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Interview With Invisible Mentor Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady Part II

Avil Beckford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:57 +0000

“You want to align yourself with people who believe in you and can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself.” Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Invisible Mentor: Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Company Name: LinkedIn Lady

Website: http://www.linkedinlady.com, http://ywait4success.com/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Carol McManus: I’m an entrepreneur. I left the corporate world in 2007 to start a coaching, consulting and leadership development company. I built that company to six figures using social media. My business has moved over to social media expertise and I’m now known as America’s LinkedIn Lady.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Carol McManus: It’s easy especially now. I have always been a balanced person. I learned many years ago that you have to turn it off. Whatever you choose to do, whether it’s family or friends or personal activities, or the pets or the children, you have to separate that from business. In my case, there comes a certain point in the day, and it’s toward the end of the normal business day, sometimes it’s 5:30, sometimes it’s 6:30, or 7:00 pm, but when I turn off business, I’m done for the day and the rest of the evening is devoted to me and my husband. We don’t have children at home so it’s really about us, our time together. That’s my world and it doesn’t necessarily apply to other people.

My advice from my own integration, you want your business to support your personal life and your personal life to support your business. At the end of the day you have to set the rules on how you balance them because if you let either one get out of balance, the other one is going to suffer.

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

Carol McManus: My down time is creative time for me. I have a couple of hobbies. I like to write so I often write. I love to read, but my physical creative activity is I love to do flower arranging with silk and artificial flowers and make different types of decorations. I find that very therapeutic so it doesn’t involve other people. It’s time for me to go into myself and be creative and do things which in my world brings beauty and satisfaction for me, but it has nothing to do with anything else that’s going on around me.

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

Carol McManus:

Always be true to yourself. I remember my daddy telling me when I was a little girl that at the end of the day, the only person you have to sleep with is yourself. What he meant by that is you always have to be responsible for yourself.
My father was very passionate about me being able to be independent, not that he didn’t wish for me to be married, and have children, and a wonderful life, and someone to share my life with, but because he grew up in the Depression he was passionate about wanting me to stand on my own two feet. That’s a second lesson I learned and it goes hand-in-hand with being true to yourself.
Don’t take yourself too seriously and always be able to laugh at yourself.
You have to have humour in your life. Without humour a life can be pretty dismal and boring, and it makes you a dismal and boring person to be around so find ways to bring laughter into your life. And if it doesn’t come naturally to you then seek people who are fun to be around and share that joy. Go buy a video of I love Lucy TV series, which will make you laugh.
We only have one life, and the richness, satisfaction and depth that you get from life – and we don’t know when that life is going to end, life is very precious and for some it ends far too soon, and for some who live healthy lives it goes on forever. You only have one life and you are the only one who can ultimately control that, so having goals and knowing what it is you want to accomplish and what you can give back to the world, what is your legacy going to be, and I don’t mean legacy etched on Mt Rushmore with the presidents’ profiles because for most of us it’s nothing nearly that dramatic. But for all of us, leave a legacy, even if it’s only with your own family, or your neighbours or the people you interact with. But being conscious of that, and taking ownership for what you leave behind is the other big life lesson for me. And it’s something that I try to work on a little bit every day.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Carol McManus: I will give two answers to that because it comes up in two forms. I come up with a lot of ideas just when I’m in my own head. That could be when I’m listening to music, taking a walk or driving in the car. I let my mind wander, go, and think creatively. When I’m doing some of these crafty things I find I’m also creative and come up with great ideas. But having said that, the development and the richness of those ideas, come to fruition when I bring people into the conversation. I love to brainstorm and debate with people. I want them to challenge me and take the seed of an idea and help me improve it because I know I can’t do it all by myself. I’m very much an open book, so it’s letting me be creative in my own head, and then testing the market, but really using other people’s attitudes and experiences and impressions so that you can improve on what you thought was a really good idea to begin with. It always gets better.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Carol McManus: It’s a quote from Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way you’re right.” I’m paraphrasing a little bit but it’s so absolutely, 1,000 percent true. If you think you can do something, you’re going to put yourself subconsciously on a path to make it happen. If you think you can’t do it, you’re going to subconsciously put yourself on a path that it will never happen. Based on everything you’ve heard so far, you always try to put yourself on a path that you really have to believe in it and the tools and resources will come into your life to help you let things become real. If on the other hand you think you can’t, guess what, that’s going to be the reality.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Carol McManus: I define success as happiness. I think success is whatever ultimately makes people happy. And it’s defined differently for different people. For me, it’s the joy of being able to sleep peaceably at nights, that I’m able to provide for myself and the family, that I’m getting personal and professional satisfaction out of what I’m doing, that I’m influencing and impacting other people’s lives, and that I’m having fun doing it. So it’s all packaged together, it’s not just monetary, or about specific accomplishments, and it’s not just about joy, it’s all of that wrapped together. And I think every person needs to define what that is for themselves, and I don’t think anyone can say, “This is the formula for success.” If there is a formula, you need to define the pieces of what success is for you.

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

Carol McManus: Because I have a training background, I have always been the best student. I’m a teacher’s dream if you will because throughout my entire adult life, long since I left the college classroom, I’ve always taken courses or programs or conferences to be around people, and I think that has contributed to my success. My field has changed, my specialty has changed, it’s gone from sales to operations to executive to entrepreneur or to coaching to consulting to social media, so my career has had many dimensions to it. But at each level, I think my success came because I was first and foremost a good student, and invested the time, effort and energy through reading, listening to others, observing or mentoring under others, how they did what they did, that I could become the best at it that I could.

And if I found that I was on a path that didn’t feel comfortable, it didn’t feel right, or it was taking me off track, then I would stop and take another direction.

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

Carol McManus: Invest in yourself and continue to learn whatever you are learning. But in today’s world, I’m going to add something else to that answer, is that you always want to keep your eyes and ears open to the possibilities. We’re in a very different world today than the world I grew up in. When I grew up, there was an expectation that you got an education, you chose a career, and that sort of became your life path. And I was fortunate in that, that was the direction my life took, and it was only at the later stage of my life that it took a new direction. And what I mean by that is social media because when I left the corporate world four years ago, if someone told me that I was going to be a social media expert, I would have laughed. It wasn’t on my radar screen, but the world we’re in today, we have to be nimble and flexible, times are changing, things are happening at a rapid rate, technology has dramatically changed. The speed at which things happen, the speed at which we communicate, I think anyone, regardless of age, if you’re starting out today you certainly want to be goal oriented, but at the same time you want to know that those goals are not etched in stone, that other doors and opportunities may open, and you want to be open to those possibilities. So don’t get too locked in, that you miss the acres of diamonds that are right under your feet.

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?

Carol McManus: I love this question because I could come up with 50 people that I’d love to meet.

Abraham Lincoln: He was not a popular man, he was not a popular president, but he had leadership qualities that were so critical, and a true turning point in this country’s history. I would love to sit and chat with him about what he thought were the solutions to the country’s problems at the time, what were the key decisions and how did he make those decisions to lead the country in a more positive direction.
Jack Welch: He is an extraordinary story, and there are many well-documented corporate executives in America, but Jack Welch because of his history of being able to do turnaround situations and to turn lemons into lemonades. I read his book, but beyond the heart and soul of what made him tick, and the kinds of things that kept him up at night that allowed him to accomplish what he accomplished.
Martha Stewart: I would love to sit and have a conversation with her. Martha is a lightening rod. I find as I talk with people, people either love her or hate her, but what you cannot deny about Martha Stewart is that she is an extraordinary self-made woman with self-made success. She is focused and very successful and continues to reinvent herself. She is a model for always seeing the next opportunity. Again, I want to know what makers her tick, how does she think, what kinds of people does she surround herself with, what are her tolerances and intolerances. The other thing I admire about her, and it may be because of the space that she’s in, but she seems to be someone who has this balance of what’s important to her in her personal life and what gives her joy, and her dog comes to mind. She is famous for her chow chow dogs, her home and farm, but at the same time, she is passionate about her business and what drives her business and her brand.
Lou Holtz: Because coaching is part of my repertoire, I heard Lou speak on multiple occasions. I’ve listened to his videos, he to me is the epitome of an inspirational coach and someone who in multiple challenges, not just Notre Dame but University of South Carolina and other places he was over his career, he has great quotes and great inspiration, and I would like to sit and talk to him about the lessons he had learned as a coach. I would actually ask him some of the questions that you asked me.
From a more introspective level and understanding beyond the surface and the obvious. I tend to be focused on the now, but I’m a reader and follower of Deepak Chopra’s teachings and if I could ever have an hour to sit and talk to him, to really understand at a deeper level how I can understand myself, and take myself to a deeper level, that would be joyous.

