More than one way to apprenticeship

Dave Hoover posts in 'A Thread of Patterns' about his perception of the order of certain patterns within his patterns of apprenticeship, namely:

Find Your Master -> Be The Worst -> Accurate Self Assessment -> Expose Your Ignorance

I have a different perception: I won't go looking for a master until I have a problem I think he (or she, of course) can help me solve.  Self Assessment, accurate or not, seems to be at the beginning of the roads I travel toward self-improvement.