They share several things in common. For example, they all didn’t climb the normal ladders to success; instead, they created their own path. They also have many other similarities that are mentioned below:

In this passage, you’ll learn that you need a mentor to help you achieve success. You’ll also learn how to shoot hoops like the pros and why Steve Jobs always wore black turtlenecks.

Big Idea #1: Don’t climb the career ladder from the bottom up – hack into it instead.

A lot of people think that climbing the career ladder step by step is the best route to success. However, this isn’t always true because success isn’t just about working hard – it’s about working smart.

Lateral thinking is used to solve problems by looking at them from a different angle. It allows you to look for new solutions that might not be immediately apparent.

Lateral thinking helps you find smartcuts, the most efficient and sustainable ways to get where you want to go. It doesn’t mean that quality will be compromised; it just means that you’ll be getting there in a smarter way than others. Remember: taking the quickest path is not necessarily wrong. In fact, it’s actually better because it saves your time and resources.

Many successful people have made good use of smartcuts, including several US presidents. For example, about one-third of US presidents gained relevant experience in other fields and then managed to “hack” into the presidential ladder at just the right time.

Woodrow Wilson was the president of a university before he became president. Dwight Eisenhower, who went on to defeat Hitler, had never held an elected office before becoming president. These men didn’t climb their way straight up the political hierarchy – they moved across it diagonally. As entrepreneurs you need to aim for that too as you move from one industry to another and build your business network in each new sector.

Big Idea #2: Expert mentors help you realize your full potential.

Many famous athletes have coaches who help them achieve success. They’re critical to the process. The same can be said for mentors in business.

Working with an expert gives you an edge over your competitors. Business research has shown that entrepreneurs who work with mentors raise 70 percent more capital than those who don’t. For example, Jimmy Fallon wouldn’t have become the host of the Tonight Show without his talent manager Randi Siegel, who kept encouraging him after he failed to get a spot on Saturday Night Live.

A successful mentoring relationship is one that happens naturally, and not through a formal program. In fact, it’s better than any structured mentorship program. A study showed that people who had informal mentors were more successful in terms of salary, promotions and self-esteem than those who didn’t have mentors at all. Mentoring relationships are important to help inspire the next generation of leaders.

That’s because mentors are more effective when they’re close to their mentees. They have a greater investment in the mentee’s success and growth. That was clear with a team of heart surgeons from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, who asked for help from Ferrari Formula One pit teams during race changes. The pit teams oversee track changeovers during races, and the surgeons wanted their guidance on improving patient hand-offs between operating room staff and nursing care providers on the ward.