The Power of a Mentor

by
Rosemary O’Neill

The GPO Style Manual was my Bible. But technical writing for a Federal Government contractor was slowly sucking the soul out of me. I’m not knocking it in general, but it really wasn’t for me.

Then one day, my supervisor called me into her office, and there sat a red-faced, genial guy with an easy laugh. His name was Dave Denne, and he changed the course of my life for the next 10 years. He was looking to recruit someone to join his marketing team, and he thought I might have the right stuff. My supervisor was dubious, but for some reason Dave believed in me. He persuaded her to let me jump ship, and I literally leapt at the chance.

Over the next several years, he taught me everything he knew about corporate marketing, networking, business communications, and specifically Federal proposals. I’ll never know why he came and plucked me out of the Flood Insurance Project, but it changed everything for me.

I share this story because often we don’t realize why certain people or opportunities are placed in front of us. The universe sends us messages all the time, and we simply need to be in receptive mode to tap into them. Are you in receptive mode right now?

I found out the other day that Dave passed away several years ago; he and I had finally fallen out of touch, but I will always be grateful for his invitation to start another path. He left me with the ability to walk up to a group of strangers at an event with confidence, and an amazing recipe for barbecue beans.

Perhaps we all need mentors for a certain time and place. Do you have a mentor right now? Who is giving you an invitation to a new path?

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Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out their blog. You can find her on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee
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