Do you have a mentor right under your nose and don’t recognize it? Step back, take a look around. Who in your world has successfully accomplished what you seek to do? It can even be a virtual mentor, someone you observe from afar. I do this all the time. I have a short list of people I admire. I read everything they write, buy their books and products. I don’t try to dominate anyone’s time. I proactively absorb all I can virtually. Sometimes I ultimately get to meet my role models and sometimes they don’t know I exist. Either way, they are still my teacher.

Let’s face it, there is a lot of gum flapping about innovation but truly a miniscule percentage of the population are innovators. How many google founders are running around in the general population?

Why reinvent the wheel? The recipe for success isn’t a grand mystery. It exists all around us. The problem is it comes dressed in work clothes which knocks out the vast majority of the population. The missing ingredient is you-learn to open your eyes to opportunity and then follow up with the necessary work.

What is readily available is modeling. I modeled my way to where I am today and continue to do so. I observe and mimic business models and people that are effective and successful. Earthcare, the NASDAQ traded company I cofounded with revenues reaching $125 million was simply a copy cat of the roll up strategy that had been successfully executed in several industry’s. It was not rocket science. Anyone could have done it but they didn’t, I did. I got off my duff and I made things happen. What could happen in your life if you got inspired and committed?