"Can I pick your brain?"
"Let's get coffee!"
"I'll do anything to help you. What can I do?"
These are all terrible ways to get in touch with hard to reach people and, perhaps, even try to make them your mentor.
The first line doesn't work because nobody wants their brain "picked" and 30 minutes on the phone with you means 30 fewer minutes with their loved ones and friends, 30 fewer minutes of downtime in the pool, etc. Nobody wants to get on the phone with random strangers.
The second line doesn't work because odds are they don't drink coffee and they wouldn't need you to buy it for them anyway. They can more than afford it, and the time it takes to go out and have the coffee with you is far more costly than the coffee itself.
The third line... sounds good, doesn't work! It gives them a homework assignment. Now you are making them guess at what you are good at and making them figure out something you can do for them. How are they supposed to know? They don't.
Plus, the people you are reaching out to likely charge thousands of dollars per hour for their time and expertise, which is precisely what you are asking for.
You come from a good place. But to them, you are ignorant and inconsiderate.
What's the antidote?
Dan Lok and I talk about it on Growth Mindset University: JordanParis.com/ep104
