The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Sean MacDonald’

Which book has had the most profound impact on your life, and why? If you asked successful leaders which one book had the most impact on their lives, it’s highly unlikely that they would name a business book. Most would name a book that provokes thought. Is your one book thought provoking? I have culled from the interviews, seven books that have influenced the successful leaders which I have presented to you on this blog.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron with its stepwise approach, and again it’s about honoring the childish side of yourself, to play, to have time that’s just for you, that’s not trying to be better, or doing your duties was a huge revelation for me when I saw how difficult that was to do. Carolyn Barber

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It taught me to embrace life, and no matter what to always appreciate the moment, live your life in the moment and not to let the other things get in your way. It’s an amazing book. Sean MacDonald

Steven King’s The Stand, mostly because of the creative writing and the descriptions he used to set scenes, describe characters and make you, as the reader, feel like you were in this world. Don Martelli

Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I love that book and it’s probably the one that I have read more than any other book. I’ve read it about a dozen times. It really speaks to me in terms of living your true life and stepping to your own drum. It’s very emotional and if reincarnation is true I feel like Henry David Thoreau was one of my past lives. John Kremer

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell.  He taught me to ‘follow my bliss.’ David Gray

David Copperfield, (Charles Dickens) – I first heard this book serialized on the radio aged 9. I read the book aged 10 and still find it an inspiration. The exploration of family life, friendship, love, hardship, death, human greatness/imperfection, as well as personal evolution encompasses just about every human emotion … Rodger Harding

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

How many of these seven books have you read? 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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After I digested the entire interview, it dawned on me that the problem solving and creativity technique that we have presented on this blog is basically the same technique that Sean MacDonald uses when he starts a new case.

• Read through the information to have a thorough understanding
• Gather information
• Integrates the new information into the old information
• Analyzes the information
• Let it percolate
• Develop a defense strategy

This is my interpretation, what’s yours? What can you learn from this interview? Here is Part Two of the interview

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I practice law in Toronto and my focus right now is wrongful convictions and basically that means getting innocent people out of jail.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

The important thing for me is the quality of life and no matter what I do, whether I’m working or at home, I think it’s really important to have a quality of life. So in terms of integration, I think they are both the same thing. For me I live each day as if it’s the last day that I’m going to live, and no matter what I’m doing I appreciate it, I put it into perspective and embrace it.

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

I don’t think I’d do anything differently, although one regret is that after I completed high school I had the opportunity to go to a prep school in the eastern United States. At the time I didn’t understand how important that was, or could have been, so I decided not to go. Now looking back, I understand that Phillips Exeter Academy, Andover Phillips Academy, Worcester Academy were schools that could have opened up other avenues for me today. I regret that, I wouldn’t change the decisions that I made, but I probably would have put more thought into that decision, but I was only 16 at the time.

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

1. Put things into perspective
2. Always look at the bright side
3. Appreciate life
4. Believe in yourself
5. Never put limitations on your dreams

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

I spend my down time in different ways: relax, roller blade, go for walks. I think it’s important to do nothing for a lot of reasons. It’s good for your soul to relax, and I also think that it’s good for you creatively to let your mind and body relax because it gives you ideas that may have been percolating the opportunity to bubble up. So during my down time I often shut it off, and whatever I do during that time is healthy and positive.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I think great ideas come when you are centered and when you have a sense of balance. I think you limit yourself when you allow stress to impact your life, and when you do that you’re not able to let your creative process work. So my greatest ideas, if I have any great ideas, whether they are in my practice, or other things come at their own pace, when I’m relaxed, centered and have a sense of self.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

There is a quote that my grandfather had on a beer mug that he got in Germany in the 40s or 50s. It said “You get too soon old and too late smart.” There is a Thoreau quote about when he was in Walden that means a lot more to me but I cannot remember it. It’s about your dreams.

How do you define success?

Success for me is waking up happy.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

It’s putting life in perspective, living every day like it’s your last, and no matter what the challenges are, truly believe in yourself.

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

To begin with, I think that I have a genetic predisposition toward, and a passion for justice, that’s why I do what I do. I don’t know if I’m successful, but I can tell you that every day that I wake up I try to do the best that I can do. All you can do is believe in what you do and work with a high degree of passion.

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

In any field it’s important to believe in yourself and don’t be scared. If you believe in yourself you can do anything, don’t pay too much attention to negativity because it’s always going to be there.

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?

1. The first would be Mohammad Ali and I would say, “Thanks.” I think that his strength and ability to stick to his beliefs has transcended time, culture and race. He is one of my heroes. He gave up everything for what he believed in and I think that is a rare quality.

1. I’d like to meet Gandhi and I don’t know what I’d say to him. I think I’d be speechless, but he is certainly somebody that I’d like to meet.

