Find a Writing Mentor on Medium

Ten Steps To Security

1. “Know Yourself.” Start by revisiting your earliest happy memory. Conjure up as many visceral details as possible — colors, sounds, people etc. Congratulations, you’ve just uncovered your unique personal brand!
2. Keep going. Now visualize someone from your past or present who could walk into that early memory and contribute. A man or woman who’d make it even more fulfilling and comfortable with support, words of wisdom or leadership. Then dig deeper. Now you’re ready to look for a writing mentor.
3. You appreciate several Medium writers’ ideas, wisdom, and communication skills. Rank these writers in order of pertinence and transformative power, with whom you could share meaningful conversations in your happy memory. Which writer would you most enjoy talking to? He or she will be your “Number One” mentor candidate.
4. Then make a list of who that writer follows on Medium. What does the writer and followers have in common? Communicate that clearly to become more credible to the “Number One” candidate, as well as his or her wider network.
5. Whenever you post a comment about one of their articles, remind them of your appreciation. Then ask him or her to recommend favorite groups, and make notes of the words they use in each recommendation. Start using those words in Medium, especially when contacting leaders of the most compatible groups.
6. Try to identify Number One’s strengths and characteristics, as well as possible areas of weaknesses. When you can get specific enough, refer to the strengths in a mentor profile, and share them in positive comments about their articles. Consider how you might help with their weaknesses.
7. Use such new insights to help your mentor write better articles and attract even more followers. Proactively offer to be useful and “pay it forward.” Mentoring should be to everyone’s benefit.
8. Write articles that make it easy and gratifying for your Number One to introduce you to his or her extended network.
9. Be respectful and humble when asking for support or consideration, so the time and attention you’ve been sharing doesn’t go to waste.
10. A collection of Medium writers can and should become a new community. And any community can grow into a movement.

Your movement.