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

Carol McManus: That’s easy for me because the answer is the The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It’s not a new book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s been out there for a very long time. To me, the BI is the guiding light, the “bible” for business, life, for how to communicate , negotiate, strategize, for all of the things we are talking about, that are a part of my business and personal repertoire – it’s all right there in that book and I’ve referred to it, reread it many times. I try to read it once a year.

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?

Carol McManus:

Two Years

Survival would be first and foremost because you have to have shelter and you have to feed yourself. For me personally, having a creative soul, I would write, write, write because I think if you have two years to spend with yourself everything that’s inside of you, and everything that you can imagine needs to come out and needs to be shared. That’s how I would spend the majority of my time when I wasn’t in survival mode.

Five Books

The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) – It’s a marvellous book because you have to have that expectation that you are in fact going to get off this island. That might take some negotiation and persuasion, skills that have served me well. It’s a book that I read regularly because as human beings that’s all we do is communicate and negotiate with people.
Animal Farm by George Orwell: There are lots of good lessons there on how to survive.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman: Or something similar to that. It’s a compilation of poems. It’s very inspirational and I think if you were on a deserted island you would have those moments where you needed to reflect and see the joy and beauty in life.
Milton Berle’s Private Joke File: Over 10,000 of His Best Gags, Anecdotes, and One-Liners: It’s the greatest book ever. He is a renowned stand up comic.

Movie and Music CD

My all time favourite music CD is Tapestry-Legacy Edition (2-CD) by Carol King. I find all of the music she has written over the years, she didn’t sing, she wrote more than she actually sang, but that was such an influential, and remains an influential CD to me because there is so much inspiration and hidden messages in the music. I have listened to it over and over again and never get tired.

The movie is a tough one because there are so many to choose from. The one I choose would be the absolutely most outrageous, that would cause me to laugh and that would be Blazing Saddles (30th Anniversary Special Edition) because it is truly one of the most ridiculous movies ever made but every time I see it I never cease to laugh. I never cease to see new nuances and I think that’s something I would want to spend my time with.

Blazing Saddles – Movie Trailer

If you cannot view the YouTube video, please click here.

Carole King – Tapestry

If you cannot view the YouTube video, please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Carol McManus: Life and people. I love being around people. If there is a challenge that I had, going from the corporate world to being a solopreneur, and commuting versus working out of a home office it was separation from every day having the interface with people. So I have crafted my business so that is part of my day now because I think the opportunities in life are endless. We don’t happily live in this world on a deserted island by ourselves and if you don’t take joy in the people who are around you and appreciate something about everybody regardless of who they are, where they came from, what they do, we are all a unique special person. I just love to talk to people, find out what’s of interest to them and it’s part of that expanded life – our universal life together. That’s what gives me joy and what I try to bring to the people around me.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Carol McManus: Reflection and meditation. It’s supplemented by everything we talked about – the reading and the music and the creative outlets. The real nurturing comes from the downtime, the quiet time, the reflective time. It’s a learned skill that has served me well. I wish I had learned to meditate much earlier in life because it does really amazing things to center you and recharge your batteries so you can continue to move forward.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Carol McManus: Good health for me and mankind. And where that comes from, it starts from a very personal place as I watched my father’s declining health. I had my mother come live with us in her later years with her declining health, her sister also because my aunt didn’t have children. As a young child, I went through health issues with my grandparents on both sides of the family. As I get older and the bones start to creak, things start to go wrong, you realize that the joy of life and the ability to do the things you want to do is all grounded in good health. I do believe that all the health issues we’re facing today, whether it’s cancer, heart disease on one end of the spectrum and things that alarm me are autism and ADHD at the other end of the spectrum, I personally have a strong belief that a lot of this is environmentally influenced. If I had one wish for the genie, it would be to wave her magic wand or whatever she uses to give good health to everyone because once you have health then there are no boundaries to what we can do.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Carol McManus: I’m talking to people like you because you stimulate me and I’m absolutely being sincere about that. This has been a delightful experience and what I mean by that is that interaction with other really smart, savvy people, that stimulate me, that cause me not to not only give and share my thoughts, but forces me to go in, think about and test myself and my own boundaries.

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 hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Video Credits: Blazing Saddles – Movie Trailer Uploaded by zuguidemovietrailers on Apr 15, 2010, Carole King – Tapestry Uploaded by raymaclean on Dec 29, 2008

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Mentor Yourself With Invisible Mentor Jeanne-Marie Robillard, Senior Account Executive, National Speakers Bureau, Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:30:49 +0000

Wisdom of Life: “Pick the right people to surround yourself with, it will set the bar, encourage and support you. However, if you choose the wrong people, they will bring you down a different path,” Invisible Mentor, Jeanne-Marie Robillard tells her 12-year old son.

Interviews for Mentoring: Key Lessons from Jeanne-Marie Robillard

Be grateful for what you have in life and count your blessings.
Prepare for your day the night before, to help to decrease stress the following day.
Network, network, then network some more, and never let little things such as shyness or “introvertedness” stop you. (Note to self)
Allow people to get to know the real you.
People rarely remember what you said to them, but they remember how you made them feel.
Give a new job sufficient time – at least two years – before you decide if the fit is right

Invisible Mentor: Jeanne-Marie Robillard, Senior Account Executive

Company Name: National Speakers Bureau/Global Speakers Agency

Website: http://www.nsb.com

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I am currently a senior account executive, which is an agent to public personalities and celebrities for their speaking engagements. I’ve been doing that for 11 years. Prior to that, I was an agent to the performing arts community – groups like the National Ballet, Canadian Opera Company, to helping place them into seated environments for audiences to enjoy.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: It’s not always easy, is it? It’s hard when people are passionate about their work and passionate about their family. I would say that I’m trying as best as I can to compartmentalize tasks, responsibilities, chores, commitments and obligations, so setting time aside to do specific tasks as opposed to running around doing too many things for too many people.

I try to put my phone away at home in the evenings and try not to look at it as often even when I’m tempted to. I log on to the computer and try to get an hour or two later in the evening. I get so much done preparing for the following day that I go into the next day feeling confident to start the day in a safe place if you will.

It’s a constant challenge, and it’s one of the top topics we get asked for speakers, is work-life balance and it will continue to be so as we improve technology.

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

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: Entertaining absolutely! I love entertaining. I love to have people over. I love to cook. I love to shop for food. I love everything around food, going to the market etc. Planning a dinner party and setting the table, and picking which guests will love each other, another form of connections. As you can see, I apply that everywhere, and yes that would be my favourite thing and I’d like to record those times in a book as well.

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

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: It’s a little bit of what I’ve already said.

Be honest.
Approach life with intent, purpose and meaning.
Even if you’re shy or introverted, try your very best to get out and about. Take someone with you if it’s hard. Having another person with you will be the best thing you ever did. They can brag about you, you can’t really brag about yourself because that comes off a little odd. They can pull you away from someone who may not be the person you need to speak to all night if you’re trying to network. They can also be a great support if you’re feeling a little nervous about the experience. So get out and meet as many people as you can. People do want to help each other – inherently it’s human nature. It’s like so many things in life, the more you do, the more you try, the more chances you have on landing on what’s more meaningful for you.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I believe we come to better decisions and better results when we do things in a group. Pulling a team together and brainstorming, sending a mass email out to those in your network who have a common experience with what you’re struggling with, reaching out for ideas and bringing those ideas together. I also use the Internet quite extensively and subscribe to many different chats and blogs.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: That’s hard for me because I live a life that’s filled with quotations because of the people I represent. But if I had to choose one it would be, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” Maya Angelou, American Poet.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: Success is when you’re truly happy doing what you’re doing. When you’re happy with your life, you’re proud of your life. Proud in a good way, that you’re contributing. Contributions to your community, your workplace, your family and your friends are essential to defining success. The formula for success is trying as many things as you can in life. It’s trial and error.

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

Jeanne-Marie Robillard:

Asking a lot of questions to the right people, that means asking questions to a lot of people until you figure out the right people.
Taking chances.
Staying in a job and seeing it through for at least a good two-year period. I think that’s very important that full cycles be lived. A calendar year is a full cycle, rarely do we start in January so you are landing in the middle somewhere in that second year, so give it the time it deserves, unless it’s clearly for some interpersonal reasons. Give it the time it deserves and give yourself the chance you deserve.

