Recent study featured in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that while people predicted they would choose their mentors based on factors such as competence and experience, the real factor came down to how much a prospective mentor praised them. They came to this conclusion after studying data from NBC's reality show The Voice.

"The results showed that, contrary to predictions, individuals were more likely to select advisors who expressed high amounts of positivity toward them," said the study abstract.

What's more, the researchers found that selecting a mentor this way could be a mistake, as those who did so were found to actually have less improvement in their performance than those who chose their mentor another way. The general idea seemed to be that if someone already thinks you're brilliant, you won't improve as much under that person's guidance.