Invisible Mentor: Mark Prasuhn, President 
Company Name: Vantage Media Inc.
Avil Beckford: In a couple of sentences, tell me a little about yourself.
Mark Prasuhn: I’ve been an executive in media and television and film for 25 years. I’m married and have three kids and do not have enough time.
Part Three: Life
Avil Beckford: Describe a major challenge that you have had in life and how you resolved it. What lessons did you learn in the process?
Mark Prasuhn: When I first applied to film school, I was turned down, and that was in June of that year. I had a summer job but I was struggling with “What do I do next?” I thought of many different things but didn’t have a clear path. About six weeks later, I heard from the school again and they reversed the decision because someone had dropped out and a space opened up in the program and they admitted me.
But one thing I learned is that sometimes you have to give things a little time to work themselves out. Sometimes a little time passing will help you solve a problem.
Avil Beckford: Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?
Mark Prasuhn: When we launched the digital channel One, there was a lot of optimism that these channels were going to be a big deal, and we put a lot of energy into launching and the response was underwhelming, the ratings were poor, and the revenues were poor. Eventually it came around, 11 years later the channel is still around and doing okay, but I think at the time in the first couple of years, I viewed it as a failure because a lot of time energy and money was put into something that didn’t really work out that great.
From that I learned you win some and you lose some. Sometimes the success factors are not in your control, so even though you can execute and do everything right, you can still have something not be a great success. This contributed to success in knowing that there are limits to how much you can influence, and you just have to give it your best shot and be prepared to accept the outcome.
Avil Beckford: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?
Mark Prasuhn: Earlier in my career when it was coming back to the end of my time at TV Ontario, on a whim, I applied for a job in Saskatchewan, and to my surprise, I ended up getting offered the job. I had to decide to go there. I had never been there before except for the job interview. I was fairly recently married and my wife had some health issues. She wasn’t keen on the move initially, so we had to make that decision together and it was a tough one. There were a lot of potential drawbacks, but in the end we decided to go and it turned out really well. It was a great change in life, a different type of lifestyle, we enjoyed it for the years we were there, and it was a considerable help to my career.
Sometimes you make a tough decision, reflect on it and talk it through with people who are important to you, and it can turn out really well, but it’s a risk and you don’t know how it’s going to go.
Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?
Mark Prasuhn:
- Getting into film school after being rejected initially because it set me on a path. Had that reversal not happened, I’m sure I would be working in another field now.
- Meeting my wife.
- My children – I have three of them.
These three things had a big influence on my life.
Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?
Mark Prasuhn: Without question, helping to raise three children, one of whom is pretty profoundly disabled.
Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
Mark Prasuhn:
- You can’t control everything.
- Take risks and take them earlier. The earlier in your life you take risks the easier they are to take.
- Life is short.
- Surround yourself with good people in your work and life.
- Look for the good in any person or situation.
Avil Beckford: If trusted friends could introduce you to five people (living or dead) that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?
Mark Prasuhn:
- I’d love to meet Shakespeare, that fount of creativity and inventiveness about language and narrative, and I’d love to understand that a little bit.
- I’d love to meet Steve Jobs because he had an amazing philosophy on life.
Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
Mark Prasuhn: There are business books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and other self-help books I find fairly impactful, but I wouldn’t say profound. It may sound cliché, but the Bible, the New Testament in particular, is pretty profound and impactful. Since I was a little kid, the parables and stories in the Bible imbued certain values in me when I was quite young, so I would say the Bible profoundly impacted me.
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 different deserted islands for two years. The island has a basic hut and all the tools for survival. You just have to be imaginative and inventive when using them. You may take five books, one movie and one music CD, and whatever else you take has to fit in one suitcase and travel on case. What would you take with you and how would you spend the time? The prize is worth your while and at this stage in the game there really aren’t any losers among the 10 finalists, since each are guaranteed at least $2 million.
Mark Prasuhn:
Two Years
I would spend my time writing and observing nature.
Five Books
I would take novels and books that bear repeated reading:
- On the Road, Jack Kerouac
- The Bible
- Poetry by Arthur Rimbaud who wrote prose poetry in different collections (Arthur Rimbaud: Complete Works (Perennial Classics)
) - Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
)
Music CD & Film
The movie I would take is Apocalypse Now (Apocalypse Now (Apocalypse Now / Apocalypse Now Redux / Hearts of Darkness) (Three-Disc Full Disclosure Edition) [Blu-ray]
) from the late seventies. I’ve seen that movie a dozen times and I don’t get tired of it because it’s directed with such care and there is no excess footage in there. Everything is so precise. The music CD would be Blood on the Tracks
by Bob Dylan.
Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?
Mark Prasuhn: Every day is different and there are lots of problems and challenges to work out and that makes it exciting.
Avil Beckford: When you have some downtime, how do you spend it? How do you nurture your soul?
Mark Prasuhn: Usually reading or listening to music. I also spend time with my kids. I used to hike and do nature type stuff but it takes more time, so I need more downtime than I currently have to do that.
Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..
Mark Prasuhn: When I’m challenged and engaged and busy.
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