Role models or idols? I’m sure everyone has their idols, people they admire for lots of different reasons. I prefer to talk about role models. For me, these are people that I admire for their skills, character, personality and achievements. People that I look up to and inspire me to be a better professional and a better person.
Some, we may have contact with and be a part of our lives as mentors, others may be public figures with whom we have never had contact with, but still, inspire us and influence us some way or another.
My roles models
I’ve got a few public figures that I admire. Professionally, someone that has been a role model for me is Sir Richard Branson. I have never met him in person nor I have worked with him or with any of his companies, however, I follow his articles and publications and I truly admire his positivity and integrity.
Unfortunately, we live in a world dominated by greed, dishonesty, bullying and disrespect. Every day I read another article about bullying in the workplace or another company fined for underpaying its staff. Lately, it has been a scandal here in Australia. From very famous chefs to supermarkets and fast-food chains. It is a sad reality of a rotten society.
Sir Richard Branson helps me believe it is possible to be one of the richest and most successful entrepreneurs in the world and do it with honesty and integrity. He started with very little and he worked hard to get where he is today. He understands the importance of great working relationships and he does not seem to think he is superior to others. Now that he is in a comfortable position, he helps others and he seems to be a very positive person. I believe he is a role model for anyone who would like to succeed in life doing the right thing. If he can, and more importantly if he got there doing it, we can too.
Another reason I always read Sir Richard Branson’s posts is that he is the founder of an airline and I love everything about aviation and airlines.
My mentors
I also have a few people I met who became mentors to me. People who helped through my career, with ideas and valuable knowledge. Some of them are definitely my teachers. From my high school times until today, I had a lot of teachers that I admire and that have inspired me over the years.
Professionally, I can mention a few names of people I came in contact with that I admire and inspired me as well. Some of them I met through Professional Development events, others I came to know them as a reference when I was still doing my translation course.
They all inspired me to do better and achieve more. One of these mentors is Virginia Katsimpiri. She is a Greek Certified Translator and founder of Vtranslations in Greece. I have recently done a course with her followed by a mentoring session. I learnt so much with her. She helped me facing my insecurities and boosting my confidence. Although I have confidence in my work and my professional skills, it is sometimes hard for me to “advertise it”. Virginia helped with that, and now I can plan and so things differently.
One of those plans is to become a mentor myself some time in the future and help colleagues who may feel exactly like me. I believe if we all help each other; we can all achieve our goals.
