AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR

AUGUST 2015

lifeget a

MAGA INE

JOHN G MILLER

15 THINGS YOU DON’T NEED COLLEGE TO LEARN

ISSN 2378-1998

6th ISSUE

AUGUST 2015

Masthead.....................................7

Malia K Johnson: Never Brokenan interview.................................8

15 Things You Don’t Need College to Learnby John G Miller..........................16

Relay’s Corner by Matt Daigle.....19

The Lessons In Lossby Kristen Brown........................20

Z Manifesto Collage....................24

A Path to Accepting Mistakesby Diana Walsh O’Toole..............26

10 Values of High Impact Leadersby Mack Story.............................36

A Look into the World of Sean Forbesa 360 interview...........................46

Slow or Fast Changeby Amanda Park.........................56

Recommended Reading..............62

Z Ambassadors: Standing Outby Amy Cohen Efron...................66

In Memoriam: Katie Bays............72

ON THE COVERPhotograph by Ken Hermann

http://www.kenhermann.com

CONTENTS

6th

ISSUEIn this issue, we hope to take you through hard-won successes and failures, to challenge and inspire you, and hopefully make you laugh. Feel free to digitally “thumb” through our pages and let us know what you think at gazl@zvrs.com!

MALIA K JOHNSON: NEVER BROKENan interview

“...maybe, just maybe, knowledge

of something I have gone through to reach my success can help someone else reach their success.”

15 THINGS YOU DON’T NEED COLLEGE TO

LEARNby John G Miller

“...parents, we must rethink our

thinking. It’s not true that our child must go to college. Maybe, just maybe, my high schooler should simply get to work.” 

THE LESSONS IN LOSS

by Kristen Brown

“...they thanked me for being so open and making them feel less alone on their own stressful journey through change and setbacks. A light bulb went on!”

8

16

20

& FEATURES...

10 VALUES OF HIGH IMPACT LEADERS:

an excerptby Mack Story

“Without passion, we have very

little vision. Our vision is mediocre at best. We must tap into our passion until we discover, uncover, define, and refine our purpose.”

A LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF SEAN

FORBESa 360˚

interview

“He’s opening eyes in the music

industry and hip hop world. Here you see this white kid throwing his hands and making shapes for people to SEE what he’s saying.“

36

46

click here to s u b s c ri b e

FEATURED in our LAST ISSUE:

“MINDFULNESS: MIND YOUR P(HONE)S AND Q(UEUE)S”

by DIANA WALSH O’TOOLE

“SHOSHANNAH STERN: AN INTERVIEW”

“THE MAN BEHIND DR Z: A CONVERSATION WITH PHIL BRAVIN”

“DO YOU TAKE THE BLUE PILL OR THE RED PILL?”

by KENNETH MIKKELSEN

“RACING TO SUCCESS: AN INTERVIEW WITH GREG GUNDERSON”

by EZRA MOORE

“VICARIOUS TRAUMA: YOU, ME, AND PTSD” by HEATHER PIERCE

“STRATUS VIDEO INTERPRETING”

by KATE PASCUCCI

CLICK HERE

MISSED OUR LAST ISSUE?

We are language interpreters who provide Video Relay Services (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI). Also known as Video Interpreters (VIs), we operate from approximately 40 inbound call centers, with over 500 interpreters, across the United States under the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.

We’ve learned much about how to keep a remote call-center based workforce such as ours empowered, creative, and engaged. This magazine is dedicated to exploring and redefining success by these standards.

Who are we? We are Z and Stratus. We love what we do. We help people connect, we make great friendships, and we have fun!

WHO ARE WE?

SENIOR PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Quick with a camera and what he lacks in hair, he makes up for in talent. When he is in his natural habitat you can find him editing photos, nearly breaking drones, and listening to German music all while topless. You can trap this force of nature with Sour Patch Kids and M&Ms. His laugh is known to be contagious with no cure in sight.

COPY EDITOR / JANE OF ALL TRADES: She invented dance fighting. She is currently spearheading a documentary on the toaster strudel. While she was once defeated at chess by a computer, it was no match for her roundhouse kick. She once sold her soul to Santa. She remembers every line of every Kevin Costner movie ever made. She would like you to please stop splitting your infini-tives.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Allegedly part lemur, part eagle, and part duckbill platypus, her arrival was predicted by several ancient civilizations. She has been spotted on numerous occasions wrestling baby seals from the clutches of large polar bears, beating them off with an umbrella. When she is not swooping over Clearwater, Florida as the Masked Avenger, she moonlights as the Vice President of Language Operations at Stratus Video.

SENIOR OUTREACH SPECIALIST: She wants to live in a world where our most trusted companions never have less than four feet. She’s been applauded for her ability to break into the humpty dance whenever she smells a fellow teammate within a half a mile. She knows pudding tastes better with a plastic spoon. She has her own hair and has always felt sad for seedless watermelons, because what if they wanted babies?

ART DIRECTOR / EDITOR IN CHIEF: In his next life, he intends to be either an extra in a Michael Bay film or an ador-able marmoset. He framed Roger Rabbit. He took the fall in an impromptu arm wrestling contest against a very confused librarian. Over his bed is a picture of a buffalo surfing on a sea literally made of siberian tigers with laser helmets. This man will eat your sensible shoes.

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EMAIL gazl@zvrs.com VOICE 800.216.9293 VIDEO 866.932.7891 FAX 727.443.1537 ADDRESS ZVRS Corporate Office CSDVRS, LLC, 600 Cleveland Street, Suite 1000 Clearwater, FL 33755

PUBLISHED BY Z PRODUCTIONS, A PART OF ZVRS AND STRATUS VIDEO

SHERRI TURPIN STACY WAGNER TIMOTHY RARUS CHRIS WAGNER AARON WEGEHAUPT

Chief Executive OfficerChief Financial Officer

Senior Vice President, MarketingSenior Vice President, Business Operations and Sales

Vice President, Operations

WILLIAM COBB PHILIP W. BRAVIN

LYDIA RUNNELS KATHRYN JACKSON

General Manager, Stratus VideoVice President, Business Development and OutreachVice President, Product Development and EngineeringVice President, Language Operations, Stratus Video

Malia K Johnson

NEVER BROKENan interview

Hi Malia. Thanks for agreeing to do this inter-view with us. It seems you’ve gone through quite a journey to get where you are today. Can you tell us what inspired you to write Never Broken?

I have always been interested in writing. It was a dream of mine to write a fictional story. That changed over time when I realized, as much as I have lived, I could write about my own life. Over the years I held onto secrets that stayed locked up in my mind, until they be-came like skeletons rattling and wanting to get out. I traveled a lot and met people from many walks of life, some of whom I saw going through struggles similar to mine. I eventually realized that telling my story may help others to realize they were not alone in their situation.

What does being “never broken” mean to you?

Two things. First, “never broken” means I am not broken nor have I ever been. Unfortu-nately people within and outside my family

viewed my Deafness as being “broken”. They assumed that I would never amount to much in my life because of being “broken” and maybe because of some of the paths I chose in life. Second, regardless of what I have been through, my mind and spirit have never been broken. I have always maintained my

positive outlook on life and knew that somehow, some way, I

would always survive. “No” was never an option to

me. “No” just meant I had to fight harder and find a different approach. Bottom line, I am not bro-ken now and I have never been broken.