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

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I would give the same advice to someone just starting out. I would say, ask around, you can make an educated decision, but once you’ve made that commitment to something, commit to it and give it your best shot. And it also looks a lot better on a resume quite frankly.

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?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard:

Maya Angelou
Oprah Winfrey
Nelson Mandela
Madam Michaëlle Jean (I represent her and have met her a handful of times but would love to get to know her better)

They are truly good people making a difference in the world, and I would tell them “Thanks!” I would thank them for their great contributions to bettering the world.

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

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: One of our current speaker on the roster is Izzeldin Abuelaish who wrote I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey. It’s a bestseller and an unbelievable book that I highly recommend to anybody and everybody.

Jeanne-Marie Robillard:

Five Books

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Maybe I’d like to learn more about the Bible.
Ulysses
Jane Eyre

One Movie and Music CD

Big Night for Big Night movie and Big Night: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Big Night – Trailer

If you cannot view the movie trailer for Big Night click here.

How I Will Spend Two Years

I would spend the two years learning, reading all the classics if I could. I would like to learn more about classic literature, religion, and learn to meditate.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: People, I love that everybody has a story. My current husband is an architect, and he laughs when I say that I love looking at office towers or high-rise office buildings, or condos. I think, “All those stories in there, that’s so cool.” So people for sure.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: By surrounding myself with positive people, and finding the time to be alone to refuel when I need that time. I go to bed quite early by most people’s standard. I try to head to bed by 9:30 pm on weeknights, and I read. So that’s how I nurture my soul.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: To help the disadvantaged, to make less suffering in this world.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I’m helping others.

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Adventures in Learning: DIY Mentoring Program, Episode Two (theinvisiblementor.com)
The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay (theinvisiblementor.com)

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Video Credit: Uploaded by MahatmaCartman on Dec 2, 2010

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The Invisible Mentor Interviews Tina Brillinger, President & CEO of Global Food Safety Resource Centre Inc. Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:30:53 +0000

Name: Tina Brillinger, President & CEO

Company Name: Global Food Safety Resource Centre Inc.

Website: http ://www .globalfoodsafetyresource .com

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and other aspects of your life?

Tina Brillinger: As a fairly new business owner, this is something I struggle with daily, often feeling pulled in so many different directions. I am trying to make changes to strike a greater balance between my work/life balance. As time passes, I am getting better at this, without feeling guilty and knowing my mental and physical health depend on it.

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

Tina Brillinger: Time is spent with family, friends and my Sheltie Jewels. I enjoy cooking, travelling, entertaining, reading, movies, scuba diving, golfing, skiing and Nordic pole walking.

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

Tina Brillinger:

Regardless of circumstances, your past does not have to dictate how your life will turn out. The beauty of being an adult is that we have the freedom to make our own choices; eliminating those things or people who are not good for us.
A good education is a prerequisite to a life well lived, never to be taken for granted.
Everyone deserves a second chance – give yourself permission to have that second chance, that is, a second marriage, new job.
We learn more from our mistakes than the things we do correctly.
What constitutes a family depends on who is being asked; outside regular blood-relatives, a family can be represented through non-blood relations, friends who become family of the heart; same-gender partners – in essence anyone with whom you have a strong emotional connection that cares about you deeply.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Tina Brillinger:

Research by always reading interesting books.
Brainstorming with others to come up with “out-of-the-box” ideas.
Driving in my car where I’m relaxed listening to music.
Scribbling, sketching or writing down as many ideas as possible .

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Tina Brillinger: “Givers have to set limits because takers never do” (unknown). Generally all people fall into two categories: givers and takers. Most givers don’t know how to set limits opening themselves up to constant takers. Takers like to find givers who don’t have set limits because they will take advantage of them and their generosity sometimes leaving the giver in a compromised situation. If you are a giver, set a limit on your time, money or energy that you can reasonably afford to give, and won’t compromise your well-being or circumstances. Develop a backbone because once that limit has been reached, takers will challenge you to cross it. Make a commitment not to let others cross it, unless it’s life threatening. If you set limits, chances are takers will not see you as weak and exploitable.

“Be the change that you want to see in the world” (Gandhi). In my view, there is no room for armchair pacifists in this world – they will never make a change to improve their circumstances or the world around them. If you truly want something to change then you must not wait for others to take action; be the impetus for change, no matter how big or small it is. The one thing successful people have in common is the belief that they alone can make a difference and they don’t wait around for others to act.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Tina Brillinger: Courage + Determination + Hard work + Perseverance = Success!

Success comes from a feeling of satisfaction in knowing you’ve reached your goal.

Avil Beckford: What steps did you take to succeed in your field?

Tina Brillinger:

Listening to what others had to say.
Continuous learning, no matter how irrelevant or seemingly benign it may be at the time.
Determination, strong work ethic; perseverance and courage.
Recognizing talent; surrounding myself with people who know more than me.
Making a business plan.

Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out today?

Tina Brillinger: There is room at the top for those who do things well. Keep high standards, be creative, be open to change and opportunities. If you don’t derive a certain satisfaction out of what you do then change it up. Don’t be afraid of failing….be afraid of belonging to the status quo!

Avil Beckford: If trusted friends could introduce you to five people (living or dead) that you’ve always wanted to meet, whom would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Tina Brillinger:

Elton John – Your music comforts me and has touched my soul when I hear it
Nelson Mandela – Your strength and determination to fulfill your vision has made your country and world a better place. Thank you!!
My Great-Great Grandmother who was full-blooded Algonquin – I’d like to hear about the kind of life she lived with my Great-Great Grandfather a French-Canadian. My family dates back to circa 1642.
Thomas Edison – I’d Ask him about his process for coming up with brilliant ideas
Indira Gandhi – Ask whether she would change anything in the course of her life, knowing she would be assassinated.

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

Tina Brillinger: A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah – This is a first person account of his life as a boy soldier, one of the 300,000 child soldiers living in Sierra Leone. Ishmael’s narrative voice had such clarity when describing how he became indoctrinated as a boy soldier, what he witnessed and how he survived. Riveting, yet disturbing; Ishmael’s takes the reader down his road to hell describing how the rebels use children to commit genocide against their own tribes. His determination to survive and escape, through what can only be described as hell on earth, was extremely courageous. His willingness to share his painful story with such honestly is admirable. After becoming rehabilitated, Ishmael joined the United Nations, as a Spokesperson to help end the practice of recruiting child soldiers. Surviving such hell to tell his story is inspiring.

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 time? The 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.

A toothbrush, hair accessories and sun hat; two deck of cards; pens and journals for writing; Movie: Fried Green Tomatoes, Elton John’s Tiny Dancer Album, my mask, snorkel and fins plus my dive knife, and hiking boots.

If you cannot view Elton John’s Tiny Dancer YouTube video, please click here.

The five books:

1. The War of the End of the World, Mario Vargas LLosa

2. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild, Steve Brill

3. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

4. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

5. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell

What I would do for two years:

Get lots of sleep until I was fully rested, enjoy some solitary time unfettered by a rushed world.
Take my mask, fins and snorkel and explore the underworld around the island.
Go hiking in search of edible and exotics plants, cook interesting dishes.
I would read books, play backgammon and solitaire and write my memoir.
Have many fires and sing songs, make up different instruments with whatever was available.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Tina Brillinger: Things that visually delight me, nature, travelling to new places, learning something new, pushing limits and taking risks, that is, sky-diving, scuba diving, starting my own company, reaching a goal.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Tina Brillinger: Being with people who comfort me (my husband, children and friends), music, and being in water (bath, scuba)

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Tina Brillinger: Ten years of great health and the financial resources to travel and participate in greatest adventures: Europe on the Orient Express, take an underwater tour of the Titanic or orbital flight, African safari.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Tina Brillinger: I am underwater, scuba diving with my dive buddy and husband Randy – the serenity balances and soothes me, against an otherwise chaotic world.

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The Invisible Mentor Interviews Helga Iliadis Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:30:51 +0000

Interviewee Name: Helga Iliadis, Assistant Deputy Minister

Company Name: ServiceOntario

Website: http://www.ServiceOntario.ca

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Helga Iliadis: I was born in Germany and have been living in Canada since I was two. I’m currently married to an incredible Greek gentleman, 37 years this coming September. We have two sons, and my career for the past 39 years has been completely focused on customer service.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Helga Iliadis: Over the years I would say that the lines between my personal and work-life have become blurred. For example, I consider my colleagues – when I have worked with them over an extended period of time – as my extended family. And the work that I do often brings me every bit as much joy as the personal aspect of my life that I treasure. The way I integrate both aspects of my life is by prioritizing, so that I can spend time with my loved ones and the people that mean the most to me. And my other strategy would be to multitask and make every minute count, including those minutes that are meant just to relax.

