The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Life lessons’

Interviewee Name: Gary Vurnum, Author

Website:  http://www.vurnum.com 

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Gary Vurnum asks a question (Photo credit: Ralph Zuranski)

Gary Vurnum:  I’ve been earning a living from the Internet full-time since December 2001, and in that time, I have created 15 products in the self-improvement niche, from general success to leadership to goal-setting to law of attraction to stress relief and so on. I’ve also written 20 books over the last few years, and set-up my own publishing house last July, and I publish other people’s books as well as my own.

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

Gary Vurnum: My work really is my hobby because I love to read and write about self-improvement, marketing and the internet. I choose how often I work so I don’t need to integrate anything at all. I take time off whenever I choose, whether I’m with my daughters, fiancée and so on. It’s one big melting pot for me because I choose when and how often I work then there isn’t too much conflict between the personal life and the business life. 

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

Gary Vurnum: Because I have my daughters for a couple of days each week, and half of any holidays I focus on them because I don’t have the quantity of time, I focus on quality. I read books on the topics that I write about and I watch very little TV. Apart from that, I spend time fiancée and we go out for meals and date nights and things like that. That’s essentially how I use my free time.

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

Gary Vurnum:

1. You have more chances of making people miserable if you always try to make them happy because they need to make themselves happy rather than you doing it for them by bending over backwards. If you try to bend over backwards trying to make others happy, quite often, it’s at the expense of you being happy. And it ends up blowing up in your face.
2. The best way to deal with a setback is to say, “So what,” and get on with it. Deal with what happens and move on. It’s not always easy but essentially that’s what I try to do.
3. Being successful at anything may be complicated but not difficult, whether it’s internet marketing, being an author, trading stock, real estate, whatever. The steps involved are not difficult, you don’t need degrees, or need to be a rocket scientist, but there are usually a number of steps involved. If it’s important to you, you’re going to find a way to make it happen.
4. Always get paid more than once for everything you do, which is a rule I try to stand by whenever I can, and refuse to be paid per hour. That’s why I have books and products that earn me money years after I created them.
5. You always get what you expect. A lot of us in our lives expect the worst, and guess what happens, the worst. Again it’s not easy, I’m human and you have to catch yourself if you’re focusing on the things you don’t want to happen. It’s so easy to focus on what you don’t want rather than what you do want.

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

Gary Vurnum: If you’re doing the same thing day-after-day then new thoughts and avenues won’t appear and I never ever have a problem with ideas. In fact, I have too many of them. I have many product ideas and things I can do and that’s because when I approach a task, I keep on with it and look for new ways to improve it. There isn’t a set process, I just basically get on with it and solutions often appear.

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

Gary Vurnum: It may sound a bit vain but it’s one of mine, “Never ignore the obvious, that’s what it’s there for.” Too many people talk themselves out of starting because they over-complicate things. Start with the most simple and obvious thing first and then you find quite often that things start to fall into place once you get moving. Don’t hold back from doing the most obvious thing because it’s obvious.

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

Gary Vurnum: The formula and definition for such is really the same thing in my book. Success is doing what you love as often as you want to, whether that’s in business or life. In my mind, how happy you are should be the currency for success not a monetary figure. There are enough miserable millionaires and billionaires around to prove this. Unfortunately, the gurus will tell you that you should be a millionaire and aspire to this, but essentially everyone wants to aspire to be happier in their lives. My definition and formula for success is to do more of what you love in both business and life.

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

Gary Vurnum: I push beyond my comfort zone because if you’re not moving forward you’re moving backward while other people are moving forward and leapfrogging. We’re always in motion so you may think that you’re standing still by not doing anything, but you are going backward because you are nor learning and applying. The reason why I’ve become a speaker, author, publisher, marketer and so on is because if I didn’t believe I could do something, I looked and saw that other people could do it and thought I should give it a go, and sometimes it’s scary, but unless you can push your comfort zone you won’t find out what you’re capable of doing. Once you start doing a few things that you didn’t think you were capable of then you find that there are very few things that you can’t do.

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

Gary Vurnum: Work out what you’re already world-class at, and everyone that I’ve ever met whether they were failure, rich or poor is world-class at something – painting, motivating people, fantastic parent, whatever. Everyone has something that they find either easy to do or comes naturally to them, and enjoy it as well. Take that and see how you can build something around it and do it as often as you can. You do what you love and the money will follow except you have to look at it in a business sense.

But basically someone, somewhere will want what you can do, or wish they could do what you find easy to do. So if it’s organizing, you have very successful personal assistants out there, if it’s painting, people will pay you for your paintings. If it’s being a great parent, there are many avenues to monetize your world-class talent. Everyone has been given a world-class talent at something. That’s the best place to start from rather than follow a process to go and do this then that. Start from inside out.

