Out of the goodness of his heart

If you’re as fortunate as I have been, your life crosses paths with a few special people who will take a sincere interest in your well-being and try to help you and your career.  Whether they see a bit of themselves in you, or they like your parents and want to help you out of courtesy, or maybe you simply said the right thing at the right time and made a good impression, but this person suddenly wants to see you succeed.  You should thank your good fortune to have run across such a person and not feel guilty about seeking out help as long as it’s being offered.

Early in my career I ran into just such a person.  He always took my calls, made time to grab lunch with me every quarter, introduced me to HP executives and helped navigate my career.  He never made me feel badly nor guilty about reaching out and always did so with a smile on his face and a joke at the ready.  He made me feel like my career was his special project and he wasn’t going to let me fail.  This was simply part of his character and he got so much joy out of hearing about my ascent up the corporate ladder.  I even went so far as to asking his advice when I was contemplating leaving HPE and he encouraged me to pursue outside interests even though he had given his life to the company.

I learned so much from Jon Flaxman about what it was to mentor unselfishly, lead through example and how to give my time to others who sought advice.  Unfortunately, Jon passed away a few years ago, far too soon.  It wasn’t until his funeral that I learned that he made everyone that he cared about feel special, as if they were the only person in the room, and I, in turn, have tried to practice this with all of my relationships.

If you have someone in your life that wants to give you their time, your job is to take it.  If you don’t, shame on you, you’re only cheating yourself.