Meet my Mentor!

Last night I had the privilege of sharing a 2-hour dinner conversation (and really, my own private seminar!) with my fabulous mentor, Dr. Bob Ash. I'd love to introduce you to Bob and let you know a little more about this wonderful man who has opened up so many avenues to me.

Bob is a nationally-acclaimed speaker and trainer who, according to his website, has provided training to over 950 organizations and businesses, numbering over 270,000 people. Once he delivers a keynote or a seminar, he is almost always asked back to the same organization, but never delivers the same message twice to those audiences. He has spoken to or trained people from corporations like Reader's Digest, Hewlett-Packard, the Chicago Cubs, Pepsi, Pillsbury, The Gap, and Sprint and even organizations like the National Funeral Directors Association and the CIA. In addition to his great speaking and training career, Bob also is a former major league baseball player with the Cleveland Indians.

I first met Bob in 2001 when I was working at a training company, but struggling to find my real purpose. A friend of mine at the local Chamber of Commerce knew of my struggles, and she suggested that I call Bob Ash, a speaker who had become a friend of hers through his various presentations to national and local Chamber audiences. I didn't even know who he was at the time, but she told me to call him - and he would have some advice for me.

If I've learned nothing else over the past few years, I've learned that amazing things happen when I pick up the phone, so I took her advice, and called the number she gave me. I got an answering machine, so left a very strange message, never expecting to hear anything back. But a couple of days later, he called me and proceeded to give me suggestions and advice about my career for the next half hour.

Remember, now, that he had never met me before and knew absolutely nothing about me, except that I was a friend of a friend of his. That was good enough for Bob.

Since that time we have remained in close contact, and he has supported me at every turn with my speaking and training career, even opening some doors for me as a keynote speaker at national conferences.

Seeing him again last night reminded me of everything good in the world as we shared stories and ideas for new training programs as well as lessons we've learned since the last time we talked. In addition to his wisdom and his knowledge, Bob has shown me firsthand the amazing power of the "pay it forward" concept. He has given to me freely and I, in turn, have been inspired to become a mentor to someone else in my community, offering my coaching as she builds her career. I could never have known the amazing power of a mentoring relationship had it not been for Bob.

If you need a keynote speaker or a training program that goes way beyond the ordinary and makes your audiences think about things from a much different perspective, please consider Bob Ash. You'll learn all kinds of Life Lessons ... and will be transformed in the process! I know I certainly have been!