Seek Grogu not Yoda to fast-track your learning

When someone says “mentor,” I imagine Yoda--a 900-year-old sage I can turn to for career advice and lightsaber parry tips (just in case I need to get my Jedi on). But to hack your learning, a mentor can be anyone who knows just a wee bit more than you, a Grogu--or baby Yoda, if you will.

James Clear, who wrote the book on getting meaningful results without overwhelming yourself, suggests we learn from someone who has just two years more experience:

"It's almost always better to learn from peers who are 2 years ahead of you than mentors who are 20 years ahead of you. Life evolves and most insights get outdated." (share on Twitter)

For certain types of learners (talking to you, hate-to-raise-my-hand types ::slowly raises hand::), Clear’s recommendation might be the sweet spot for practical and psychological reasons:

• We’re typically more comfortable around people who are like us and are less afraid of asking “dumb” questions (they’re not).

• These mentors can be easier to connect with and generally more available, so there’s less chance of “rejection.”

• We can fast-track learning because the takeaways are often immediately applicable to our learning goals.

• These mentors likely remember what it’s like to be at our skill levels and can explain things in a more understandable ways.

Find a mentor

Keeping with Clear’s goal of less overwhelm, here are a few easy ways to find someone with “you + 2” years experience to reach out to:

• Check LinkedIn. It’s a good start because you can see people’s work histories, skills, interests, as well as contact information.

• Find personal blogs related to your interest. You can look at the dates on their posts to get a sense of experience level and ability to communicate. Generally, there’s also contact info or a newsletter to subscribe to that’ll get you an email.

• Ask your professional AND personal networks. You’d be surprised how many people can put you in touch with someone even in your personal network, which is easy to overlook (because we hear Uncle Joe’s stories every Christmas).

Connect with a mentor

*Alert Alert: Unsolicited contact can feel crazy uncomfortable*, especially if you think you’re asking for favor. You’re not. You are giving an artfully wrapped gift—just by reaching out. But when contacting people, the brightest, reddest bow on your gift should be specificity wrapped in brevity.

Say precisely what motivated you to reach out and what you’re asking for. Did you and your workmates use a productivity tip that let people reclaim some life? Would you like to chat for 20 minutes anytime between April 1st and 10th? Say it.

Not only is specific terrific (in all communication), but a clear request increases the reply odds because:

• Humans LOVE to know what they’re doing is meaningful, whether it be their ideas or personal brand.

• Knowing which specific ideas resonated with you is actionable feedback that can impact their next steps.

• People like to share their expertise but want to know what their commitment is upfront (it’s not you, it’s me).

Buuuuuuuut if you’re looking for a mentor to learn from, consider being a mentor to learn by.

By mentoring, you enter a virtuous circle. You help Jane Mentee grow her skills, and you get exposure to Jane’s ways of doing and ideas, which can help you keep current. You improve how you communicate when talking to Jane about what you know—which also tells ya what you don’t know, as a bonus.

One low-key way to signal that you’re available is to add “mentor” to your LinkedIn profile. Then, specify what you want to share. For this, you can just use the LinkedIn skills list or be hyper-specific, which also sends up a flare to like-minded people who might want to connect with you.

Putting yourself out there can be hard (::says to self::). But you are unique by definition: only you have your knowledge, skills, and abilities. More importantly, you can never predict a mentee’s atomic-aha moments—those conversational sparks that ignite big ideas—because what’s obvious to you can be amazing to others. Imagine where you’d be if other people hadn’t shared what they know with you.

So “always pass on what you have learned,” says Master Yoda. You owe it to the galaxy. And may the force be with you on your learning adventures.