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

Helga Iliadis:

Identify the values that you wish to shape your life.
Constantly strive to be the best you can be.
Give without thought of return, you will be amazed at the outcome.
Whatever is meant to be will be.
Happiness is a matter of choice not chance.

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

Helga Iliadis: I spend time with family and friends that I love. I love to listen to beautiful music and I really enjoy communing with nature, and if I can combine any of those things it’s even better.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Helga Iliadis: I’m an extrovert so I tend to love bouncing ideas around others, whether I’m working with just another individual or a creative group. I find that in that environment one idea sparks another and before you know it a great plan emerges.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Helga Iliadis: There are a lot, but the one I would pick is, “Whatever you want, give it away.” The reason why this quotation impresses me so much is that it’s simple yet profound and it applies in so many areas of your life.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Helga Iliadis: Success is in the eye of the beholder, it really means achieving your goal, whatever that goal may be. And I find a repeatable formula for that success is first of all to be clear about what you would like to accomplish, next in order to achieve serenity to recognize which elements in that situation you have little to no control over, and it’s important to accept that you don’t have control over those elements and then just choose how you’ll respond to them. After that you want to identify all of the elements that you do have control over and brainstorm options for yourself, and then finally you would choose the option that will most likely help you achieve your goal. The beauty is that if perchance the first time around your plan doesn’t work, you are not a prisoner you can always revisit.

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

Helga Iliadis: I learned that there are an infinite amount of paths to success. For many people, I know that revolves around having a very deliberate one-year, two-year, five-year plan for your career, but for me what has worked over the years is to completely focus on the work I’m doing in the present, to work at becoming the best that I can possibly be in that role, and I find that when I take that approach and if I leave myself open to continuous learning, the opportunities for the future have always presented themselves.

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

Helga Iliadis: This question took me back to the question about the formula for success. That is the advice I would share to be really clear about what you’d like to accomplish, think about what you can’t control and how you choose to respond to it, look at everything that you can control and brainstorm your options and then choose the option that will help you to be successful.

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?

Helga Iliadis: I am not going to go to the place of famous leaders, rather I’m going to think a little smaller. I would love to meet four people, my two sets of grandparents whom I never knew. If I had that privilege I’d like to sit down and hear about their lives, what they went through, and I’d like to hear all about my mom and dad and what they were like as children. That would be a precious treasure.

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

Helga Iliadis: There are so many wonderful books out there, but one in particular that stuck with me over the years I would say is Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was a wonderfully, easy read. The power that was in it for me was the concept of living a principled life, that your principles are essentially the bedrock upon which your life is built, applied to both your personal and as well as your work-life. That would be it.

Helga Iliadis: I’m always an optimist so I’m going to assume that the deserted island that I would spend my time on would sustain a simple life, so I’m not going to take basic supplies. I would take a suitcase full of books and if I have to stick with things that fit in a suitcase I would also take a little kitty-cat for company. I thought to myself, “if only my husband could fit in the suitcase I would gladly take him as well.” As to what I’d do with all that time, who knows? again it would be a matter of communing with nature, reflecting within and continuing to learn.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Helga Iliadis: The limitless possibilities! And particularly, the limitlessness of human potential, that’s what I find truly exciting.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Helga Iliadis: The things I love the most are listening to beautiful music and being at one with nature, those are absolute balm to the soul.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Helga Iliadis: That was easy, health and happiness for my children.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Helga Iliadis: I’m doing something that I love with people I love.

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The Invisible Mentor Interviews Mike DeSousa Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:30:30 +0000

Interviewee Name: Mike DeSousa

Website: http://www.mikedesousa.ca

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Mike DeSousa: I am a Career Social Media specialist who helps recruiters & employers find superior employee talent FAST using Social Media. As well, I am a Public Speaker who trains Non-Profit Agency staff on how to market their job-seeking clients, helping them to find work FAST.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Mike DeSousa: My work is based on the personal aspects of my life; I see them as both revolving around helping others. I consider myself the same person in my personal life and in the other aspects. I actually seek to integrate them together, which my wife doesn’t appreciate — she looks at work as something she does outside of her personal life, and believes in keeping them separate.

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

Mike DeSousa:

Work your buns off
Give yourself a lofty, challenging goal — don’t set the bar too low
Out-strategize others
Ask more of yourself & set tight deadlines
Tie in your daily activities towards your long-term goals & reward yourself each time you complete a tiny step

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

Mike DeSousa: Reading, learning, surfing the net, working on my passion (“Public Speaking”). No ‘downtime’ for this guy. Sometimes watch some movies, though I’d rather do something active than escape to the “mind candy of TV”.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Mike DeSousa: I make connections between different areas that I read; stream-of-consciousness thinking. Forced Morphological Connections — generating categories of aspects of different things & recombining them into something new.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Mike DeSousa:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

It reminds me of our decision-making process for life “decisionism,” and reminds me of the life decisions that I’ve reached… Being a contrarian, I also choose to take the path that “was grassy and wanted wear”. Given that Robert Frost also suffered with depressions, it feels that both him and his words speak to me. Personally, I rhyme like Dr. Seuss!

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Mike DeSousa: My definition of success is making a difference in others’ lives, reaching your personal goals, making the world a better place, and working towards the flexibility to make your own choices through financial independence. The formula for success? No one has the same formula — each one has to find their own personal formula based on their strengths, needs, interests, etc. My personal formula entails hard work, strategic thinking, creating value for others, having an unquentionable thirst for knowledge, discipline, pursuing your passion, and following your strengths.

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

Mike DeSousa: I used an existing media (Social Media) and apply it into a new arena. I researched and ‘power-learned’ this new area, developed innovative workshops, my Brand, started presenting at Conferences, building relationships, and helping others. I’d find opportunities found me in proportion to the amount that I helped others and took a sincere interest in them, giving without expecting something in return, listening to others with my Heart/Brain/Gut/Soul, identified areas of value & gaps for them, offering them solutions, and tieing in my Value Proposition to their needs while focusing on the benefits for them.

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

Mike DeSousa: Identify exactly what you want that is “play” and fun that also pays the bills (your end goal), help others achieve theirs, wake up early to work towards your goal, tie in your daily goals to your end goal, become an expert through reading/watching YouTube videos/doing, market yourself, and have fun. Do what you love that also pays the bills or that can help you pay the bills.

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?

Mike DeSousa:

Jesus Christ: I’d say “teach me”
Alexander The Great: “What was your secret to getting men to follow you?”
Winston Churchill: “What led to your greatness as a speech-writer and orator?”
My (recently deceased) Dad: Tell me your life story and that of our family
Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Pierre Trudeau, or Brian Mulroney: What were your secrets to winning in politics?

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

Mike DeSousa: Either of the following three…

The Bible (no one single story — the impact of cumulative parables, interlinked for a common message of Love
The Little Prince, for its simplicity and many parables, that takes on new meaning with each life event that you experience
The Art of War, on winning, outworking, and out-strategizing everyone.

Mike DeSousa:

Five Books:

One of Winston Churchill’s
Compendium of Marvel Super Heroes origins in English & Spanish
Learning Mandarin/Cantonese
Learn Yoga & Chinese
Some comedy book

Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Music CD: With my MacBook & iPhone with satellite capabilities & iTune, I’d download unlimited music selections
One Suitcase: Sunlight-powered satellite MacBook tripped out with a lot of software titles to learn, laptop with extended battery life, mosquito net, mosquito-free clothes, solar-powered iPhone with satellite wifi connectivity, soccer ball, weather-appropriate clothes
Travel on case: Soap, Razor, nail clipper, nail file, pen, anti-mosquito device

For the two years I’d spend the time learning (languages, tai chi/yoga, history), playing soccer, dancing, listening to music, playing music (forgot to mention a harmonica & a flute), Skyping/Google Circling Friends, contacting Invisible Mentors, journaling, developing a portfolio of products & services, reading comic books, becoming an expert on investments… I would be doing what I love to do, rather than pandering to the audience of viewers; one must remain authentic. “To thy self be true”.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Mike DeSousa: Being of service to others. It makes me so happy to know that I have helped to “unstick” someone from a state of complacency or a limiting belief, and that I have given them hope, taught them new knowledge, and motivated them to develop new skills and use one of my ideas to propel themself forward in life.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Mike DeSousa: I learn, help people, speak professionally, listen to music, think, feel, swim….

