Today's song is You Showed Me by The Turtles, released in 1968.

It's always good to have someone help you learn your way through some of your experiences in life. I've been blessed to have many people show me the steps on my path. Mentoring, as it is known, is an important subject to me.

At my Twin Oaks Toastmasters meeting today, I gave a mentoring leadership speech using that PowerPoint Presentation. Mentoring is strong in our club and I believe, is one of the reasons our club is an award-winning club year-after-year.

In my work career, I've had several people mentor me when I was starting out as a telephone installer, a machinist, and a budding computer technology consultant wanna-be. I couldn't have succeed in those fields without the great mentors I had then.

It would be rare if a person became proficient in any field of study without a mentor. If you can serve as a mentor to someone, go ahead. If you're looking for a mentor, pick a good one.

Below is the cover of a Coaching and Mentoring book I read that provides techniques and guidelines for mentors. It is not part of Toastmasters and has some good points for those interested in being mentors in corporate life.

I started a new section on this web site today, Short Stories Introduction. It will be a place where I publish short stories as I explore my writing inspirations. My first story of the two there now is, The Parallel World.

I end today's message with the following Digital Insight.

Sphere Of Influence (Created in June 2003)

A natural leader intrinsically knows how to motivate people. Team mentors have a similar effect on members of their teams. People naturally follow another because they want to, not because they have to.

Every person is within someone's sphere of influence whether we acknowledge it or not. Sometimes we are the center of that sphere and we do not know it. Using my own words, I quote a portion from that page's narration:

"A mentor has influence over the students and they over the mentor. Influence is not always a one-way street.

I believe influence is not always an intended consequence, but, nonetheless is often the result of even a "chance" meeting between people."

Don