Do you have a certain lesson in mind you’d like

your readers to learn from this book? Or do you prefer

that your readers take from your book whatever they happen to feel is

meaningful for them?

I prefer the readers to take from the book whatever they happen to feel is meaningful for each individual. I have even had people come to me after reading the book and talk to me about what it meant to them. Some of the stories have surprised me, but I feel most

I have always maintained my

positive outlook on life and knew that somehow,

some way, I would always survive.

Malia Johnson is adopted and, at six months of age, diagnosed as deaf. Her horrified mother des-perately tries to raise her as hearing, which confuses young Malia. Her silent world is wrought with teasing from her peers and harsh discipline from her mother as she forces her to learn

lip reading and speech six hours a day, seven days a week. Feeling isolated and unable to express herself, Malia plunges into a life of sex, drugs, alcohol, and anorexia. She represses her sexuality at risk of further alienation - and looks for love in the wrong places. Never Broken: How a Deaf Woman Improvised, Adapted, and Overcame discusses Malia’s challenges while growing up deaf and struggling with her sexuality. In her adult years, she relentlessly works to over-come the barriers that separate her from her hearing family and friends and finally find inner peace. No matter the struggle, Malia shows us that nothing is impossible with perseverance.  Malia K. Johnson was born Deaf in Los Angeles, CA. She was mainstreamed in hearing schools and learned to survive in a hearing world. Malia owns a sign language interpreting agency and has a passion advocating for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, traveling all over the world to promote awareness of the Deaf and need for interpreters. Malia currently resides in Orlando, Florida with her hearing dog, Ayla, and life partner, Peggy Wells.

Photo by Scot Lerner @ orlandoheadshots.com

people get what they happen to need out of the book. Why? Each one of us experience so many different factors in life. Not all of us experience the same thing but the similari-ty is there. I just wanted my book to touch and help others in whatever struggles they are going through. Letting them know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel--and perseverance pays off.

Your book tells a tale of survival. If you could talk to the little girl you were, what would you tell her?

I would tell the little girl not to give up on life, to know that even-tually she is going to live a good life, although there will be a lot of struggles getting there. I would tell her to never stop dreaming and never stop striving to reach those goals, and nev-er let anyone tell you different. Hold on to who you really are and ignore others. Be your-self.

Your book starts with “I sat in the back of the classroom and hoped nobody would see me.” It seems that much of your motivations for writing this book was therapeutic. Was it always that way from start to finish? Or did you have multiple goals?

Multiple goals. I often had people tell me I have lived an interesting life and should write a book, that others would be inter-ested to hear my story. I was not sure over time until I felt ready to put it on paper to share my story. So there were multiple goals. I wanted to let others know they were not alone in their struggles while therapeutically working through mine as the book pro-gressed.

Clearly you’ve endured a lot. Where do you get your strength?

Peggy and I have had the conversation about nurture versus nature. Although I was adopt-ed and grew up under the “nurturing” of my adopted parents, I think I’m more like my birth Mom than anyone realizes. So maybe some of my strength inherently comes from her. It seemed ingrained in me from early on that I needed to be a survivor. Maybe it came from my adoptive Mom always thinking I was broken, and from finding the strength to prove her wrong. That strength carried on in my life to prove to others as well that a per-son can do anything they set their mind to.

“All you have to do,” you wrote, “is find your path.” In your experi-

ence, how did you know you were on the right path? Or

do you think there are many paths?

Oh definitely many paths! As you can see from the book, sometimes I chose the wrong path and

fortunately was able to rectify myself some

of the times. There are many paths that present

themselves to us in life. It is a matter of making that fateful deci-

sion of what path you are going to choose and then evaluating yourself along the way and making corrections if and when you need to. I guess what my book is saying is move forward, find your path, don’t sit and wait for life to come to you, go out and live life and make those decisions. Pick the wrong path? That’s ok, adjust and keep mov-ing, your path is out there, you just need to find it. Everything has a reason. Don’t search for that reason, let it flow and it will happen or not eventually.

Who or what inspires you most?

Helen Keller! The challenges she went through in life to become who she was amazed me. That taught me I can do any-thing I wanted to do as long as I went after

I wanted to let others know they were

not alone in their struggles while therapeutically

working through mine as the book progressed.

Photo by Scot Lerner @ orlandoheadshots.com

it and not give up!

Have you always wanted to be a writer or was this a more recent calling?

I dreamed of being a writer. I was always creative throughout my childhood. Theatre, writing, crafts, etc….writing was an out-let for me over time. Now that I wrote this book, I have another goal to achieve, another book to write, to strike another goal off my bucket list of dreams. That’s to learn how to write a fictional story.

What were your biggest challenges in writing this book?

My biggest challenge was trying to reflect on my early childhood and putting it on paper as accurately as possible. It was an emotional roller coaster to relive so many aspects of my life I kept locked up for years. As I wrote, more memories came back and more words went down on paper. Letting it go on pa-per allowed me to release my anger and the stress I was holding onto. The other chal-

lenge I had was putting it in its chronologi-cal order properly. That part took me time to figure out without getting frustrated.

Why did you choose to keep your writing a secret until the book was finished?

In truth I’m a very private person. I do not publicize what I’m doing at any given time. I needed to have the confidence in myself that the book was the right thing to do and was going to succeed. As it neared completion and I knew my dream was going to come true, I started letting a few close friends know that I had written it.

Do you see writing as a personal process be-tween the writer and the page, or is it more about communication?

Aren’t any thoughts that are conveyed in any way a form of communication? Smiles. Communication means so many different things to different people. The world in general communicates very poorly in my opinion. I put my thoughts onto the page as

“It seemed ingrained in me from early on that I needed to be a survivor. Maybe it came from my adoptive Mom always thinking I was broken, and from finding the strength to prove her wrong. That strength carried on in my life to prove to others as well that a person can do anything they set their mind to.”

Photo by Scot Lerner @ orlandoheadshots.com

a start, with the goal of formulating it into a readable, understandable communication that others can benefit from.

Do you stick to a strict writing schedule?

Yes, I gave myself a deadline to finish the book. It was not easy to do as I had to force myself to put my emotions on paper, some-times under duress as time did or did not permit, while at the same time continuing with my nor-mal life. There were VERY few people that knew I was writing the book. I did not want to announce what I had done until it was published.

How has this changed your life after having written this?

Gosh, yes it has!! I am amazed at how much better I feel. When the book was put together and created into an actual hard copy in my hand, I was nervous and scared but, at the same time, I was flip-ping the pages up to my nose to smell the newness of the book. I was pinching my-self and having a difficult time believing I actually had a book--and it’s a story of my life. I did also question myself in my head, asking myself is this the right thing to do? I bounced that back and forth for two weeks before announcing the book release. Since then, I have been the most relaxed and like myself more than ever before.

I understand you’re currently working on a new book? Is there anything you can share with us about it yet? How can readers find out more about you and your work?

I am in the process of writing a second motivational autobiographical book and a

fictional book. I prefer to keep it a mystery to keep my readers waiting with anticipation on what to look forward to. As for the fictional book, I am not sure yet as I am still working on the storyline.

Any advice for first time writers out there who would like to write their own life story?

