Sensei/Grasshopper Is Back!

It's time for Round III of the Sensei/Grasshopper Challenge!

 

For those of you new to AR since last March, and those who missed participating in previous years, the Sensei/Grasshopper challenge focuses on two of the things this community does best - sharing skills and making connections with other members.

 

ActiveRain is an information-rich environment. There are literally millions of blog posts in the archives, many of which are how-to articles relating to things like technology and real estate marketing. There are also a large number of tutorials, recorded webinars and a regular schedule of live classes available. If there is anything in real estate you need to know, the odds are pretty good you can find out about it here.

 

But sometimes reading about how to do something isn't quite enough. Sometimes a bit of background is needed, or more detail, or a one-on-one walk-through, or maybe just a friendly bit of support and encouragement. Sometimes, a mentor can make a huge difference.

 

The Sensei/Grasshopper Challenge is about mentorship. Its purpose is to encourage AR members to make productive connections and to share skills, techniques and insights. It's about becoming better - as individuals and as a community - at what we do, whether it's selling, staging, lending, inspecting, constructing or repairing, or providing title for our clients.

 

There are two ways to participate in the challenge:

 

1. Grasshopper: Get a Mentor

Join the Sensei/Grasshopper group. You can write a post in this group requesting help with a subject you'd like to learn how to do. Or you could look for someone offering to help you do something you'd like to learn. Or you could contact someone directly to arrange help. So if you see someone doing something you want to learn, go ahead and get in touch with them. However you choose to do it, make a connection.

Be as specific as possible in describing what you want. And be practical - we're all busy, so if someone is going to take time to help you, don't ask for something massive and general, like "I'd like to learn to sell homes". What are people doing here that seems interesting and might be something you'd do if you could figure it out?

This is a short-term commitment - whatever it is, your use of a mentor will only be to set you on the road and show you the way. It wouldn't surprise me if you developed long-lasting friendships and connections from this contest, but that's not a requirement from either side.

To qualify for points, you will have to write a blog post describing your experience - tell us what you learned from your mentor and how you're using it. Post it in Sensei/Grasshopper.

 

2. Sensei: Be a Mentor

Join the Sensei/Grasshopper group. Look for someone who needs to learn what you already know . Or write a post offering to teach someone a specific skill. Make a connection and help them get started. Set up a short-term timeline for your assistance.

To qualify for points, write a blog post describing your experience - tell us what assistance you provided and how it's going to be used. Share some detail about your assistance - maybe it can help others as well. Post it in Sensei/Grasshopper.

 

That's it.

 

Well, there is a bit more - the rules:

 

Dates: This challenge runs from Tuesday, April 1 through Wednesday, April 30. All posts qualifying for the challenge must be posted by 11:59 PM, April 30 to qualify for points.

 

Mentor/Mentee: You actually have to establish a relationship with someone and actually do something for this challenge. That seems obvious, but there have been attempts in previous years to claim points for making a comment in a Grasshopper's request for help post. That didn't fly then and it ain't gonna fly now.

Any ActiveRain member can be either a mentor or mentee, or both, as many times as you like, but you're only going to get one points award for this challenge. We're thinking that this is basically a one-on-one experience, but if you'd like to try something a bit different, e-mail me and we'll see if it makes sense within the general idea of the challenge. In the past, we've had Senseis with mulitple Grasshoppers on a specific subject.

 

Qualifying for points: Please read this carefully and try to get it right the first time...please?

1. Everyone qualifying for points must write a post, as described above, in the Sensei/Grasshopper group. A request for help post or an offer of help post does not satisfy this requirement.

2. Important!! When you have posted your final report to Sensei/Grasshopper, send me an e-mail (richardg@maryanddick.com), with a link to your post, your name & your AR username, and the name of the AR member who you worked with on this challenge. Please put "Sensei Grasshopper" in the subject line. Just posting in the Sensei/Grasshopper group or leaving a link in the comments on this post will not get you points.

 

Points: Everyone who successfully completes the challenge will be awarded 2,000 points!

 

Questions? E-mail me - richardg@maryanddick.com

 

Best of luck, and remember - have fun!

Mary & Dick Greenberg New Paradigm Partners LLC 2601 S. Lemay Ave. #41 Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-689-4663 www.maryanddick.com