It goes without saying, all of us want to be successful. Whether it be in acing that test, getting that promotion, or growing your business, we all want success. In fact, it’s not hard to find people who want to be successful, but it is tough to find people who know how. How can you become successful? What does it take to become great? What qualities should one possess? Ask yourself if you know what you have to do in order to be successful.Being successful just like anything else, is a skill that we have to learn, practice and turn into a habit.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit.”-Aristotle

Today, let’s explore one major way you can learn about success. Finding a mentor.Now, finding a mentor doesn't necessarily mean knocking on random doors asking people to mentor you. Instead, you can find a mentor anywhere, anytime. Before we go through how to find a mentor, I will share four reasons why finding a mentor should be your number one goal in 2016 if you want to find more success in your life.

1. Release your full potential

Mentors have actually been a tradition since the beginning of time. Aristotle (who later mentored Alexander the Great) had Plato (who was himself mentored by Socrates), Albert Einstein had Max Talmey, and Mark Zuckerberg had Steve Jobs. We all have talents and purposes to accomplish but until we find someone more experienced who knows how to manage these talents of ours, we're only limiting our potential. Now, imagine if Einstein had never met Max Talmey? It's hard to say we would have the same scientific progression that we have today. There’s a saying the most wealthiest place in this entire world is the graveyard, because in the graveyard lies undiscovered talents, unheard ideas, unexecuted plans. Only if they had mentors. It's great that you have a talent, now your mentor to uncover your full potential.

2. They act like mirrors

I’ve had a couple of mentors in my life who’ve helped me so far -- two high school teachers, my parents, and a public speaker. Let me share an experience I had with one of them.My high school English teacher unknowingly influenced my growth positively. He taught me how it’s okay to be different, to be crazy, and that no matter how old you get, you never have to lose the inner child within you.Being an avid actor, I was chosen to be Macbeth in a play, during Junior year of highschool. Fortunately, he was the director. Now, every time we had rehearsals I used to hate it because he was so brutally honest about my acting skills. No matter how much people told me about how good my performance was, he always had constructive feedback to provide. "If I am sitting right at the back I can’t hear anything you say. Don’t blame it on the mic. If you want to be an actor, you have to be the voice."You see, when we embark on the success journey, we want to think we know it all. That this talent we have is really what’s needed. However, reality soon hits us, where we realize how that little talent of ours isn’t really going to put our names in the history books. Who tells us this? Our mentors. They are brutally honest and no matter how much it hurts, it helps. Not only did my mentor help me in acting, but also sharpened my writing skills. He introduced me to books that improved my writing skills and my life in general.Yes, sometimes these honest words may sting you. But without pain, there is no growth.

3. Accountability

Why did I stay up all night to improve on my acting skills? Because I did not want to let my mentor down. He put in time, love, resources, and trust in me to deliver, and disappointing him was the last thing I wanted to do.Accountability increases our motivation to reach any goal we have, no matter how difficult it may be.There's scientific research by Emory University behind why accountability is so important. When we do something for others, we experience pleasure because particular parts of our brains called caudate nucleus and anterior cingulate turn on. These parts also turn on when we receive rewards & pleasure. When you fail (and we will all fail one time or another), what gets you back up? Everyone wants to be successful but no one wants it as badly when we experience setbacks. Mentors or coaches prevent you from plateauing and turning your weaknesses into strengths by guiding you in the right path.

4. Personalization

One of the questions that you could have while reading this is “what about self help books?”Believe me, I love books but you see, what books can't do is personalize for your specific situation. They are a spectacular resource for building a solid foundation and getting to know the game, but it’s a message created for the mass, not you specifically. Needless to say, we are all different with different needs and talents and thus, if we want to get better, we have to take the next step: personalize our action plans. It’s no secret why Crossfit is so famously known for making people tougher, the coaches there cater every exercise according to the needs of the people there.It's also why Rype helps you learn any language up to 18X faster. Rype's true value proposition and how it distinguishes itself from Duolingo or any language learning app is that it’s personalized for you.If you’re a Ryper, you have a professional language coach with whom you work with at least once a week, in addition to membership benefits. Not only does that motivate you to work harder, but learn faster.So, how to find a mentor?Here is an infographic generated by The Colorado Technical University that’ll help you figure out how and where to find a mentor.It comes down to:

1. Figuring out your end goal and what you want
2. Reaching out and praising the mentor to build a relationship
3. Following up and keeping in touch (while adding as much value as you can)

There is no silver bullet in finding a mentor, but if you follow this 3-step process and put the interest of the mentor first, you're already well ahead of the pack.See you on other side, take that extra time and effort to find a mentor, go that extra mile.Make 2016 your breakthrough year!

Over to you

Do you have any tips on how to find a mentor?Share something that has worked for you!