There is a new rage in the entrepreneurial world today called the Mentor. Although it is not a truly new idea it has become central to companies and individuals working with independent minded people. A Mentor by definition is a wise and trusted teacher.

The well-known motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, offers a variety of Mentoring programs. You can learn to control your diet, walk across hot coals barefoot or otherwise challenge your abilities with his personal assistance for a bunch of money. You pay as much for entertainment value as you do for education. Nothing wrong with that.

Late night television has long been loaded with people hawking Get-Rich-Quick ideas, most often dealing with real estate. Sometimes these “gurus” invite you to free preview seminars, other times they offer you the unlimited secrets to wealth for only $39.95.

If you go to the free program, can you really learn what you need to be successful? No, no, and no. You will hear from a speaker who will delight you with stories of his personal wealth (which comes, almost certainly, from doing seminars) and you will be encouraged to spend anywhere from about $750 to several thousand dollars for a “wealth boot camp” or “intensive training” or some such thing. This is a form of mentoring.

This is especially important when dealing with the high priced real estate related offerings. I have heard of one company, for example, that does a live seminar on how to invest in tax lien certificates. The owners spend all of their time investing in properties and certificates throughout the country. They truly are experts. I have seen several imitators pop up on television selling similar programs, but they don't invest at all.

Here at FastHomeWealth.com™ the only thing we do is what we advertise on our web site, and it is also the only thing we teach. We don’t sell any books, tapes, or seminars. The mentoring is free. Our web site is loaded with valuable free information in the “Ask Us” section. We are the only people in America doing this. If you search out a mentor look beneath the surface. What can that mentor actually teach you?

This is really hard to discover. Motivational speakers, like Tony Robbins, love to give you their background. Many of the Get-Rich-Quick gurus simply tell you they have “made millions” or “live the good life” or have “taught thousands their secrets”, but you never find out any details. I have heard of one nationally known real estate guru who hasn't invested in homes for more than twenty years. I have even heard of one guru who rented a mansion for his infomercial so he could tell people, you can live like this. He didn't live that way until he got enough people to his seminars. Here at FastHomeWealth.com we only have two businesses: 1. Doing what we teach, and 2. Teaching you how to do it. You get my background on the website and you can contact me for additional information anytime you want.

Here's the routine for most services; you can get a basic bit of information for a small introductory price but you may have to spend thousands to get the information you really need to succeed. It can be so difficult to find out what it will really cost because most companies believe once they get the first check out of your checkbook they can lift more from you in the future. So most companies are very guarded about the total cost. Listen carefully to television infomercials when they tell you they give you everything you need to know and then show some couple telling you how they never dreamed they could be so successful. Flashing on the screen at the same time is a note saying, Results shown are not typical. Here at FastHomeWealth.com we are completely upfront: read the free reports, "Mailing Your Way To Wealth!" and "Get Wealthy By Giving Money Away!" You get all the information and my personal consultations along the way for free.

Remember the definition, a Mentor is a wise and trusted teacher. How can you trust your Mentor if you know nothing about him or her? When that television guru tells you he or she will make you a millionaire, how will he or she ever find the time to personally advise you, unless you are spending thousands and thousands of dollars? Even then, what if the Mentor has a hundred students, or a thousand, then what? Here is another little secret of the business: that personal coach who calls you is a commissioned sales person hired for his or her ability to close a sale. He or she has probably been given a few basic tools and scripts and told that most people won’t ask specific questions about them using the program they are selling, but the job is to close deals for several thousand dollars. I honestly don't know how you can trust a mentor you don't know. Its probably a little like going to the doctor if you’re very sick: if you lived you had a good doctor, if you didn't, well, too late now. Same thing here: spend thousands and if it works, great, if not all you've got is more debt. So how do we do it here at FastHomeWealth.com? Since I am the entire consulting staff, how can I possibly help everyone? I am very efficient. Most contact is through email. I can look at each email individually and give a personal response. I type very, very fast so that helps. I have advanced systems in place. But, very few people ever actually ask for personal assistance so there are relatively few requests. Some days it takes hours to go through them but most days an hour or so is sufficient. You may ask why more people don’t ask for personal assistance? It is because our programs are very simple and there is support and training in place from the companies as well.

One day you wake up, decide you are a Mentor, and you are! How about that. Unless you are in a specialized field requiring a license—doctors, for example—there are really very few restrictions. Motivational speakers/gurus/mentors for example are typically people who love to speak, have either read or followed the teaching of some motivational gurus and have developed ideas of their own. They are paid as much for their entertainment value as anything else. Real estate gurus usually learned something about real estate, possibly made some money, and found they could make great money doing seminars. Since laws differ in all fifty states it is impossible for one real estate guru to know everything there is to know. Most teach some elementary information, motivate the crowd and move on to the next city. The business opportunity magazines have such a wide variety, from well known franchises to entrepreneurs like me, that it can be a daunting task to figure out whether the company/individual offering the services is any good.

Wow, Vinny, this is a little depressing. If there are no real qualifications or licenses to become a Mentor and there are few rules, how do I know if someone is qualified to be my mentor?

If you respond to something in a magazine contact the advertiser for more information before sending in your hard earned money. My most successful students have been the ones who have challenged me with email messages. And, without exception, have said I am the only advertiser who ever responded. If the firm or person advertising is as good as advertised, he or she should be happy to tell you more.

If you respond to an invitation for a free seminar in a hotel just understand that the speaker is someone hired because he or she can motivate a crowd, not because he or she has had success in that field. This is really a difficult task for most people because it is so hard to get real information. Usually, the people working the table in the back of the room are young and working because it’s a nice chance to travel and because they are pleasant to deal with. If you cant find anyone who has truly been successful with that information don't spend your money.

What about references? I call this the great fantasy. First of all, nobody is going to give you an enemy as a reference. So you will never be referred to someone who failed or who hates the people providing you the information. Often, testimonial letters are made up. If someone offers a testimonial ask to see the actual letter (Here at FastHomeWealth.com we take our testimonials from letters received or emails received and then print and save a copy of the email in our file. Every word you read is true.) It is very unlikely anyone will allow you to contact someone who has been successful, for three reasons: One, there is the possibility of a law suit if someone feels threatened by a caller and, two, most people don't want to be bothered and, three, sometimes people try to recruit them in another program.

Any overall advice, Vinny? Yes, before you spend money on anyone make sure you believe your questions have been answered honestly. And, before you spend a penny, do as much research as possible, especially with the companies charging thousands for a little help.

So you believe mentors are important to success? I do. I am convinced if you have the right mentor they will help you succeed much faster and avoid many costly mistakes. If you have confidence in your mentor, do exactly what the mentor tells you to do and you will be fine. For example, read the FastHomeWealth.com free reports, and follow the systems exactly because they work.