A recent survey by Orlando Business Journal said that 87% of people thought that a mentor was very important to their success. I'd be interested to see if the 13% who said it wasn't important were even successful. Henry Ford had Thomas Edison. Warren Buffett had Benjamin Graham. Andrew Carnegie had Tom Scott. Can you be successful without a mentor? Probably, but why God would you want to be? It's going to take you so much longer!
Note also that successful people come in many different forms, not just business. Do you want to be the best Buddhist that you can be? If so, then chasing down Donald Trump isn't going to be a good fit. Find somebody older whom you look up to and feel them out to see if they're honest, ethical, and willing to help.
Mentors can also take different forms. You don't necessarily have to know one. It could a market titan from yesteryear who has had a number of biographies written about them. But having a real person to discuss ideas is very helpful. A picture is worth a thousand words and a real life mentor is worth a thousand pictures.