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Mike DeSousa: 1,000,000 more wishes, of course!

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Mike DeSousa: I use my strengths to help others discover and act upon their talents and strengths.

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The Invisible Mentor Interviews Martha Mertz Part II

Avil Beckford — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:20:58 +0000

Interviewee Name: Martha Mertz, Entrepreneur and Founder of ATHENA International

Website: http://marthamertz.com

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Martha Mertz: I’m a businesswoman who started company in 1978, at a time when woman weren’t starting companies. Women weren’t running companies, women weren’t considered leaders. I started the company, it was small, it was modest and I grew it into a very successful company. I ended up developing properties, most of which I retained, and these were commercial properties that were in Michigan. So that’s my business track and I learned a lot about business and life and about myself by having that experience. Along the way I started an initiative that has to do with women in leadership, which has now become international in its coverage. That has also been an experience from which I have drawn deep understanding, great motivation, and incredible perspective about the world we’re living in now, and the progress we’re making, and where we need to continue to go.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Martha Mertz: I know that I need time to relax and to regroup and re-nourish myself. And I also know that there are times when I have lots of things that are required of me, so when that happens I spend a lot of my energy, I go full out, but then I know that I need to stop and re-nourish. If I don’t I’ll just get sick, so either my brain follows my advice or my body shuts me down. But I have never really had a problem doing that because – maybe this is unique and maybe it isn’t – I have the capacity to close my office and leave everything behind and go home and be there and fully BE there at home, and not drag all of the concerns and assignments at home with me, unless they’re so pressing that I cannot ignore them, then I do something about them. But I’m pretty good at being able to separate the two and I think for any person who works really hard and have a lot to do it’s really important to find a balance.

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

Martha Mertz: I have been talking about them through this conversation. Things like be authentic and I think those were things that were learned the hard way. I have had to go to a lot of life experiences to come to those understanding, but when a person does get to a point of understanding something you have the choice of adopting it or ignoring. Maybe the best thing I can say is to learn the lessons when they happen to you and alter whatever it is you need to do to get to understanding, because if you don’t learn it the first time, it’s going to come back around, and it will be a bigger circumstance and a harder hit. Stay alert so when something comes along and bumps into you it’s best to learn it then.

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

Martha Mertz: I have a wonderful relationship with my husband and part of the reason that it is so wonderful and rewarding for us is that we make a point of spending some time together every day without interruptions. So there is no television, no phone, no other people, it’s the two of us having a conversation every day unless he’s gone or I’m out of town. But when we’re home together that’s been an important part of our mutual understanding, keeping up with each other. Some of the great advice and support come mutually back-and-forth so I do that. I love to cook, I love to entertain, so we do a lot of that. Sometimes when I travel I’ll bring home spices from other places and use them, or bring back recipes or cooking utensils that I have never used before. And of course reading, I do a lot of the reading.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Martha Mertz: The most active way that I have used to generate great ideas is through meditation, and I’m not very good at meditation, but often times if I manage to quiet my mind, and usually it’s in the middle of the night. I sit in my living room and look at the sky and something will occur to me, something that I wasn’t conscious of thinking about or dealing with, but some idea will come which will present itself as a solution to a circumstance that I have been musing about. Great ideas have come from putting together various pieces of information and ideas from other people, weaving those things together ultimately is a new idea and it’s coming from many sources. Many of my best ideas come through this kind of weaving of all the people’s thoughts along with my own and it equals to a new place.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Martha Mertz: A long time ago I was inspired by a quotation by Plato, “What is honoured in a country will be cultivated there,” and that is the founding quote for Athena International. The whole philosophy of Athena is behind that quote. What that means is when you honour someone for a certain kind of behaviour, or certain qualities and characteristics they have, then other people will look at that person and their characteristics and they will find them honourable and they will be inspired to emulate those things, so that’s what gave rise to Athena. We wanted to honour one outstanding woman who was a leader in a community for her excellence and her giving back and her opening up opportunities for others, particularly for women. When we put those criteria together, we hoped other people would find those qualities something valuable for themselves, and ultimately that’s what happened. So Plato wins my bet for a quote.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Martha Mertz: Success isn’t always what the culture tells us it is, and I think success comes in different realms. There is personal success and there is professional success. For professional success for me it has been to set out a set of goals for myself and then to achieve them. And some of those goals in my mind have been moving mountains kind of goals. But when I’ve achieved it, it seems like a very large accomplishment, and indeed it is. For personal goals, I think it is being happy with who and what I am. That is success for me.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Martha Mertz: Envision the goal, where you want to go, and let the path toward that goal find you. In other words, know where you’re going, what is the ultimate goal, get a picture of it in your mind and don’t plan every step to get to it, a strategic plan works in business but it doesn’t necessarily work in life. Hold it in your mind, as long as I can see it, what it will look like, then I will find my way to that, and that’s been my formula for success. Some would call that having an intention.

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

Martha Mertz: The ones I outlined in my formula for success and that’s what I would also advise someone who is just starting out – envision the goal, visualize what it looks like when you have arrived at where you want to get to, and you can make a plan and work the plan but always know what the outcome is going to look like. Most of us don’t do that. Most of us decide these are the things I have to do today, we go day-by-day but we don’t stop to contemplate where we are going. And it isn’t just necessarily about making money. I’ve never thought that women just work for money, we do need it, but it isn’t the satisfying factor for women. Women prefer to affect change in the world, to cause something to happen, and satisfaction comes from finding a way to make a change in the world.

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?

Martha Mertz:

I would like to meet Mary Robinson who was the first female president of Ireland. I would just love to have a conversation with her. She went on to be the UN special envoy for human rights. All of the values in statements I have read of hers are aligned so closely with what I value and admire.
I would like to meet Barack Obama. I think he is a change agent in the world. I read an article once that said he leads like a woman, which is the highest form of praise from me because I think women’s ways of leading are the gold standard for this new century. I would love to have a conversation with him just to know what happens in his mind, what he is thinking as he carries so much weight right now in the world because it’s so important for all of us.
I grew up looking at Audrey Hepburn thinking she was beautiful, then finding her to be appealing in lots of ways. She ended up also being a special envoy for the UN and I liked her values too, but she lived at a time, and she was a celebrity whose values I thought were worth looking at. She wasn’t just beautiful but she also had substance.
I would like to meet Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Those two people during this last period of time were the greatest change agents in our world. Both of them had great struggles and came through them in ways that were admirable. I wouldn’t necessarily want to say something to them because if I was with somebody like that I would want to be there to listen. It’s not what I want to say, it’s what I want to learn, so I would be there to listen.

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

Martha Mertz: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl because it was such an understanding of courage and hope and personal empowerment in the face of impossible circumstances. That uplifted me in a way that never went away. I was very moved and influenced by Viktor Frankl.

Avil Beckford: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why?

Martha Mertz:

I would like to take a large, bound copy of the New York Time Crossword Puzzle.
The Oxford Dictionary.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare.
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy.
I would take millions of pages of empty pages to serve as a personal journal, as well as an opportunity for me to write a book. If I am there on a deserted island I might have to resort to my own imagination and creativity, so I might write novels – mystery stories or fantasies, or whatever I remember or whatever I’ve learned. So I’d like to do my own writing.

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

Martha Mertz: I’d like to have a CD of Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies [Box Set] and the movie would be Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

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If you cannot view this YouTube video of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Martha Mertz: Everything! Having the opportunity to explore, learn, grow, make friends, step up and make a difference. Having the opportunity and the ability to making a difference is the biggest of those.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Martha Mertz: I write in a journal. I learn a lot about myself when I write and I always date the entries that I make. I keep them, they are only for me, they are private and I can go back, and I find it interesting how certain thoughts or circumstances have evolved over a period of time that’s both instructive and nurturing. A great relationship with my husband is also nurturing, and I must say that my children have been my greatest teachers in my life, and they nurture me.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Martha Mertz: I would like her to allow me to start all over again in this life, but allow me to carry with me what I know now. I think I would stop and enjoy the moments more. I’m one that’s so focused on getting things done and moving another mountain that sometimes I have forgotten to just enjoy being where I am. If I had a chance to go back and start all over again I would pay attention, I would learn different things and I would enjoy being where I am.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Martha Mertz: I am happy now, I’m always happy. Maybe it’s because I live in Sedona. Everybody says there are vortexes here, and that it’s the positive vibration in the energy. Or maybe it’s because there are so many days of sunshine. So I’m happy when I’m at home enjoying this beautiful place I have chosen to live in. I’m happy for all of the blessings that I have in life.

