It's not as much a skill as a task from which skills will flow from... Finding a mentor that does what you want to do with the spirit you want to copy will leap

It's not as much a skill as a task from which skills will flow from... Finding a mentor that does what you want to do with the spirit you want to copy will leapfrog you past your peers by light-years. How? Writing letters. Whom? That's up to you? Someone well established in their field even near retirement age. No less than 25 years of experience in their field. When? Now.