Choose Your Mentors
Build your personal board of advisors.
22 mentors found

Winston Churchill
1874-1965
Known for
Prime Minister who led Britain through its darkest hour in World War II, architect of the special relationship with America, Nobel Prize-winning historian and writer, twice Prime Minister
"Never, never, never give up."
From: Historical Figures Collection
156 mentor adoptions

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
135 mentor adoptions

Sun Tzu
The Art of War author
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
104 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
99 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
67 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
65 mentor adoptions

Franklin D. Roosevelt
American Founding Era
Known for
Thirty-second President of the United States, Leader during the Great Depression and World War II
From: United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches: From Washington to George W. Bush
57 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

Marie Curie
Known for
Scientific discovery and persistence against all odds
From: Pierre Curie
33 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

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

Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826
Known for
Third President of the United States, Author of the Declaration of Independence
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time
From: United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches: From Washington to George W. Bush
130 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
113 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

James Watt
Known for
The central figure, an inventor and mechanical genius.
From: James Watt
16 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
135 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

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

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

Archimedes
Known for
The greatest mathematician of antiquity and inventor of ingenious mechanical appliances.
From: Archimedes
20 mentor adoptions

John F. Kennedy
1917-1963
Known for
35th President of the United States, Cold War statesman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and architect of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
From: United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches: From Washington to George W. Bush
153 mentor adoptions

Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865
Known for
16th President, preserved the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, redefined American democracy at Gettysburg
From: The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Complete
149 mentor adoptions