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Beethoven “Pastoral” Symphony – 5th Movement

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Mentor Yourself With Andrina Lever, Balloon Express Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:30:31 +0000

Interviewee Name: Andrina Lever

Company Name: Lever Enterprises, Balloon Express

Website: http://www.balloonexpress.it

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Andrina Lever: I was born in England but grew up in Canada and in various other countries. I started traveling when I was nine months old. I went to 17 different schools growing up in three countries. I graduated from law school in England and started out in human rights law and sold my soul to the corporate world. I went into banking and was in advertising for awhile. I got married and my husband and I lived in various places – England, New York, Australia – then we moved back to Canada. In 1988 I started my own business Lever Enterprises.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Andrina Lever: They are the same, they really are. There is no division for me. When I was running Lever Enterprises full-time I was lucky that I had my husband’s support, and I supported him as well. I would often travel and he would help me with things when I was away. I’m not sure if I ever balanced my life. With Balloon Express being a family company we are all involved, so much of my life, good or bad crosses over.

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

Andrina Lever:

Life is pretty good!
Most people are good. Take the high road when situations happen. I still believe inherently in the goodness of people.
You can never be too prepared, whether it’s in business or school.
Sometimes taking a risk is not a bad thing but mitigate damages by being prepared.
I am a big believer in education, getting as much education as you can and never stop learning.

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

Andrina Lever: I travel a lot and I still enjoy it. My mother came to live with us over a year ago with her little doggie. I love to play with the dog because he is very cute and makes me laugh. I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. As I’m talking to you, I’m looking at one of the most famous sites in the world, and that makes me feel good. I also enjoy taking long walks with my husband through one of the loveliest cities in the world, and I love to read.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Andrina Lever: I don’t know if this is a conscious thing but I have pattern. I start out trying to be organized and systematic. Maybe using an outline since that was the way I was educated – outlining things and being systematic. At some point I hit a wall so I have to leave it, but it seems to me that I get most of my best ideas somewhere between 3 and 5 in the morning, especially if I just leave it and go to sleep thinking about it. Suddenly things will start to come together for me, and it’s very nerve racking because sometimes I wish they would come faster. We do a lot of brainstorming in the office and bounce ideas off each other because it’s a very creative environment that we work in. It’s a pattern that I’ve developed.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Andrina Lever: There are a couple that I think are very funny. One is a scenario from Tom Stoppard‘s play The Real Thing where a wife was making a very stupid argument trying to convince her husband about something, and he said, “There is something frightening about stupidity made coherent,” and I love that because so often in business you will find someone is trying to bluff you out of something and you intuitively know what they say doesn’t make sense. We’ve all experienced that and I love that quotation.

There was another that I loved which was about people doing things the same way all the time, and it was “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” and I love that because it’s true. We don’t want to change, we just want to keep on doing the same thing over and over again, even though it’s not working anymore.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Andrina Lever: Being happy.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Andrina Lever: I think it’s being happy within yourself. I think it’s knowing that you’ve done a good job, you treated other people well, you looked after what needed to be looked after. These are all things that contribute to a calm and satisfied state of mind that leads to happiness which is a part of success.

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

Andrina Lever: Hard work. Spending a lot of time learning the business. I worked a lot of long hours whether it was with Lever Enterprises or in Balloon Express. It’s long hours, hard work, and focusing on what needs to be done, having a vision to deliver it, and being open-minded enough to change what you have to change.

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

Andrina Lever: They have to do their homework. I think there is a lot of competition out there today no matter what you do, so it’s riskier than it was when I did it. You need to have your wits about you, understand what it is you want to do, and have a plan about how you’re going to do it, understand the market you’re going into – the competitor and what the real issues are with what you want to do. If you work hard , you can get some good rewards, don’t be afraid to ask for advice and to say I don’t know. That’s okay as long as you find the answer, talk to somebody. It’s not easy, it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s fun and if you really enjoy it you can make it fun.

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?

Andrina Lever:

One is a writer, I heard her speak but I never met her, she is Oriana Fallaci. The reason I’d like to meet her is that she wrote a fabulous book a number of years ago called Interview With History and it was interviews with famous people. I would ask her, “Of all the people you interviewed, who was the most interesting?” She said in one of her books that world leaders are not smarter than other people they were just more ambitious and had bigger egos.
I suppose first and foremost though, I would love to meet the Veuve Cliquot – Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin Cliquot who for all intents and purposes was the founder of the House of Cliquot Champagne. This is a woman who witnessed the horrors of the French Revolution, was widowed at a young age, took over a fledgling family wine business, developed a new method or producing wine, ran a Russian blockade to sell her product at a premium and created a luxury brand, including a distinctive label which is still in demand wordwide almost 250 years later – what a woman!
Queen Victoria would have been very interesting to meet because she was a contradiction. She was a woman who was outwardly very severe but was very passionate and I would like to ask her what she believed was the biggest impact of her reign, and all these years later what an influence she would have had.
I would like to meet Gertrude Bell because I would ask her why she did what she did because she was so ahead of her time. She was very strong and broke out of a Victorian upbringing. She traveled and was so clever, and there were rumours that she was the mistress of the Prince of Mesopotamia. She committed suicide so I would like to know what disappointed her about her life. She actually founded the museum in Iraq (Baghdad), the one that was looted in the Iraq war. She was a remarkable woman.
Golda Meir who was one of the first elected women leaders of a country in the world. She played a key role in the middle east, looked like a granny but was never afraid to make a tough decision. I would love to have these women around a dinner table together, discussing the state of the world today, while drinking copious amounts of Madam Cliquot’s excellent product! They were all well versed in international affairs.

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

Andrina Lever: I’m sitting in my library now which has a couple of thousand books, but I love biographies. I read a lot of biographies of people who are characters, people who have overcome adversity. I don’t know if any had a profound impact but I certainly enjoyed reading a lot of them. A couple of years ago I read a book called Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia by Janet Wallach about a woman who graduated from university in the late 1800s and went off to be an explorer and advisor to Lawrence of Arabia, and ended up founding the first school in Mesopotamia which became modern Iraq. Stories like that fascinate me, they don’t have a profound impact, but I’m fascinated by what makes people do things. She is a woman I would love to have met.

Avil Beckford: 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.

Andrina Lever:

I would like to have Earth from Above Tenth Anniversary Edition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. It’s a beautiful book that came out with photographs taken from all over the world in 2000 to celebrate the millenium. So if I was on a deserted island I would love to look at the rest of the world to remind me what it is like.
There is a big book called The Book of Birthdays by Russell Grant and it’s all about astrology and astrological signs and I could study about everybody that I know who I could remember their birthdays, what they were like and that would keep me busy for quite some time.
I would want books that would teach me how to survive on a deserted island, books that would teach me how to do things the easy way instead of figuring it out for myself.
I would take Buddhism: An Introduction and Guide by Christmas Humphreys. He was a judge who lived in the first part of the twentieth century When he was young his brother was killed in the First World War so he studied all the religions in the world trying to find out about war and why his brother died, and he settled on Buddhism because he felt it was the only religion that gave him peace, and he wrote a book about it which is a very good book. Christmas Humphreys later became a judge.
I would take a book by Ken Follett who has written mysteries and some historical books (Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy).

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

Andrina Lever: The movie would have to be an entertaining one like Wag the Dog (New Line Platinum Series) because it’s so cynical about politics and I loved it. Music would be Pachelbel Canon In D Major For Piano And Strings by Pachelbel.

WAG THE DOG – Trailer – (1997) – HQ

If you cannot view the YouTube video click here.

Johann Pachelbel Canon in D Major fantastic version, classical music

If you cannot view the YouTube video please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Andrina Lever: Being alive, new things, new experiences, opportunities, family.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Andrina Lever: By continually questioning things and experiencing new things, not being afraid even when I am afraid, do something, go someplace.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Andrina Lever: For my family to be healthy, happy and safe.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Andrina Lever: I am playing with the dog, walking with my husband, having a glass of wine with friends, and knowing a job is well done.

