The passing of important mentors and friends over the last two years is the inspiration for this commentary. It provided me with the opportunity to reflect on the mentors and friends who have provided me with the most precious gifts -- time and caring -- so that I could continue to grow and learn as a student, faculty member, administrator, and most importantly, as a thoughtful, conscientious, helpful and kind individual. The wide array of individuals that we all have as mentors and friends have provided us with many essential lessons that form the foundation of what we do each day in our various roles. This commentary will focus on those lessons from mentors (research advisors, committee members, senior faculty members and supervisors such as chairs, assistant/associate deans, and deans) who have guided me through my academic career to date. This is not to say that we have not learned and will continue to learn important lessons from our family and friends, but this reflection is focused on lessons that were reinforced by these mentors. I have been extremely fortunate to learn from these mentors and now attempt to pass this wisdom and knowledge on to other faculty and staff colleagues as well as the students at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. This commentary will highlight six specific lessons that I am now trying to share with others when given the opportunity to serve as a mentor. The order of this list does not imply any ranking in terms of importance.