As a dance teacher, people are always willing to give you advice on all kinds of matters. They will give you advice on who to teach for, what to teach and how to fix a problem you may be having. The world is full of people willing to give unsolicited advice. Sadly, there are almost as many people willing to take that advice, without taking the time to do it correctly. Even though people ask for it, ironically, most people feel advice is worth what it costs - nothing. This is probably true in most cases.

There is a way around this. You could pay for advice, which can be a smart thing to do. For example, you would be smart to pay an attorney to get legal advice. Do you want to know the ultimate secret about seeking advice?

It is very simple, but often overlooked. Here it is:

Ask the most qualified person for the right advice.

Don't let the sheer simplicity of this statement trick you. It is very powerful, but also easy to overlook. This technique works in any part of your life - health, spiritual matters, business, finances, relationships, and so on. Whether it is professional or friendly advice, the idea remains the same.

Let's say you are having some small problem with your employer. Would it make sense to complain to a friend and then ask them for their advice? Or, would it make more sense to seek the advice of someone who is very happy where they are working to discover how they developed the relationship they have with their employer? Obviously, if you want to have a successful relationship with your boss, the latter choice makes a lot more sense, yet people tend to be carefree in asking for and giving advice.

This applies in the business realm as well. People tend to value advice from people who may not even own a business, even though they would not be any more qualified to give such advice. As mentioned above, it would make sense to ask an attorney for legal advice, but that does not automatically qualify them to tell you what stocks to buy or how to fix your car. Same holds true with a business problem. Most people do not seek out help from someone who can really help them. They would much rather complain or vent. While this can be helpful for the moment it very rarely produces positive results.

Here is some free advice that could actually be worth something. Starting right now, try to ask yourself this simple question before seeking any advice.

"What makes this person qualified to give me advice?"

Asking, and answering, this simple question will help you to focus on finding the best person to help you. It may take some time to find the right person to ask, but keep trying. Now, to be fair to others, when someone asks you for advice that you are less than qualified to give, let them know and try to steer them in the right direction.

The one caveat here is that if you are asking someone who is qualified, then you have to be willing to follow their advice. Perhaps this is why people are lax in seeking out the best source to get advice. Deep down they know if they get advice from a qualified person, there is an obligation to follow it. On the other hand, when they get advice from just anyone - they can readily ignore the advice by claiming the one giving it didn't know what they were talking about.

While it may seem easy to be carefree in seeking advice, it is more productive to seek it properly. Make it a habit to ask the right person for advice, follow that advice and you will soon find your life improving in ways you never thought possible.

Here is a great idea!

Create a mastermind group with dance teachers that you know. Email a list of 7 people who you know and see if they would be interested in creating a group that would have a monthly call to discuss opportunities, issues and problem solving.  The key is that everyone must be committed and be willing to devote this time monthly. It does not have to be long, say thirty minutes once a month to start you could always increase the time if needed. Try this and I think you will be thrilled with the results!