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?

Gary Vurnum:

1. Napoleon Hill: He is the man who wrote Think and Grow Rich and also Law of Success, which is my favourite book of his. I would ask him, “Can I have your original notes to your interviews of over 600 millionaires of the day?” He converted those interviews into Think and Grow Rich but it was a two-day seminar that was the Law of Success. I would want to see those original interview notes to get insights.
2. Warren Buffett: I would like to get information from him on investing.
3. Dalai Lama: Aside from meditation, I’d like to find out what he would recommend to focus on happiness as often as I can.
4. Richard Branson: I would ask him how best to manage your to-do list because I’ve seen his to-do list at the back of one of his books, and he has a big to-do list.
5. Leonardo da Vinci: I’d like to watch him but not necessarily ask him any questions. He was a polymath and involved in many different things.

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

Gary Vurnum: There have been many that had a profound impact on me. One at the time when I was going through all my problems to quit my job and so on, which tuned me in to the more spiritual side of success, was a book written back in 1912 I think, The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. You can get it for free online. It’s a short book and might be a bit too spiritual for a lot of people. It made me focus and took me away from the reality that I was facing and made me appreciate possibilities rather than restrictions.

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?

Gary Vurnum: This is the hardest question because there are too many books and I have eclectic music taste and I go to the cinema quite a bit.

Two Years

I would do a lot of writing, thinking, teach myself meditation and try to find a way to invent a happiness machine so I could work out whether I’m being happy or not. The hardest thing when you’re on your own is being happy irrespective of technology and the tools you have in your life. So I would work on a happiness machine so that I would come off solitary confinement happier than when I went on.

Five Books

1. Law of Success, Napoleon Hill
2. The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles
3. The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason
4. Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, Esther and Jerry Hicks
5. Reality Transurfing 1: The Space of Variations, Vadim Zeeland – It’s just becoming known in the west but has sold millions of copies in Russia. It adds a completely different spin on law of attraction and spirituality in a completely different language and approach. Very few people have heard of it but it’s fascinating

Movie and Music CD

One music CD would have to be a compilation of 80s music because I was a child of the 80s. I was born in 1969 and it was my teenage years in the late 80s (Journey – Greatest Hits DVD 1978-1997 – Music Videos & Live Performances). In terms of films that is very difficult because I don’t tend to watch movies more than once, and I have a number of favourites. One of them for pure comedy value is Step Brothers (Unrated) with Will Ferrell. That’s the only film that made me laugh before the credits started and it’s a film that you either love or hate.

The 80s – Greatest hits

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Step Brother, Trailer (iHD), Will Ferrell and John Reilly

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Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Gary Vurnum: Knowing that I am the only one who can choose what I do with my life. If there are any limitations in my life, they are due to me, which is a scary thing because you start to question yourself. Essentially I’m the one in control, that’s what excites me, if I choose to do something, there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do it.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Gary Vurnum: My business life is about that side of things, the best way for me to nurture anything is to teach other people, share it with other people because you learn so much more by trying to teach someone or put it down in words. The way I develop and cope with things – problems or challenge,s is to get it down on paper, and take a step backwards and see how I would suggest other people do it. So I nurture my soul by getting things out of my head and see what other people think.

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

Gary Vurnum: I would wish that everybody in the world would aspire to be as happy as possible instead of aspiring to be a millionaire.

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

Gary Vurnum: The people I love are happy.

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.

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“Don’t prejudge what’s ahead, take your life in sips, swallow slowly and it will all come together.” Jo Ann  Langer

Invisible Mentor: Jo Ann Langer, Senior Retail Executive 

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Jo Ann Langer:  I’m an American now living in Canada. I was born and raised in New York and left two years ago with my dog to come to and live in Toronto. I survive with my puppy, and I like the city, job and I maintain relationships and friendships as best as I can back in the States including a very special boyfriend. I’m a senior executive for a large retailer. That’s basically where I sit today.

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

Jo Ann Langer: It’s one and the same. I find that as I get older what I find is that they are so inter-related that it isn’t even funny. If I appreciate a challenge I appreciate it in both, I appreciate support in both. Whatever it is for me, my work is part of my life and my life is part of my work. My biggest issue that I mentioned earlier is about finding that balance but they both are very important to me and one begets the other. So while I’m shopping, I’m looking at things that might me work-related for me. If I read a book, I might read a book about work, about leadership or something like that. And I think about what it has to do with my personal life. It’s all pretty integrated day-in-and-day-out. There aren’t big divisions for me. I don’t have a family or children so I don’t have those responsibilities when I come home. I think somehow that may force a bigger blend than if I had to come home and totally change who I was and what I was thinking if I had other responsibilities in my household but I don’t. 

