"We can help a person to be himself by our own willingness to steep ourselves temporarily in his world, in his private feelings and experiences. By our affirmation of the person as he is, we give him support and strength to take the next step in his own growth." Clark Moustakas . I struggled for months trying to learn the deep dark secrets of internet marketing . I had been a consultant and a coach for 28 years, but had always gotten my business by old school methods. When I started the Redwood Sisterhood, the only thing new to me was internet marketing . That’s all. That was enough. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and was quickly overwhelmed by the learning curves. I started ‘guru hopping’. Taking this class and that one, trying to learn what I needed to learn. It was confusing, frustrating and time consuming.

I prayed to be adopted by a guru. I even sent out a post to some of the guru’s that I had been learning from asking them to adopt me, please. I needed someone to show me what they knew and to save me from some of the growing pains. I wanted my learning to be cut short by their wisdom and experience. It took a long time to find someone to adopt me.

I did finally find the support that I needed and it really did leap frog me into a new level. Through this experience I learned something really important. The secret to leap-frogging to success is to grab onto the ankles of a mentor and hang on for dear life as they fly above, taking you to the next level.
Seek someone who has more experience and who knows more than you in your field. Get close to them, learn what they know, do what they do and then make it yours. Mike and David have helped me tremendously. I am still learning from them daily and I am grateful.

Get the attention of someone that you need help from who is at a level of success that is higher than yours and ask for their help. Get close enough that they feel invested in your success. Mentorship is not one way. Your success is a reflection on their success, so they will want to help you succeed. Your testimonials will boost their success and their help will boost yours.But, once you have reached a new level, it’s your turn to be a mentor for someone else. That’s what it means to be a dream partner. It’s a beautiful success circle.

If you are tired of guru hopping and would like to be adopted by a mentor, I would love to be your dream partner. Start by going to http://www.PattySadallah.com/sq . Let’s leap frog together in 2010!

Author's Bio: 

Patty Sadallah has 29 years experience as an organization development consultant and executive coach. She is a Dream Partner Catalyst and coaches and consults nonprofits and women owned small business owners around issues of focus and planning, moving them toward her dreams. Find out more about her coaching and consulting at http://www.PattySadallah.com/sq .

She is also the President/Founder of the Redwood Sisterhood, an international women's support community that offers personal and professional development learning opportunities, community bartering through time banking and fun networking events. Here, she brings together the talents and the needs of women and allows these connections to strengthen and uplift the membership. Learn more at ( http://www.RedwoodSisterhood.com )

Additional Resources covering Women in Business can be found at:

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Patty Sadallah, the Official Guide to Women in Business