Get started! I procrastinated for years! Al-ways had it in the back of my head that I

Photos courtesy of Malia K. Johnson

should write a book, but always put it off. There is no time like the present! Write and then re-write until you get all your thoughts on paper. Know that they will no longer be private thoughts but publicized to the

world. Be patient as

you write. It’s not an overnight thing. It takes time and patience to go through everything to get what you want out of it.

Lastly, how do you define success?

I have a sign hanging in my office that

says “Improvise, adapt, and overcome”. Those have been some guiding words to me throughout my life. Success is what you make of it. Each of us, and then society, measures success in different ways. Fortu-nately I do not need society to tell me if I am

successful any more. I made up my mind that I define my own success. My success has been in attaining the goals I set for myself in life, and then sharing that success with others. I have been afforded many opportuni-ties, have had many mentors and spiritual guides. Now I want to give to others so that maybe, just maybe, knowledge of something I have gone through to reach my

success, can help someone else reach their success.

To purchase Malia K. Johnson’s NEVER BROKEN, click HERE.

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

GET A LIFE.COM

Photo by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.com/

SELF DEVELOPMENT

HONESTY

?ASKS QUESTIONS

EARN IN G > D E SER VING

OWNS MISTAKES

R E S U LT S&

JOY

LOYALTY

PUNCTUALITY

SEEKS COACHING

TEAM PLAYER

guaranteed

TAKES RISKS

This article was originally published by John G. Miller @http://qbq.com/15-things-you-do-not-need-college-to-learn/

by JOHN G MILLERAUTHOR OF QBQ!

The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability

in Work and in Life

I make one statement in my “How to Be An Outstanding Organization!” speaking en-gagements that generates spontaneous

applause—and it’s this:

“Outstanding organizations hire/promote char-acter over credentials and college degrees.”

I suspect those who clap have been passed over for a pay increase and bigger title—or didn’t get hired somewhere—because they skipped college or didn’t attend the “right” school. Sadly, they’ve felt the pain of watching someone else win the opportunity they sought. Also sadly, the employer pos-sibly missed out on the person of charac-ter desperately needed.

You know, the person who does crazy, unusual, and abnormal stuff like this:

• Shows up (on time), works hard

• Asks questions

• Cares, makes suggestions

• Adapts quickly to change

• Owns mistakes and results

• Demonstrates loyalty

• Tries new things, takes risks

• Serves people

• Tells the truth

• Radiates joy

• Collaborates

• Seeks coaching

• Invests in self -development

• Possesses a mature attitude of “earn-ing” over “deserving”

• Practices Personal Accountability rath-er than blaming/whining

If you come across this person, hire him/her today—even if you don’t have an opening!

THINGS YOUDON’T NEED

COLLEGE TO LEARN15

The reality is this:

Organizations often fail to hire the best people be-cause of artificial and arbitrary selection criteria.This problem is founded in the requirement that candidates have a college degree. The truth is, not everyone should go to college.

What did he say!?!?!?

I know, I know ... it’s easy to robotical-ly ask a high school senior, “So, where are you going to college next year?” or congratulate one with, “You got accepted at Cornell? Good for you!”

But show me the young person who’s heading straight from high school to contributing to our society—a.k.a., working, paying bills, and supporting themselves—and I will congratulate them all day long.

My perspective on this whole college thing:

When I think, How did I go from working a boring desk job in the 1980s to loving life as an author and speaker?—three words come to mind:

Steve Jim David

(Click each name to see who they are)

Without these men, not a single hu-man being would be gaining value from QBQ! and Outstanding! because QBQ, Inc. would not exist.

Their teachings, mentoring, and coaching got me where I am and not one of these gents has a college degree!

Am I saying people shouldn’t go to college? No. But I am suggesting employers change their recruiting, interviewing, and selection process-es—and parents ponder these questions:

Is college the best next step for this young per-son?

Will going to college build his/her character?

Will college enable my child to add value to the world?

Is the crushing debt incurred worth it?

Is my high schooler heading toward college just because I want them to or because peers are going?

And a question for employers everywhere:

#Alliteration

I hope executives, managers, and HR folks will ask that question.

And, parents, we must rethink our thinking. It›s not true that our child must go to college. May-be, just maybe, my high schooler should simply get to work.

Who knows, contributing to society might be the best education they’ll ever get.

Oh, one final thought: The “A” students wind up working for the “C” students anyway!

Do our hiring policies, processes, and practices

preclude us from procuring

phenomenal people?!

To find more of John G Miller’s books and re-

sources related to QBQ and personal

accountability, visit QBQ.com or

click HERE.

August 2015

art by Matt Daigle @ www.mattdaigle.com

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” Mother Teresa

Success isn’t magic. Sometimes it seems like it is. You know – there’s always that person who seems to have it all together – a thriving career, genius kids, a happy relationship, vibrant health and a perfect life. Ugh! Why can’t you just get it together too?

But success isn’t magic – and luckily it isn’t some elusive state of being that only others can have either. We can all have it if we know how to get it, how to see through the barriers of stress and create a focused strategy for taking our work and life to the next level DESPITE the big and small challenges we face every day. Want proof that it can work?

My StoryI was widowed unexpectedly in 2007 when my healthy, tall, skinny, for-mer college athlete husband, Todd, died of a heart attack in his sleep the morning after my sister’s wedding. He had no pre-existing condition and had just been given a clean bill of health at his annual physical. On top of the grief of losing him, I was also a new parent with a 10-month-old daughter, working in a high-pressure corporate job and worried about a single income during a crashing economy. I lived in a cloud of indecision, stress, worry and sadness for months until a revelation pulled me out of the pit.

The Turning PointWhile on a trip to surf camp in Costa Rica, the fog began to lift. I realized that I never wanted my daughter to look back and see her mom as sad, depressed, angry or stuck. I only want her to ever think of me as some-one who is happy, engaged with life and moving ahead even though we were dealt a crappy hand. This prompted my journey of self-reflection, education and experimentation to figure out how in the heck to manage all the stress I had going on personally and professionally. My daughter was my key motivation to pull myself out of my own head and back into life again.

It was during this period of research and reflection that the idea for a business began to form. I had been trying different herbal supplements

the

by Kristen Brown

to help support my body during stress. It is crazy what stress does to us – insomnia, illness, makes pre-existing conditions worse, overeating, mood swings, headaches, stomach issues, weight issues, skin problems and the list goes on. My body was in turmoil and I knew I needed help getting it back on track while I healed my mind, but I didn’t want to go on prescription anti-depressants. I tried many vitamins, supplements and herbs that worked great but didn’t want to have to take 10 different capsules of those every day either even if they were natural.

Thus was born the first iteration of Happy Hour Effect – a health supple-ment that supports multiple body systems during stress. I worked with an FDA-approved lab to create it, sold it into GNC and felt on top of the world! During that time I also wrote a memoir called The Best Worst Thing that hit the bestseller list. I went to celebrity events in Hollywood spreading the Happy Hour Effect message and thought everything was finally on track again.

Crash and BurnLife has funny (and painful) ways of reminding us not to get too com-fortable when things are going well and this high point was no excep-tion. I quickly found that running a health supplement business was not easy, fun or inexpensive. I had to have special software, storage, insur-

This article was originally published on The Bauke Group blog @ http://www.thebaukegroup.com/lessons-loss/

ance, shipping, legal elements and financial obligations that I wasn’t prepared for or interested in doing on my own. I also wasn’t interested in hiring someone else or taking on a partner. So when GNC came to me asking for additional marketing support of thousands of dollars or they would pull my product from the shelves, I was stuck.

