Marshall and Mentors

I was blessed to attend the University of Southern California Business School and Entrepreneur Program. I obtained my Bachelors of Science in Business Administration focusing the fourth year of college on The Entrepreneur Program. In addition to the basic required courses, I also took additional courses in Marketing and Advertising to further my knowledge on national and international sales and marketing campaigns. 

I‘ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the most brilliant, visionary, kind, considerate and ethical entrepreneurs. Gratefully I met most of them while attending USC Marshall School of Business and Entrepreneur Program.  I’m truly thankful for all the time these thriving entrepreneurs generously spent with me to share their expertise and wisdom.

USC Marshall was the first business school to establish an integrated program specifically for entrepreneurial studies nearly 50 years ago. USC Entrepreneur Program was and has been continuously rated as #1 in the nation by Entrepreneur Magazine and Princeton Review.

USC Marshall has also been continuously ranked as Top 10 Business Schools in the nation along with Ivy League schools. It’s been rated number six, in the company of business schools including Stanford, Babson College, Harvard, NYU Sloan and Wharton.

The Entrepreneur Program had weekly select speakers who shared their entrepreneurial journeys. These were amazingly impressive entrepreneurs. Some had created patented products while others had incorporated distinctive niches with products and services. The entrepreneurs with nationwide stores were also USC board members. This meant extra time to interact with them during USC events. 

From Marsha Israel, Founder of Judy’s to Joe Coulombe -Trader Joe’s CEO, each entrepreneur had their own inspiring story of why they created their businesses and how they succeeded. I was in awe of how bold, visionary, confident, persistent and entrepreneurship-minded these remarkable individuals truly were. 

As you grow older you learn to value different things. Someone you put on a pedestal in college - is not necessarily the person you thought you knew. In fact you learn to not put anyone on a pedestal and be honest with yourself in terms of how much they truly attributed to your success - when they were not even there when you started your business. 

Point being it is important to not paint a picture that is not accurate. We must observe and let everyone’s actions speak for themselves. We must see people for who they truly are and not their status or fall for mask they put on. Only experience and observing pattern of behavior and time reveal the truth. I also learned to not call anyone a mentor just because they’ve answered some questions or have introduced you to a few fruitless contacts. A true mentor has healthy behavior patterns and shares information that can truly help you. 

If you’re going to work with a mentor - make sure they’re in it to help you - and not for them to feel or act superior. Make sure they’re not withholding basic information that any so called mentor would share. A simple example is to see if they recommend a few of their favorite books. See if they’re willing to share some information on how they multiplied their wealth. 

Observe their behavior and actions overtime. Are they on team mentally and emotionally healthy or have they consistently shown a pattern of passive-aggressiveness and are using you to feel better about themselves? Are they truly modest and humble or are they wearing a mask and shown grandiosity, arrogance and superiority by actions instead? 

Only a rare few deserve the title mentor. Make sure to spend your time and energy with those who are not using you as their narcissistic supply to feel better about themselves. Your time, emotional and mental health come first. Choose your mentors wisely. 

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