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

Jo Ann Langer: Because of my moving, I spend it with my boyfriend and friends. I also love photography. I love to cook and entertain and I also love fine arts and music. So in my down time I spend a lot of time doing those things. Some of these require solitude and the other require interaction with others, so there is a little bit of both.

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

Jo Ann Langer:

1. It’s not so hard to be tall. I thought it was going to be gruesome growing up.
2. The meaning of life is more about what you feel than what you think it ought to be. It took years and years for me to understand. I created goals that I didn’t even want to achieve, I thought I needed to have goals about certain parts of my life, and how I measured success, so that was important.
3. Losing people close to you, and I’ve lost a few. Everyone has taught me something and I look for that. Whenever I have a loss, I look at what I’m going to take from them with me to make me better so that has been an important lesson for me because some times we forget that when people leave, they leave behind life lessons and that’s been critical for me in my life
4. I learned the importance of family.
5. Self-confidence is important.

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

Jo Ann Langer: I’m very spontaneous so there isn’t a process. Someone asked me that question in a different way, “Why did you do that? How did you think of that?” I don’t really know. It’s not like I go home and draw a plan and figure it out. I’m very spontaneous so for me I’ve got a pretty good right and left side and they seem to come together quite nicely most times. Most of my creativity, and most of the process come from my gut first and then my brain second, and that’s how I run my life, good or bad.

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

Jo Ann Langer: I don’t have one, but I picked up something that I thought was interesting and it’s, “If you could write a book about your life, and you could write the last sentence first, what would it be?”

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

Jo Ann Langer: I define success when I feel good about myself and the world around me. If I feel good about myself and the world around me doesn’t, I’m miserable. I’m very interconnected personally with lots of people in my life as I’ve said before. It’s not about how much money I make, it’s not about the stimulating job, it’s not about a pretty apartment in Canada versus taking risks. It’s about what makes me feel whole, and when it all comes together that’s how I feel – pretty darn good.

That’s my measure of success and how you get there – unfortunately it has to do with the passage of time, and the rest has to do with absorbing what’s around you and paying attention to it and prejudging life. Don’t prejudge what’s ahead, take your life in sips, swallow slowly and it will all come together.

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

Jo Ann Langer: You have to look straight ahead and you cannot look backwards too often. Don’t rely on history too often, you have to keep that creativity, and you cannot go back to the well too many times. You have to look to the left and to the right but in the end you come back to looking straight ahead. You don’t look behind because you get caught in history, and in the past and you can’t go forward by dwelling in the past.

When I met my boyfriend I was widowed, and my husband’s name was Joe, so they called him anti-Joe because he was so different – the way he looked, sounded, what he does. And I started judging what he wasn’t instead of trying to figure out what he was. Don’t worry about the past, just keep moving forward and keep your eyes straight ahead.

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

Jo Ann Langer: I would give the same advice as what I said above, don’t over-guess yourself. Take it in and pay attention. Don’t try to figure out what you’ll grow up to be. I think that’s an issue with management, with people who are dealing with young people – we need the freshness, we need the newness, and we need that looking forward because we get bogged down in history because we’ve been around for so long. What youth and talent bring to the table is about moving forward. It’s not about moving backward, and stick to your guns and slowly and surely move into your space in your own way with certain acknowledgement and appreciation for what the environment and what you can bring to it, but don’t become one of them, become the next one.

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?

Jo Ann Langer:

1. I would want to talk to my late husband.
2. Rudolph Nureyev from the ballet.
3. Alexander McQueen
4. Madeleine Albright

To each one I would say something different but it really is about how do you lose your fear and move forward. Through all odds, how do you manage to maintain your individuality and your freedom of expression? And that’s very important to me. Most people that I would talk to would be more senses and not artists driven relative to the issue of being able to express yourself and maintain your individuality despite public opinion and all the things that we have to deal with based on what the world thinks we should be and what we really want to be when we grow up.

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

Jo Ann Langer: The book was called Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw, and if you want to talk about a turning point in your life, it’s a book that deals with the fact that most of us is born with good and bad shame, and maybe too many of us with bad shame, so there are many things that may not be the right things to you, and there are things that human beings teach us that maybe the right things but they tell us they are the wrong things so we grow up not feeling good about ourselves and what we bring to the table. Bradshaw is a Jesuit who went to a monastery. The book is an amazing book because he expresses the fact that you’re a part of a larger community and you’re born under the influence of the rest of the world, and it’s up to us to nurture ourselves in these environments and it was just one of those books at the right time at the right place and it was a huge awakening for me.