I didn’t have extra money to pay for more marketing support. I didn’t have time to manage it. I didn’t have the desire to work 90 hours a week to figure it out. So I pulled the plug. And to make matters worse, I had to write off a whole lot of inventory that couldn’t be sold any-where else giving me a big financial bur-den to deal with too. I felt like a failure. I felt like a loser.

The A-HA MomentWhen I finally told my sto-ry at a small speaking event I had been invited to near my tiny hometown in western Minnesota, I was a blubbering mess of tears. And yet, the line-up of people who wanted to speak to me after was long. At first I thought they just felt sorry for me, but they thanked me for being so open and making them feel less alone on their own stressful journey through change and setbacks. A light bulb went on!

I can help people! Even at my worst, those stories of failure, sadness, stress and change inspire others to make their own changes! Well I’ll be darned – there was a little light that came out of that dark time!

After the GNC flop, I continued my speaking and writing and the world opened up to me. I received my Master’s certificate in Inte-gral Theory (the art and science of multiple perspectives), a holistic health coaching certification and wrote another bestselling book. All the while I continued to spread my message of spinning stress into success eventually landing on the stages at big com-

panies like Cargill, Boston Scientific, Mayo Health and Regis and on media outlets like “Live with Kelly & Michael,” HLN, Psycholo-gy Today and many others. My Stress Less Revolution is actually happening!

There are still days when life is hard and stressful and scary. There are days when I am overwhelmed by being a business owner (I left corporate America a couple of years ago). But I always go back to my initial mo-

tivation of my daughter and how I want her to see me. That

motivation is what pushes me to spin stress into

success. What she sees inspires me to be a happier, healthier person for others to see. Who she is be-coming drives me to be the person I want her to be now and in

the future.

You know who I want her to be? Simply some-

one who makes others happy by being happy herself

even when life is hard! And so that’s my goal too!

Even at my worst, those stories

of failure, sadness and change inspire others

to make their own changes!

To discover more about Kristen Brown’s Happy Hour Effect, her books, blog, podcast, and other resources, go to http://happyhoureffect.com/about-kristen-brown/ or click HERE.

Whatever your dream is, start living it

NOW.

Photo by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.com/

LEADERSWe don’t rely on our title,

we work every day to earn it!

WORK HARD AND PLAY HARD:

there is time for both

People work, not paper work

WWW.GETAZLIFE.COM

Photos by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.comand various employees of ZVRS

by ZVRS VIDEO INTERPRETERDIANA WALSH O’TOOLE

Imagine calling someone and telling them their friend or family member has died.

Now imagine you are an American Sign Language (ASL) inter-preter working in a call center and facilitating communication be-tween Deaf and hearing callers. A Deaf man calls a family member and it is your job to tell the hearing person what you think the Deaf caller is signing to you via a videophone – that their friend, John, has died.

Finally imagine you, the sign language interpreter, said, “Did you know that John died?” But, wait – there is silence, then a chuckle, and then the hearing person says, “I know John isn’t dead, so please try again to understand what my dad is calling to tell me.” Gulp!

Okay, so this is a true story, but all identities have been changed to protect the innocent. Except the interpreter’s name, which is Diana. That is what happened when I committed one of the most egregious interpreting mistakes I’ve made in 22 years as a professional sign lan-guage interpreter.

Imagine how mortified I felt in that moment! I probably turned three shades of red, but the Deaf man, the hearing woman, and I all had a quick laugh before I corrected the huge blooper. This unfortunate gaffe happened at least 10 years ago, yet it is easy for me to recount because it’s been seared into my brain.

Here’s what I learned in that moment: The world didn’t stop turning, I didn’t get fired on the spot, and I successfully completed the call. Heck, the Deaf person didn’t even ask to be transferred to another interpreter, which is something that’s happened to me even when I wasn’t guilty of any interpreting errors. I survived that embarrassing moment and there have been plenty other errors since. The truth is, I’m still making mistakes doing something I’ve tried over all these years to perfect, and I will continue to make mistakes.

No matter how hard I try to convince my husband, family members, and coworkers otherwise, one of the perils of being human is that I am not perfect. Thus, the following clichés are true: Nobody’s perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. To err is human.

Given the fact that sign language interpreters are human, we will make mistakes. If you are not a sign language interpreter, but you are reading this, I’m going to assume you are human. Therefore, you will make mistakes, too.

Most of us are aware everyone makes mistakes. Yet, even if we admit our own fallibility, we sometimes believe others are excelling in ways we can only hope to achieve.

My daughter-in-law is studying to become an ASL interpreter, and she recently finished her first year at an Interpreter Training Pro-gram. During one of our conversations about interpreting, she asked me what it’s like to work in a video relay center. Then she asked me a

Most of us are aware everyone makes mistakes. Yet, even if we ad-mit our own fallibil-ity, we sometimes believe others are excelling in ways we can only hope to achieve.

question that brought our conversation to a halt.

She simply asked, “When you’re working at VRS, do you understand all the Deaf callers’ signs and find that you don’t really have to ask them to repeat or clarify anything?”

I stuttered, stammered, and attempted to avoid breaking into hyster-ical laughter. I tried to formulate an answer that wouldn’t destroy her image of me as a professional but still answer honestly, and I realized that I too once believed fellow interpreters rarely make mistakes. I assumed I was alone in a sea of errors, while my colleagues flawlessly and seamlessly navigated our professional world.

Therefore, I think a good place to start a discussion about mistakes is to realize our colleagues aren’t perfect either. We tend to be hard-er on ourselves than we are on other people. Perhaps there are some over-confident, competent professionals reading this who are com-fortable doing their job and have convinced themselves that they perform their job to perfection. However, it’s more likely that many under-confident, yet highly-competent professionals are reading this and think of themselves as more error-prone than their colleagues.

So if you fall into the latter category, and are harder on yourself than your colleagues, how does this affect your work? If you’re like me, you find yourself mulling over your mistakes, and beating yourself up over things that happened weeks, months, and even years ago. In fact, I’ve

driven home from work berating myself over one error – I mean, c’mon, I said some-

one died! – yet failing to congrat-ulate myself for correcting my

mistake and proving to the caller, as well as myself, that I am competent after all.

So I have started to rethink mistakes and have been able to incor-porate visualization, mindfulness, and forgiveness as ways to improve my

work performance as well as my quality of life. These three con-cepts allow me to boost my confidence, focus

on the task at hand, and let go of the past so I can move on.

VISUALIZATIONMy adult children will tell you that one concept I hammered home to them when they were growing up was “visualization.” I have faith in the power of the mind, and I believe we greatly affect our performance through our thoughts. This can work against us if we are the type to think negatively and expect the worst. However, our thoughts can work in our favor if we are aware of what we are saying to ourselves and if we think positively. Visualization means that we take the time to imagine future events going exactly as we want, culminating in a successful outcome – be it a spot-on interpretation, a job interview, or conquering a challenging new hobby.

Probably the most well-known example of visualization is the ath-lete who prepares for her competition by imagining herself gliding through an upcoming event effortlessly and with perfection. When the Olympics are televised, cameras focus in on ice skaters, skiers, gymnasts, and other athletes whose eyes are closed while their heads bob up and down, and side-to-side, because they are practicing their routines through visualization.

