Dear Sunrider Business Leader,

Some years ago I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time on my friend's ranch in Arizona with two of my children. During these visits we had many great experiences that to me highlight several major principles we need to keep in mind as we build our Sunrider business. So this and the next two emails will be centered on our experiences at the ranch.

I had the chance to take two of my children, Angela and Jared (16 & 14), for spring break to the ranch. After riding to the back side of the mountain, we started gathering cows and pushing them back up the canyon. I sent Angela up the canyon first with a group of cows and then later sent Jared with some cows to follow her. My friend Cliff and I went further down the canyon, picked up some more cows and followed them up the canyon. However, by the time we got to the top of the canyon ... Angela and Jared were not to be found.

Realize this is hot, rugged, desert country with hundreds of canyons, and as my fatherly mind went through all the possible places they could have gotten lost ... the task of finding them seemed quite daunting. Fortunately, within 30 minutes they caught up with us ... and I was one relieved father.

Here is what happened. Angela and Jared met up and combined both groups of cows, but when they came to a fork in the trail, they had two choices ... the hard trail (the correct one) and the easy trail (the wrong one). Well, the cows chose the easy trail and the kids figured the cows knew where they were going, so they kept pushing. The kids ended up on the ridge above us when we later came up the canyon ... thus we missed them. What saved them is that I'd previously taken a moment with Jared and in the dirt drew a map of how to get back to the ranch house and the major landmarks ... I gave him a basic plan to get home. Then I had him rehearse back the plan, point north, and identify landmarks.

What does this have to do with mentoring? In this business there are hundreds of wrong canyons you can go up and waste a lot of time and resources. With Jared I made sure he understood the plan, but think of the saved effort if he could have got me on the radio and said, "Dad, do we go left or right? Right looks better." I could have told him that in spite of looks, go left ... take the tough trail and you will be more successful.

This is what mentoring is all about, from your mentor you should ...

1. Get a clear explanation of the plan and how it works.
2. Also call (notice that YOU should call) that mentor at least weekly and review your activities and plan your future.
3. If faced with a fork in the road, call your mentor and make sure it isn't a dead end!

Sincerely,

Paul Jensen

Mentoring is a powerful leadership tool that many Sunrider Business Owners are not using.

• Take the initiative! If you have not found a mentor in your upline, then do it today.
• Your mentor should be a Group Business Leader or higher.
• Your sponsor will be your main mentor, but if your sponsor isn't a Group Business Leader, then ask your sponsor to introduce you to a Group Business Leader or higher in your upline so you have access to more than one mentor.
• Then make sure any of your new IBO's are introduced to an upline mentor other than yourself so they have at least two relationships to work with. Use this powerful tool.
• Every person in Sunrider has upline leaders who would be happy to mentor you and your new IBO's. Don't ignore this powerful tool for building your business.