For every person who has done something significant in his or her life, there is at least one person who provided the inspiration. Many credit their parents. Many would also include a person who, early in their education, paid some extra attention and provided the opportunity for the dream to be imagined.

I’m sure that almost all of the great people of the 20th century were inspired by someone. Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Who put the magic in him? Thomas Edison said, “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Who put the spark in him?

Those who inspire others don’t need to be great thinkers or pioneers. Some extra attention and a big dose of enthusiasm is all it takes. My first rotation in emergency medicine was at Toledo Hospital. There I met Bruce Janiak (the first residency-trained emergency physician) and a very enthusiastic doctor named Peter Manning. Bruce was a pioneer and certainly inspired me, but it was Peter who really sparked my interest in emergency medicine. It was his enthusiasm, not his pedigree.

I could have just as easily been steered toward OB-GYN. But nobody seemed to be as excited about OB as these guys were about EM. Maybe it was the perpetual OB sleep deprivation. Who knows?

What I do know is that we are pliable and subject to the influence of others when we are younger. Youngsters are natural explorers. This can be good and bad. We’ve all had friends growing up who managed to find their way to trouble and took us along for the ride. Young people are easily influenced toward good as well.

Those who teach medical students and residents have the opportunity to be a positive influence every day.

Those who don’t teach have the opportunity to be shadowed by college or high school students interested in a career in medicine. This is a considerable responsibility.

A few months ago I hosted a 16-year-old who was about to graduate from high school and already had accumulated a year of college credit. Because of her academic head start and intellectual drive, this young lady has the opportunity to do something truly unique. First I told her to do what interests her. Next I gently made her aware that her 3- or 4-year advantage gives her the opportunity to become the world’s expert in something. I got the impression that nobody had ever said that to her before.