Scientists have proven that visualization works. An online article re-ports: One study showed that

“...visualizations under hypnosis enabled national-ly-ranked Stanford male gymnasts to execute for the first time several complex tricks that they had been working on for over a year. The gymnasts were able to eliminate timing errors in the tricks, to increase flexibil-ity, and, possibly, to concentrate strength...” *

Another study showed that youth soccer players increased their confi-dence in playing when they visualized their moves.

Many moons ago, I ran cross country in high school. I successfully used visualization and ran the best race of my high school career. (Cue Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Glory Days”.) I did not know I was prac-ticing this technique when, on the night before the High School Girls’ State Cross Country Championship, I listened to the following lyrics over and over again from the Styx song, “Angry Young Man”:

Get up/Get back on your feet/You’re the one they can’t beat and you know it.

Come on/Let’s see what you’ve got/Just take your best shot and don’t blow it.

As I listened, I was simply lying on my bed, eyes closed, imagining myself running the three-mile state cross country course. I was famil-iar with the course, so I was able to picture the grass and every turn,

While training alone before the tourna-ment, [Carli] Lloyd, who relies often on visualization tech-niques, saw herself scoring four goals in the World Cup final, she said. She came up just short but said that she was so intent as the game opened, “I feel like I blacked out for the first 30 minutes or so.” - NEW YORK TIMES

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/srinivasan-pillay/the-science-of-visualizat_b_171340.html

imagine the people cheering me on, and see myself crossing the finish line in front of other runners while feeling great. The next day I ran a perfect race, smoking my previous personal best time, and finishing in the top 20 runners in the state, something I had not come close to doing in any of the regular season meets. To this day I know it was because I visualized the race over and over the night before.

Fast forward to 2015 where I have learned to apply this technique to my job because I know it will boost my confidence level. Even with 22 years of professional experience, I tend to look at other interpreters and think, “Why can’t I do that?!” In the past, I have worked in front of large crowds and my nerves have gotten the better of me causing me to make mistakes that I normally wouldn’t have made in a smaller venue.

Consequently, last year it required a lot of courage to get out of my comfort zone and accept a job as a conference interpreter. The Colo-rado Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (CRID) hosts a state-wide conference for sign language interpreters. Not only would I be inter-preting in front of a large audience, that audience would also be full of my peers. I expected hundreds of eyes, watching my every move, and likely forming opinions that, in my head, sounded something like “I wouldn’t interpret it like that!”

Luckily, as I was falling asleep in my hotel room the night before the conference, I remembered to use visualization. I used it again the next morning before leaving my room to meet my co-interpreter for the day. I sat with my eyes closed imagining myself doing the job I know I’m well-trained to do, and ignoring all those eyes on me in the front of the room. I made sure to visualize myself feeling calm, cool, and collected and doing a perfect job.

Just as I exceeded all expectations in that high school cross country meet years ago, I ended up doing a great job at the CRID conference. My co-interpreter and I worked well together and we received many compliments. In the past, I fell short when interpreting in front of large audiences, thus I had avoided it for years. It was visualization that gave me the confidence-boost I needed and allowed me to min-imize errors. After using this technique, I was able to drive home feeling satisfied about a job well done.

MINDFULNESSEven though I use visualization to confront challenges with confi-dence, I still mess up and sometimes I struggle to let go of mistakes and move on. This can have the added negative consequence of get-ting bogged down by a mistake in the middle of a job, thereby leading to more mistakes.

Going back to the moment that I realized I’d mistakenly said some-

In the past, I fell short when inter-preting in front of large audiences, thus I had avoided it for years. It was visualization that gave me the confi-dence boost I need-ed and allowed me to minimize errors and drive home feeling satisfied about a job well done.

This technique requires an individual to pay attention

to exactly what he or she is doing at that given moment

in time. Thus, as I was hiking, I realized I was ruminating

on something well out of my control, while ignoring my

beautiful surroundings and the present moment.

one had died, I recall that when the phone call ended, I couldn’t stop berating myself and inwardly chastising myself for not doing a better job. Thus, the next few calls I interpreted were done with this added distraction, which kept me from doing my best work. In fact, I had a tough time sleeping that night because I sometimes allow mistakes to haunt me.

Recently, I was hiking on a gorgeous Colorado trail, surrounded by trees. The scene was complete with a running stream, fresh mountain air, and the sounds of rustling leaves and birds calling to each other high above my head. What was I thinking as I hiked in this amazing environ-ment? I was literally chastising myself over a less-than-proud moment I had experi-enced as a mother over 10 years ago. As ridicu-lous as it sounds, I was reliving that long-ago moment and wishing I could go back in time to erase my mistake.

Since time travel is not likely to be a possibility in my lifetime, I am fortunate to have recently learned about the next best thing – mind-fulness. This technique requires an individual to pay attention to exactly what he or she is doing at that given moment in time. Thus, as I was hiking, I realized I was ruminating on something well out of my control, while ignoring my beautiful surroundings and the pres-ent moment. So I forced myself to come back to the year 2015, look around me and pay attention to the fact I was on a hike. I took in the trees and rocks, the sounds of the birds and my breathing, and was able to push the past back into the past and enjoy my hike.

This experience proved to me, again, the power of the mind. I realized after my hiking experience that mindfulness allows me to move on with my day and prevents me from reliving the past.

Sometimes, while interpreting video relay phone calls, I have the time to reflect on a recently completed phone call and realize I could have improved my interpretation. I’m sure fellow interpreters have experi-enced the “ah ha!” moment when belatedly coming up with the word they should have chosen given the content of the call. Hindsight can be 20/20 and, no matter what your career, it’s easy to look back and

chastise yourself for not doing a better job.

While it is important to reflect on how we can improve our work performance, it is detrimental to do so when we should be focusing on our next caller. This is where practicing mindfulness can help keep our head in the game. It forces us to postpone analysis of how we could have done better with the last caller, thereby minimizing mistakes with the current caller who deserves our full attention. Just as I was able to bring myself back to the year 2015 and enjoy my hike, I have been able to let go of previous “flubs” by forcing myself to pay atten-tion to the current caller. I do this in an effort to produce my very best work.

I know the practice of mindfulness might sound elementary, but I en-courage you to try this technique. It is amazing how the simple act of telling yourself to focus will, indeed, help you focus, and the result will be a decreased number of mistakes.

FORGIVENESSUltimately, even if we practice visualization to boost our confidence level, and mindfulness to keep us focused, we are still going to make mistakes. It’s critical to recognize that what we do after making a mis-take is what defines our character.

When I was researching for this article, there was one quote that showed up repeatedly on inspirational online posts: “Your mistakes don’t define you.” Amen! I agree with this sentiment. I believe it’s our ability to admit mistakes, plus how we handle those mistakes, that are the ultimate test for each of us.

Some people believe it is a sign of weakness to admit making a mis-take. Martial Arts master and groundbreaking filmmaker Bruce Lee said: “Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.”

I am an over achiever (Ugh!) who struggles to admit my mistakes. Over the years I have learned that I tend to give others more leeway when it comes to making mistakes than I do myself. By the same token, they tend to be incredibly gracious toward me if I am willing to admit I am wrong.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to admit that I made a mistake. However, in my work as a professional sign language interpreter, it was impera-tive I learn to acknowledge mistakes in order to correct misinterpreta-tions. Therefore, I have become comfortable on the job stating, “Ex-cuse me, the interpreter misunderstood,” or, “That was an interpreter error,” as I correct mistakes. Fortunately, most callers and co-workers show me the grace to be human, correct my error, and move forward.