John Bradshaw – Healing the Shame that Binds You

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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?

Jo Ann Langer: I have to tell you that I’d have to bring a couple of lipsticks, I wouldn’t bring a lot of makeup but I need some colour on my face to make me feel good. I would pack the most indestructible clothes I could find and I would have to pack my camera, solar batteries and a way to manipulate and enjoy my photos. $2 million wouldn’t change my life but living on a deserted island would. That’s exciting because it’s life altering, it’s life changing! You are not stranded on the deserted island you have two years to do whatever you’d like to do and I find that very exciting.

Two Years

The first six months I would spend getting used to living in the wild, developing some sort of rhythm and some type of routine. Before I start exploring I would make it a safe environment. I would have a hut, but I would make sure that I could feed and clothe and protect myself. I would take care of the basic things first however long that would take. As I grew comfortable, then I would start exploring. I would take paper and pencil so I could paint and write, and capture what I was seeing and feeling in some other media than my memory. I would explore and think a lot about the good things I’ve had and the challenges I’ve had and I would take in whatever I wanted to take in. I’d take the quiet time to do that and yet at the same time take advantage of exploring the challenges of a new world and a new environment.

Five Books

1. I’d bring a book written by St. Thomas Aquinas when he was imprisoned and it’s about being alone, and how he wrote novels in his head while totally being isolated and shut down for many years. I would bring that book with me because it has always fascinated me.(The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas (Five Volumes), Aquinas: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought))
2. I would bring some John Irving books with me because I like what he does. He twists reality, and yet it’s still reality and I like the way he stretches your mind, at least for me he does, what’s real and what isn’t.
3. I would bring a book on decorating on a deserted island if it existed.
4. I would bring a book about cooking without carbs.

Music CD and Movie

I wouldn’t bring a movie because I’m not a movie girl. I go to movies but there hasn’t been one that changed my life. I would bring Maurizio Pollini doing Chopin as my music CD – there is no doubt about it.

Maurizio Pollini plays Chopin Nocturne no. 8 op. 27 no. 2

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Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Jo Ann Langer: People, People and People.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Jo Ann Langer: With my photography, my boyfriend and I’m not saying these in order of importance. I love my space and I have a nice single space, whether I’m in that space be it with a book, or my photography. Sometimes I come home from work and I’ll cook the most amazing meal for one just because.

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

Jo Ann Langer: I would ask to stay loved until I die.

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

Jo Ann Langer: I happy when I’m whole. I’m happy when I can laugh.

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.

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Video Credit: John Bradshaw – Healing the Shame that Binds You Uploaded by JohnEBradshaw on Aug 4, 2010, Maurizio Pollini plays Chopin Nocturne no. 8 op. 27 no. 2 Uploaded by joynes89 on Jun 18, 2006.

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Interviewee Name: Nathon Gunn, CEO

Company Name: Social Game Universe

Website: http://www.socialgameuniverse.com 

OMDC Digital Dialogue 22 of 24: Visioning the Digital Future

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Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Nathon Gunn: I am the CEO of a company called Social Game Universe and I also started another company called Bitcasters, which is still going. I’m an entrepreneur, and an innovator and I’m very passionate about creating new things. I work in new media and technology.

Image via CrunchBase

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

Nathon Gunn: I work with a lot of my friends and sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes a bad thing but I certainly do socialize. I work with the people I love, and often these are the same folks I’m friends with. In that way my life is integrated. I try to have a balance, try to make sure I have time away from the office, but I also do enjoy, on a personal level, all the travel that work brings for me, so I often try to make work go in the direction of the personal side of my life. I will go to New York to do business because I like being in New York and seeing my friends there, so I do integrate in those ways. But I also try to keep some healthy distance because you can’t be at work all the time. 

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

Nathon Gunn: You mean not at Birmingham? (he laughs). I’m not usually at Birmingham. I like to go to the movies because it’s kind of a nice way to relax. My best friend Duane and I play tennis, my friend Ian and I play tennis as well. I love going to the island here in Toronto and get away from the city a little bit, and occasionally I play computer games though making computer games sometimes you don’t want to play them after you get off work.

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

Nathon Gunn: I’m no guru so I guess I’ll just be parroting what other people have said because clichés are clichés for a reason.

