Beginner question about Real Estate

[Rocco Forte-Adragna]

Hey Biggerpockets people, 

My name is Rocco Forte, I’m 19 years old, currently in college, preparing to take and pass my real estate exam this December. I’m really interested in commercial RE, rental properties, flipping, investment, and possibly wholesale. As I’m interested in real estate, I feel like your success in this industry is about your connections as well as  having a good mentor. That being said, my question is how at young age do you make these connections? And how do I go about getting a mentor/ or even taken seriously with lack of experience? I’ve connected with some realtors through my cousin, even started taking some agent classes at KW just to meet some people and network more, also tried connecting with a local broker I know. I’ve been told that you just have to be persistent even to the point where it’s annoying to get noticed, even had one guy tell me that he would go around telling a real estate brokers or other people in the field that he would work for them for free. Anyways I’m just curious to hear your thoughts or experiences! Thanks!