Unfortunately there are still a few people who, no matter how grace-fully we admit and correct our mistakes, will not let us off the hook. I’ve had my fair share of disgruntled callers and co-workers, but that

Some people be-lieve it is a sign of weakness to admit making a mistake. Martial Arts master and groundbreaking filmmaker Bruce Lee said: “Mistakes are always forgiv-able if one has the courage to admit them.”

is simply a part of interacting with others and being human. It doesn’t change the fact that I am acting professionally and with high moral character when I admit my mistakes.

Why then is it sometimes so difficult to let go of mistakes? I believe it is simply because we are human. Some mistakes are easier to move on from than others. We may be able to admit an error or a huge blunder but what we often need to work on is truly letting go of these mis-takes and forgiving ourselves. While the majority of our callers and colleagues tend to be gracious and forgiving, many of us continue to beat ourselves up, particularly if we believe we are guilty of a serious mistake.

Instead of berating ourselves, it is more productive to think about how we can avoid similar mistakes in the future. Sometimes it is as simple as learning new terminology, and other times we may need to be bet-ter prepared for our job by reviewing company policy or learning more about a particular topic. Once we have done everything within our power to prevent future mistakes, including visualization and practic-ing mindfulness, it is still imperative that we forgive current mistakes.

The ability to forgive oneself and move on will vary from individual to individual. For some the Serenity Prayer may be helpful: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

For others, taking to the outdoors or the gym for a long walk, run, or bike ride may help. I’m an avid exerciser. One reason I exercise so often is that it allows me to release stress, let go of a hard day’s work, and stop reliving my mistakes.

Finally, for some individuals, meditation may prove to be an effective path to forgiveness and letting go. In the last issue of Get a Z Life, the “Mindfulness” article was followed by a quiz for readers to assess their mindfulness skills. After taking the quiz, I was directed to a guided meditation on YouTube. The meditation is designed to help people relax and focus on forgiving not only others, but themselves as well.

If you are berating yourself over mistakes that happened a while ago, while wishing in vain that you could hop into a time machine to fix the mistake, click HERE for this meditation instead.

Then, if all else fails, take this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson to heart:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. To-morrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

I am an over achiev-er (Ugh!) who strug-gles to admit my mistakes. Over the years I have learned that, just as I give others more leeway when it comes to making mistakes, they tend to be incredibly gracious toward me if I am willing to admit I am wrong.

We are willing to to fail, We take risks!

We are team players. When a new idea is proposed we say “wow” not

“how”

WWW.GETAZLIFE.COM

We are focused, we get results, we measure results,

we lean into the pain!

We care about people first

Relationships matter!

We are willing to have difficult conversations to

develop people, AND to protect our teams

Photos by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.comand various employees of ZVRS

10Do you want to be a

high impact leader?I believe every-

one is a leader, but they are leading at different levels.

I believe everyone can and should lead from where they are.

I believe everyone can and should make a high impact.

I believe growth doesn’t just happen; we must make it happen.

I believe before you will invest in yourself you must first believe in yourself.

I believe leaders must believe in their team before they will invest in their team.

I truly believe everything rises and falls on influence.

There is a story of a tourist who paused for a rest in a small town in the moun-tains. He went over to an old man sitting on a bench in front of the only store in town and inquired, “Friend, can you tell me something this town is noted for?”

“Well,” replied the old man, “I don’t rightly know except it’s the starting point to the world. You can start here and go anywhere you want.”1

That’s a great little story. We are all at “the starting point” to the world, and we “can start here and go any-

where we want.” We can expand

our influence 360° in all directions by

starting in the center with ourselves.

Consider the illus-tration below. Imagine you

are standing in the center. You can make a high impact.

However, it will not happen by accident. You must become

intentional. You must live with purpose while focusing on your

performance as you develop your potential.

Why we do what we do is about our purpose.

How we do what we do is about our performance.

What we do will de-termine our potential.

Where these three components overlap,

you will achieve a HIGH IMPACT.

Values of

HIGH IMPACT LEADERS:

THE VALUE OF VISION

HIGHIMPACT

Why We Do ItWhat

We

Do

How

We Do It

10where we want.”

We can expand our influence 360°

in all directions by starting in the center

with ourselves.Consider the illus-

tration below. Imagine you are standing in the center.

You can make a high impact. However, it will not happen

by accident. You must become intentional. You must live with purpose while focusing on your

performance as you develop your potential.

Why we do what we do is about our purpose.

How we do what we do is about our performance.

What we do will de-termine our potential.

Where these three components overlap,

you will achieve a HIGH IMPACT.

Values of

HIGH IMPACT LEADERS:

THE VALUE OF VISION

an excerpt from the book byby MACK STORY

VISION IS THE FOUNDATION OF HOPE

“When there’s hope in the future, there’s power in the present.”

~ Les BrownVision begins with passion

and ends with purpose. Vision is all about knowing where you’re

going.When it comes to vision,

our passion allows us to see more clearly short term. However, our purpose is what allows us to see clearly long term.

Do you like feeling stuck? Financially? Rela-tionally? Personally? Professionally? I’ve nev-er known anyone that enjoys that feeling.

Do you believe that to be where you are there was a time when you were uncomfortable? Personally? Profession-ally?

Do you believe a vi-sion you developed in the past brought you to where you are today? Personally? Professionally?

When I talk to people about vision, they can usually

reflect back to when they were working toward being where

they are today. They understand without a vision on some level in the past, even if it was a low level vision, they would not be where they are today.

I believe a great vision be-gins with great passion. Without passion, we have very little vision. Our vision is mediocre at best. We must tap into our passion until we discover, uncover, define, and refine our purpose.

I believe the more intentional we are, rela-tive to our personal growth, the more likely we are to always be growing toward our purpose. I believe this to be true for individuals and orga-nizations. I believe we must follow our passion in order to find our purpose.

Too often, people who are searching in life find what they will settle for and stop looking for what they were searching for.

Unfortunately, many people will go to their grave never discovering their why. Why they are on this earth. Instead, they will choose to settle for mediocrity instead of greatness. Why would anyone settle for mediocrity when they could have greatness?

It’s simple. It’s easy to be mediocre, and it’s hard to be great. It takes a lot of work to continually develop yourself, but it’s worth the struggle to find your why.

“When we discover what we are willing to pay a price for, we discover our life’s mission and purpose.” ~ Kevin Hall

I believe vision is a byproduct of our growth. As we grow, we can see farther into the future. At the most basic level, growth can only occur when we change the way we think.

We must grow to develop our vision. The more we grow the greater our capacity to develop a clear, accurate, and achievable vi-sion. Once we have grown enough to develop a clear vision, we must then grow toward our vision.

I believe transforming our vision into our reality is a byproduct of our discipline.

Discipline is the bridge between knowing (seeing the vision) and doing (transforming the vision into reality). It’s a bridge we must cross every day. When we cross it, we move closer to realizing our dreams, but our vision is

also projected farther at the same time. When we move forward, we can see farther.

