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:

1. Identify the values that you wish to shape your life.
2. Constantly strive to be the best you can be.
3. Give without thought of return, you will be amazed at the outcome.
4. Whatever is meant to be will be.
5. 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.

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?

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.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? 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 hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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1. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Helga Iliadis, Assistant Deputy Minister
2. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Artist Patty Zuver Part Two
3. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia Part Two
4. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Susan Murphy Part Two
5. The Invisible Mentor Interviews Janice McDonald Part Two

I received a complimentary copy of the Skinny on Success: why not you? If you are new to this blog, I reviewed a copy of The Skinny on Time Management on Monday (four days ago).

Reviewing the interview responses for my book Tales of People Who Get It, to become successful requires focus, passion and continuous learning. Most of us are looking for “the formula” for success, so we are always on the hunt.

The author of the Skinny on Success: why not you? Jim Randel states the goal for the Skinny On books as, “to do the reading for you, cull out what is important, distill the key points, and present in a book that is both instructive and fun to read.”

This book does not give you a formula for success, but gives you many explanations on why some people succeed and others don’t. It’s not going to tell you how to attain personal and professional success, so if that’s what you are looking for, this isn’t the book that will deliver.

The book is very inspirational, and if you do not know the stories of  many well known successful people, you’d be surprised to discover the hard work they put in to attain success. You seldom find overnight successes, you find more overnight successes, that were 10 years or more in the making. After you read about the deliberate practice and persistence of some of these people, you’ll realize that you too can achieve success if you’re willing to put in the hard work.

Randel looks closely at many books on success, and gives a bit more focus on Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, Geoff Colvin’s Talent is Overrated and Daniel Coyne’s The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Talent isn’t enough to become successful, persistent practice is essential. (Click here to see my article, “Creating Your Signature – Journey to Becoming a Master, which includes the steps to take to become an expert.”)

He mentions research by Professor K. Anders Ericsson referenced in Outliers that states that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, which equates to 10 years. To support that figure, Michael Masterson, an uber successful entrepreneur, internet marketer and copywriter suggests that, “To achieve mastery, you will have to continue to practice that skill for a total of 5,000 hours. Virtuosity is extremely rare. You can’t get it simply by practicing. You must also have a natural gift. Even then, you must practice at least 10,000 hours to achieve it.”

Five Great Ideas

1. The key to success is deliberate practice and repetition
2. The potential for greatness lives inside all of us
3. Every successful person has experienced setbacks
4. People, even the ones who love you, have their own dreams so you have to go after the life you want, with passion
5. The more you persist, the better you get

Characteristics of Successful People

1. Willingness to act
2. Prepare for adversity
3. Take steps to maximize probability of success
4. Take action
5. Combat fear of failure
6. Develop mental strength
7. Optimistic – see the glass as half full
8. Hardworking
9. Persistent
10. Believe in right and wrong

When I read the title of the book, The Skinny on Success: Why not you? I wasn’t sure of what to expect. Having written a book that includes information on success, I could relate to the information in the book. One of the questions that I asked the 34 interviewees for my book Tales of People Who Get It, was, “In your opinion, what is the formula for success?” And for the interviews for this blog I also ask for the definition of success.

I recommend The Skinny on Success: Why not you? and I suggest that you also review some of the interviews on this blog, and focus on the responses to the questions about success, including the one about the steps people took to arrive at success in their careers. How do the responses relate to the information in the book. Remember, do not ever read in a vacuum, connect what you’re reading to what you already know.

I also wanted to mention that I appreciated all the books that Jim Randel referenced to write this book because I learn about some books that I otherwise would not know about.

Books Mentioned

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live, Martha Beck

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robinson

Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham

The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth, Scott Peck

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How., Daniel Coyne

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson

Life You Imagine: Life Lessons For Achieving Your Dreams, Derek Jeter

The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp

The Principles of Psychology, William James

Wake Up and Live, Dorothea Brande

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

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Photo Credit: via Apture

Related posts:

1. The Skinny on Time Management: A Book Review
2. A Book Review of The Five Pieces to the Life Puzzle: A Guide to Personal Success by Jim Rohn
3. The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and David Mann Book Review
4. The Way of Strategy – Review of The Book of Five Rings
5. Planting to Reap Full Rewards: A Book Review of The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.”

There are times when you have a specific outcome for a problem. In such instances, you have to reverse the problem solving process, that is, work backwards methodically and fill in the missing information.

To reverse problem solve, there are six steps:

1. Define the problem
   1. What are the knowns?
   2. What are the unknowns?
2. What is the end result (goal)?
3. Develop a strategy to achieve the goal (solve the problem)
4. What are the necessary steps to achieve the goal?
5. Solve the problem using the steps identified to achieve the goals
6. Does the solution make sense? Is it the best solution? Check the solution by working forwards

An Application

When I was in college, during a very difficult test for my Logic class, we were given the first two and the last two steps for a logic problem. We had the starting and ending point.

I looked at the first two steps and did not have a clue what the next step was, and leaving the problem was not an option since it was worth 30 percent of the total marks.

Without even knowing about Stephen Covey’s “start with the end in mind,” I decided to start with the last two steps and work my way to the starting point. I remember at the time just taking one step at a time. I would ask myself what the preceding step was, and the one before that, and so on. And in no time I was at the second to last step.

I was happy as a “pig in mud.” I reversed the process when I wrote the answer in my answer book. Many failed that exam so I was happy with my 78 percent.

The point of this story is to demonstrate that it is important to solve the problem one step at a time so you do not become overwhelmed.

Your Application

Describe a problem that you have where there is a specific outcome, how might you solve it using the reverse problem solving model?

Related Resources

Inspirer, Reflector, Innovator or Influencer, Which One Are You?

What Type of Problem Solver Are You?

The Importance of Problem-Solving by Ken Watanabe

Related posts:

1. Creative Problem Solving
2. You Cannot Step Into the Same River Twice
3. Mining Wide and Deep to Problem Solve
4. How to Analyze Information