone that knows you personally already. However, do not let your network hold you back. If there is someone living the life that you want, try to get into their world. Then, evaluate them for potential mentorship relationship. 

Virtual Mentor
On the complete other end of the spectrum is the concept of virtual mentorship. This concept was first introduced to me by the real estate legend, Pat Hiban, as he discussed the concept on his podcast, Real Estate Rockstars Radio. He shared his concept of a virtual mentor as someone that he studies and models their life, but he does not know personally. It is an amazing concept as it opens up the entire world of potential mentors. There is nearly an endless surplus of successful personalities and business leaders available. The best part is that many live their lives in alignment with this age of social media making it very easy to learn about a person’s life, how they found success and habits they create to continue the path of success. You can model your life and habits similar to that of a virtual mentor. 

Now let’s focus on finding the RIGHT mentor. The first step is self analysis. You must understand what you want and who you want to be! This step is crucial, as it will define the best type of mentor for you and alleviate frustrations. Once you define the image of your future self, you can find someone that fits that model. 

When profiling a mentor to align with the image of your future self, you will want to consider:

• Characteristics of your personality – If you are going to start spending time either researching or talking with a mentor, you should share some personality characteristics.
• Ethics – It is ideal to have mentor that shares the same moral standards. Does this person respect others? Do you share the same importance on family?
• Success Level – Sometimes the gap from where you are to your prefect being can be overwhelming. Instead of considering Bill Gates as a virtual mentor, you could apprach someone that is a leader in your industry. You may be able to relate to challenges of this type of individual rather than challenges Bill Gates faces.
• Respect Level – Consider how a potential mentor reached their level of success. Did they achieve it in ways that gained respect of others? 
• Down Time – What do they do to unwind? Go clubbing? Climb Mt. Kilamanjaro?
• Contribution – How and where do they give back? Why? 
• Lastly, are you some one that you would like to mentor (if the roles were reverses? Are you open-minded, flexible, respectful, accepting of advice? Are you eager to learn, and committed to change and success?

Places to find a mentor
Now we get to the point of this article and actually find a mentor. While these relationships happen by chance, you have better chances proactivly  looking for mentor. Below are a few ideas of places to find a mentor. 

• Trade organizations – Successful people network with other successful people. Get involved in a trade organization to expand your network and create better potential to leaders in your industry. Search your industry to find an organization.
• SCORE – This non-profit provides free mentoring services for entrepreneurs. One of my mentors is from the SCORE program. I cannot recommend this service enough. 
• Findamentor.com – Another free service I found. I don’t know anything about the organization. Please comment about your experience if you have used the service. 
• Podcasts – Successful people are constantly interviewed or host thier own podcasts. I have found many virtual mentors by listening to them on podcasts. 

While the mentor is volunteering their time/etc, there are many ways you can “pay” them back for their sacrifice. Mentors volunteer their time for many reaasons. Your job is to determine what that perpose is and help them out. In many times they just enjoy what they are doing – so brining them fulfilment in their efforrts is enought.

A few ways to share your graditude to your mentor include: 

• Listen & Take Action – Your mentor wants your success. You simply listen, take the advice given and take action. It’s a win-win!!
• Buy Lunch, Coffee, whatever – If a mentor gives up time to be with you, make sure you don’t let them pay. 
• Promote Them (if they want it) – You can like and share their posts on social media or support their organization. 
• Do Good – Since the basis of mentoring is volunteering, do your part and give your time or money to make the world a better place through a chairing or such. 

In conclusion, we all know finding a mentor is a good idea. However, many never take the initive to make it happen. If you are truly committed to your success, you will make it a priority this week. No excuses.