As we grow, so grows our vision.When we are not growing, there is no

chance of moving beyond our current situa-tion and circumstances. We are suffering from a self-imposed blindness and cannot see the possibilities the future holds for us. If we can’t see it, we can’t find it. If we can’t find it, we won’t benefit from it.

What we have done in the past has brought us to where we are today. If we were supposed to be someplace else, we would al-ready be there. We are always exactly where we are supposed to be based on all of our previous

growth. Our current way of thinking is just good enough to keep us in place assuming nothing externally changes.

But, we know everything around us is changing at an ever increasing pace. If we don’t grow, adapt, and change, we will be left behind. In today’s fast paced world, there is no such thing as sitting still. In life, we are either progressing or regressing. We must further develop our thinking if we want to increase our capacity to develop a vision beyond what we can currently see.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, un-learn, and relearn.” ~ Alvin Toffler

As we grow and develop our mind, we will begin to think differently. We will also begin to be different. We will begin to actually achieve more than we could have ever imag-ined in the past.

We will begin to develop the ability to imagine the potential for our lives farther into the future and see the potential that used to lie deep within us now rise to the surface as our

“When we are not growing, there is no chance of moving beyond our current situation...”

reality. We will also begin to develop intuition in our areas of giftedness, where we have the most natural talents and abilities.

We may begin our personal growth jour-ney for ourselves, but there will come a time when we will have grown so much our vision for ourselves begins to encompass others. If we believe in other people and we believe we have a responsibility to assist others on their journey, we will naturally gravitate towards those that want our help. As we grow our-selves, there will be a natural tendency to begin to help grow our organization, those within it, and those around us in our personal lives too.

“Every wise leader, whether a man-ager, a military officer, or a mother — should consider how to lead those who follow him or her as if inspiration were the only leadership leverage.

Good leaders inspire people. They breathe life into individuals and groups. They animate organizations. They breed the contagion of enthusiasm. They ex-cite people to dream the dreams, take the risks, and make the sacrifices that are necessary to create better futures.” ~ Terry A. Smith

High impact leadership begins with chal-lenging yourself and ends with you having the desire and ability to effectively challenge others. Our true purpose is not success. It is to achieve significance as we help lift others. We cannot lift another without also lifting our-selves.

Success is about what we do for ourselves. Significance is about what we do for others.

Which person do you think will have more influence and have the ability to earn more during a lifetime?

• Someone who can’t lead themselves well?

• Someone who demonstrates the ability to lead themselves well?

• Someone who can lead themselves and others well?

Being successful, and ultimately signifi-cant, is determined by your ability to influence others to achieve success at a high level.

Who would you rather follow? Someone with no vision that’s happy with the status quo? Or, someone with a great vision that is constantly advancing themselves and others to a higher level? The answer is obvious: someone with great vision and the ability to turn their vision into reality.

If you want to lead at a high level, you must have a vision and aspire to transform it into reality through endless growth.

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body: his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he is always doing both.” ~ L. P. Jacks

Transformation Turns Vision into RealityWhere will you have the greatest influ-

ence? You will discover you have the greatest influence in the area where you also have the greatest passion. What motivates and inspires you will give you the energy and authenticity to motivate and inspire others.

“You will not grow without attempt-ing things you are unable to do.” ~ Dr. Henry Cloud

In order to fully leverage your passion to increase your influence, you must use it to find, reveal, and refine your why – your purpose.

Discovering your purpose doesn’t happen accidentally as you go through life. It happens intentionally as you grow through life. Once you discover your purpose, you do not stop. You cannot stop. You focus on it for the rest of your life as you begin to live life on purpose for a purpose.

Every day you allow your passion to fuel your growth is a day you discover more and learn more about your purpose. When your vision flows from your passion and purpose, you find clarity and become highly effective and highly influential. Play becomes work, and work becomes play. For these lucky few, they

are able to trade in their two day weekend for a seven day weekend.

The 10 Foundational Elements of Transformation

1. Thought is the Foundation of ChoiceIf you already knew what you needed to

know, you would already be where you want to go. Until we change what we think, we will not change what we do. Our thoughts are only real to us. No one else is aware of them. They can and do lead to other private thoughts. However, they only become known to others when they lead us into conscious action, when we make a physical choice. When we act, our thoughts are translated to the world as choices, and who we are on the inside is revealed on the outside.

The Choice Formula:Thought + Emotion + Action = Choice

Thought – something we are consciously aware of in our mind

Emotion – something we subconsciously feel based on our thoughts

Action – something we do based on our thoughts and emotions

“The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought.” ~ James Allen

2. Choice is the Foundation of VisionDeveloping a vision, big or small, is a

choice. We must think on purpose about our purpose. There is no conscious action without conscious thought. When it comes to creating a vision for ourselves, our life, our team, or our organization, we must intentionally tap into our passion and purpose to begin to think of what could be. We can turn our potential into our reality. The quality of our choices depends on the quality of our thoughts.

At this level, we choose to dream of what

is possible. We let our imagination run wild. What do we want to be? Who do we want to become? Where do we want to go? We don’t ask, “Can we do it?” We ask, “What is possi-ble?” An effective vision taps into our strengths not our weaknesses. We will have the greatest impact and receive the greatest reward when we stay in our strength zone.

“Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.” ~ Vaclav Havel

3. Vision is the Foundation of HopeSeveral years ago, I discovered a rather odd

but impactful story about the power of hope. I was amazed by it! In it, an experiment was being performed with laboratory rats to mea-sure their motivation to live under different circumstances.

Scientists dropped a rat into a jar of wa-ter that had been placed in total darkness (no vision), and they timed how long the animal would continue swimming before it gave up hope and allowed itself to drown. They found the rat usually lasted little more than three minutes without hope. Then, they dropped an-other rat into the same kind of jar, but instead of placing it in total darkness, they allowed a ray of light (hope) to shine into it.2

Under those circumstances, the rat kept swimming for 36 hours!

That’s 720 times longer than the one in the dark without hope!

Because the rat could see (vision), it con-tinued to have hope. If that is true for a rat, imagine the amount of hope a strong and powerful personal vision will provide to each of us. We are much more capable of imagining and reasoning ourselves into a brighter future, one filled with light instead of darkness.

Once we have a clearly defined vision, we must again ask ourselves, “Is it possible my vi-sion could become my reality?” We should also seek reinforcement from those around us that believe in us and our mission. Without hope, our vision will fade into darkness just as it did with the rat. But with hope, the light contin-ues to shine brightly on our vision giving us a

reason to “keep swimming.” We must maintain hope that our vision will become our reality.

Knowing it is in fact possible will give us hope. Having faith in the vision will give us hope. Having people believe in us and our vision will give us hope. Knowing others have done what we want to do will give us hope.

Hope is not a strategy. However, hope is necessary to develop a strategy. Why? Without hope, you won’t develop a strategy. Without hope, your vision is doomed. Without hope, you will remain bound.

“Where there is no belief or hope for growth to be real, it is no longer attempted. People, or organizations, enter into a state of sameness, and as we have seen, that is really when things are no longer alive. Death is taking over not growth.” ~ Dr. Henry Cloud

4. Hope is the Foundation of SacrificeWithout hope, there will be no sacrifice. If

we don’t believe strongly enough in ourselves and our vision, we will not have the strength or desire to make the sacrifices needed to transform our vision into our reality. We are exactly where we are supposed to be based on our choices and the sacrifices we’ve made leading up to today. If we want to move closer to our vision, we must make different choices and additional sacrifices. Sacrifice is giving up something of lesser value now for something of greater value later.

