The One Coming Behind You…

We all have goals dreams and ambitions! In each of us there are desires that cause us to rise early and stay up late burning the midnight oil, if we respond to their call. Every earnest pursuit requires us to open our thinking and expand our knowledge. With every success comes the challenge to grow and adjust to changes that naturally occur in our fields of interest (to say nothing of the sudden shifts sparked by social change).
To be great at anything, a significant amount of painstaking work, effort and commitment is required.
Excellence and extreme dedication are embedded in the details of every story of achievement. But another significant aspect of success is mentoring: sharing and pouring into the life of another beautiful soul, all of the valuable lessons you’ve learned along your rigorous journey. The nuggets of wisdom you’ve identified along the way are tried, true, and extend far beyond book knowledge. They often provide both life and resource preserving short cuts for the one coming behind you. There is always an eager mind coming behind you. The most innovative leaders of our time recognize this truth and often make an investment in someone today, that ensures a brighter tomorrow.
Whether you are single, married, young or old, there is always someone watching you as you strive for your individual success. It may be a family member, a peer, someone else’s child, or perhaps a colleague. The specifics vary immeasurably, but the reality remains that somewhere not too far  from your tenacious field of dreams, stands a keen observer who is taking detailed notes of your work ethic, attitude, disposition when working with others and when solving conflicts. Once you recognize who they are, deliberately give them more. The act of giving back has a supernatural way of strengthening the giver and adding surplus to your endeavors in the process. Trust me I know this to be true firsthand.
Then overtime without warning, you will discover you have the privilege of enjoying multiple harvests; the one which is the direct result of your ambitious efforts and then the numerous ones resulting from the many lives you’ve poured into. As a ritual I bring my youngest daughter Lori to Paris Fashion Week every year. I do it for so many reasons, it exposes her to the industry’s greatest designers/artisans, in addition to serving as an intimate time for me to share so much with her while I’m working. I want these memories to shape a bold, fearless, imaginative leader who is not afraid to be beautiful, cultured, astute, and even global (if she so desires) in her sphere of influence. I also use this time to talk intimately with my staff about vision, strategizing, and implementing new ideas. This is all a very different form of mentoring than the camps that I run with my husband, but extremely beneficial nonetheless. Because true success is not only measured by how far we travel in life alone, but in some respects it is most seen in how many others we inspire to be great and successful along the way!