Have you ever felt that the longer you play this game called life you realize that someone else keeps changing the rules? We work hard all week, all month and all year just to find the cheese, and then once we finally do find it -- it gets moved.

Dr. Spencer Johnson even wrote a book on this phenomenon in 1998 called, "Who Moved My Cheese?" It is a great book, but I like to make fun of the fact that I don't care WHO moved it, I just want to know where it is now.

You've heard life referred to as the rat race, correct? The modern day story describes the laboratory mouse that is put into the maze to find the cheese. Day after day the scientist times the mouse who shows noticeable improvement in finding the cheese.

It reminds me of my early days in real estate. It took eleven months for me to find the cheese, or my payoff. Once I did find it, I followed the same step by step plan each and every day and became quite proficient at earning a living.

Then the market changed -- someone moved my cheese. When the automotive industry took a hit, my home town of Detroit Michigan took an economic hit. You can imagine what it did to spending dollars; the real estate market fell into a slump -- and I work commission!

I was okay, though, because by now I had learned the Final Secret to Success.

If you are reading this article then there is a good chance that you've already watched, listened and read about achieving success. What ever you have learned though still takes time to implement.

Ironically, there are people who continue to prosper in spite of difficult times or changing economic conditions. Their cheese gets moved, just like ours, but they have someone nearby to show them where it is now. A tour guide to your cheese, if you will.

It is a concept that dates back thousands of years and today we call it 'mentoring'. Conversations I've had with Zig Ziglar, Og Mandino and Les Brown have reinforced in me the power of a mentoring lifestyle. They told me that throughout their entire careers they have been involved in mentoring relationships, as mentors as well as protégés.

When we look outside our own industry we find that other career paths have mentoring built right into the job description. Think about how each of the following work; doctors, lawyers, models, athletes, actors, clergy, carpenters, tool makers and more. All of these people were protégés to mentors and then mentors to protégés.

If everyone were a protégé to a more experienced mentor and a mentor to a less experienced protégé, how much better off would the world be today?

I challenge you to find that unique one on one relationship and create that protégé to mentor and mentor to protégé connection. It will be a great benefit for you and them.

Get your free copy of the 16 Laws of Mentoring at CallFloyd.com or call at 1-800-910-5351.

Published: May 22, 2007

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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Floyd Wickman has dedicated three decades of his life teaching real estate agents how to be successful. Through his long running SweathogsTM training program (sold in 1999) and its successor the StarMaker S.M.A.R.T.TM program, Floyd Wickman has given the tools to success to over 250,000 real estate agents throughout North America. Floyd Wickman has authored six top selling books, has sold over one million audio programs, and was named one of the 25 most influential people in real estate. Salesperson Magazine named him "The Extraordinary Ordinary Man", he makes the hard stuff look easy. His favorite award is the rare CPAE, Council of Peers Award of Excellence from NSA, the National Speakers Association. If you have a question or comment for Floyd or would like him to speak at your event please visit CallFloyd.com and he will get back to you personally.

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