Damon Leigh, Fascinating Entreprenuer

It’s half past the hour. 
“In the middle of diffculty, lies opportunity” – Albert Einstein.
 
Welcome to our show called "Extraordinary People" where we interview ordinary people who tell their extraordinary stories. 
Click here, if you would like to be spotlighted on one of our upcoming shows.

Damon Leigh has stopped by pur studio today.  He has had quite a fascinating life as dairy farmer in Northumberland, futures broker and stockbroker in the City of London, university lecturer & Professor of English in South Korea, Asian researcher, project director for an intranet software firm, strategist at Razorfish and, most recently, management consultant for Ideas Unlimited, consulting to some very large global corporations, often at board level. 

What is the name of your company and what products or services does it provide?
 Damon Leigh: My company is called Morpeth Ltd. (I have the domain booked, but I haven't done anything with it yet!) Morpeth Ltd. is a vehicle for me and my activities, which split into three areas. 1) I write books and articles, mainly on property investing, and mainly for www.propertysecrets.net. 2) I provide business consultancy services as and when required, mainly in the areas of strategy, personal

development, internal communication and change. 3) The company is alsoa vehicle for various property development deals, and handles the letting income from my property investments.

What role do you play in your organization?

 Damon Leigh: Every role, pretty much! But mainly I work as an author and management consultant.

As a successful business person, how did you get started?
Damon Leigh:  I started on a shoestring when I was still at school, exporting motorcycle accessories to America. I've always had an entrepreneurial streak, but I'm not sure 'successful' is quite fair. Lucky, maybe. By two biggest breaks were getting  stupidly well-paid job as a broker in the late Eighties, and getting a stupidly well-paid, ten-month

consultancy contract in 2000.

How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
Damon Leigh:  I'll probably need to come back to you on that one. Perhaps in a few years! For now, I'd say self-belief is a big one, plus a deep understanding that material success is a really tiny, almost  insignificant sliver of what's really important.

What personal/family activities do you enjoy?
Damon Leigh:  Walking in the hills, yoga, qi gong, motorcycling, shamanism, travel.

What experiences in your life have helped you expand who you are as a person?
Damon Leigh:  Losing my kid sister in '96 was a big one, and my Dad in 2000, both to cancer. I once did a 36-day fast that changed my outlook somewhat. And now I'm constantly learning from the world around me through the window that my shamanic practices provides.

What are your concerns about the world today?
Damon Leigh:  Where do I start?? We heading for more precipices than ever before.  Global warming could accelerate and raise sea levels by a metre in the next decade. Easy-to-extract oil is running out, no new finds are being made, and we're already seeing it creep up to $50; it gets really interesting once it passes $100 a barrel. Then there's terrorism, and the way that every move America makes in it's "war on terror' actually makes the underlying problems worse, not better.  American imperialism and militarism is a big concern, as is the spread  of nuclear and bio-weapons. And the world is running desperately short of clean water. After more than fifty years of rampant capitalism, we still have a third of the worlds population living on less than a dollar a day, and a child dies of hunger every other second. The book has now been written (Our Last Century? by Sir Martin Rees) that concludes that our chances of making it through to 2100 as a species are no better than 50-50.

If you had all the time and all the money you needed, what types of things would you do? Consider money as no object.
Damon Leigh:  I'd spend my time embarassing corporates and governments into doing the Right Thing - ecologically and socially.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?
Damon Leigh: Throw away your TV. Stop buying newspapers. Stop buying the Official Story and THINK FOR YOURSELF!! In terms of work and career, do what's  in your heart because you believe in it and you love it. DON'T just work for the next pay packet because that pay packet covers the bills and buys you a few beers. Life is too precious not to live it to the full, the way YOU want to live, not the way some corporate suit wants you to live.

Are people more interesting than product stories?
Damon Leigh: Of course! Products are just stuff. We have way too much stuff in theWest now anyway, and all the advertisers are there for is to sell us more of what we don't need. Get rid of as much stuff from your life as you can. Why focus on working long hours to buy a SUV or a boat when you never see your partner or your kids?

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
Damon Leigh:  To cut down even further on what I own and on how much I consume. To help build a critical mass of enlightened souls on this planet. To see the current paradigm of exploitation of natural and human resources replaced with one that takes full responsibility for each and every action, and takes an active interest in the effects of every action on seven future generations.

What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve your goals?
Damon Leigh:  I need to find a way of getting the message across more widely than I am now, and that typically means not utilising the corporate-owned media channels.

Which people have been role models to you?