1. You have to just do it to quote Nike. It’s the same thing I said about radical self-reliance, put one foot in front of the other or the old adage, every journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
2. Then you have to stick to it, putting one foot in front of the other doesn’t complete the journey, putting many feet in front of the other does complete the journey.
3. The journey is never really over. If you don’t enjoy the process then you’re doing the wrong thing. If you’re living for the destination then I know these are clichés but they are really true. I have noticed a whole year or months and months go by, and said to myself, “What was I doing?” and I said, “I was working on this thing to get to here.” And I realized that here never arrived, and it’s really killed me how I wasted three months, and in one case a year doing something that in the end I didn’t care about.
4. Happiness is an important part of everything. I read about happiness, I think in the Harvard Business Review, that there were a few key aspects to happiness. You have to feel like you’re making progress at something that’s a challenge and meaningful to you. Those things have to all go hand-in-hand because if you’re not making progress, and its’ challenging and meaningful, that doesn’t do it and if you are making progress but it’s not challenging, even though it’s meaningful then that isn’t good, and if it’s not meaningful, and you’re making progress, even though it’s challenging then that doesn’t do it. So there has to be all those things and I try to focus myself on that.
5. Remember that at the end of the day, all the work stuff is secondary to making sure that you leave the world a better place, and that you have friends that you can say at the end of the day that their lives are better because you were there.

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

Nathon Gunn: I steal them!  Maybe that’s one of the few times you hear people say something like that but it’s an honest part of creating ideas. I don’t think many things come from absolutely nowhere. I think you have to be an absorber of great ideas to put things together in new ways. I work with a big team of creative, brilliant people so we get together as a group and generate great ideas together. We bounce ideas off each other. Moses Znaimer, my old boss, used to sign his name to various TV shows that he did, and that’s fine, but along with those signatures was a long list of credits for the other people who worked on those products. When you watch the end of a TV show you see those names and it’s a collaborative process. I think it’s a big part of generating great ideas, since you’ve asked, I have to tell you one of the funniest ways that I’ve generated great ideas – when we have creative brainstorming sessions, I notice I will hear a really good idea from somebody and I would repeat it back to the person I heard it from, and they will laugh and say, “You misheard me totally, that’s not the idea? It’s this other idea.” And often enough, the idea I misheard is a really good idea so sometimes bad hearing helps us to generate great ideas.

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

Nathon Gunn: “Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of,” Benjamin Franklin, or “I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things,” Benjamin Franklin.

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

Nathon Gunn: My definition of success is accomplishing our goals and we choose what our goals are. I have chosen goals that have to do with innovating and creating new products that hopefully will be delightful to people, but also make a difference and be positive in the world. I select those goals based on what is realistic, what’s going to be unique, not just copying other people but how we can take things a step further, but not reach so far that we automatically fail.

Some of those decisions in terms of choosing the goals and aiming for and working on them, is the formula for success. But if there is one thing that I have found, is the big part for the formula for success because you can pick the wrong goal, have the timing wrong, you can make mistakes along the way, and none of those have to necessarily fail if you persist, if you don’t give up. If you keep refactoring what you learn, and keep reapplying it to what you’re trying to do, and sometimes adjusting what you’re trying to do, that’s the formula for success.

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

Nathon Gunn: I made a point of working with the best people I could find. I made a point of conceptualizing the most interesting projects that I could imagine that were realistic opportunities that would be in demand by the customers and the audience. And I used those conceptual ideas for really exciting and interesting products to inspire the best people I could find, and then together we went and found support, and opened doors to the kinds of partners who we wanted to work with. I would say it requires reading about things, it requires meeting people to make sure you have access to talent requires understanding your industry, know which doors you want to open, and which people you need to talk to. It requires learning how to talk to those people, in their language, about the things that you want to do, and then it just requires work and persistence, – not to beat a dead horse – but that’s been my formula, and it seems to work.

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

Nathon Gunn: There are a lot of tactical things I talked about in the question above, but none of it would be possible if I wasn’t passionate about what I was doing. I’ve really been excited about the ideas in my head, the people around me, now I’ve designed it so that the people around me are exciting, and I’ve tried to focus my thoughts on exciting things. I’ve tried to find people and partners to work with who are exciting and interesting to me. But if I were to give a piece of advice that could work for anybody, I think it has to be that old saying that you have to love what you do. Because everything will follow from there if you love it, something will wake you up in the morning and ask you what you will do next and you will find an answer, if something wakes you up in the morning and says, I want to do this. And it has to come from inside you, so if you don’t have it you have to look for that. Before you can study the mechanical parts of making it work you have to find the fuel and the fire inside that going to make the mechanical parts do their job.

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?

