The wonderful thing about mentors is they come in all different packages at various times in your life.  I have had mentors of various ages, occupations, and cultures.  I have had mentors who took me under their wing and taught me their expertise and I have had mentors who never knew I was following their journey.  I have had mentors who taught me positive building blocks to prepare me for life and I have had mentors who I followed from afar.  Mentors who elevated me to a new level of competence and mentors who taught me what not to do…

One of my biggest realizations was understanding how many people are not getting enough attention in their lives.  When I taught junior high and high school I realized the need to give attention to kids, but as I progress through life I realize that need continues.  There are those of us who have family members who provide the needed attention that keeps us fueled.  Others do not have that support network.  For those of us who have a large circle of friends and family, this may seem like a foreign concept; but numerous people are starving for attention.  The type…

“Pay it forward” is something that is talked about often, but until you experience both the giving and receiving I don’t think one fully understands the true impact.  During a VERY icy, snowy wintery day, on the way home from an appointment one of my girls and I stopped at the local fast food restaurant.  The line for the drive-through was long.  As I was waiting, I saw three people get out of a car to go into the restaurant.  Two of the people were walking together, the other was walking alone, on the ice, using…

As a boss and parent, I always make it clear that mistakes happen.  When mistakes happen, if we all know about it we have time to solve the issue.  Nothing good comes out of hiding mistakes.  One of the biggest projection mistakes I made in business was when I was running a nonprofit.  The team knew to put me in the loop regarding issues or problems so we could proactively figure out a solution.  The biggest part of my job was solving problems.   This particular day a manager came into my office and sat down.  After the manager gathered composure…