Damon Leigh:  Terry Pratchet. Neil Crofts. Ghandi. Thich Nhat Hanh.

What are your favorite books, computer programs, or forms of entertainment?
Damon Leigh:  Books - The Reaper Man, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Illuminati Trilogy, Tuesdays With Morrie. I only use Word on the computer to write, MacMail, and Safari to work on the Internet. I have no TV, but I do have a good DVD setup and like watching good movies.

What time of the day are you at your best?
Damon Leigh:  That varies from time to time. It used to be very early in the morning - 5am or so - but lately it's shifted to early evening. That's it! All done spontaneously and from the heart, without too much pondering. Enjoy! And thanks again for offering!

L.E. Gant

It’s 11 minutes before the hour.  Smiling is contagious, pass it on.
 
Welcome to our show called "Extraordinary People" where we interview ordinary people who tell their extraordinary stories. 
Click here, if you would like to be spotlighted on one of our upcoming shows.

Today we’re joined by someone who has shared thoughtfully inspiring  business advice here on Blogit and with many people around the world. Thanx for stopping by our studio today L.E Gant.  

Before we get started with our interview, give our listeners a little insight into who L.E Gant really is?
I often refer to myself as a "flutterby" - a butterfly with a sting in its tale. I have a very wide range of interests and I am constantly adding to them. Unlike a dilettante, I give whatever catches my interest 100% attention and 100% commitment. I'll dig into a subject area for as long as it takes me to effectively master it. Although I'm a fast learner, the time required can go from a matter of hours through to years. Whatever time it takes, it is not important.

My main advantage in doing this kind of thing is that I learned a very long time ago how to distinguish between what is important in the subject area and what is not essential. I can then make things simple, and re-construct the subject matter to effectively any level required. I distinguish between the complex and the complicated - most complex subjects tend to consist of many simple things, while the complications come from people trying to make the simple complex.

So I’ll be answering your interview questions in the context of me as a flutterby...
What is the name of your company and what products or services does it provide?
L.E Gant: At the moment, I'm mastering real estate sales. I'm committed to this for the next few years - the time it takes in New Zealand to become a legal agent (rather than simply a sales person).

However, my wife and I do have a couple of small companies that we use for various experiments. One is The Panda Rope Collective, which is set up to handle family funds and investments. It's what we use to buy property, shares and so on. (www.prcre.info)

The other is one we call Formula Three Five. This one is more about working on business - consulting, writing, coaching. We retired its web site about a year ago, but we are strongly considering re-activating it, to put my books (in e-book format) into the market again - they did do quite well for a while, but stopped when we dropped the site. Will add to the blogs when we do.
What role do you play in your organization?
L.E Gant: In real estate, primarily sales person, but also marketer (there IS a difference between selling and marketing) of people's homes.

In the others: "Creative Director" - collecting and putting together information for clients and ourselves. I've done a lot of ghost writing, being paid directly for the product. I'll design systems (manual and computer) for businesses, and anything else that strikes me as being an interesting problem requiring a solution.

We still do a bit of long-distance consulting and coaching (just send questions to legant@xtra.co.nz) and we'll see what we can do for you.

As a successful business person, how did you get started?L.E Gant: Initially, to find ways of surviving on terms meaningful to me. But the roots might go back much further - just plain curiosity about how things (and people) work. I have an e-book called My Mama Done Told Me, which covers a lot of those roots.

How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
L.E Gant: I'd say that I'm still learning, if you mean in ways that other people recognise as success.

In my own terms, being able to keep digging into areas new and old for more information is the real measure of success. The fact that I've been doing so for about 50 years, and still have the drive to do it is success.

What personal/family activities do you enjoy?
L.E Gant: All of them. :-)
I love spending time by myself (usually late evenings, early mornings, when everybody else is sleeping

I love spending time with my wife

I love spending time with my sons and their families, when they can.

They all realise (even my grandchildren) that I'm fully with them when they are here.

I love working at any task where I can come up with a new view of how to do it.

What experiences in your life have helped you expand who you are as a person?
L.E Gant: All of them. That might sound a bit facetious, but I learn from every experience, and I hate doing things the same way twice, so I can always find something new in me, like a talent I did not know I had, or a skill that I have just mastered.
What are your concerns about the world today?
L.E Gant: Two main ones:
The first is the rise of bureaucracy in every facet of life. It costs, but does not produce wealth. That's why things cost so much - too many companies depend on the bureaucrats, and the bureaucratic empires keep growing - Parkinson's law?

