Interviews

Do you need permission to live into the best version of yourself? Is it enough challenge just to get through the day? Or is there a bigger mission in front of you?

In the middle of the covid times, so many of us are struggling to stay positive. Our worlds have been turned upside down. I have so many friends who’ve lost half their business, or all their business, and even the people I know who still have a paycheck are struggling to figure out how to live in this new world.

As my readers know, I eat, sleep and breath the mastery process. It’s fascinating to me to see people wake up to their own possibilities. Once someone realizes that they can do almost anything, they really can do almost anything. That’s why I ask other experts not just what they do for a living, but why they do it, how they’ve been changed by the process and what circumstances helped them prepare for it.

I’m ridiculously excited about today’s interview. I was in my last semester of grad school here in Ann Arbor and I remember hearing that the Jamaicans had fielded a bobsled team. What!? How in the world do the Jamaicans know how to bobsled? Who came up with this crazy idea? And far more important to me today - what are the human stories behind that unlikely happening? And once you’ve rocketed down the ice at 93 miles an hour - what trajectory does your life take after that?

Or at least one of those lives. It’s such a pleasure and a privilege to welcome Devon Harris today. 

This is an exciting interview … I get to turn the tables on Charly, who’s literally spent hundreds of hours asking questions about my life and businesses. Charly’s insightful questioning and coaching has helped me clarify my life’s purpose, work more effectively, and build strategic plans for several businesses.

A bit of background

In the late 1980’s – before the Internet and the World Wide Web became popular – Charly was helping people use the power of computers to connect and communicate.  

He created his own bulletin board system (BBS), Livingston County On-Line, which eventually grew to serve an entire community in Southeastern Michigan.  

In 1995, once the Web started to catch on, he and his wife started the very first internet service provider in Livingston County, Michigan, Internet Services of Michigan, Inc. (ISMI)  Not only did they provide local internet access, they (gasp!) created some of the first web pages for many businesses and organizations, and offered in person training courses on using truly using the Power of the Internet.

Today, Charly serves by helping people create and maintain purposeful, positive and profitable businesses, while assuring they're living in harmony with those they care about and those they serve.  

That’s more than a tagline. 

I know from personal experience that Charly actually makes a difference for people. You can learn more by visiting https://www.lifeandbusinesssuccess.us but please read this interview first! 

I’m absolutely over the top about interviewing someone who comes from the same humble roots as I do, and who has risen to the top of her profession … not with luck, but with extraordinary talent and hard work. Lise Suino (my big sister) is CFO of the Houston Grand Opera. She’s had equally high-profile gigs as Deputy Director of Administration and CFO of the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens and, perhaps most notably, at the Apollo Theater Foundation in Harlem, first as CFO, then as COO. She started the New York portion of her career as Senior Vice President of Special Projects at The New 42ndStreet, Inc., where she was a key part of the team that helped transform Time Square to the vibrant, prosperous business center it is today. In this interview you’ll see some of what makes Lise so inspirational to be around. Putting all family bias aside, I can say she truly rocks!

My readers and students know I'm deeply committed to understanding the mastery process and helping people leverage it to accomplish great things. As part of my own learning process, I ask acknowledged masters not just what they do for a living, but why they do it, and how they've been changed by the process. Their answers are interesting and inspiring, and they often provide impactful lessons for others on a growth trajectory.

So it makes a lot of sense to interview my friend of several decades, the extremely fit Don E. Prior III. About eight years ago Don, who has always been highly focused and motivated, transformed himself physically, losing 60 pounds in 6 months and becoming an inspirational role model for many people in both our lives.

Don owns Network Services Group, an IT company he built from the ground up to a million dollar company. Together, we also own Michigan SEO Group, where we help great businesses get the word out about what they do and become even more successful than they already are. As much as I'm grateful for the fact that we've built a successful business together, I'm equally stoked about the atmosphere we create at work – an energetic, high performance environment where we take a genuine interest in the physical health, mental health, and life trajectory of the people who work with us.

Readers of this interview will be able to understand some of what makes Don so inspirational to be around as they come along on his journey and what he's learned along the way.

My readers and students know that I’m deeply committed to understanding the mastery process and helping people leverage it to accomplish great things. As part of my own exploration of expertise, I find myself asking acknowledged masters not just what they do for a living, but why they do it, and how they’ve been changed by the process. Their answers are always interesting and inspiring, and often provide impactful lessons for others on a growth trajectory.

So I feel very lucky to be able to interview writer and photographer Tom Clynes. Tom travels the world covering science, the environment and education for publications like National Geographic, Nature, The New York Times and Popular Science, where he’s a contributing editor. His writing and photos have also appeared in The Atlantic, Newsweek, Scientific American, The Sunday Times Magazine (London), and many other publications. He’s the author of two books that should be on everybody’s bookshelves, Wild Planet and The Boy Who Played With Fusion.

As an adventure keynote speaker, Tom brings audiences along to some of the most dramatic and intriguing places on Earth. His keynote presentations combine his authentic personality with extraordinary stories and photos. Listeners are captivated and inspired. Readers of this interview will also be inspired by Tom’s journey from where he once was to where he is today, and how he’s changed along the way.