The Invisible Mentor

Here is Part Two of Diana Gallo’s interview. I learn so much from each interview that I conduct, and this one is no different. After you’ve read both parts of the interview, what are your five takeaways? What information can you use right away. Pay attention to Diana’s advice to someone wanting to start out in her field. Even though the information is about social media, the advice is valid for any field.

There are many times in life when you see information that’s not related to your field so you devalue it, but never do that because you may find the next great idea for your business. I interview people from different walks of life to give you a breadth and depth of knowledge. Our journey together is to become smarter.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m very passionate about what I do which is a good thing. I am in the digital media space both interactive and social media. Outside of that, I love movies and music and I try to see as many films and attend as many concerts as I possibly can. While I am very independent and have difficulty asking for help which at times does work against me – and see career as very important, I love my boyfriend (who I live with) and respect and appreciate all his support. He, family and friends are very important to me. I love Toronto, though if I had to live anywhere else, New York City and London, England would be my choice, they are my two favourite cities, and would probably move in a heartbeat if the opportunity allowed it. My addictions would be coffee and magazines, I love reading magazines. I am a kid at heart and regardless of my age I try to keep that. I think people sometimes take things too seriously.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

A few years ago my dad fell really ill, he is feeling great now, but at the time it was one of the reasons that I had to say no to that trip to England. It made me realize the importance of not only family, but of taking care of yourself. Without your health you cannot do the things you want to do and from that, to never hold a grudge because you never know what can happen, and it might be too late for an apology.

I moved out a decade ago and refused to rent so I decided to buy right away not even having the funds to do it, but creatively found a way to do so. But what the experience taught me was true responsibility and it shaped me quickly. I grew up overnight.

The death of my grandfather was another event that helped to shape my life because he was my best friend. I was about 12 years old when he died. He told me stories and was always that person who I could lean on. He is the one that got me to love history. He had a way of teaching me how to stand up for myself without talking back to my parents. He was my “everything” and when he passed away it took a lot out of me. And it was also the first time that I dealt with death in a real way. I didn’t cry because I didn’t know how I was supposed to react to his death.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Part of what I do in my professional life is work in a social media space. When I’m at home, I continue that but on my personal profile. During the day it’s a way for me to communicate with end-users, our movie goers, but in the evening it’s the way I stay engaged with my friends.

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

There was a period in my life when I didn’t appreciate what I had, and looking back I had it really good. I didn’t have the right to complain or feel as bitter as I did. So I regret not appreciating my accomplishments and the things that were happening around me as much as I should have.

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

1. The best leaders are the ones who empower their team so they can perform their jobs successfully and give them opportunities to flourish
2. Appreciate every day as if it’s your last
3. Regardless of who the person is, don’t undermine them because everyone has something to offer
4. Don’t go to sleep angry because it could be your last
5. Listen and act on what you’ve heard

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

I’m online, and in the last couple of years I have spent a lot of time catching up on my favourite television shows, and a lot of them happen to be either on Showcase or HBO. I also listen to a lot of music, watch a lot of movies and read a lot of magazines. A lot of these activities happen by myself, or with my boyfriend, or with friends and family

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I put on my iPod and listen to music and have a doodle pad. I don’t know if the music influences, inspires or triggers something. That for me is the best way for me to generate great ideas.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

It changes and part of what I do on Facebook is to change them according to how I feel. I think the one that I’ve got that’s been top of mind for a while now is “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it,” by Pablo Picasso. The first time that I read this quote I thought, don’t ever fear trying something new, it’s exciting to try something new because it’s the only way you can learn about what you don’t know because if you continuously do what you do best, the things you already know, are you really learning? And my favourite quotes change depending on the stage that I’m at in my life.

How do you define success?

You define success by what it means to you. Sometimes I define success because there are measurable metrics in place and if each one of these metrics is met, then success has happened. But most of time, even if those metrics are met, I ask myself if I did the best that I could have done, and it’s about how I feel. So if I feel really proud, and really good about what I did, for me that’s success on a personal front. If it’s a team effort, which a lot of times it is, if the people around me who worked on the project feel the same way, then that too is a success. I think it’s the measurable, and how I feel, and that could be very different from the measures themselves.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

In terms of defining success I believe in setting realistic goals and timelines, so if I want to achieve a goal, I want to make sure that it’s very realistic because I’ll disappoint myself if I don’t. Break down your goals into smaller components, so instead of achieving this one goal that seems impossible, which may or may not be, if you achieve each one component independently, all collectively for that end goal whatever that is, it makes for a better formula in terms of how to achieve success. I think a lot of the time what happens is that we try to attain something that is really impossible and if we think it’s impossible we start worrying about it and get overwhelmed and never meet it and are always disappointed. So I think sometimes it’s simply a matter of breaking it down and say I’m going to do this.

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

A lot of it was really about understanding what’s happening in the field. I am immersed in what I’m preaching so I’m always in the social media and online space talking to people, reading articles to keep me on top of what’s happening and questioning the things that I don’t know.

