Choose Your Mentors
Browse 17 mentors from history and literature. Build your personal board of advisors.
17 mentors found
Benjamin Franklin
Colonial & Revolutionary America
Known for
Practical wisdom, self-improvement, and diplomacy
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
From: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
68 mentor adoptions
Sun Tzu
Ancient China
Known for
Strategy, preparation, and winning without fighting
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."
From: The Art of War
67 mentor adoptions
Marie Curie
Known for
Scientific discovery and persistence against all odds
From: Pierre Curie
33 mentor adoptions
J.P. Morgan
Late 19th-Early 20th Century America
Known for
Financier who dominated corporate finance, reorganized railroads, and bailed out the U.S. government
A man always has two reasons for what he does—a good one, and the real one
From: High Finance
66 mentor adoptions
Thomas Edison
19th-20th Century America
Known for
The light bulb, phonograph, and relentless experimentation
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
From: Historical Figures Collection
64 mentor adoptions
Jane Austen
Victorian Era
Known for
Author and letter writer
From: The Letters of Jane Austen: Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne
63 mentor adoptions
James Watt
Known for
The central figure, an inventor and mechanical genius.
From: James Watt
61 mentor adoptions
James Clerk Maxwell
19th Century Scotland
Known for
Physicist who unified electricity, magnetism, and light into electromagnetic theory
In science, there are no authorities; only evidence and reason
From: James Clerk Maxwell and Modern Physics
51 mentor adoptions
Napoleon Bonaparte
18th-19th Century France
Known for
Military genius, Emperor, and architect of modern Europe
"Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools."
From: Famous leaders among men
46 mentor adoptions
Sherlock Holmes
Known for
Consulting detective investigating the Baskerville case.
From: The Hound of the Baskervilles
42 mentor adoptions
Jesse Livermore
Early 20th Century America
Known for
Legendary stock trader known for making and losing multiple fortunes and his insights on market psychology
There is nothing new in Wall Street. There cannot be because speculation is as old as the hills
From: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
40 mentor adoptions
J. S. Bach
18th Century Germany
Known for
Composer and musician whose works represent the pinnacle of Baroque music and contrapuntal technique
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul
From: Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work
32 mentor adoptions
Otto H. Kahn
Early 20th Century America
Known for
Investment banker and arts patron who helped finance American industry and supported the Metropolitan Opera
The financier who merely knows how to make money is a poor financier indeed
From: High Finance
32 mentor adoptions
John Calvin
16th Century Geneva
Known for
Theologian and reformer whose ideas on predestination, work ethic, and discipline shaped Western thought
We are not our own; therefore neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations
From: Letters of John Calvin, Volume II: Compiled from the Original Manuscripts and Edited with Historical Notes
31 mentor adoptions
Alexander Hamilton
American Founding Era
Known for
One of the authors of The Federalist Papers, advocating for a strong, centralized federal government.
From: The Federalist Papers
21 mentor adoptions
Adam Smith
18th Century Scotland
Known for
The Wealth of Nations and the invisible hand of markets
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
From: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
17 mentor adoptions
E.H. Harriman
Late 19th-Early 20th Century America
Known for
Railroad magnate who rebuilt the Union Pacific into one of the most efficient transportation systems in the world
The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets
From: High Finance
17 mentor adoptions