If he stays healthy, Luka Dončić will be this year’s NBA Rookie of the Year, and possibly an NBA All-Star.
Not too bad for a 19-year old!
Watching him closely last week in Boston, when the Celtics played the Mavericks, something stood out to me about this teenage basketball phenom. He spent a lot of time during warm-ups interacting with 21-year NBA veteran Dirk Nowitzki.
Think about it, Luka wasn’t even born when Dirk started playing in the NBA! And keep in mind, Nowitzki isn’t just your average professional basketball player. He’s an NBA champion (2011), NBA Finals MVP (2011), NBA Most Valuable Player (2007), 13-time NBA All-Star (2002 – 2012, 2014 – 2015), and is considered one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
If you think their interactions on the court are coincidental, you probably also think it was a coincidence that the Dallas Mavericks traded up 2 spots in the 2018 NBA draft to select Dončić so he could be mentored by Nowitzki during what is his most likely his last season in the NBA.
The Mavericks knew all along that Nowitzki would be the perfect mentor for Dončić, and 40-plus games into this year’s season, the Mavericks organization is looking like geniuses.
Finding the right mentor is critical if you desire greatness in whatever business or industry you are pursuing. If an expert has spent 10,000-plus hours perfecting his or her craft, it would be foolish not to glean from their experiences in order to accelerate your success.
I regularly receive emails from ambitious entrepreneurs asking for various favors and tips in the door-to-door sales industry. In fact, last week I had received this email:
“I would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Your book exceeded my high expectations based on the reviews. Even before I finished listening to your book for the first time I had myself convinced I need to come out and work with you.
I have a window cleaning business in Arizona and would like to gain the unique selling skills your business has to offer. Making this happen would require me to take a plunge into the unknown and make some hard decisions, but I am convinced the experience will be worth it.
Over the years, I have gained a range of sales experience including: Retail, door to door sales (Newspapers at the age of 13, commercial window cleaning in my early 20’s to current), networking, telemarketing, etc. However, with complete honesty and humility… if I thought I was great at it, I probably would have never picked up your book in the first place.
I would love to hear your thoughts, and see what possibilities we can create for each other…I am just focused on making a better life for me and my Son is what this all boils down to.”
What I appreciate most about this email is the ‘honesty and humility’ expressed by this individual, knowing he needs an expert mentor to reach his potential.
I look forward to helping him achieve his goals of a better life for him and his son.
Willing and able mentors don’t grow on trees, and you might find the process of discovering a qualified mentor frustrating and challenging. Nevertheless, the dividends of selecting the right person can pay off in a big way!
The Dirk Nowitzki’s are out there, it’s your job to find them!
If you are considering the why’s and how’s of finding an expert mentor, consider the following articles:
3 Reasons All Great Leaders Have Mentors (And Mentees) by Brian Rashid
10 Reasons Why a Mentor Is a Must by John Rampton
Finding a mentor by Ryan Holiday
As a side note, kudos to the fans at the TD Garden in Boston for giving Dirk a standing ovation after the game.
https://vimeo.com/311303241