Norman, My Friend, My Mentor
I’m a firm believer in the value of mentors. From the time I was 17, I’ve had mentors in my life. Older men who I could respect, who have been down the road and who can help me make important decisions and teach me great life lessons. The best mentor I’ve had was a man named Norman Anderson. In the 3 ½ years I had him in my life he planted seeds of how to approach life. He changed my way of thinking more than any other mentor.
He taught me the value of making everyone you encounter feel special and important. To do this, he said, it has to start within you. You have to live your life in such a way that you appreciate everything you have. Have a positive outlook, be thankful.
When you do this over time, it becomes an innate part of who you are. Wherever you go, whoever you encounter, is impacted by the force of your positivity.
Norman quickly became my best friend and I always looked forward to our time together because his attitude was so infectious. About 1 year into our friendship, he was diagnosed with colon cancer which took him about 2 ½ years later. It was a powerful loss.
But it was at his memorial service that he taught me a final poignant lesson. The room held about 600 people, it was standing-room-only—the place was packed. This was during the day, during the work week, so people had to make an effort to be there.
I was asked to sing at the service. I wrote a song and then also spoke about how Norman was my best friend. At the open-mic portion of the service, man after man after man got up and told their own stories about how Norman impacted their lives and how he was their best friend.
Most of these men were unknown to me.
The point is, every one said the same thing. How was this possible? Because Norman had a skill that made everyone he met feel special and important.
I encourage you to aspire to be like Norman. Let the force of your positivity shine through. We’re contagious no matter what we do—positively or negatively, so make the choice to be positive. Be contagiously upbeat. Inspire others through your example of how we should all be acting. In other words, be like Norman.