The second is that youngsters (anybody under 25) are taught to think along party lines (the party may be political or other), so that their logic is based solely on what has been declared as right by group think - somewhat along the lines of Big Brother in "1984", but in many ways more like betas and gammas in Huxley's Brave New World.

It frightens me when I find that many of the youngsters really are buying into being alphas betas and gammas.

If you had all the time and all the money you needed, what types of things would you do? Consider money as no object.
L.E Gant: What I do now, only on a bigger scale.
I'd also probably start a school teaching kids how to think for themselves and recognise when they are making assumptions. But that's really only an extension of what I do anyways.

BTW, lack of money does not stop me - but there are only 24 hours in a day.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?L.E Gant: Learn one very important lesson: if you are not doing what you love, love what you are doing. 

If you love what you are doing, then you can't get bored. if you don't get bored, then you can laugh at all the problems that come your way.

Are people more interesting than product stories?
L.E Gant: It took me some time to get to grips with this question. Naturally, people are more interesting than things. People THINK, and some of their thoughts are completely alien to me - that piques my curiosity, and often shows new ways of getting results.

However, product stories are really about the people behind the products, and that means really more people stories.

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
L.E Gant: Immediate - make a reasonable career in real estate sales.

Longer-term - write a best selling book.

Eventual - win a lottery, just for the experience.

What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve your goals?
L.E Gant: As always, me.
The trouble with always looking for the new is that the old (that is, staying on a single path to success) is that I leave things behind, because I know I've done it.

Which people have been role models to you?
L.E Gant: My Mother - the art of giving people my full attention

My Father - how to stick to tasks until the results happen

R. Buckminster Fuller - the concept of syntropy (as opposed to entropy)

Nikola Tesla - the concept of complexity coming from simplicity.

What are your favorite books, computer programs, or forms of entertainment?
L.E Gant: Whatever book I happen to be into at the moment, although I have a distinct preference for science fiction and fantasy.

Computer programs - well, although I've made a living (and then some) with computer systems, I have an innate dislike of the things - too many people use them to do their thinking.

Other forms of entertainment - playing golf, when I get the chance.

What time of the day are you at your best?
L.E Gant: Depends on what people are looking for.
If you want me creative, then late afternoon/early evening.
If you want me as a raconteur, then a couple of hours either side of midnight.  If you want me to do what I consider "non-thinking" work, when I get up through to noon.

If you want to consult, early afternoon.

But then, even when I'm supposed to be sleeping, my mind is searching for new ways to look at life, reality and the universe.

Trish Williams, Freelance Consultant & Writer

It's 11 minutes before the hour.  Welcome to our radio show sponsored by Career Coaching Compass.

Blogit's darling Trish Williams has taken time out her busy schedule to join us in the studio early this morning.  Her excellent writing skills are in big demand and have showed up in many publications and periodicals. Many of us have been moved, enchanted, disturbed or just thought "hmmmm" by Trish's writing.  She's here in the studio today to share her thoughts, once more.  Thanx for stopping by Trish .

What is the name of your company and what products or services does it provide?
Trish: I am a freelance consultant and my name is Trish Williams.  I work as an independent contractor under that name.  My website is:  http://www.kcnet.com/writersplace

What role do you play in your organization?
Trish: I operate as consultant, writer, manager, coordinator, and facilitator to gather a network of freelancers together to complete projects for numerous businesses.

As a successful business person, how did you get started?
Trish: I've always had a love for writing, art and working on my own.  I received two degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  When I graduated, I decided to post an ad in a business newspaper in town and started freelancing in my community.

How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
Trish: I attended networking sessions in town and got to know a lot of successful people.  I read a lot of books on success and decided there was no reason I couldn't model myself after successful people and become one of them.  I did just that and the business flowed!

What personal/family activities do you enjoy?
Trish: I enjoy hiking, camping, volleyball, swimming, exploring, reading, playing guitar, and writing songs

What experiences in your life have helped you expand who you are as a person? 
Trish: I believe my faith has helped me a lot as well as hard work and learning patience and endurance during hard times.

What are your concerns about the world today?
Trish: I am concerned about greed and people who are just looking out for themselves.  Everyone has a right to their own happiness, but it should never be at the expense of someone else's.   I believe in compassionate independence among business and commerce.  Many large corporations have set a bad example of greed, fraud and exploitation.  My hope is that small business folks will set a higher standard in our world - one that the young people of tomorrow will model themselves after.

