M is for Mentors

[ First I wanted to be this ] ...

[ Then I dreamed I'd be the most amazing ballerina the world had seen ]

“What do you want to be when you grow up Anna” – was a question I got continually when I was younger, especially years 6,7, and 8. “I’m going to own a hotel” was always my response and I truly wanted that and believed with my whole heart that that is what I was going to do and was able to do. “oh, don’t be silly, you can’t OWN a hotel, wherever did you think of that” was the normal response. “Just watch me” I replied.

I believe this was the start of my entrepreneurial passion and the birth of my un shakable love for anything business. My mum was always my biggest believer and supporter and used to say I could be whatever I wanted to be. When I was very little I wanted to be a fireman, a policeman and then a ballerina and I still remember mum saying to anything I wanted to be that I could do it, and be the best at it.

Today. I want to entrepreneur. It’s my love, my passion and my drive. If you asked exactly what entrepreneuring is. I couldn’t give you a straight answer. I just know I am always searching for new business ideas that excite and inspire me.

As I’ve gotten older I saw the importance of having daily mentors (leading business people in fields I love) and then bigger mentors who you might not ever meet, but who’s words you sought after and advice you held dear like they’d said it just for you.

I have a long list of both aforementioned mentors to date but I sadly lost one of those mentors today (one who I used for inspiration & insight) …

Steve Jobs.

Sure he hadn’t invented a cure for cancer or come up with a new theory on Mc=2 but he was a hero in my eyes for his accomplishments, drive and perseverance from a very young age and for making his mark in the biggest way as an entrepreneur. I will miss his future advice but his legacy will live on.

I thought it apt to share with you a quote of his that I loved when I stumbled across it at uni a year ago when our entrepreneurship lecturer made us watch his Stanford commencement speech he did in 2005.

It inspires me to continue chasing my dreams and always love what I do. And to this day, I have and looking forward to the future, I always will.

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."


RIP Steve.

Photo sources here and here