Yesterday, I saw my good friend/mentor for the first time in months and I was quickly reminded of why she has had such a huge influence on my personal life and career.
She was a friend before I realized she was my mentor. She started out as a coworker 12 years my senior with whom I would party in Hollywood! But as we got to know each other and as I grew “into my adulthood,” I always confided in her and turned to her for advice in my personal and professional life. Despite being coworkers, she always encouraged me to pursue my passions and constantly reminded me that my job was beneath me. She even got me into a Tony Robbins seminar for free (she used to work for him) because she knew I needed a major butt-kicking if I was going to change my life.
I trust her opinion and her counsel because she is so much more experienced and has been through a lot in her life, including surviving an abusive childhood and making life decisions that would raise anyone’s eyebrows. In her career, she has been everything from a truck driver to a private event coordinator, and has pulled out all the stops to get to where she wanted to go: When she decided she wanted to work for Tony Robbins, she went directly to his company’s headquarters and told the receptionist, “I want to work here.” She showed up every day until they hired her. And when she was meeting a prospective employer for lunch, she borrowed a friend’s flashy car to increase her odds at getting the salary she would demand — image is everything right? It worked.
By no means is she perfect nor does she have a perfect life. She seems to get hit with a lot of very serious, difficult situations, but she works hard at just getting through them all one by one. She knows the tools for survival, understands the power of choice and is a damn good communicator.
I admire her for being an imperfect, resilient, strong woman.
