The genesis of this project was a high school classroom. As a language arts teacher for students with special needs, I noticed, as any teacher might, that many of my students struggled in the foundational area of being mentored. There was a crisis of adult supervision in some of their lives. So I began the process of introducing a few of the deep truths I had acquired during my journey. I began to share some of the life lessons I had learned from adults who cared for me, as well as, lessons learned through experience. These were, in fact, many of the insights that I taught to my own children as they were growing up. Those initial classroom presentations were very popular with the students; deep meaningful discussions ensued. In fact, it became everything that a teacher would want in a lesson; students were emotionally engaged and educationally challenged. The sessions were soon dubbed "Life Lesson Friday." As it progressed, I searched for new ways to differentiate instruction, so I began writing an original poem that coincided with each life lesson. As a result, the lessons were presented in a way that now included poetry analysis. Eventually, I was encouraged to put on paper what I had been sharing in the classroom. Though the format in this book is somewhat different, because my desire is to reach a broader audience, the content is the same. My hope is that this book will become a tool in the hands of those who desire to begin a discussion on personal growth and development. Be blessed, Mark A. Albert