Jared Matthew Kessler
Interview
Jared Matthew Kessler, the author of The Poet And The Billionaire, has just published a new ebook - Finding the Ultimate Mentor. In this interview Jared gives us some more details on his background and why his ebook is a must read! PDF: Can you tell us a bit about your background and what your Uncommon Guide To Finding The Ultimate Mentor is about? Jared:I have a really unique background. I studied behavioral psychology in college (1992-1996), but had a love of music starting in high school. Talk about “unconventional.” :) The first thing I did when I graduated was go to graduate school to get a Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology, but since I was paying for it myself... I realized I loved music more. So I learned how to book shows myself and figured if I put in just as much time doing music as I did for studying, I can make some things happen. Since I didn’t really have much support and didn’t know many people doing what I wanted to do, I got into Personal Development to pull myself up by my own bootstraps. And honestly, I used more psychology/personal development more on myself, than anyone else (at that time) and it seemed to produce a ton more results than what I was being taught in college... So I stuck with it. “Your Uncommon Guide to Finding the Ultimate Mentor” is an eBook I wanted to do for people because I was finding that so many people that talked about how great and important their mentor is to their “success” (including myself), that it became almost irritating to me that no one talked about how to find one. PDF:You yourself found a mentor who helped you turn your life around. How did you meet him and how did your relationship with him affect your life? Jared:I met him through a guy I met at a week long seminar that I got a scholarship to (which was close to $10,000). It was in 1999 when I was in a really bad place in my life. I already graduated college, moved across the country from New Jersey to California to “make it” but I was living off of credit cards, had a tiny piece of crap apartment (more like a room) that didn’t even have a bathroom in it, was out shape, mentally/emotionally drained and... To say the least, it wasn’t good. Then I read a quote that talked about the difference between an “advisor” and a “mentor.” It was then, that I realized I was listening to “advisors” all of my life, who meant well, but wasn’t anywhere near where I wanted to be (and therefore couldn’t TRULY teach me how to get to where I wanted to go). It was a big revelation for me at that time and a huge turning point for me. FINALLY having someone on my side that didn’t think I was crazy, was really important to me because when you have a lot of big goals and you don’t have the initial support of your family, it can cause a lot of stress in your life. I literally had 24hr access to him for any questions I wanted and when you have someone that is living an extraordinary life, you get to see how much work there is behind the scenes and the kinds of things that are necessary for you to do to achieve something similar. And contrary to what people believe, I think a TON of people are really disillusioned about what it actually takes to achieve certain things (which is where my mentor came in). For example, I got to see first hand the amount of work, time AND money it takes to get a book on the NY Times Best Sellers List. The fact of the matter is, it can cost someone THOUSANDS of dollars a month for a publicist, years worth of trial and error and you still aren’t even guaranteed to have a book that sells, much less have one on the NY Times Best Sellers List. So having a mentor share what they went through, is invaluable information that I think people really need to know (and I’m really surprised about the fact that many “successful people” don’t share this with others). I mean I think it’s really scary that in this country you can go through a school system for the first 21 years of your life and not even realize these people that are teaching you (who mean well), yet are NOWHERE near where you truly want to be. I really think that needs to change. PDF:What does a mentor do and how does a mentor differ from a coach or a teacher? Jared:Someone should be your mentor because they have the exact result that you want (therefore, they can teach you what it ACTUALLY takes to get it). Someone that is a coach doesn’t necessarily have the result you want, but is instrumental in finding ways to help you get it. In short, a mentor REALLY knows what it takes to get you the result you want. A coach, leads you closer towards it (but doesn’t necessarily have it). I think it’s a fine line, but I feel that both are very instrumental to one’s “success.” PDF:What are some things someone can do immediately to help them find a suitable mentor? Jared:Some immediate things to help someone find a mentor is to first write down exactly what they want in an ideal mentor, because you have to know what you want, before you know what to do. It’s important in this process to not limit yourself, because the reason you would want a mentor in your life, is to help you achieve some pretty amazing things that you can’t do on your own. Then start asking around and putting the word out there to friends and family to see if they might know of someone to help (making sure to keep asking/tweaking your approach depending on whether or not you feel as if you are moving closer or farther away from the end result). PDF:What plans do you have for the future? What’s next on your list of things to do? Jared:My plans for the future? You know you caught me at a time when I look back at what I accomplished over the year and where I’m going over the next few years. My initial plans are to continue to grow my business 100% debt free and to provide unconventional and creative insights made simple (to help businesses and individuals). As far as what products or services that help people do that... I’m not sure. I already have 2 more cd’s done that I licensed (but are not released to the public), I have my first audio program done entitled, “The Poet and the Billionaire: The Lost Conversations” (which I really haven’t released yet) and “The Black Sheep Project” community has grown to almost 200 members and would love to have a few hundred thousand more get involved. :) In terms of what is next on my list... I’m looking for a business manager to take over ALL the business aspects of my career. Those that don’t know, I’m a small business (a “soul proprietor”) and I pretty much do everything you see. For me, I can come up with great and unique ideas/products, but honestly, I’m probably not the best at making it the business that it really could be. So what did I do for help on trying to find one? You’re going to laugh, but I honestly asked my own mentor on how to go about finding a “business manager,” and do you know what his initial thoughts were? “Apply some of the same principles from your Mentoring book...” Is that not hilarious or what? :) - - - You can order the book through Jared's website for $39.95. Readers of Personal Development Forum can gain a 20% discount on the book. After you click 'add to cart' enter in this code: 'thementorguide' and you will receive a 20% reduction.
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