I'd like to share one of my favorite quotes, which underscores the power and potential of positive mentoring. Sir Isaac Newton stated, "If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." To me, this statement reinforces the influential and significant role that mentors play in our lives. Mentors guide the professional development of a mentee by sharing knowledge, experience, wisdom, and perspective within a context of mutual respect and trust. A true mentor advises, encourages, and serves as a role model, while offering honest critique and candid feedback-all the while establishing and maintaining professional boundaries and relationships. Positive mentors are generous, competent, and focused on the growth of the mentee. Mentoring relationships are not confined by time and place, can occur at any point in one's career, and are characterized by collegiality and collaboration. In the context of these relationships, mentees demonstrate initiative and curiosity, a desire to learn, a commitment to improvement, and a willingness to seek guidance.1

As nurse educators, we are faced with myriad challenges and opportunities that are more effectively accomplished when we engage in positive mentoring experiences within and outside of our workplaces. It is incumbent on each of us to seek capable, influential mentors to guide our professional career and to "pay it forward" by mentoring others. Like many readers, my life has been positively enriched by the formidable role models and mentors in my life. Early on, my mother and maternal grandmother reinforced the value of relationships and service to others. Later, when I entered the nursing profession, mentors encouraged me to craft a personal, professional vision of my future and to partner with others to accomplish my goals. Many nurse educators and leaders have achieved remarkable accomplishments in their careers, and for most (if not all), these achievements are largely realized because of the incredible mentors and nursing "giants" that have encouraged and supported them along their nursing journey-strong, impressive mentors who have paved the way and illuminated the path to excellence.

Nick et al2 identified 6 major themes regarding best practices for mentoring in nursing education, including (1) achieving appropriately matched dyads, (2) establishing clear mentorship purpose and goals, (3) solidifying the dyad relationship, (4) advocating for and guiding the mentee, (5) integrating the mentee into the academic culture, and (6) mobilizing institutional resources. The authors attest that relationships play a key role in any successful mentorship experience and contend that mentoring programs contribute to improved faculty morale, higher career satisfaction, and increased self-confidence. The authors also concluded that mentored faculty publish more, obtain more grants, and are promoted more quickly. Furthermore, institutions that provide mentoring programs experience increased retention, an improved sense of community and professional identity, and faculty members who are better positioned to navigate the academic environment can more easily transition to new roles and responsibilities. Ultimately, successful mentoring moves the profession forward and can have a positive impact on faculty career attainment, institutional culture, and leadership development.

The most effective mentoring relationships are built on trust, collaboration, career advancement or revitalization, and reciprocal respect. For most of us, our achievements can be attributed to the power of positive mentorship-the heroes who have encouraged us to never settle, to set lofty goals, and to pursue our dreams. We are all "standing on the shoulders of giants," and by doing so, we see more and accomplish more. Perhaps, success is best achieved by aligning ourselves with positive mentors and role models who encourage and inspire us to reach our goals.

I'd like to share a personal story about the power and potential of positive mentoring excerpted from Clark.1 More than 3 decades ago, I started my first nursing position-it was a dream job for an energetic, newly minted nurse. I had an amazing job working day shift on a surgical floor where my major responsibilities included educating and preparing patients for their pending surgical procedures and caring for them once they returned. My hours were awesome-especially for a young single person who loved to recreate and be outdoors.

About 18 months later, the hospital hired a new director of nursing. For reasons that still perplex me, she decided to reassign many of the nurses to various units according to seniority. Unfortunately, I was 1 of the nurses reassigned to work the evening shift on what was then known as the "terminal unit." It was a dismal setting compared with where I had been working, but very quickly, I grew to love my teammates and our patients-many of whom were in the end stages of their illnesses and in various phases of the dying process. I was a highly competent nurse, but I clearly needed improvement in my timeliness and efficiency. I discovered, and of course so did my charge nurse, that because I enjoyed engaging in prolonged conversations with my patients, my task completion often fell short. My charge nurse genuinely liked me and believed I was a skilled nurse, but on occasion, she supervised me on my inability to complete my work on time. I realized that I needed to improve my timeliness and I was working on it, yet there were nights when I still fell short of my goals. And then 1 night, I experienced a defining moment in my young career.

It was late in the shift. The night in question was a busy one, and 1 of my tasks was to remove the irrigation apparatus from an elderly patient who had recently undergone surgery for a transurethral resection. The charge nurse asked me to remove the apparatus with expediency because there was much work to be done. I was determined to perform the skill in a swift and efficient manner. I walked into the patient's room, greeted him, and began to explain the procedure. He gazed at me with sad eyes and asked, "Will it hurt?" I responded, "It may, other gentlemen have told me it can be uncomfortable." He said, "I'm not ready-can we talk for awhile?" He shared how he had recently lost his wife of 50 years; he talked about their life together, their children, and how aggrieved he was when his beloved wife took her final breath. When he said he was ready, I removed the apparatus and started to say good night when I noticed unshed tears. I sat with him for a few more minutes; then I gathered the equipment and as I was rolling it down the hall, I bolstered myself for a "talking to" by my charge nurse. Sure enough, she met me in the hallway and politely asked me to meet her in the conference room after completing our shift.

I prepared myself for the possibility for that night to be my last. But instead, she said, "Cindy, you have missed your calling. Please think seriously about becoming a mental health nurse. You have a genuine gift for being present with people and listening with compassion and interest." Imagine my surprise. I promised her that I would give it serious thought. Later, I realized she was right, and I began making plans to return to school. I loved my clinical career as a mental health nurse. I am forever grateful and will never forget the care shown to me by my charge nurse who saw something in me that I did not. Rather than reprimand, discourage, or suggest that I find another position, she shined a light on a pathway of new discovery that launched a fabulous career.

The power and potential of positive mentoring are immeasurable and, in many cases, may be career (and even life) changing. The power of positive mentoring is transformative, builds confidence, and catapults careers beyond one's imagination. So, reach out to others to be mentored, and be sure to extend yourself to others who wish to be mentored to keep the mentoring momentum flowing.

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