Most successful people have a lot of guidance and support along their journey. One or more of these key people are mentors. Mentors are a special group of people. They give of their time and expertise to help others along the way. The kind of guidance they provide includes teaching their mentee, pushing them, believing in them, and even opening up doors to them through their broad network.

What drives these mentors? It’s pretty simple. They too were helped in their journey. Their promise to their mentors as an expression of gratitude for what they learned from them is to help others. To pay it forward and guide others just as they have been mentored in their lives. It’s the wonderful cycle of mentorship that allows the process to continue from one generation to the next.

Do you need a mentor? Maybe you’ve been successful without one or more mentors.  I guess it’s possible but very hard to imagine.

For me, I can’t imagine my life without the mentors I had along the way. My first mentor was my private music teacher. He came from a very musical family and also had a successful career as a trumpet player in Gene Krupa’s band, including filming a movie for Paramount. He played trumpet, cello and piano and taught privately for many years, but also worked as a band director at the elementary through high school levels. He took teaching jobs in low income neighborhoods of the town where I grew up so he could make a difference in young people’s lives. And he did. He became a close friend of the family and was always there for us. When my parents couldn’t afford private lessons, he still gave them to me and let me work off the time manicuring his back yard, which was already in pristine condition. He recommended my name for gigs and introduced me to many of the connections in his network.

Then at university, I was fortunate enough to acquire another great mentor. This music professor was the reason I attended that university, and he pushed me very hard while I was his student. He made me a better player and never gave up on me. I eventually achieved my dream of landing a job as a professional musician. After a year of working that gig, I realized that the music industry was my true passion, and he helped me make a great connection at a music company in his network. That company hired me and I ended up having a 29 year career there.

The president of that music company eventually became my mentor, and he was an incredible mentor. I was inspired by his experience of building the company from a four person staff to a multi-million company with employees all over the world. He taught me how to build the best products, provide the highest level of customer service, and how to be the best boss you could possibly imagine. When you worked for his company you felt like you were a part of his family and you were happy to help the company succeed. He was like a father to me and his confidence in me spurred me on to achieve more.

For my coaching business, I have two great mentors. One ran some of the most important music companies in the music products industry and now runs an extremely successful coaching business. The other is a former co-worker from the UK who also has run a very successful coaching business in Europe. These two individuals are my close friends but also true mentors who believe in me as a business coach and push me to be better all the time.

In addition to business coaching, one of my great loves is mentoring my university students as they progress through their academic education and pursue their dreams in the music industry. Just as my mentors have done for me, I am pleased to do for my students and clients as a thank you to their mentorship, paying it forward.