Can You Relate to Your Mentor Anymore?
Hi all,
I've basically been on hiatus from anything remotely related to business and marketing the last few months. I've been dealing with serious burnout and also some physical/medical issues and shelved everything (IM and school (I've been going part-time for the last 4 years)) except my day job. (And if I could have shelved that too, I would have.
But I AM thankful to have a job.) I haven't looked at anything marketing related in quite a while (and I'm a marketing junkie!) and don't check my e-mail for days at a time. I log on to check Facebook (where 98% of my list are personal friends and family -- I only have about 4 business-related contacts on there) and that's about it.
I'm slowly coming back, but very slowly. I've registered for the spring semester (after flunking classes in the Spring of 2009) and am slowly coming back to IM. Unfortunately, I got a nasty case of Upper Respiratory Infection along a sinus thing (which gives me serious, dull, throbbing sinus headaches -- and I NEVER get headaches!). Uuughh! I'm, getting better, but this week marks a solid MONTH that I've been dealing with it.
As for IM... I haven't looked at any of the marketing materials I have and my own business activities and list has slowly withered due to lack of attention. I'm a marketing junkie and LOVE LOVE LOVE IM. But I hate the often-incestuous nature of IM: IMers selling to other IMers. That had a lot of do with why I shelved IM entirely for a while. I needed a breather and just get away from it all for a while.
I'm also SICK SICK SICK of all the e-mails I get from all of the IMers. GGRRRR! It's great when you're new and soaking up as much info as possible. But I'm a long way from being new to IM and I'm just OVER the e-mails. I'm unsubscribing from everyone's list and I don't check my e-mail for days at a time. (And I've been GLUED to my computer until my hiatus.)
I want to start again, but am finding it difficult to find the motivation. I think it's one of those things where I'll have to do it IN SPITE of the fact that I have no motivation and THEN I'll feel motivated.
Since I've been out of work so much because of illness this year, funds are incredibly tight, so I feel like I'm truly starting over. It's incredibly frustrating.
Anyway, all of that is just background. I'm not complaining, just venting and giving you background for my question:
Have you ever felt like you can no longer relate to or get as much value from your mentor as you did previously? That's where I am and I find it incredibly frustrating.
As we're all aware, there are a lot of IM G-U-R-U-S (soory, I hate the way this forum changes the name to "Goober") and though it's easy to get inundated and overwhelmed with all of their info and marketing, hopefully Warriors have found at least one whom they could follow, learn from and model.
I found one: Alexandria Brown. I've been a huge fan for a long time, primarily because she marketed IM info to NON-IM businesses. I also liked her style and the way she taught things.
She's been growing her business fast and furious and in the last year, she went BIG. She's now much more than just a one-person show with a couple of virtual assistants. She's now a huge corporation.
As I come back to IM, I find it very hard to relate to her at any level. She's still the same person and teaching the same things, so her info is no less valid, I'm sure. But she seems much less accessible than before, her topics have gone far beyond her main topic of IM, etc.
I've always liked the fact that she was willing to share personal information about herself (photos of herself, her friends and pets, her home, etc.), but now, she's grown so much and had such huge success that she seems so far beyond me and what I can personally attain. (Yes, I admit it: part of it is jealousy.) But seeing such a gorgeous woman (when I struggle with physical difficulties every day due to a genetic condition) with so much wealth (when I'm struggling financially due to job absences due to medical difficulties)... Well, it makes it very hard to relate at all. And "losing" my mentor is very frustrating.
This isn't about Ali Brown per se. I'm just using my mentor and situation as an example.
Has anyone else had this problem? How did you deal with it?
Granted, I'll feel better when I feel better physcially. (Being ill puts a damper on EVERYTHING.) I'm feeling more motivated since I registered for school and started at least looking at my IM stuff again. But the prospect of starting over again is disheartening.
Thanks for listening,
Michelle
I've basically been on hiatus from anything remotely related to business and marketing the last few months. I've been dealing with serious burnout and also some physical/medical issues and shelved everything (IM and school (I've been going part-time for the last 4 years)) except my day job. (And if I could have shelved that too, I would have.
But I AM thankful to have a job.) I haven't looked at anything marketing related in quite a while (and I'm a marketing junkie!) and don't check my e-mail for days at a time. I log on to check Facebook (where 98% of my list are personal friends and family -- I only have about 4 business-related contacts on there) and that's about it.I'm slowly coming back, but very slowly. I've registered for the spring semester (after flunking classes in the Spring of 2009) and am slowly coming back to IM. Unfortunately, I got a nasty case of Upper Respiratory Infection along a sinus thing (which gives me serious, dull, throbbing sinus headaches -- and I NEVER get headaches!). Uuughh! I'm, getting better, but this week marks a solid MONTH that I've been dealing with it.
As for IM... I haven't looked at any of the marketing materials I have and my own business activities and list has slowly withered due to lack of attention. I'm a marketing junkie and LOVE LOVE LOVE IM. But I hate the often-incestuous nature of IM: IMers selling to other IMers. That had a lot of do with why I shelved IM entirely for a while. I needed a breather and just get away from it all for a while.
I'm also SICK SICK SICK of all the e-mails I get from all of the IMers. GGRRRR! It's great when you're new and soaking up as much info as possible. But I'm a long way from being new to IM and I'm just OVER the e-mails. I'm unsubscribing from everyone's list and I don't check my e-mail for days at a time. (And I've been GLUED to my computer until my hiatus.)
I want to start again, but am finding it difficult to find the motivation. I think it's one of those things where I'll have to do it IN SPITE of the fact that I have no motivation and THEN I'll feel motivated.
Since I've been out of work so much because of illness this year, funds are incredibly tight, so I feel like I'm truly starting over. It's incredibly frustrating.Anyway, all of that is just background. I'm not complaining, just venting and giving you background for my question:
Have you ever felt like you can no longer relate to or get as much value from your mentor as you did previously? That's where I am and I find it incredibly frustrating.
As we're all aware, there are a lot of IM G-U-R-U-S (soory, I hate the way this forum changes the name to "Goober") and though it's easy to get inundated and overwhelmed with all of their info and marketing, hopefully Warriors have found at least one whom they could follow, learn from and model.
I found one: Alexandria Brown. I've been a huge fan for a long time, primarily because she marketed IM info to NON-IM businesses. I also liked her style and the way she taught things.
She's been growing her business fast and furious and in the last year, she went BIG. She's now much more than just a one-person show with a couple of virtual assistants. She's now a huge corporation.
As I come back to IM, I find it very hard to relate to her at any level. She's still the same person and teaching the same things, so her info is no less valid, I'm sure. But she seems much less accessible than before, her topics have gone far beyond her main topic of IM, etc.
I've always liked the fact that she was willing to share personal information about herself (photos of herself, her friends and pets, her home, etc.), but now, she's grown so much and had such huge success that she seems so far beyond me and what I can personally attain. (Yes, I admit it: part of it is jealousy.) But seeing such a gorgeous woman (when I struggle with physical difficulties every day due to a genetic condition) with so much wealth (when I'm struggling financially due to job absences due to medical difficulties)... Well, it makes it very hard to relate at all. And "losing" my mentor is very frustrating.
This isn't about Ali Brown per se. I'm just using my mentor and situation as an example.
Has anyone else had this problem? How did you deal with it?
Granted, I'll feel better when I feel better physcially. (Being ill puts a damper on EVERYTHING.
) I'm feeling more motivated since I registered for school and started at least looking at my IM stuff again. But the prospect of starting over again is disheartening.Thanks for listening,
Michelle
Right Now. What a wonderful time to start!