Invisible Mentor: Pamela Porodo, President
Company Name: Work for Widows
Website: http://workforwidows.com
Before you start reading her interview, I have a few tips to share on turning ideas into action:
- Receive the ideas: Listen to what Pamela Porodo is saying in the interview, then write down five of her ideas that resonate with you.
- Expand the ideas: What’s one of the five ideas that you want to build on?
- Apply the ideas: What projects are you working on that you can apply the one idea?
Avil Beckford: In a couple of sentences, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Pamela Porodo: I’m an adopted woman who was blessed to be from the country I’m from, which is Canada, and to be chosen by the family I was chosen to be with. I have a loving husband who I’ve been with for thirty years, two wonderful daughters and a perfect grandson.
Avil Beckford: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve ever had to make and how did it impact your life?
Pamela Porodo: One of the toughest decisions that I ever made was leaving my friends and my family when my husband was offered a transfer to the Middle East to live in Dubai. It was a huge decision, we had a comfortable life and we had our family near us and it was a big big decision in our lives and it impacted our lives in the fact that we, instead of thinking locally, we began to think globally, and we raised our children in an international environment and that was a huge impact on all of us.
Avil Beckford: OK, so this goes nicely into the other question – what are three events that helped to shape your life?
Pamela Porodo:
- Having my children.
- Living internationally.
- The tsunami in 2004.
Avil Beckford: You said you’ve lived internationally, can you say some of the countries? I know Dubai, I know Sri Lanka, where else?
Pamela Porodo: We lived in Scotland and in Germany.
Avil Beckford: What’s the accomplishment that you are proudest of?
Pamela Porodo: I guess, my children. I watch my daughters and they are both very career-empowered, strong women with kind hearts, and they’re both very actively involved in our charity and of all these things I’ve done, I’ve raised my children to be wonderful women.
Avil Beckford: Looking back at the life that you have lived so far, what are five life lessons that you have learned?
Pamela Porodo:
- Love your family first.
- Make your husband your best friend.
- Always let your friends know that they are loved.
- Make sure you help others at any chance that you can.
- Don’t forget yourself.
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?
Pamela Porodo: I didn’t read the questions before, you know that, right? So I’m guessing. [laughter] That’s a big question, mine are going to probably sound crazy but:
- Milne for getting me through childhood with Winnie the Pooh and still does, actually, in many ways so I would just like to thank him.
- Nelson Mandela for standing against all odds, I just admire him immensely.
- Martin Luther King (My review) for making us all realise we could have a dream no matter what colour we were – crossed borders, for many.
- Janis Joplin for great music.
- I’d like to meet my mother’s mother. I only got to see the strength my mother gave us. I’d like to see the woman who gave her that.
Avil Beckford: You can email it to me if you cannot come up with another one. You said that you would thank A. A. Milne for writing Winnie the Pooh, would you thank all the others? What would you say to them?
Pamela Porodo: Janis Joplin, I would tell her, first thing I would tell her how wonderful she was going to be and please don’t waste your life. Just that she influenced many, even in the state that she lived. Martin Luther King, thanking him, admiring him, being in awe of him and what he did for thousands, millions of people. Most of it would be thanking them for what they’ve done for our world.
Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
Pamela Porodo: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (My review). I guess the story, it’s odd because it’s about a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles and he finds a passion for flight and he pushes himself and he learns to fly far beyond the others and learns more about himself and about his world and eventually he is pushed out by the flock but he continues to strive to learn more and is pleased with the life that he leads. And I think that was always a book… we read that in school and that was a book that I always thought… you have to soar among the clouds. You can’t just follow everyone else. If it’s something you believe in just never stop.
Avil Beckford: Yeah, I happen to love that book as well.
Pamela Porodo: Oh good.
Avil Beckford: This is supposed to be a really fun question: You are one of the 10 finalists on a reality show, so, How Would You Spend Your Time? Each finalist is placed on different deserted islands for two years. You are given 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, and whatever else you can fit into one suitcase and a travel on case. What are five books that you would take with you and how would you spend the two years?
Pamela Porodo: Wow. I would take empty books, I would take blank journals so that I could utilize my time in making notes of how to use the tools and survive and keep notes on what I did and that way I would be able to help the next person that hit that island. They would have five books of help on how to survive. So I guess that’s what I would probably do.
Avil Beckford: A lot of people do say they would take blank books.
When you have some down time, how do you spend it?
Pamela Porodo: Most of the time I stay with my husband or with my children. I share my life with so many other people that when I do have quiet moments I always feel that it belongs to them and they give me strength. I love nothing more than if I come home after a day and I’ve done 16,000 things and I’m absolutely exhausted and I walk in the door and my husband has made a bowl of soup and has a glass of wine sitting there for me and we just sit quietly together. I think that’s a wonderful place to be.
Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..
Pamela Porodo: I know I’ve given my all to those who need me.
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Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people.
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