Who is the mentor(s) of your life? Why does this person have great impacts on you?

my most important mentor is my Mom - she is a great mother, a strong leader and a sweet grandmother... and, she taught me first lessons in doing business.

All I can say is that : my father taught me about business, my mother taught me how to behave socially, and my boss helped me to find my own stand in this living society. You have talents, you have gifts, but sometimes you need to have someone to define the way you should go. And my boss is the one who gave me inspiration and made me see the way of my life.

After coming back from Japan, I immediately worked for a Rep Office of Kobelco in Ho Chi Minh, as an Assistant to Marketing Manager. I had nice salary, everyone from my bosses to my co-workers were truly excellent and nice people, I also had much opportunities ahead with my Japanese and English ability . They liked me. I loved them. It was a nice beginning for every new-grad.

Yet somehow I always look for something else, something that benefiting more people in a large meaning - socially responsible business. I always think most of non-profit activities are very unlikely sustainable for a long time, unless we operate them in a business mind. I found no-one around me (or had not yet) share the same thinking, or if they had - they are still pursuing something else rather what they said by some basic reasons : (1) they need money to sustain their lives and family - (2) no-one ever do that before . I of course do respect that.

Until I met my boss :-) She told me her own story of how she had been always supposed to become by her family, and how she decided to leave all that to do what she believes in : we can make non-profit project sustainable when we do it right. We exchanges ideas , and she suggested me working for her.

I spent 6 months thinking whether I should switch job, from a very-nice-and-safe environment to something that only few people would understand. But after all, I knew that if I did not take the opportunity that help me connect with my heart - my childhood dream , I would spend the rest of my life wondering of how it would be if I did.

She once said, "We should give everyone and everything a chance, so we won't have to regret that we did not try!" And that stays in my mind ever since.

Even we have our mindset to create something socially beneficial, but what I like about her is that , as in performance, she always demand quality, I'd like to put it "No compromise for quality - other things can follow after that" . That is how serious we are about the project.

When I first met her, I am inspired by her visions and projects, but myself still a very shy girl who had not hold enough self belief in herself with the same two reasons above. But now, after more than 1 year, I become someone that no matter how much support around, I am still going with what I love to do.

As a boss, she inspires me with her vision, she is excellent in what she does. As a friend, she listens and talks with me about almost every private issues of my life (we can talk hours !!!). More than anything else, she made me live as who I really am :-) That is for me , MY LIFE MENTOR.

She is Dr Marie Charles, if you would like to know about her, please find from http://www.longlifeclinics-vn.com/ , and her NPO organization, Global Medic Force, http://www.globalmedicforce.org/index.php .She is an outstanding and exceptional person.

Thao.

It is so important to have a mentor, someone who believe in you and one who can guide you. I makes a big difference in someones life.
Just around 5 days ago I watched the movie name "The Karate Kid " from Jackie Chan ( Siêu nhí karate )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karate_Kid_%282010_film%29
The young child needed a mentor to instruct him on standing up for himself. He gave him courage. The young karate kid was instructed with discipline and self-control. The mentor taught his young protege bravery and mental self-confidence.
If you have one already! Congratulation!
I myself still on the way to find a mentor, if you are just like me click on "Like" and together we are find the mentor for our life as well as our career! Cheer!

Oprah Winfrey, A Person To Admire.
As a young child, I have had the pleasure of being exposed to many great people such Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and Jackie Kennedy, all who have made a great impression my life; however, none of those individuals have left an impression on my life as Oprah Winfrey has. Oprah Winfrey is a person I admire and have admiration for, for she had determination to be great, very informative, and is a humanitarian to the world; these are all the qualities that I admire in her, and I wish one day to have these qualities and follow in her footsteps.

Moreover, I admire Oprah Winfrey because she is genuine and generous. It is obvious she cares about the well being and education of others, especially those in poverty. The difference between Oprah and many other celebrities is Oprah takes action. She does not simply donate money but instead becomes heavily involved. Her passion for education is refreshing, her generosity is inspiring and her love for her students in South Africa is overwhelming. Oprah has positively influenced society by expressing the importance and value of a quality education.

Oprah Winfrey has always had determination to be great even as a child. As a young child, she was molested and often stayed in trouble; however, she overcame these issues and graduated from high school and attended Tennessee State University where she majored in speech and drama. While attending college, she started her broadcasting career working for a local CBS station; In addition, She was the first African-American women and the youngest person to accomplish this, but Oprah had the determination to be bigger, and her determination paid off in 1986; she got her own television show that still on television today, "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was and still is the highest-ranking television show on the air.

Oprah is a very informative person. She let the world know about issue that was not talked about on television; Oprah let people know about the dangers of drug usage, homosexual relationships, eating disorders, and her very own personal struggles; in addition, she let the world know about the existence of mad cow disease; however, she was sued by cattle farmers, but she was acquitted of all charges. Also, she let the world know about the epidemic of AIDS that was plaguing the world. Oprah talked about many issues that really educated people.

Oprah Winfrey is a humanitarian. She has devoted her time and money into improving conditions for people... Inspite of her riches, she still knows how to keep it real, she's not blinded by the flash of lights.

10 years ago, I worked as an interpreter for a British middle age single woman in a province. The nature of the work got me to have a lot of deep conversation with this woman. She opened up to me a lot of questions about gender, sex, race, prejudice, religion, love, marriage, etc. that I never thought before. Since I just found the world so interesting and keep wanting to explore and contribute for a better world. Now she remains single and works in Africa, rarely contact me but remains my best friend. I consider her as my used to be mentor. I guess without her, I would have become a normal "Thuong"!