With Purpose Success, part 67

One of my most profound mentoring experiences came several years after I had launched my consulting firm, Age Wave. I was struggling to find time to manage my staff and my investors and, frankly, not enjoying myself. On the one hand, I liked the idea of running a growing organization because it was a platform that would let me expand and have greater reach. But the headaches of hiring and firing, raising capital, and dealing with high-pressure investors didn't seem worth it. I expressed these feelings to an older woman in my field, Rose Kleiner, who urged me to speak with her husband, Eugene, about my business problems. At that time, I had never heard of Eugene Kleiner, but it turns out he knew a thing or two about business. He was the cofounder of Kleiner-Perkins, the highly acclaimed 

Silicon Valley venture capital firm that initially funded Amazon.com, America Online, Genentech, and other successful enterprises. In his seventies at the time, I primarily thought that he was a kindly elderly man and, perhaps, he'd have some sympathy for my plight. Little did I know that within a few hours he would emerge as my Obi-Wan Kenobe for that stage of my life. 

So I met with Eugene-for just a day. It was both the start and the finish of a beautifully successful mentorship. I told him about my struggle with shareholders and my frustrations with capitalism; that I could easily walk away from the venture capital world and have a lot more fun. 

He listened patiently for hours as I whined away. Then I finally asked him what he thought. "Well, Ken, if you walk away from your employees and your shareholders now, you'll be far more free and you may even have more fun. 

But for the rest of your life, you'll be known as a 'quitter.' On the other hand, if you stay and fight, even if you fail, you'll be known as a 'fighter' -and if you win you'll be known as a 'fighter and a winner,' " he casually reflected. Then he added, "One day you may want to hire people again or raise money for a new venture, and people will look back and judge you on how you handled this dilemma. They'll either see a quitter, or a fighter or a winner. Take your pick." 

Bam! I knew I didn't want to be a quitter. That one day changed my life, and Eugene Kleiner probably never knew what a significant influence he had been. That's the way it works sometimes. What he said probably sounded trivial or obvious to him. It wasn't to me. If you make yourself available for this kind of role in others' lives you will have a bigger impact than you imagine. 

Another extremely important coach in my life was Maggie Kuhn, founder of the 1970s activist group known as the Gray Panthers, which fought for nursing home reform and against all forms of age discrimination. 

She was one of my guiding lights for years when I first entered the aging field more than thirty-five years ago. Back then, there were few positive images of the elderly. The study of aging was primarily focused on loss, disease, and poverty. I wanted it also to be about wisdom, connections, longevity, and continuing contribution. I wasn't sure the world was ready for my positive spin and thought about switching to another field of study.