10 Big Business and Life Success Lessons from Rebecca Penna
- Never take no for an answer.
- Hard work pays off.
- Do not wear your heart on your sleeves.
- Patience and time are often the answer. Don’t try and push things before they are ready to happen.
- Total honesty is not always the best option. (Saying what you really think in business often does not get you very far – political savvy is key)
- Stick to what you know best but do not be afraid to take risks.
- Respect and work hard at having harmonious relationships
- Do not be afraid to try new things. It’s essential to be comfortable outside your comfort zone, as in be prepared to take calculated risks.
- Following things through – ideas, dreams, and projects – right through to the very end.
- Envision what you can become and work toward that.
Invisible Mentor: Rebecca Penna, Director
Company Name: Refervescence Training, Development & Events
Website: http://www.refervescence.com/
Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Rebecca Penna: I am English born and bred. I was born in Birmingham in the UK in 1970 and I grew up in the UK in the South and Southwest. I went to school and university where I studied French and Linguistics. Over that period from adolescent on I spent a lot of time in France, and after many years traveling backwards and forwards I eventually ended up living and here in France, and I have been here for over 20 years.
Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
Rebecca Penna: Where I used to work, I had the belief that you should never mix business with pleasure – personal and working life. Over the years I have realized that that hasn’t helped me. In fact it’s been the opposite. I’ve made a lot more effort in recent years, when I’ve come across people who I really appreciate professionally I’ve let them into my personal life and have gained from it.
From the other side letting people from my personal into my professional life I wouldn’t do as easily. I do try to an extent to keep them separate, but I have learned a lot that relationship building can be just as satisfactory on a personal level with people from a professional background. But I do tend to keep most of it separate. For example, for the past year I have been working from home and I found that very difficult so I’ve decided to have an office so I can totally separate my personal family life from my working life.
Avil Beckford: When you have some down time, how do you spend it?
Rebecca Penna: I don’t watch a lot of television and all of that because that’s a passive activity. If I have a choice I would go to the kitchen and my most enjoyable time of day if I get the chance to is coming home from work, milling around the kitchen and putting a meal together, listening to the radio. That’s where I’m happiest. Other than that, I have other activities I enjoy, we live in the country, I like cycling with my son and my husband, I’m a runner so I’ll go running. I sing and compose music with friends. I would say quite a lot of cultural activities.
Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
Rebecca Penna:
- Never take no for an answer.
- Hard work pays off.
- Patience and time are often the answer. Don’t try and push things before they are ready to happen.
- Total honesty is not always the best option. (Saying what you really think in business often does not get you very far – political savvy is key)
- Stick to what you know best but do not be afraid to take risks.
Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?
Rebecca Penna: I work well generating ideas with other people. When I’m trying to find new ideas, I’ll talk with people who I’m very good at bouncing things off with, and talking not necessarily seriously, but talking and having fun and enjoyment while doing it because the more fun and enjoyment I have the more creative I become. Another process I use is after having talked on paper I definitely need some thinking time, which is usually 48 hours. Usually what tends to happen is in one of those dead moments either in the shower or when I wake up in the morning or anytime my mind is totally free, that’s when the creative ideas come. It’s a two-way process.
Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?
Rebecca Penna: Following things through – ideas, dreams, and projects – right through to the very end. Success doesn’t necessarily mean that you achieve everything you set out to achieve, but it’s almost a personal satisfaction that you’ve done what you set out to do, and you reap the benefits of whatever project you were working on. It’s not necessarily just financial, success is about achieving the personal outcomes that you set for yourself, that for me is success.
Avil Beckford: What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
Rebecca Penna: When I decided to set up on my own I didn’t have an idea of exactly what I wanted to work on. I was focusing on – I have projects and ideas – I must make it happen. I concentrated on going through the experience. So I thought, ‘This is what I want to do. This is what I want to achieve and I really don’t mind how I go about it. And I’m prepared to test lots of different ideas rather than have one single focused idea.’ It’s a little bit like when I go to the shop and I’m going out to buy a dress, rather than going to the same shop I always go to I’ll shop around and invariably visit 10 or 15 shops and then make my decision. It’s a little bit like that, I make lots of small steps in lots of different directions in order to be sure that the one I choose at the end is the right one.
Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
Rebecca Penna: Do not be afraid of trying new things out. It’s essential to be comfortable outside your comfort zone, as in be prepared to take calculated risks – do not jump into the water without knowing where you’re going. When I started out myself, I had a long-term plan and it wasn’t just about the work, it was also about how I live my life, and I still have that in mind. It’s my long-term purpose. It’s the core purpose of my life and my work and I have that in mind. I think about it at least once a month. Am I still on target? Am I on the right trajectory? If you have that core purpose in mind, to stick to it from the start, veer from it from time-to-time, but come back to it in the long run.
Avil Beckford: 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?
Rebecca Penna: It would probably be people in business who have been through huge political upheavals as well. I could choose people who had a huge impact, from Gandhi to Mandela, those kinds of influential people, even someone who started small who have grown big. It would be somebody like Bill Gates. They are not exciting people, but what I would say is “How do you remain human?” I think this is the thing for anybody, even a pop star I would like to meet like somebody like Michael Jackson. I read Richard Branson’s autobiography recently and I’d like to meet him. Have you remained human, and if you have, how have you managed it?
Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
Rebecca Penna: I’ve read so many books I’m trying to think of one that jumps out at me. I will go with A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It’s about two women’s lives in Afghanistan and it’s profoundly moving about a woman’s struggle to survive, live, to be heard, to exist in such a difficult political background. It impacted me so deeply because it made me feel fortunate for who I am and where I am today.
Avil Beckford: You are one of the 10 finalists on the reality show, So, How Would You Spend Your Time? Each finalist is placed on separate deserted islands for two years. You have a basic hut on the island and all the tools for survival; you just have to be imaginative and inventive when using them. You are allowed to take five books, one movie and one music CD, and whatever else you take has to fit in one suitcase and a travel on case. What would you take with you and how would you spend the two years? T he prize is worth your while and at this stage in the game there really aren’t any losers among the 10 finalists, since each are guaranteed at least $2 million?
Rebecca Penna:
Two Years
I would be very productive and get up and do things. I would explore and if there was food on the island I would try to diversify as much as possible and invent different ways of eating the foods that are available.
Five Books
They would be big books that I would gain a lot from reading and rereading. I would take something like the Bible, some sort of historical book, something that made me laugh out loud. I’m a fan of Stephen Fry and I very much enjoy his writing. I would take a couple of saga novels, something I could use as a distraction to take me away when things get tough.
Music CD & Movie
It would be a black and white film like Casablanca: 70th Anniversary [Blu-ray]
Casablanca – Trailer [1942] [16th Oscar Best Picture]
Cannot view video, click here. Uploaded by MoviesHistory on Apr 23, 2009
Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata (Mvt. 1)
Cannot view this video, click here. Uploaded by wmd10 on Apr 26, 2008
Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?
Rebecca Penna: People!
Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?
Rebecca Penna: I nurture my soul through music, sports and sharing a lot with people.
Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?
Rebecca Penna: Respect for others and harmony in our relationships. I’m not going to go down the health and happiness route because that’s essential.
Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..
Rebecca Penna: Immersed in nature with the people I love.
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