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

For anyone starting out in the social media space before they take the plunge and say, “I want to be a social media ‘something’,” they should participate in the space and see if it’s something that they really want to do. They have to really understand it because they are going to have to practice what they preach.

They should also speak to people at various level who are in that space, so they can talk to community managers who are posting and engaging with the users, speak to someone that’s doing the strategy for social media, and speak to people who are using social media in very different ways. They should speak to some people on a personal front, some on a professional front and it could even be someone in a not-for-profit, because for some people, social media is a way to raise awareness for a good cause. They have to really understand how social media can be used, then step back and see if it’s something that they are really interested in doing and at what capacity. And I think they won’t know until they have talked to people and immersed themselves into it.

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?

Sorry if I sound shallow, but there are certain celebrities that I’d like to talk to. I’d like to speak to:

Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails

I’d say I love his music, but the big one for me would be how he feels about what he has done for the music industry. He said “FU” to the middleman, which is pretty much the music labels and said I’m going to reach my audience directly, I don’t need you to interfere and he engages with his audience and gives them what they want, and that’s what is making him so successful. I want to know when there was a turning point for him, when he said to himself,” I don’t need or want the music label, I want to give my audience access to my music, I want to engage with them because they are the ones who come to my concerts, the ones who are passionate about my music and I want to give them what they want.”

Johnny Depp

I love Johnny Depp as an actor, he is an amazing actor, but he has the knack for taking on really different roles and exceed at those roles regardless of how the movie does, so I’m curious about how he does that. I find that quite amazing and it shows talent and adaptability.

Martin Scorcese

I would say, thank you for making such fantastic films throughout the year – and continue to do so. Your passion, dedication and talent are obvious in all your pictures; it’s no wonder every actor wants to work with you. Tell me something: what drives that passion and what is it about Leonardo that makes you want to work with him every time?

Steve Jobs

For Steve Jobs, I’d say, with all the success you’ve had to date – yeah with some hiccups along the way – the innovation seen in the products launched, and so on, what is it that keeps driving you, Apple, to develop the products you do? I would like to believe that as a multi-millionaire, it isn’t all about the money.

Ivanka Trump

A great role model for young business women. You might be thinking why, i.e. she was born into money etc. Well, she is a smart business woman who has proven that she can run a business, has the drive and smarts to do so, without always depending on her dad, Donald.

Let’s face it, she may have it easier than you and I, but she could have just chosen the path to do nothing and just enjoy the family riches Iike Paris Hilton and others. You don’t see her name on tabloids, entertainment gossip shows. If there is one ‘celebrity’ that a young woman wanting to get into business should look at, I would say she’s one.

I would ask her the following:

• I believe she wrote a book for young women starting out and wanting to succeed – how is the book doing, why did you decide to write it and have you received any feedback from readers – both positive or negative?

• Are your business smarts, drive all a product of her DNA, who she was born to and upbringing or is this something she really is interested in, something she wanted to do.

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, which is a fantastic book that really makes you think about change and how it can happen so quickly and unexpectedly. Gladwell talks about social epidemics and then goes into explaining these. Another one is Anthem by Ayn Rand which was about not losing sight of individuality, and that the collective is not necessarily the best way to go. You as an individual should not be dominated by the collective thought. This was an amazing book which really impacted me and I’m a big believer in you as an individual first and foremost. And I don not mean this in the context of working in teams, I’m talking about collective thought versus you as an individual having your own thought. You can be persuaded by others, you can agree with others, but you should have your own thought.

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. Anthem, Ayn Rand
2. Catcher in the Rye, J D Salinger
3. Touching From a Distance, Deborah Curtis
4. Any edition of Calvin and Hobbes

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

The music CD would be Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads and the movie would be Say Anything.

YouTube Video of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand

If you cannot view the YouTube Video of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds click here.

YouTube Video Say Anything Movie Trailer

If you cannot view YouTube Video Say Anything Movie Trailer click here.

What excites you about life?

What keeps me excited about life is just learning. There is so much that I could still be doing, and there is so much that others could be doing, and that is exciting for me knowing that there is so much out there. I get off by seeing people happy and I mean genuinely happy, not just being content and settling.

How do you nurture your soul?

It’s sitting back, reading and listening to music. I can’t stress enough how important music is to me.

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?

If I had one wish, there are a bunch of kids at Sick Kids Hospital who might die within one week, or they may have three months, but it’s not a long life and my wish is to grant them their wishes.

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I’m happy when I accomplish things. Happiness is contagious, so when I see someone happy, I’m happy even if I do not know why they’re happy.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

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Related posts:

1. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Diana Gallo
2. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Gina McAdam Part 2
3. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Ron LeBlanc, Chairman of Madacana, Part Two
4. The Invisible Mentor Interviews John Kremer Part II
5. Interview With Invisible Mentor Sean MacDonald, Lawyer for Wrongfully Convicted Part Two

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