What Happens When Your Mentors Businesses Go Bust?

If you want to succeed in business, you need to have a great business mentor.

Mine was the Laptop Millionaire, Anthony Robbins was mentored by Jim Rohn, Richard Branson had Freddie Laker, etc. Like Raymond Aaron says, 'Without a mentor, your very best thinking has got you exactly where you are today…'

But what happens when your mentors' businesses go bust?

In the past few months, even as my own business has gone from strength to strength, I have observed: - Mentor #1: lost £2 million pounds when the UK real estate bubble burst. - Mentor #2: went from £3.75m a year to having just 300 pounds to his name, because of a nasty divorce. - Mentor #3: lost 75% of his assets and became an alcoholic when his wife left him - Mentor #4: is being accused of setting up a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors of millions of euros - Mentor #5: went from $10,000 a month in passive income to zero when Google introduced the 'Penguin' update and his sites disappeared from the search engines.

Here are the 4 lessons I've taken from this:

1) Don't be lazy. Don't be greedy. In almost every single case they got too greedy, and that proved to be their downfall. If you are motivated by a sense of purpose, a mission that gets you excited about life, rather than just 'doing it for the money', you probably won't experience these sorts of life 'crashes'.

2) Always add more value My business has grown year after year for 8 straight years because I've kept creating content and events that people enjoy, value, and benefit from. Profits may not be stratospheric, but are consistent and sustainable. Money is nothing but the measure of how much value you are creating for other people. Or, like Brian Tracy says, 'You get paid in direct proportion to the amount of value that you deliver according to the marketplace.' Does your business mentor have a sustainable business model?

3) Don't rely on just a single source of income or traffic. If your business is reliant exclusively on Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. you don't have a business. Instead, use the Internet and these aforementioned websites to build a list of loyal fans, subscribers, and clients that want to do business with you over and over again, for years to come.

4) "Happy Wife, Happy Life!" My South African friend Craig often reminds me of this saying. 'Happy Wife, Happy Life!' A loving and nurturing relationship, and having a supportive partner, can be the best asset on your quest for financial independence.

Oh, and a fifth lesson: What was it about my own mindset that attracted these specific individuals into my life? Was it naivety? Is this part of growing up as a business owner? Or was it my own greed glands kicking in?

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