Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with many excellent people. I have many great people I look up to, but I do have my favorite mentors. In this blog post, I’m going to show you who my favorite mentors are, and why I look up to them so much.
 
 

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is someone I greatly admire. I have read her magazine for years. Watching her build such an amazing life has been truly inspirational, and I was very excited to hear her talk a few years ago at the Silver Dome. What an incredible life she has led! Meeting her is on my bucket list. If any of you have any ideas about how I might accomplish that, please let me know.   

Thanks, Oprah, for all the good and inspiration you provide! 

Jill Gleba

Jill and I met at the National Association of Women Business Owners about 15 years ago. It was one of those friendships in which everything just seems to click right from the start. Jill was starting a mastermind group and asked me to join. In this group, she taught me more than just goal setting; she taught me what needs to go behind those goals to make someone successful. Over the years, our friendship has grown; I have been a client of hers, and she has been a client of mine. I couldn’t ask for more. Thanks, Jill!

Darren Hardy

One Christmas, when we were working together, my former business coach, Rod Santimossimo, sent me a copy of Success Magazine, of which Darren was the publisher. The magazine came with a cd that one could listen to in the car and get great ideas about moving forward. After listening to Darren’s cd, I followed him on LinkedIn. Then, in 2017, I took one of his online classes, in which he shared ideas about how to organize one’s business and personal life. Since I started applying these practices, my sales have gone up, and I’m more focused than ever. Thanks, Darren. Even though we’ve never met, you’ve had a great influence on me.

Jack Canfield

Jack and his partner are incredibly successful and motivational publishers. I’ve read many of their books and purchased several of their online classes. They are truly one of my favorite mentors I have had the pleasure of looking up to.

One day, while surfing the web, I came across a very powerful video in which Jack was talking to a group of people who’d all had something go wrong in their lives. Each person blamed something other than themselves. He faced them, eyeball to eyeball, and told them that the thing that had happened was their fault. He rebuffed each excuse they brought forward. We often blame others for what happens to us, but once we are adults, it is time to take full responsibility for our lives and our actions. His message has resonated with me in my business and personal life.

Rich Fettke

Mentors can come in all forms. There are a few who I didn’t know personally, but I followed their advice. One in particular was Richard Fettkte. I’m not sure where or how I learned about him, but once I found him, my future changed for the better. He published Momentum and Extreme Success, and I used the principles he drew from extreme sports to overcome my fear in the commercial real estate world, where I am one of the few female commercial agents. Most people are not aware I have tried most extreme sports. The picture to the left is of me bungy jumping in New Zealand. If you can do extreme sports, you can do anything.

Peg Otsby

I met Peg through the National Association of Women Business Owners. During our friendship, she introduced me to the power of positive thinking and to T. Harv Eker, who had a major influence on my life as well. If things in life weren’t going my way, Peg was the first one to say, “imagine what you want the result to be.” She moved south a few years ago, but I still miss seeing her on a regular basis. She was a life-altering influence for me. Miss you, Peg!

Rod Santomassimo, The Massimo Group

Rod was a coach when I was hired in 2009. He tested me, challenged me, and taught me how to move forward in my business. He agreed with me that I wasn’t being treated very well in my position at the time, and he challenged me to find an alternative. As a woman in an all–male field, there weren’t many employment options that differed from the one I was already in (I’m glad this has changed in the last few years), so I started looking at opening my own firm.

It was interesting that as soon as I took Rod up on his challenge, I had 5 different offers to either join another team as an independent contractor or get capital to start my own firm. I really needed Rod’s help to push me to make this major change in my life, and to this day, I admire him and cannot thank him enough for challenging me to find a good solution for my long-term growth. Rod, you are the best coach I’ve ever had!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are an excellent mentor, and are one of my favorites.

Peter Lojko, Next Wave Wireless

Peter was my boss when I worked at Next Wave Wireless in Massachusetts. He taught me and his entire direct staff how to work with senior management. I’ve never met another manager who invested as much time and energy into growing his people. His suggestions and ideas were instrumental in propelling my career from that point forward. Unfortunately, Next Wave Wireless had to close their doors not too soon after we started working together. As I look back on that time, it is with much joy and happiness for everything that we accomplished and learned.

Brian Novak, Kelly Services

I was working at Kelly Services for about a year when Brian Novak suddenly entered the scene as my new boss. It can be scary when the person who hired you is no longer your boss. Brian proved to be one of my favorite bosses. He had a good eye for determining who in my department was working effectively and who was not. He trained me on how to get the staff up to speed or let them go. What I most appreciated about him is that he taught me how to work with senior management at Kelly. Working with Brian, I probably accomplished more in a corporate setting than most people ever get to do in an entire career. We were able to bring in outside help to catch the department up because they were way behind when I took over. We outsourced the real estate department, saving the corporation thousands of dollars. I am proud of what I accomplished in this position, and it would not have been possible without Brian’s guidance.

Brian, I hope you are doing well; so sorry that we lost touch.

Mary Rossi, Thyssen

I graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Science degree and a concentration in Accounting. My first real job was working as an accountant at Thyssen Steel in Oak Park, MI. Computers were around at this time, but they were rarely used, so we tracked steel inventory by hand on massive ledgers. I spent hours using a mechanical pencil to record ID numbers for pieces of steel. Mary taught me how to make sure the information I recorded was correct. This might sound like an odd skill, but it was a skill that served me for the rest of my life. Whenever I need to proofread numbers, I remember how she taught me to do the work. Thanks, Mary for being one of my favorite mentors!