The Big Shout Out To My Friend, Mentor and Hero Paul

My friend Ron Tite has invoked us all to consider, and give a shout out to the remarkable people in our lives who’ve made a difference.  Those who’ve helped us not only become who we are but also become better people than we might have otherwise become without their influence.  Our mentors.

On occasion, we have the good fortune to meet people who blur the line between mentor and hero.  In fact, the person I have in mind, was both to me.

His name is Paul Renn.

I met Paul in the summer of 2005, in New York City, when I was about to take on a new role as Vice President of a large-scale retail operation there.  Paul was the President of the company at the time and was undoubtedly one of the most charismatic, engaging and talented business people I’d ever met. He was one of those rare people who you like the moment you meet them and only like them more, with each new thing you learn about them.  He was also a walking paradox.  He swore like a sailor, rode a Harley and sported at least one tattoo but at the same time, was one of the smartest, kindest and most  eloquent people you could ever hope to meet.

He also happened to possess an incredibly sharp business mind with an innate ability to bring out the best in the people he led.  He was an abundantly “present” and giving leader and so, not surprisingly his people loved him.

Regrettably, I also learned at the time that Paul had very recently been diagnosed with a rare and sinister form of brain cancer. A hard to kill strain that seeks out fewer than one in a million people to afflict, resting almost unreachably behind their optic nerve. As Paul recounted it to me,  one day his vision was a little blurry so he visited an optometrist to have it checked out. A few days later an oncologist was telling him he had mere months to live.

That was almost 8 years, multiple craniotomies and a barrage of cobalt radiation later and my friend Paul is still very much alive. The only casualty in his battle to survive was his eyesight, which he has since all but lost.

But here’s the thing;  beyond all the incredible things Paul taught me about business and leadership, it was the lesson he gave me in courage that will stick with me the rest of my life.  Never once, in the entire time that I’ve known Paul, have I ever heard him complain, express self-pity or ask “why me?”  Even as his sight was fading, he never, even for a minute allowed his cancer to defeat or deflate him.   Instead he used every living minute and ounce of energy he had to even more tightly embrace the people he loved and who loved him.  And he continues to do so, while throwing the middle finger to his cancer.

The lessons Paul taught me about business are valuable.  However, the lessons he taught me about life are incalculable. For that I’m eternally grateful.

This is a big shout out to you Paul, for not only being a mentor to me but also a hero.

Who’s your mentor? Give them a big shout out here!