Nathon Gunn:

Nelson Mandela is an incredible human being. I’ve always wanted to meet him and in fact I wrote a letter to his elders’ organization and was asked to do some work, but we haven’t had the right opportunity, but that would be one of the great heroes for me. There are obvious ones, people who have character and strength – Winston Churchill would be a fascinating guy to meet. He was a man who had his mistakes and foibles and maybe wouldn’t have been a great leader without the challenges at the time, but it was phenomenal. Gandhi of course – those are big names that anybody could easily cite but of course they are big names because they have done incredible things. I would of course be delighted to meet them. In terms of living people, I have met Richard Branson but we didn’t get to chat. He is a fascinating character because he did things through creative pursuit, passions but turned them into businesses and he’s also had a flair for making a big name for himself without coming across as a pompous jerk so I’ve always admired his ability to generate publicity for his companies without looking like a pompous jerk.

The fifth person should stand for all the people who I meet every day, to say that they are all famous isn’t fair. I think sometimes you meet a hero in a book shop. I was looking at antique furniture, I met the woman running the store, and she started telling me a story about how she escaped Berlin when she was a little girl. Moses Znaimer told me a story when I went into his office and said hey, “look at this photo of you and Jack Nicholson, what was it like to meet him?” And Moses said, “Well it wasn’t as interesting as the conversation that I had with the woman who has been working in my garden.” It turns out that she had escaped from Eastern Europe as well so we compared notes on that. And I had to say that’s an interesting point he made to me, so I’ll share that point. There are people who you cross paths with every day and they are heroes in their own way and that’s important.

It would be interesting to meet my grandparents. I had a grandfather who worked on the railroad and a grandmother who died before I could meet her, a great grandmother who died from leukemia, all of whom I’ve heard stories, who lived through such incredible times. They had such an impact on my parents, wouldn’t it be amazing to know them?

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

Nathon Gunn: It was Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence. He wasn’t a doctor but he spoke to many doctors who had been studying the idea of emotional intelligence. Many people will be taking this for granted at this stage in history because his book had such a big impact and changed so many people’s views about what smart really is. But before that book came out, the further back you go, generally the accepted view on intelligence was that it’s analytical skills, can you do the math, can you remember the answer to this question? I had a number of people around me in my life who had high IQ. They had numerous degrees, and they worked from 5 am in the morning to 5 at night, and to be very honest it kind of intimidated me. I thought, “God I’m not that smart, will I ever want to get up at 5 am and do what these people do?” I sure like sleeping in.

The first time I was exposed to that book was in the form of an article in Harvard Business Review and it was emotional intelligence applied to leadership, and it talked about the qualities of a good leader. And the qualities that were cited were things like empathy for people, the ability to understand the people you work with is a quality that makes you a good leader. You look at Warren Bennis and other books on leadership, and look at some of the older stuff and you see things important to be the head of General Motors, the head of General Electric, but really inspired leaders have empathy. Other qualities in the list include ability to be self-deprecating and look at your own self and laugh.

These were things I couldn’t believe were including in a list for a leader. I thought being a leader and being smart meant you could do the math puzzles, you could boss people around, you could get up at five in the morning, and you never showed any weakness, so that book changed my view of what being a good leader really meant, and what being a success in business really meant. And I have quoted that book many times to friends. I’ve had friends say, “I’m not smart,” and these are some of the smartest people I know. For people who are not familiar with the concept of emotional intelligence should take a look at it because it goes to the qualities that you need to have to make the brain do the things it needs to do to succeed in life.

They had one study in the book where they looked at all the smart people who worked at Bell Labs where PhD and Nobel Laureates worked and they found the guys who did very well were the one who walked around and talked to other guys. Because instead of sitting at their desks working on a puzzle for a month, they might find out it had already been solved just down the hall. So some of those social and emotional skills are part of intelligence and that book changed my life by showing me that.

[See article Read Study science and math to get ahead in the future of work, right? Gigaom.com]

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?

Nathon Gunn:

Two Years

I could build a boat out of the book and try to leave, books wouldn’t float, darn it. I think the thing that is most interesting to me about being on a deserted island for two years is the idea that for once I do not have to do some of the things that I do here in Toronto, so I would want to meditate, a lot. I wouldn’t have a lot of choice, would I? I would start by saying I would want to think deeply about things that I just don’t have time to think about. When my life is spent trying to accomplish goals, and move fast from thing to thing, the thing I don’t get to do enough of is to actually read philosophical books that deal with really deep issues and spend time meditating on it.

My first answer was going to be that I would bring all sorts of gadgets and digital goodies in my suitcase so I could keep inventing things, but maybe the best thing about being on your island, is I could stop inventing things and start meditating on things.

I would probably go stir crazy at some point and start trying to invent things with whatever else I had, but that’s about it.

Five Books

The five books would be nothing about accomplishing things. There would be a book on physics, literature, philosophy, politics and humanities. So books with big ideas that you can put in your head and let them jumble around.