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Video Credit: Johann Pachelbel Canon in D Major fantastic version, classical music Uploaded by schmobot on Jun 26, 2007

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From the Library to the Executive Suite, The Invisible Mentor Interviews Phyllis Yaffe, Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:30:15 +0000

Interviewee Name: Phyllis Yaffe, Chair

Company Name: Ryerson University

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Phyllis Yaffe: I’ve spent my career doing things in the cultural industry in Canada. I became the CEO of Alliance Atlantis in 2005, and we sold the company at the end of 2007. I officially retired, but my husband says I’m failing at that. I now spend a lot of my time on corporate boards, as well as chairing the board of Ryerson University, so I have many interests that I spend my time on now.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Phyllis Yaffe: Like everybody else, when my child was young it was hard and I had to struggle with it. As she got older life got easier and of course now it’s not an issue because she’s a grown-up. I have to be very organized, and I have to think about plans. I organize my life around my family and my world and it isn’t always straightforward. But I’m organized.

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

Phyllis Yaffe:

Be open-minded.
Make good friends whose values are your values and work with them.

I think if you’re a good person life will be good.

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

Phyllis Yaffe: I enjoy cooking. I love to entertain friends at home, that’s a fun thing to do. I like to invite them over and cook with them, and make the cooking the entertainment part. I go to movies a lot. I read when I can, I’ve always been a reader and I like to read fiction. It’s a whole world of great stories. We like to socialize, we like to have friends over a lot.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Phyllis Yaffe: I don’t know where my ideas come from and whether they are great or bad. They just come out of the blue, and I don’t know if that means they are just mulling around in your head for while and they just surface. But I would say that I have no idea where my ideas come from, but it seems they just come from out of nowhere. An idea would come out and just pop out of mouth and I have no idea where it came from.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Phyllis Yaffe: The hardest thing to be in this world is happy. If you say that you are happy then I would say that you’re successful. And some people define that differently. It’s a title, an office in some fancy building for some people, and for others it is creating the things they want to create, working with the people they want to work with. For some people it’s money, and for others it’s the freedom to have time. Success for me is doing the things that I want to do, and having the time to do them.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Phyllis Yaffe: The way I know that I am happy at what I’ve done is if I’m doing the things that I wanted to do and enjoying them, that’s definitely success.

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

Phyllis Yaffe: For sure taking opportunities when they came along, but the other thing is making sure that you have smart people around you. I mean that by saying not to be intimidated by having people who are better at what they do than what you do, than how you perform your job. I always thought that if I had the very smartest people around me how could I fail. I’d say that’s true. There are many people who don’t like smart people around them because they like to be the smartest in the room. But I always liked to be the person who had the smart people around her.

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

Phyllis Yaffe: Well I know that it’s harder now than when I was young to find the right career path so I guess I would say to think that one through. Think about what you like doing, make sure it’s something that you enjoy, understand that enjoying it, being happy with your choices is way more important than what makes more money, and what’s the most prestigious. If you’re a cab driver and that gives you the most enjoyment in life, then that’s your career path. Don’t let the world’s view of what success is define yours, you have to define it for yourself.

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?

Phyllis Yaffe: I thought about this and I didn’t have great names. When my daughter applied for school she came up with great names. I think all mine would be writers. I’m a big reader of fiction, and I’d love to meet the writers of some of the novels that I’ve loved. I’d like to meet Shirley Hazzard who wrote The Great Fire. I’d like to meet Ann Patchett. Ian McEwan, I’d like to meet him and talk about his writing. I’d just like to meet writers and find out what’s in their heads, put it all together and see what more I can learn from them. And I’d also like to meet both Michelle and Barack Obama. They are very interesting people and I’d like to understand why a politician chooses to be a politician, especially in these days.

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

Phyllis Yaffe: In Grade 5 my classroom teacher gave me Anne of Green Gables. I know that that sounds like a terrible cliché but it’s true. She gave it to me in hardcover and I still have it. I think it’s the only book I have from so long ago and I never had a hardcover book before that, that was mine, all mine. We had books in the house but children’s books weren’t a big deal. And certainly spending money on them seemed like a great luxury. I remember getting it and how thrilled I was to have it. I read it, I loved it, I don’t think it’s been a huge influence on me as a book, but just getting a hardcover book that was mine to hold was a really important thing for me.

Avil Beckford: 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.

Phyllis Yaffe: I think I would say all the fiction I mentioned. I would go back and read lots of Doris Lessing. I’d read lots of Ian McEwan, some of Margaret Atwood but not very much – just her older books. I would read as much fictions as I could possibly find.

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

Phyllis Yaffe: I think I’d watch Annie Hall forever. I thought it was hysterically funny and I could watch that. The old Joni Mitchell albums would be my favourite.

If you cannot view the YouTube Annie Hall movie trailer, please click here.

If you cannot view the Joni Mitchell YouTube video please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Phyllis Yaffe: I thing there is to much to learn, so many places the go. I like meeting people. I’m open to the world, I’m in a strange place where I have lots of years left to do many things and have many choices to make. I’m interested in where the next choice will take me.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Phyllis Yaffe: it’s easy to say all the things I’ve already said, reading and friends and all that kind of stuff. But I would say that I’m not good at that, I fail at it.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Phyllis Yaffe: Health!

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Phyllis Yaffe: The people I love are around me.

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Mentor Yourself With Patty DeDominic Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:30:13 +0000

Interviewee Name: Patty DeDominic

Company Name: DeDominic & Associates

Website: http://dedominic.com

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m a businesswoman and an entrepreneur. Now I make my living as a professional coach and I guide high achieving professionals and organizations in making major transitions for themselves and their organizations.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

It is a challenge. I have three sons and five grandchildren and I try to spend time with them, talk to them online, and in person. Our grandson lives with us right now, he’s a college sophomore and he’s on summer vacation so we have the opportunity to make some positive impacts in our grandson’s life and we love that. My three sons are grown now but I try to stay in touch with them. For a number of years until 2006 my oldest son worked with me in my company and it was really wonderful to watch him grow. He eventually became president of one of my companies. I loved working with him until we sold our organization in 2006.

It does take a lot to juggle personal relationships and family life. I think communication and sharing your dreams and sharing your values with a person in your life – in my case would that be my mate – takes work and effort.

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

Be the change you wish to see, and that was one of my wonderful Gandhi quote.
A Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
The third one would be to follow your passions. Stay in your genius zone you will be more effective.
Don’t neglect your fitness because it’s important. Not carrying around an extra 50 pounds is going to make a difference in your energy level and your overall self-esteem, at least it did for me.
Always surround yourself with people who are extraordinary. I try to do that in the people I have as clients, employees, business colleagues and I look for people who are passionate, with high personal integrity, and high moral character, who want to do something that’s meaningful for themselves and for their communities. That kind of theme runs through my network, and I believe that my network and other people’s network is a very powerful tool to help you have a much better life. It makes living so wonderful to be able to share it with other extraordinary people who can help each other.

Avil Beckford: When you have some down time how do you spend it?

I love walking in the hills with my dogs and sometimes with my friends and clients. I love taking hikes. It’s a great way to stay fit and to enjoy sunshine and to think. For me it is better than a golf game.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I get great ideas from my friends. I read and I try to learn a lot from other successful people.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

There are two. One is a beautiful quote by a Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu, “The journey of a thousand miles must begin beneath one’s feet.” I realized that when I needed to make changes in my life I needed to start where I was. It doesn’t do any good to wish for a miracle to happen. It would be great to win the lottery, but I’m not going to hold my breath until that happens so I must start where I am. The other quote is one that I put in my own book, How I Lost It, “Every day I make time to enjoy the beauty of a fit lifestyle with friends, animals and nature.” And I love that quote because it’s mine and an affirmation for a good life.

Note from Avil: the older translation of the Lao-tzu quote, and the more accurate one is above, but the more popular one is, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

By being able to work and do the things you want to do with great people, and to be able to make a difference for yourself and others.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

The formula for success includes thinking about what you want to accomplish, and believing that you can accomplish it, so it’s conceive, believe and receive and that’s getting help from other people. Receiving success is doing it and making it happen.

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

There were many: I had to study, I had mentors, I had to believe that I could do it, I had to experiment and practice, make mistakes and learn. So those are the steps, it’s conceive, believe, receive, and achieve. Being grateful is an important part of being successful. I think you must be grateful for the things you have that you have been given.

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

If you are starting out as an entrepreneur, I would say to surround yourself with extraordinary people, get crystal clear about what your goals and objectives are then work hard to accomplish it. It’s trial and error. It’s progress and not perfection, and always keep learning.

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?

Gandhi because I’d like to know more about how he visualized the world.
Margaret Thatcher because I always admired what she did for the world as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
I’d like to meet John Kennedy because I think he was a role model for a lot of people in many ways and his vision to put man on the moon was an extraordinary, brave, and bold accomplishment.
I would like to meet Jesus Christ and I would like to know if there is anything else I should be doing in my life, and see if he had any additional guidance for me. I try to talk to him frequently, but right now it’s sort of a one-way conversation.
I’d like to meet Lady Gaga. I think her audacity is just amazing and I think she and some other contemporary female recording artists are making business history and I would just love to learn a little bit more about what her business goals and strategies are.

