Do you ever think back in your life and wonder where you'd be if just one thing was different? Like a bad Hollywood movie that keeps going back in time to change one little detail, resulting in a totally different outcome?
That's how I feel about a very special lady - a Mentor of mine - who altered the course I was on in a big way. A woman, by the name of Barb Mullen, who had a profound impact on my life. Would I have ever become a business owner had it not been for her? Maybe, but who really knows? I'd like to think I had it in me, but would I have been confident enough to make a move if it hadn't been, what I perceived to be, such a sure thing?
Barb took a chance on this young 20 something girl-yet-to-be-a-real-woman. She saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. She was able to look past this rough around the edges, semi-unprofessional at times, exterior and see the potential within. Barb took me under her wing, showed me the ropes and gave me the courage to rise above what I had known up until that point. And when she challenged my capacity to build a business when I was already so "busy" - I saw it as a dare to summon everything within me to make a go of it. Nearly 10 years later and I'm so glad I did.
A good mentor has been where you want to go and will take the time to help you get there too. That's what Barb did for me, and it changed my life!
Watch more about how "it all started with a mentor" in the first Friday at Five video.