Movie and Music CD

I love movies, you have taken all my fun away! I don’t think I could pick just one movie, I love so many movies. I would bring a movie that a friend had made because I have a number of friends who are film makers. I would bring one of their films so I could think about the process of creativity, and the process of my friends being artists, and participate in their art. And if it was only one music CD, I would burn it myself with mp3 so that I could fit 600 songs on there and it would be a mix of everything.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Nathon Gunn: I love life and I get excited everyday by new things. I love to discover new things. I’m addicted to new experiences and I like to travel and discover new things and I can do that inn my work. I like meeting new people and I like discovering new interactions with people and new things about myself through all of that.

In general, I like the wild, creative, exciting adventure that is life everyday when you go out and try new things.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Nathon Gunn: I spend time with good friends, and on my own, and I think about the ways I can try to improve and the mistakes I’ve made and the ways I can correct them. I try to remind myself to think about other people, and put their needs and thoughts ahead of mine and then go back at life with that in mind. But I think I nurture my souls largely around people who I admire who have qualities that inspire me.

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

Nathon Gunn: I’ve been very lucky to have support from mentors, and the world, so I can’t say I haven’t had it, but the hardest things in life have been when the support has been inconsistent or when I couldn’t find the support to make progress through the difficult challenges. If the genie could give me one reasonable thing, it would be consistency and stability and support that you can always count on, that’s always there. I know a lot of people think that’s a bunch of money, but I think it takes different forms at different times so I would ask the genie in a very vague way so that I could have money one time, friends another, and just a nice place to sleep at night.

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

Nathon Gunn: I’m making progress in something I care about that is a challenge, especially when I’m doing it with friends.

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 Credit: OMDC Digital Dialogue 22 of 24: Visioning the Digital Future Uploaded by OMDConline on Aug 3, 2010

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• Mentor Yourself With Nathon Gunn, CEO, Social Game Universe (theinvisiblementor.com)
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• The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay, Part Two (theinvisiblementor.com)
• Mentor Yourself: Interview With Maggie Berry, Women in Technology Part II (theinvisiblementor.com)

Invisible Mentor: Maggie Berry

Company Name: Women in Technology

Website: http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/ 

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Maggie Berry: I run an organization called Women in Technology based inLondon and our strategic aim is to increase the number of women who are working and achieving in the UK’s technology profession.

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

Maggie Berry: I keep them quite separate. I spend a lot of time on work, but I keep my connections separate. But some of the ladies I’ve met, and have grown to know over the last few years are beginning to become more like friends, and it’s just a fantastic feeling. 

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

Maggie Berry: With my boyfriend, with my friends, with my family. I like traveling, going away at weekends and I like history. I read the BBC History Magazine and I love it. I read it cover to cover every month. I read a lot of historical novels – I like imagining how we lived, understanding all the things that got us to where we are now in society.

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

Maggie Berry:

1. Network, network, network.
2. Have a mentor.
3. When offered a job, negotiate the salary. Men negotiate and I don’t believe that it comes as naturally to women.
4. Life is short and time runs away with you so make time for friends and family.
5. You spend a lot of time at work so you have to do work that you enjoy and that gives you satisfaction. If the role you’re in doesn’t offer enough scope for that, get involved in other things – volunteer on committees and charities and find satisfaction from other things if your job isn’t able to offer that. Not every job can give you satisfaction on a day-to-day basis but there are other ways to get a sense of getting involved and giving back.

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

Maggie Berry: I get ideas from everything that comes at me. I read a lot and if I see things that look good, I wonder how we might be able to replicate them. I share ideas, get ideas from the team, from other activities that are going on all over the place and I jot them down and email them to myself and then we work out how we might be able to develop them into something – something more concrete.

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

Maggie Berry: One I hear a lot that I like is Madeline Albright’s quote that “there is a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.”

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

Maggie Berry: Success is different for everyone. There is so much discussion now about increasing the number of women on boards and in senior roles, which is brilliant but the fact is, only a very small percentage of anyone (men and women) are going to reach board level because there just aren’t that many board level positions available generally. So I believe that we need to make sure we’re providing for the women who are working at all levels – we need to provide resources and support for everyone because success is different for everyone.

For me personally, success is taking pride in the brand we have developed at Women in Technology and the activities that we deliver and making sure that everything that we do is of really good quality. So when people come along to our events, even if they’re free, it’s important to give great value to them.

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

Maggie Berry: I have worked for the same organization since 2000 – it’s a really great firm and when they offered me the Women in Technology project, I grabbed that opportunity with both hands. I also always try to approach work as positively as possible to make sure that I get as much from it personally as the business gets from it. I acted on the opportunity to manage Women in Technology – a few years ago when this was quite young, this was a huge opportunity and I still think this is a huge opportunity. We still have so much more to do and I’m looking forward to that because it’s exciting!