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

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. My father had me read it as a child and I learned a lot from it and I think my interpersonal skills and my ability to relate to other people were guided by Dale Carnegie’s philosophy about learning about other people, trying to help others with their objectives, and that’s how you get your own objectives met as well.

Avil Beckford: 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.

Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants. It’s just a great book, I just finished reading it.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink: I really love what he has to say.
Dan Pink’s Free Agent Nation: It was a really interesting discussion about what’s changing in the job market today.
Two of my own books: How I Lost It (99pounds.com) and Make it Real (makeitrealsystems.com) which just came out. I would like to read those books, make them better, then when I get off the deserted island I’d like to share them with the world.

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

Midnight in Paris the new Woody Allen movie is just great and the music CD would be anything by Annie Lennox.

If you cannot view Midnight in Paris YouTube movies trailer please click here.

If you cannot view the Annie Lennox YouTube video please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Every day! Being able to learn new things and interacting with great people.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

By surrounding myself with great people, reading, being with my animals and with people I love.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

The end of wars.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I enjoy the beauty and a fit lifestyle with friends, animal and nature.

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The Invisible Mentor Interviews Traci Wells (She Died for Four Minutes) Part Two

Avil Beckford — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:30:42 +0000

Interviewee Name: Traci Wells

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Traci Wells: Professionally I worked at Rogers for 15 years and was responsible for the management and development curriculum, which I loved. In the last two years, I’ve had a pretty massive life changing event which led me to make some changes in my professional and personal life. I suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest, my heart basically stopped and I was without a heart beat for almost four minutes. I was saved that day because of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). The interesting thing about this event is there were no signs or symptoms. I had no problems with my health, or with my heart. Even after the event, I’m very fortunate there is no damage to my heart. I was in the hospital for 10 days and they tested everything they could. I’m one of those cases where they basically told me we’ll never know why it happened.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Traci Wells: The next job I get is going to have to fit into my life versus my life fitting into the job. I have a whole different perspective on the person that I’m working with. I don’t think I’d be as patient with a bad leader as I used to be. I always try to help and mentor and coach, but sometimes people just don’t change. I think I stayed with a lot of bad leaders out of fear. I haven’t talked much about fear and I’d say that’s been one of my biggest learnings is that fear is so debilitating, and in reality once you face that fear it’s never as bad as you thought it would be.

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

Traci Wells:

The lesson with fear is that we create the fear to be much bigger than what it is in reality. When you face it, it’s not as bad as you thought it was.
Life can be gone in an instant, you have to make the most of it. It sounds so cliché but it goes back to the “don’t wait.” Don’t wait to live the life that you’re meant to.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I was a self-sufficient, independent, can-do-it-all myself kind of person and I realized that I don’t have to do with all myself, and it isn’t a sign of weakness to ask for help. I’ve learned this over the last few years that if you ask people to describe me they would say that I have no problem being vulnerable, and as a result of that, I build extremely tight relationships with people because when you’re willing to show your flaws and make mistakes people see you as a real person. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Some of us do not value our health until there is a reason to look at it. I did not value my health until there was a risk to it and as I sit here at 42, if I was doing what I’ve been doing for the past year I probably would not have had a cardiac arrest. Even though the doctors cannot tell me why it happened, you have to look at the way you have been living your life and when people look at the list of things that’s important to them, what they value most, they always put family first. I say you have to put your health first or else you won’t be there for your family if your health isn’t strong.

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

Traci Wells: I love volunteering now even though that may not be down time in some people’s eyes. Giving back, whether it be to the Heart and Stroke Foundation because of my experience, or something in my community that I believe in. There is a great quote that I love for, it basically is “Service is the rent we pay for our time on this Earth,” and I get as much out of that as the people that I’m giving it to so that’s a big one.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Traci Wells: A few, sometimes the process is as simple as turning on my computer, putting some music on and looking at the view of the Don Valley and just giving myself some time to think. That’s a process. I don’t think we give ourselves enough time to think, so I make time for that. I have some great people in my life and we feed off each other for great ideas. I had a friend here yesterday, we are working on a cool new Internet idea, and for him and I, the great ideas just come from taking one idea and expanding on it and by the end we get to this really great place. Collaboration is a really important step

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Traci Wells: I really like “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” by Margaret Mead, but I am in a service mode so let’s go with “Service is the rent we pay for our time on this Earth.”

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Traci Wells: Success is individual and personal. Success and what is valuable to me may be very different from what matters to you. I define success as being proud of the work that I’m doing, knowing that I’m making a contribution.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Traci Wells: The formula for success definitely has to be giving yourself enough worth as you give to others. I’m the kind of person who would do anything for everyone, and that’s a lovely quality, but it went to the point where I never did anything for myself. I want people to recognize that they are as important as the people that they’re doing the work for. Think about the mother who puts her children first, and that’s great, I don’t have children but I can understand why you would do that, but I don’t think we think about ourselves enough, especially as women.

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

Traci Wells: I took some risks definitely. I went back to school as many times as I could because I think continuous learning especially in my field is a requirement. Learning and development can be a very typical process, what made me successful was going outside of the normal process and said, “we know that some of those things work, but what if you tried this?” Maybe it goes back to taking risks and not being afraid to try something different.

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

Traci Wells: Based on my perspective now, starting out, if you’re right out of university jumping into the new job you’re thinking you have to be here today 24/7 to make an impact, and what I realized is it’s not how much time you spend doing something, it’s definitely the quality and the impact. Make sure that you develop a structure for yourself that doesn’t create your career that’s your only focus, even if that’s for only 10 years. There can be balance all the way through.

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?

Traci Wells: I used to ask this question in class, that’s a great icebreaker for people, and before I met my father, I would say my father.

I would want to meet Martin Luther King and I would say thank you for having the courage to make change.
And I’d like to meet Oprah Winfrey and say something very similar. But she also helped me to see my value, so I’d say, “Thank you for making me see my own value and potential.”
I’ve always had this fascination with Janis Joplin, and I think what I would ask her is why she didn’t value her life enough.
I like to meet Gandhi and I’d ask him how he maintained his strength in living his life at the time.
I love to meet the Dalai Lama and let him share his learnings with me around fear and courage because he has an awful lot of courage and I’m curious about how he deals with the fear.

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

Traci Wells: This is funny! Do you know The Princess Bride? They actually made a movie about it. But the book was a read to me when I was in public school, and my teacher was a huge fan of the book and every day I would look forward to hearing the next chapter. And why it was so powerful, as a young child, I wasn’t someone who lived in fantasy. I was an adult much sooner than I should have been, and as a result, I couldn’t see fantasy, I didn’t enjoy it. And the Princess Bride took me to a whole different place of fantasy and after I read that book I started writing myself. It’s not a business book or anything like that but allowed me to see fantasy, and that it can be fun, and a place to be creative in.

Avil Beckford: 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.

Traci Wells:

The Princess Bride for what I just said.
She’s Come Undone and the reason why I like that one is it was the first book that spoke to how I really felt about life and did not apologize for it.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fundamentally changed the way I look at life. That book allowed me to meet my father, it opened my mind enough to want to find out who he was.
Good to Great from a business perspective, and it was the first time I felt at least in my business environment, that people understood the value of focusing on the people, and not just on the process. I thought that was a revolutionary business book.

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

Traci Wells: I love music so that’s really tough, but I have to say Bruce Springsteen because there’s something motivating in his music like the underdog can win, and it would help me to get off that deserted island. As for the movie it would have to be a The Way We Were because it’s my favourite movie of all time and I can watch it over and over again without getting bored of it.

If you cannot view this Bruce Springsteen YouTube video click here.

If you cannot view The Way We Were YouTube video please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Traci Wells: Everything right now. The potential, the opportunities, the fact that I still have life, it excites me. I never considered death before this experience, and I wouldn’t say that it’s an area that I focus on now, but because of that life and death experience, life means a wondrous thing to me now. I have a whole new value for time.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Traci Wells: Providing service helps with that, wonderful friends and family, and music.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Traci Wells: I’d wish that everybody could be educated. And I don’t mean higher learning education, but education that can solve all of our world’s problems. So I would actually ask the genie to give everyone some learning, some education that they can expand their worlds.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Traci Wells: I’m happy when I’m making a contribution.

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