Kerpen Dave - Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill It in Your Career. Rock Social Media.

People with passion inspire me. You feel their energy. They stir your deepest emotions. They create momentum and excitement. We cant help but be drawn in and want to be around them. When it comes to your career, you cant hope to succeed unless you have passion for what you do. Passion is everything.

Aliza Licht has a true passion for fashion. For the seventeen years shes worked at Donna Karan International, Ive seen it firsthand. Aliza expresses her passion in what I call my C wordsshe connects, communicates and collaborates. She does it with clothes, creativity, celebrities, conversation, community. (Half a million Twitter followers is some community!) So naturally, she has chosen to write a book about yet another C word: careers. I cant think of a better mentor to help get you going at work and in life.

Im passionate about mentoring because I owe so much to those who have mentored me over the years. My most influential mentor was Anne Klein, my first boss. She taught me to trust my instincts. Anne also had an amazing work ethic, which is why she fired me when she thought I wasnt taking my job seriously. I was nineteen and devastated. Soon after, I got a job with Patti Cappalli, another designer who became a mentor. I worked incredibly hard and learned the importance of discipline. A year later, Anne Klein was looking for an assistant designer, and I applied. Thankfully, Anne gave me a second chance. When Anne suddenly passed away a few years later, I was asked to take over the label. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Anne and Patti were remarkably generous with me. In different ways, they showed me designing was a business, one you have to work at. As a result of their example, mentoring young talent is one of my greatest pleasures. Whenever possible, I work with design students at Parsons The New School for Design, happy to give back in any way I can.

Mentors shape who we are. They guide us and let us learn from their successes and their failures. Theyre the ultimate big sister in our professional lives. They give you room to grow and help you realize who you are and what youre capable of doing. They give you that needed nudge, that sign of encouragement. They challenge you to be your best, and if theyre good, theyre also tough on you. Because mentors arent there to flatter you; theyre there to help you.

Everyone may not be as lucky as I was to find a great mentor, which is where this book comes in. Aliza is the ultimate mentor because shes the ultimate role model. She talks the talk and walks the walk. A self-starter, Aliza makes things happen. Everything is possible with Aliza, and if she doesnt know something, shes the first to reach out and find someone who does. Like all great communicators, Aliza is about the we, not the me.

Most importantly, Aliza is open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. She was on top of social media long before the rest of us. The success of DKNY PR GIRL is testimony to the force of her personality. She gives you a reason to keep checking in for brand news, insider gossip and girl-talk. Aliza saw social media for the incredible platform it can be.

Alizas Internet success reminds me of when I started my company. My goal was to design clothes for just me and my friends. Little did I know I had so many friends! Yet thats what success is all aboutbelieving in something and going for it. If it speaks to you, the chances are great that it speaks to a lot of other people, too.

Aliza knows communication is all about the personal touch. Shes conversational, shes witty, she shares. She is connected to the world, because she first connects on a personal level. She cant help it; its in her DNA. As Aliza puts it, this book isnt a how-to, its a must do! Read it, be inspiredthen go out and own your passion.