1. I think I’d want to meet Einstein because he is also someone that I think refused to allow limitations to stop him, and I also think he lived life like every day was his last day. I don’t know what I could contribute to the conversation with all these people, I’d be more interested in listening to them. They are great human beings and they have far more to offer me than I could offer them.

1. I’d like to meet Benazir Bhutto because she was a shining light, and it would be interesting to meet her. I think her contribution to the world was cut short and I’d like to listen to her.

1. I’d like to meet President Obama because I think he’ll be a center piece in human history as we move forward, and I’d like to sit down and listen to him too. And I think he is an unbelievably amazing human being and has achieved things that most people could only dream about.

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

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It taught me to embrace life, and no matter what to always appreciate the moment, live your life in the moment and not to let the other things get in your way. It’s an amazing book.

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.

I’m a geek so the books I’d like to have would be about the practice of law. I’d like The Little Prince because it’s about the practice of life. I am inspired by people like John Sopinka, he is former Supreme Court of Canada justice. He has books on the trial practice of evidence, that for me, allows me to absorb their wisdom. Most of the books that I would like to have wouldn’t be interesting to other people. The other books I read are about Middle Eastern politics, the authors are professors and foreign policy experts. One is Steve Coll. I read a book called Ghost Wars and it’s about Afghanistan and the foreign interest that was at play there from the time the Russians were in Afghanistan up to the point 2001. I am interested in Middle Eastern politics mostly because I’m interested in the people and I want to have a better understanding of where they come from and what their experience have been so I read a lot. There is another book called The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future written by Vali Nasr that I’d like to have with me.

Have you read any books that inspired you to start a business, service or invent “something”? If yes, which book?

I don’t read your cookie cutter how-to books, like how to become a millionaire, but I spend a lot of time thinking about various business ideas in addition to what I do. And I try to find people who have been very successful, and try to do my own reconnaissance to see who they are, where they come from, what they’ve done, what they are doing, but I try to do it from different sources. I find that if you take it from one source there is only one perspective. I try to learn from them.

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

The movie would be Unusual Suspects. The CD is a hard one because I like so many different types of music. It could be way back to someone like Curtis Blow, I love Kurtis Blow. It could be Sting, it could be Bach. There is a Bach CD that I really like.

What excites you about life?

Life! I wake up excited and I think life is a gift.

How do you nurture your soul?

I nurture my soul by trying to empathize with people who aren’t as fortunate as I am. There are a couple of things: most importantly it helps them, I try to do a lot of charity work and I think everyone should help others who are less fortunate. And the second thing is when I help, it nurtures my soul. I represent a bunch of homeless people around my building, and I have a lot of new friends, significant friends, that are a lot less fortunate, many of whom are homeless… that fills me up.

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

It’s hokey, but it’s what I would wish for, I would wish for world peace. The second wish would be that every animal on the planet lives a happy life. I’m a dog lover, I’m crazy about them.

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I’m breathing, I’m happy when I’m with my little pug and I give her belly rubs.

What are your thoughts on this interview? What was expected and what was unexpected? Do you capitalize on the opportunities that come your way? What are 10 takeaways? How can you apply this information? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

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A friend suggested that I interview lawyer Sean MacDonald and I’m glad that I listened. Sean’s honesty, passion and humility shines through his interview. I think that it takes a certain type of individual to take the time to defend the wrongfully convicted because in many instances the accused cannot pay the legal fees. Sean’s focus is not about money, and after you have read his entire interview you discover his love for life. He lives every day as if it’s his last, how about you? What lessons can you learn from him?

YouTube Video of David Moran Speaking About Wrongful Convictions in the US. If you cannot view the video click here.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I practice law in Toronto and my focus right now is wrongful convictions and basically that means getting innocent people out of jail.

What’s a typical day like for you?

My days are never typical and they depend on what’s going on and what my case load is. It can range from a day where I review transcripts, prepare submissions for cases that I am working on, or I can be on the phone with forensic investigators, or with private investigators and different lawyers across the country and around the world. It really varies. But typically my day comes back to people who are wrongfully convicted.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

I think life is a gift, I’m always motivated. I don’t have a problem being motivated. I love life and every day brings a new challenge and I like that.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I don’t think that I’d do anything differently. I’ve been pretty fortunate so far, I don’t think that I’d change anything.

What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

My focus is really on social justice and the criminal justice system, so in terms of business I know that comes along with it but I do not focus on that. I’ve had many learning experiences over the last 10 years that relate to my work and my ability to get people who are innocent out of jail, for me that’s more important than the business aspect of.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

I think the biggest advance is the general public awareness that there are times when the justice system doesn’t work and the ability to accept that as an inevitable consequence of the way things work and to recognize that the wrongfully convicted deserve justice.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

1. If I were to pick three threats, the first one would be the lack of resources for people who find themselves victims of the miscarriage of justice.
2. The second would be the reluctance of governments to address these issues.
3. The third threat would be the reluctance of governments across Canada and the United States to provide remedies for people who are innocent and locked in jail.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

It’s a unique area because it combines legal theory with investigation and forensic technology. I think for me it’s unique because it’s unlike any other area. You are a fact finder and at the same time you are a lawyer.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

There are a small group of people in Canada who do what I do and to be honest I do not observe any of them doing anything badly. They are highly dedicated and skilled, and if anything I learn from them.

Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it.

I think every time I take a case is a major challenge. You have someone who has been investigated, charged, gone to trial and been convicted and sentenced, and winds up in a federal maximum security penitentiary. Every case is a challenge because you are working to reverse that, so I think that every case that I take is a major challenge because you are trying to swim upstream.

Every case is different, but if there was a commonality it would be the fact I roll up my sleeve and start with the first piece of paper and I begin to read to get an understanding of the facts, then I read it again and again. Once I have read every thing a few times I start to get my own facts, I hire my own investigators and forensic experts, pathologist, wound pathologist, maybe fire arms experts, ballistics experts, and stuff like that then I begin to create my own investigation, then I fold that into the original investigation and see where that takes me.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

1. You have to be patient and these things never come easy
2. Have faith and keep that faith

I’ve been lucky to reverse almost sixty years of wrongful incarceration or wrongful conviction time and I know on the other end how gratifying it is, and that helps me to stay patient and keep the faith.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

I don’t think that there was ever any one big break for me. I think it was a series of small accomplishments that came as a result of extremely hard work and having the good fortune of being around some of best in the business. I try to work very hard, to keep making gains and get better at what I do.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

One of my biggest failures if I can characterize it that way, was not being smart enough to begin practicing law with my father, instead of staying in Nova Scotia, I moved to Toronto and articled on Bay Street. When I think back, I lost the opportunity to learn from the smartest person I know, and moved here instead. As a result, that was a failure in a broad sense. From this experience, I’ve learned to appreciate how brilliant my father was and how much he has impacted my life.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

My biggest heart break was losing my father, and there is nothing that I can do to prevent that.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

I think it goes back to moving to Toronto. I think that was the toughest decision that I had to make. I had an articling job on Bay Street, and I also had an opportunity to practice with my father, and I chose Toronto. If I had the opportunity to make this decision again, I probably would have stayed with my father.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

1. When I was a teenager I worked as a processor or bailiff serving court documents for a variety of lawyers including my father basically providing litigation support, and that impacted my life because I got the chance to be exposed to a court house at a young age and I got to work with different lawyers during the trial process.
2. I started a private investigating company soon after. That impacted my life because it got me more involved in the trial process, and I had the ability to inject myself even deeper into the preparation of cases that go to trial, and it gave me the opportunity to be around the trial when it was happening, take statements from witnesses, go to crime scenes and take pictures, and gather evidence to assist lawyers who were conducting trials and that really impacted my life.
3. The above events led to my further development, which was going to law school and getting more involved in the trial process.

These three things have shaped the way I look at my profession. I had the opportunity to have the slow and steady evolution from the time I was about 16 years old.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

The accomplishment that I’m proudest of was walking out of the courtroom with a client in 2008, who was dying of cancer, who was exonerated from murder after 30 years.

How did mentors influence your life?

Mentors influenced my life in many different ways. I am lucky enough to work with many of the greats, and I’m lucky enough from the time I was probably eight years old to have my father as my biggest mentor. He was the most brilliant trial strategist that I have ever seen, so I had an opportunity to learn from him every single day. We talked about his cases, his theories about the cases and what he was doing, what he thought, what I thought, so I learned from him. There wasn’t a day when he was alive that I didn’t call him three or four times and talk to him about different things that related to what I was doing. I have other greats like Phil Campbell who is the best wrongful dismissal lawyer in Canada and probably in the world. I’ve worked with him, I’ve worked with James Locklear, who again is one of the best in the world at what he does so I’m very, very lucky to be exposed to some of the best wrongful dismissal lawyers in the world.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

I can’t say there is a core message. The way I approach it is to keep my eyes and ears wide open. I mean they have wisdom, and every time I speak to them I learn something. I guess the core message would be to listen.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

My father recommended a book called The Art of Advocacy written by John Monkman. It’s an old English book written by an English barrister, and it sets out the fundamentals of being a lawyer, it’s not complicated, and it’s laid out to teach lawyers the basics. My father read that book every two to three years, and he practiced for thirty-plus years.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

The world is filled with infinite opportunities. If you believe in yourself, whatever goals you set for yourself you can achieve them. That’s the single most important piece of advice that I could give to anybody.

What are your thoughts on this interview? What was expected and what was unexpected? Do you capitalize on the opportunities that come your way? What are 10 takeaways? How can you apply this information? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentorand subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

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