Are you a mentor?

I was at a conference up in Park City recently and during a panel discussion, the topic of mentoring came up. First of all, I had no business being in this meeting. This meeting was for leaders of state and industry and I felt very inferior. However, mentoring is a topic of passion for me and I couldn't resist asking a question.

"How are the members of the panel currently participating in mentoring efforts?" There I had said my peace.

But then, for the next hour the panel and audience dove into my question and many thanked me for asking it afterwards.

Are you an active mentor? Have you reached a level of status and success that could aid someone not as far along as you?

One of the guests of the conference was a very high level executive in a Fortune 500 company.  I have met this gentleman once before and when I introduced myself he actually remembered me!  He asked if I was still looking for a job in his company and asked if he could help.  I emailing him my resume and he forwarded it onto the VP of Marketing.  I'm not sure if anything will come of this, but the guy changed my life.  I learned that the little things matter.  I learned that nobody is too important to help or insignificant to be helped. Take an extra minute here or there to impart your wisdom or share your connections with someone who is struggling as you once were. Thank you Mark.