If you had all the time and all the money you needed, what types of things would you do?
Trish: Consider money as no object.  I would do what I'm doing today, but perhaps on a larger scale.  I would also spend more time writing and publishing my work.  I would also record music and travel more.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?
Trish: Simply to believe in your dreams and to not let anyone tell you that you can't achieve them.  Stay focused, motivated, and maintain a good attitude at all times.  These three things alone will energize your dreams forward.
 
Are people more interesting than product stories? 

Trish: I enjoy success stories about people and products.  Interest levels vary depending on the situation and story. We need to respect the fact that not all business people are extroverts.  Introverts are just as important, and sometimes do more, than the extroverts in society.  They are often not motivated by people, but rather but ideas.  So, one's interest varies depending on this particular character trait.  I happen to be an introvert.

What are your goals and aspirations for the future? 

Trish:  I want to continue designing web sites, brochures, newsletters and other creative materials, and one day start my own book publishing business.

What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve your goals? 

Trish: I could say money, but I think with all of us it's our own mind set.  We truly can overcome any obstacle if we believe we can.  Perhaps I still have some fears of striking out completely on my own.  Currently I work PT for a large company doing the same type of work I do freelancing.  When my freelance business slows down, I can always depend on my PT job.  I'd like to strike out on my own one of these days, without worrying about whether I'll make it financially.

Which people have been role models to you? 
Trish: The people who have been role models to me are not big names in society.  They are the people in my own life who have shown me the meaning of integrity, hard work, honesty, and contentment.  To me, it's not the letters behind one's name, nor the amount of money in one's bank account that make an admirable role model, but rather if the person can go to sleep at night with a clear conscience.  My role model is anyone who succeeds the honest way.

What are your favorite books, computer programs, or forms of entertainment? 
Trish: I enjoy books by Deepak Chopra, Zig Ziglar, Norman Vincent Peale and other inspirational writers.  I enjoy watching a variety of movies and listening to lots of good music while I'm working.
 
What time of the day are you at your best? 
Trish: I don't believe in selecting one time and limiting myself or my thinking into believing "this" is the best time of the day for me.  I find that when I love what I do, I can do it at any time of the day or night.  Loving your work is the key to a happy life. 

Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts.  My best to you and your listeners!

Angie Koepcke, a Charming Entrepreneur

2 Minutes before the hour.  No ONE comes to work to fail.  Everyone goes to work to be the best they can be. A person spends most of their time proving these 2 points at work.

Today I have the awesome pleasure of interviewing a charming young lady, Angie Koepcke , who is a 1st class Scrabble player and very kewl parent to her children, when she's not busy running her very successful company. I've won a few Scrabble championships myself.  So I know where Angie is coming from.

Welcome to our radio show called "Extraordinary People" where we interview ordinary people who tell their extraordinary stories.  Shoot me a note, if you would like to be on one of our upcoming shows.

What is the name of your company and what products or services does it provide?
Angie: World Wide Bus Parts, Inc., we are a global heavy duty transit parts distributor. www.BusPartsWorldwide.com 

What role do you play in your organization?
Angie: I share responsibilities with my business partner, including bid analyzation, product development, customer and vendor relations, and everyday tasks like bookkeeping, packing and shipping, and filing.  We both must be able to do every job very well and focus on the same goals.

As a successful business person, how did you get started?
Angie: Originally, I started  working with my father. The industry I work in was hit hard by federal budget cuts and the terrorist attacks, many companies went out of business.  The company I worked for previously  was a victim of negative environmental impacts, eventually filing for bankruptcy.  The demise led to the rebirth of several  new companies, including my own, which has been successful because we steered clear of big budget sales forces and excessive borrowing popular during the 80’s and 90’s.  We keep it lean, we don’t borrow money, and we do everything we can to insure we are self-sufficient.

How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
Angie: I saw many mistakes made by others firsthand, everything I learned was by experience.  I have been in the industry for ten years.

What family activities do you enjoy?
Angie: I like playing with my kids, jumping on the trampoline with them is fun.  I like cooking out on the grill, and going to the park or beach.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Angie: I paint and write, currently I am working on a novel.  I like to garden, but I am allergic to poison ivy and my yard seems to be teeming with it.

What are your concerns about the world today?
Angie: I am concerned with the corporate mentality of the government.  Corporations tend to consider people expendable for the survival of the profit margin, and a government should never be run that way. It is not socially responsible.  There are things more important than money.

