Finding a mentor to follow in network marketing/MLM is a critical aspect of your success or failure in the profession. You may even have a couple of mentors to guide you through the process of developing and growing skills to continually get better & better at building your business. When I say 'program,' I don't mean your company. I mean it is your plan or schedule of activities, procedures, etc. to be followed to reach success in your network marketing business!

The reality of the network marketing profession is that many times we join a company out of emotion or maybe we went looking for a company and sign up with the first person we come into contact with. One of the biggest complaints (however, I call them excuses) is that, 'Oh, my upline isn't teaching me,' or 'My upline just quit and now I have no one to turn to.' Again, this excuse crap because if one is truly dedicated to finding success in our profession, they will undoubtedly find it in THEMSELVES to figure it out by finding mentors.

Mentors are critical, but realize, that sometimes, a mentor may not be your immediate upline or maybe not even in your own company or industry! A mentor is defined as 'a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.' Mentors usually come free of charge. They are usually someone who is successful, and successful people tend to genuinely want to help others succeed. The 'Go-Giver' effect (great book, by the way by Bob Burg!). Mentors are sometimes stumbled upon or maybe they are someone one has known for a long time. No matter what, the goal of a mentor is to motivate you, guide you, inspire you to be better, no matter what!

I, personally, have several mentors. Some don't even know they are my mentor! I have had a business mentor for 16 years. He was my first boss right out of college and he took me under his wing. I had NO skills, NO guts, NOTHING at 21, but Henry saw more in me than I saw in myself. He taught me business skills without saying, 'I'm going to teach you some negotiating skills today, Vidette!' He was an extremely humorous man and would just say, 'Watch this!' He'd dial up a client, 'schmooz' the client, hang up the phone with an order. We would laugh and, at the time, I didn't really know what I was learning. Looking back, I now realized the importance of relationships in ANY business. He had an amazing relationship with his clients, and where I thought it was 'schmoozing,' I now realize it was Henry building and reinforcing his relationship with the client. I left the company, at Henry's direction, a couple years later, but he wanted more for me. It was time for me to move on and Henry guided me in the direction. I still stay in touch with Henry and he always knows what I'm doing because he set me on my path and now that I've never been in a happier place, I owe a lot of that to Henry.

Another mentor of mine is my business coach Jeffrey Combs. I was introduced to Jeffrey through a mutual friend, and I hired him that day. Jeffrey has changed my life by helping me reveal and see emotional barriers that had been holding me back in becoming successful. I had been carrying limiting beliefs for so long that I didn't even know I had them. I still have limiting beliefs, but because Jeffrey has helped me identify them, I am more aware of them and work around them. He is an amazing person who has a skill of changing 1,000's of people's lives and I aspire to do the same!

I have professional mentors. David Wood is one of my mentors and he doesn't even know it! I am not in his company, nor do we know each other personally. That said, I still consider him a mentor because EVERY single training I have seen him present has given me multiple 'A-ha' moments! He provides amazing value to his subscribers and I embrace it, implement it, and reap the rewards of the knowledge he passes on for FREE! I continue to follow him and keep up with how his business is progressing and I implement ALL that he teaches. I am writing this article today because David suggested to write one article per day for 100 days. He is one of my mentors, so I am doing as I am told!

I have another mentor named Carol that I met at a random networking event. We had so much in common and felt like we were long lost partners. She's in another company, but we continue to mastermind together. I have these random ideas of things I'd like to do. The ideas aren't clear or well-thoughtout, but she gives me ideas. Most importantly, she gives me the inspiration to make those ideas come to fruition! She is pushing me to keep brainstorming and adding small nuggets to my ideas. I truly appreciate having her in my life and we're very new in our business relationship.

Mentors have changed my life drastically. My upline is an extremely inspiring mentor as well. She is very successful, earns an amazing income, but still is a devoted mom, loves her husband, and lives life to the fullest. However, most of my mentors aren't even affiliated with my company. I have chosen to make my career a ridiculously successful one! I am visualizing now more than ever a bigger life than I had originally dreamed of. What my nephew would call a 'Re-donk-u-lous life!' I see that vision more clearly now because of the mentors I have attracted into my life. They challenge me to dream bigger than I'd let myself dream in the past.

I know as my path stretches in front of me, I will attract new mentors who will be there to guide me to the next phase of my success. But it all started with one. Identify if you have a STRONG mentor. Find one, find a couple, but find someone that can hold your hand down your pathway to success. NO successful person will tell you they got there alone. They may not say, 'Oh, my mentor's name was....,' however, but they will say things like, 'I met a guy who taught me how to....' or 'I partnered with someone who inspired me to .....' THIS was a mentor to him at the time. Who will help you see the full vision of your MLM program? Who will be the person that leads you to defining moments in your life?