I once had a job delivering pizzas. One day, while making a delivery, a teenager caught me by surprise, pointed a gun at my chest, and said:

"Gimme your pizza — and your money!”

I complied, gave him the pepperoni pizza in my hands and the $22 I had in my pocket. I can't say for sure if his gun was real. Or, if it was even loaded. But what was I to do — risk my life for a pizza and a handful of cash?

No way, Jose.

Anyway, I quit that job. The free pizza was a plus... but not tasty enough to put my life in danger.

One interesting fact about the robbery: the guy who robbed me wasn’t alone, he had a young boy by his side who, I imagine, was learning a new skill — how to rob the pizza man — from his mentor.

As I look back at this situation, I have a funny takeaway about how important mentors are — no matter what stage you're in, which skills you want to learn, or no matter your age.

Finding a mentor isn't easy and a good mentor isn't going to find you

You'll have to take some initiative, get outside of your comfort zone, and be creative in getting someone who's likely too busy to give you their time and attention.

It's not easy, but 100% possible.

And, 100% worth it.

Raymond Duke