If you had all the time and all the money you needed, what
types of things would you do? Consider money as no object.
Angie: I would work to find cures (not treatments) for diseases such as cancer and mental health.  I would like to see the educational system overhauled to fit the different types of intelligence children possess, so they don’t fail grades for not being able to memorize information that in all practicality will not put food on the table when they grow up.  We have a power as a people that can be harnessed and used to our advantage if we focus on the divinity of life.  Maybe money, as a tangible, is too easy for people to hoard, and we need another type of currency.  I would try help people work together as if money was no object.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?
Angie: I would say to anyone who wants to accomplish anything, never give up.  There is always hope.

Are people more interesting than product stories?
Angie: To me, yes.  I could write biographies for the rest of my life and never get bored.

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
Angie: I’d like to be a full-time writer.

What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve your goals?
Angie: I can not feed my family as a full-time writer, I don’t have alot of time to write.

Which people have been role models to you?
Angie: My parents, they have taught me alot.  My grandparents, they have showed me the way good people behave.

What are your favorite books, computer programs, or forms of entertainment?
Angie: I like Blogit, I like live music, I enjoy playing Scrabble, I like magazines, and independent films.

What time of the day are you at your best?
Angie: I am a night owl by nature. I’ve been trying to fight it for years to get along better with everyone else, like my son’s school, but it’s hard work.

Success News From Around the World

It's 36 minutes past the hour.  This just in from our News Room . . .

Over 20 Million people have performed a re-engineering of themselves by reading "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.  Many people interviewed say they got rid of that blank stare they had when they thought about what to do in their lives.  They now had focus, more confidence, were more financially successful and finally understood the concept that "money is very easy to make".

After reading this book, people have admitted they are Now able to look in the mirror and give the person they see in the mirror a big sloppy kiss and they tell that person "you're a good person and you have the potential to have the very best life has to offer". 

Subscribing to my FREE Newsletter"Savvy IntrapreneurZ" entitles you to a free copy of this book.

Sue Mrithujayan, Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

Welcome to our radio show called "Extraordinary People" where we interview ordinary people who tell their extraordinary stories.
Shoot me a note, if you would like to be on one of our upcoming shows.

Today we're talking with a fellow blogger and successful business owner
Sue Mrithujayan

Tell our audience a little about your business background?
Sue: I am from India, been here since 1990. I came here for pilot training. Life in America was total tough and I started my business in 1991 April.

As a successful person, how did you get started?
Sue: I started a mini perfume store in McCrory store. That was my first business. In 1992, I got my first baby born. Then I did business in flea market, and shows for an year. In 1994, I got too busy with my new born and had an urge to stay in one place. I moved my business to mall. I had a unique retail store with African american, American Indian, Indian stuff, jewelry, perfumes etc. I sold Avon for a period of time, I was able to sell 25000 or more in three months. Sales was an intersting subject to me, so I was able to do well.

What family activities do you enjoy?
Sue: I work a lot and trying to make the best for my kids, and once I am little more relaxed,I will be able to start my business as a rehab consultant.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Sue: I am currently taking classes with Excelsior college and planning to continue education for next 4 years.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?
Sue: There are million ways to make money if you are talented and hard worker. BE POSITIVE, WORK HARD, HAVE THE FAITH, U WILL BE UP THERE. KEEP YOUR DREAM, GET ORGANIZED, IMPLEMENT YOUR WAY, SUCCESS WILL BE THE OUT COME...........

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
Sue: I would like to be a nurse practioner, so that way I could be more professional in my carreer and business. Also, would like to be a writer. But some call of mind made me to go back to school for nursing, and doing nursing at present. I have a plan to start my own rehab center one day. But not now, may be after 5 years.

Which people have been role models to you?
Sue: PRINCESS DIANA, MOTHER THERESA, MAHATMA GANDHI

What are your favorite books, computer programs or forms of entertainment?
Sue: FAVORITE ROLE MODEL: FAVORITE BOOK: RICHARD BACH'S GIFT OF WINGS
FAVORITE MUSIC: ROCK
FAVORITE SINGERS: 3DOORS DOWN, TRAIN, NICKEL BACK ( SOME DAY I WILL, THIS SONG IS MY FAVORITE), TOM PETTY AND BOSTON.
MOVIES: ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING WITH A TOUCH OF NIGHT SHYMALAN
FAVORITE QUOTE: KIND WORDS ARE THE GIFT FROM GOD AND PASS IT ON (MINE)

What keeps you going in life?
Sue: MY NATURE IS LOVING AND CARING.

VERY POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

I WRITE ON BLOGIT.COM

I LIVE FOR MY KIDS

DEAREST PERSON WAS MY DAD, AND NOW MY KIDS.