Interviewee Name: Warren Salmon, CEO
Company Name: First Fridays & Black Board International
Website: http://www.firstfridays.ca, http://www.ashaware.com/home.html
Warren Salmon – Your Invisible Mentor
Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Warren Salmon: I was born and raised here in Toronto, from parents of Jamaican and Scottish descent. I went to Ryerson and studied computer science. I also went to York and UBC and took business courses. I am self-employed from I was in university in the technology field. I currently have a software company called Black Board International. I also run a networking event called First Fridays, which I have the trademark for in Canada. I have First Fridays in Toronto and Montreal and looking to expand to other cities as well.
Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
Warren Salmon: They are quite integrated. The events I do for example are events if I wasn’t holding them I would be going to. It allows me to be exposed to a lot of things that are going on in the community, and around the city that are of interest to me on the social side of things as well. I’m able to mix business with pleasure.
Avil Beckford: What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?
Warren Salmon: Nothing major comes to mind but I could have taken a few more risks, gone out on a limb for some business opportunities.
Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
Warren Salmon:
- Integrity is very important so don’t do anything that’s going to compromise your integrity.
- Be truthful.
- Work hard.
- Treat people with respect.
- Be humble when it comes to accomplishments when dealing with people.
Avil Beckford: When you have some down time, how do you spend it?
Warren Salmon: I spend a lot of time with the family. I’m a father of two children, so I spend a lot of family time. I attend different events that are going on in the community, socialize a bit. I pay attention to my health so I like to work out and I enjoy the outdoors as well.
Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?
Warren Salmon: Reading, and observing society in general. Living life certain ideas will jump out at you and if I’m observing people noticing things that could be done better generate new ideas, better ideas and also seeing things that are going on in different cities. That’s how I got the idea for First Fridays, I came across it while doing business in the US and we didn’t have anything like that in Canada so I thought this was something we could use here.
Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?
Warren Salmon: “Winners never quit” because it speaks to what it takes to be successful. It takes hard work to be successful, and also when you face adversity and challenges and the only way to be successful is to overcome that adversity and not quit.
Avil Beckford: How do you define success?
Warren Salmon: I define success in terms of happiness and I would also say adding value to people’s lives. I think that’s the biggest form of success, whether you are teaching people or contributing to their lives in a positive way, I’d say to me that’s the biggest form of success.
Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?
Warren Salmon: Finding something that you’re interested in, your passion, and doing the best that you can, whatever task that is, or business or service and I’d say working hard and having a goal and working towards meeting that goal.
Avil Beckford: What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
Warren Salmon:
- I got a fairly decent education, going to university helped me to think and learn how to approach things.
- Coming up with a vision and in my case it was different products and services, and working hard to develop those products and services and continually working on improving them, and sticking to the plan and continuing to work and grow those businesses.
Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
Warren Salmon: Education is a key component, so get as much education as you can. Look at people who have succeeded in that field whether they are mentors or role models and look at how they got to where they got to. So look at what path they followed, what steps they took and operate with integrity, believe in yourself, and work hard.
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?
Warren Salmon: I would ask them similar questions that you are asking me.
- Barack Obama
- Martin Luther King
- Malcolm X
- Jesus
- Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
Warren Salmon: The Autobiography of Malcolm X As Told to Alex Haley. Quite a few people have mentioned that book as having a profound impact on them – like Spike Lee. The book was very eye opening and it talks about looking at things from a different angle, and it puts a lot of things we see in society into perspective. It causes you to think and rethink a lot of things we’ve been taught about what we see in society.
Avil Beckford: 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.
Warren Salmon:
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
- I would take a book on survival about how to survive on a deserted island
- The Bible
- The Quran
- Humorous book to help me keep my sense of humour
- Book on meditation
Avil Beckford: What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?
Warren Salmon: My favourite music growing up was Parliament Funkadelic and the movie I would take is Cast Away with Tom Hanks.
If you cannot view the YouTube video of Parliament Funkadelic click here.
If you cannot view the YouTube Cast Away trailer click here.
Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?
Warren Salmon: Beside stuff relating to family, it’s meeting interesting people like yourself and other people who I am fortunate to come across through the journey of life.
Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?
Warren Salmon: I meditate. I’ve been meditating for over half of my life and it’s very grounding and calming.
Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?
Warren Salmon: Peace on earth. I wish we would treat each other better and in a more positive way. There is so much waste of life, in so many ways, in so many societies. I wish we would be better people to each other.
Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..
Warren Salmon: Spending time with my children, and watching their happiness.
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