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

Maggie Berry: Accept that there is a lot to learn all of the time. There are people sitting around you who will have a lot of skills and experience that you can learn from. Get involved so, for example, if you work in a large organization and they’ve got a women’s network, get involved, check it out, see if it will work for you. If you get the opportunity to move forward with different projects, be nominated for an award or speak at an event, don’t play things down, go for it and take advantage of all the opportunities that come up.

And remember that the career you’re in at 21, won’t necessarily be the job that you’re doing when you are 31 or 41. We have accept that we’re probably going to be working until our mid to late sixties so I potentially have another 30 years to work, and I can do loads of things during that time. So just remember that none of the decisions that you make are binding and everything can be changed.

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?

Maggie Berry:

1. Queen Elizabeth I: I would like to get an understanding of how she operated in that very male Tudor environment and how it was to be one of the first female leaders whose reign lasted a very long time. We’d had a female queen before her but Elizabeth had an amazing reign and I would like to know what her tips for success were.
2. Marie Antoinette: From her childhood inAustria to coming into the French court and just what it must have been like to have lived atVersailles. What was her life really like? I’d be interested to know if she had any insight into what was coming with the French Revolution.
3. Mary Queen of Scots: I’d love to know what she was thinking. She is an interesting character because she was going to be the Queen of France but then the Dauphin died unexpectedly and the whole life that she’d been groomed for changed and she was just a teenager.
4. Catherine of Aragon: I would like to find out if she did actually consummate her relationship with Prince Arthur as that was the whole question that precipitated the creation of the Church of England and the breakup from the Catholic Church which was a huge schism in English society. I’m sure she wouldn’t tell me because she wouldn’t tell anyone but it would be amazing to know whether that happened or not because obviously it had a huge impact on British life.
5. Queen Victoria:

I am interested in strong women in history. These women were doing amazing things. These women were famous during their time but there were also loads of other normal women doing amazing things as well.

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

Maggie Berry: I have read lots of historical novels because they are so interesting to me – it relates back to my love of history and understanding how we live. I loved Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray and I happened to read a very old copy of it which was about 100 years old. It was very small with very thin pages and I’d just moved to London and the book is set in London at the time of the Napoleonic War and here was me, in 21^st centuryLondon, reading aboutLondon in 1815, and learning about all the things that happened on the streets where I was, and I absolutely devoured it. It was amazing and I really enjoyed it. I honestly don’t have one favourite book, but that would be among my Top 10.

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? 

Maggie Berry:

Five Books

1. The Bible
2. War and Peace (Oxford World’s Classics)
3. In Search of Lost Time: Proust 6-pack (Proust Complete)
   (only because it’s one of the longest books written so that would take up some)
4. Note book for writing in
5. Scrap book that I can keep anything interesting in.

Film: My favourite film when I was young was Pretty in Pink with Molly Ringwald so I’d probably take that as I can’t think of anything else!

Pretty In Pink (1986) – Trailer

If you cannot view the video, click here.

Music CD: I’d probably choose something that’s rousing that I could play at full volume to give me a bit of a buzz.

How I’d Spend My Two Years: In my suitcase, I’d have a laptop, electricity generator and some thing that could give me access to WIFI and I’d spend the time looking up ‘stuff’ that’s interesting to me – so probably about the history of peoples all around the world.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Maggie Berry: All the possibilities, thinking about all the stuff that we don’t even know yet and meeting people.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Maggie Berry: Friends and family, keeping grounded.

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

Maggie Berry: I’d like to remove war from the world. There are many wars between religions and I’d like religions to live happily together. We can have our own beliefs, one belief isn’t better than another, and consequently there’d be no “you don’t believe what I believe so I’m going to kill you”. The death and destruction of war is awful.

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

Maggie Berry: When I’m at home chilling out and relaxing. I’m happy when I’m at the end of an event that we delivered that was great. I’m happy when I’m with friends and family. And I’m happy when I’m beside the seaside.

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.

Video Credit: Uploaded by OldSchoolTrailers on Nov 6, 2010

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.

1. Be honest.
2. Approach life with intent, purpose and meaning.
3. 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:

1. 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.
2. Taking chances.
3. 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:

1. Maya Angelou
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Nelson Mandela
4. 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.

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?

Jeanne-Marie Robillard:

Five Books

1. I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
   
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven
3. Maybe I’d like to learn more about the Bible.
4. Ulysses
5. 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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Video Credit: Uploaded by MahatmaCartman on Dec 2, 2010