The Invisible Mentor

This is Part 2 of Paul’s interview. When reading this interview,  think about ways to apply his wisdom. What is the formula for success? For Paul, it is to figure out what you are passionate about and find a way to do it? The book that profoundly impact him is Brand You 50 by Tom Peters. This is unusual because most people are not impacted by business books. Which book has profoundly impacted you?

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Paul Copcutt, a transported Brit, came to Canada in 1996 with the biotech company I was working with to follow a Canadian and convince her to marry me. Started my company Square Peg in 2004 as a recruitment company but always with the intention of doing something more involving personal branding because what I had been doing in a corporate career was personal branding there was just not the name for it.  Now that is all I do, personal branding for individuals, inside corporations and speaking on the topic.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

They are intertwined all the time because I work from home and in my work and speeches I use personal examples to communicate the message of personal branding.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

Not having my mother around to see her grandchildren.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. There is no such thing as a free lunch
2. The easiest route is sometimes the right one.
3. It does not have to be perfect. Learn from both mistakes and successes.
4. It’s okay to say no and sometimes you have to have tough conversations.
5. Sometimes it is personal, not just business, so be respectful of that.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

With my family. Catching up on reading. Enjoying the outdoors.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Mind mapping. Also going to a favourite place and reflecting on what I am trying to do and thinking with an open mind, jotting down whatever comes in to it.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming.” Johann Goethe

It sums up what I believe personal branding has the capability of doing for everyone.

How do you define success? –

Being rewarded for doing what you love to do and that lets you lead the life you want to live.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success? -

Find out what you are passionate about and figure out a way to live a life doing it.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

1. Reach out to those I saw as successful in the field and ask for their advice.
2. Personal and professional development through reading, programs, training and sharing of ideas.
3. Collaboration.
4. Helping others.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Find a mentor and find the time to mentor someone yourself.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

With the way that the world is so connected now this is way more possible than most people appreciate or realize. I think you can do much of this yourself. So I would more likely choose people who are now gone.

1. My mother – what was I like as a toddler and see how comparable that was to my own experiences of my children growing up.
2. Winston Churchill – to understand what leadership meant to him and what made him persevere.
3. Mother Teresa – to appreciate sacrifice and for my own humility
4. Martin Luther King – to understand what drove him to do what he did.
5. Queen Elizabeth the First – how a woman was able to reign for so long

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

Tom Peters – Brand You 50. This was one of the very first books on personal branding and started my journey. As soon as I read it I realized what he was talking about was what I had done in my career and explained a lot. It was probably more emotional because it spoke to my belief that you can do what you want to do if you put your mind and efforts to it.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

1. Book of quotations – for daily insight and inspiration
2. Dictionary – to learn a new word everyday and find a context to use it
3. Suduko – because I like logical puzzles to keep my mind active
4. Encyclopedia of World Religions – to understand the basis of all human cultures
5. War and Peace (Vintage Classics) – because I never finished it for English Literature class.

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

Music – Mozarts 40^th – my Dad used to play classical music every Sunday lunch, his attempt at having us appreciate classical music.

Film – Kind Hearts & Coronets – black and white English comedy where Sir Alec Guinness plays eight different characters. Great plot, Guinness is a genius and the perfect comedic twist at the end.

What excites you about life?

At the moment I am just scratching the surface of what is possible with personal branding. So much more to do.

How do you nurture your soul?

I do not know if I do enough now to say I nurture it. Something I am working on.

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

Make every country capable of being self sufficient in food.

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

My children continue to believe that anything is possible.

What nuggets of wisdom have you gleaned from Paul’s interview? How might you apply his responses to your situation.

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For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Related posts:

1. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Paul Copcutt
2. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Gina McAdam Part 2
3. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Duke Redbird, First Nations Ojibwe Elder Part Two
4. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Ron LeBlanc, Chairman of Madacana, Part Two
5. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Shannon Van Roekel, Author of Desert Fire Part Two

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