Why is sacrifice so hard? Because we feel

the loss immediately. However, we may not feel the gain for days, weeks, months, or even years. When we begin to discover our purpose, we will also begin to value some things more than others. Then, those things of lesser value holding us back will begin to naturally drop away. We must give up to go up. Then, we must give up even more to stay up. But ultimately, we must give up even more if we want to go up more.

It’s like fitness. You must give up to get fit. You have to continue to give up to stay fit. And, if you want to go to a higher level of

fitness, you must give up even more.“Men and women who have ac-

complished much have sacrificed much. Nothing given – nothing received. No weeping – no reaping.” ~ John C. Max-well

5. Sacrifice is the Foundation of DisciplineUnfortunately, sacrifice alone will not

convert your vision into reality. When we sacrifice, we remove things from our life that are holding us back. We rid ourselves of those things that are tapping into our resources such as time, money, and energy. Recovering some of our most valuable resources is only half the battle. Now that we have made additional resources available, we must intentionally use them to advance toward our vision.

We must develop self-discipline. As we progress from knowing and begin doing, we are crossing the bridge called discipline. Cross-

“What do we want to be? Who do we want to become? Where do we want to go? We don’t ask, ‘Can we do it?’ We ask, ‘What is possible?’ An effective vision taps into our strengths, not our weaknesses. We will have the greatest impact and receive the greatest reward when we stay in our strength zone.”

ing this bridge allows us to begin turning our goals, dreams, and vision into reality. Disci-pline is giving ourselves a command and fol-lowing through with it. We must do the right thing for the right reason at the right time if we are going to be effective.

“If you do what is easy, your life will be hard. But if you do what is hard, your life will be easy.” ~ Les Brown

6. Discipline is the Foundation of GrowthAs we develop discipline, we

begin to grow toward our vision. The more discipline we have the more growth we will achieve. When we take the right steps toward our vision, discipline allows us to convert our sacrifices into growth. Growth is about reaching and stretching. John Max-well often speaks about the Law of the Rubber Band. He says, “People are like rubber bands, we are only adding value when we are being stretched.”

Often, what we are reaching for can only be obtained by letting go of something we have been holding on to.

Growth doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t simply come with age. If it did, all of the older people would be more successful than all of the younger people. That’s just not how it works. We must make a choice to be inten-tional about growth.

I’ll refer back to the fitness example. We do not become fit accidentally. Likewise, we will not grow accidentally. We must develop an intentional growth plan we know will move us toward our vision. You should also know you can change without growing, but you cannot grow without changing.

“Growth is painful. Change is pain-ful. But, nothing is as painful as being stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” ~ Zig Ziglar

7. Growth is the Foundation of ChangeOverall, we will be more effective if we

stay growth oriented instead of goal oriented. That does not mean we do not set goals. Sure we do. We should always set goals that support our continuous growth. Keep in mind, the goal of growth is not change for the sake of change. The goal of growth is positive change. What determines if the change is positive? It keeps moving you closer to your vision.

Where will you see the most benefit when your growth leads

to change? Character growth will always produce the

greatest results because it acts like a multi-plier relative to your competency. You will see the most pos-itive change when you work in areas of weakness relative to your character.

The second area where your growth will

show up is in your com-petency. However, when

working to create positive change relative to your competency, you should

always work in areas of strength where you are naturally gifted. Character will take you most of the way, and competency will take you the rest of the way.

“When we are faced with change, we either step forward into growth or we step backward into safety.” ~ Abraham Maslow

8. Change is the Foundation of SuccessWithout change, there can be no improve-

ment. But beware, just because you change doesn’t mean you will become successful. You must change the right things for the right rea-sons. If you truly want success, don’t focus on becoming successful. Focus first on becoming more valuable. As you become more valuable, you will become more successful. The most valuable people are also the most successful

Significance is not about how far we advance

ourselves but how far we advance

others.

people.If you’ll develop the habits of success,

you’ll make success a habit. Successful people invest time and money to grow and develop themselves because they value themselves and know this truth: life IS hard! So, they take responsibility for making it a little easier.

Success is all about you and what you have achieved.

However, to make a high impact, you must shift your focus to significance which is all about helping others become successful. Significance is not about how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others.

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you be-come a leader, success is all about grow-ing others.” ~ Jack Welch

9. Success is the Foundation of Signifi-cance

High impact leaders do not stop at suc-cess. They hunger for more. Not for them-selves, but for others. They understand success is just a stepping stone along the path toward significance. When I was training leaders in Guatemala with John Maxwell in 2013, I remember John saying, “Once you have tasted significance, nothing else will satisfy you.” That trip to Guatemala was life changing for many of us. We went there to give to others, but we received much more than we gave.

With significance, what started out as a simple vision for your own personal growth has now compounded into a vision to help others achieve and succeed. You no longer have to sacrifice for yourself. You have already succeeded. But, if you want to taste signifi-cance, you now must sacrifice for the benefit of others.

Most won’t do it. But, the few that do will move far beyond success to achieve a life of significance. Those that have achieved signifi-cance will leave a legacy through the success of others.

“You and I live in an age when only a rare minority of individuals desire to spend their lives in pursuit of objectives which are bigger than they are. In our

age, for most people, when they die it will be as though they never lived.” ~ Rusty Rustenbach

10. Significance is the Foundation of Legacy

When you choose a life of significance, your life is no longer just about you and what you have accomplished. It’s far bigger than any one individual. It’s about touching the lives of others in a way that what you leave in them flows into others. When you achieve signif-icance your influence is multiplied through others. Significance is not about you, but it starts with you.

Your legacy will not be defined by what you leave behind for others. It will be defined by what you leave behind within others. What will determine if your vision becomes your leg-acy? It won’t be you. It will be those that felt valued by you. It will be those that were able to allow your influence to pass through them into the lives of others.

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” ~ Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

Notes

1. John C. Maxwell, Developing the Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 25

2. John C. Maxwell, Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 71

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IMPACT LEADERS, click HERE.

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We ask for forgiveness. We extend forgiveness and

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We are in the business of

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Photos by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.comand various employees of ZVRS

We take our work seriously but we don’t

take ourselves seriously - we are willing to laugh at

ourselves

“SEAN FORBES IS THE IMPRESARIO OF THE IMPOSSIBLE” - HOUR DETROIT

“OUTSTANDING HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR” - DETROIT

MUSIC AWARDS“Perfect Imperfection is an incredibly strong album not only in message but in music as well”

- Hellhound Music

“Sean Forbes not only brings something fresh to

the scene, he takes the scene itself to an intrigu-ing, new level” - VIBE “Sean Forbes is

blowing up” - Washington Post

“Forbes may be the most successful deaf rapper in

the world” - SPIN

”FORBES IS THE UNDISPUTED KING OF DEAF HIP-HOP”

- STUFF.CO.NZ”Sean Forbes, a name

that’s famous in the deaf community and known in many hearing households” -Detroit Metro Times

“HIS WORDS BUILD CONFI-

DENCE AND UNDERSTAND-ING IN OTHERS” - cbs PITTS-BURGH

“SEAN FORBES IS THE IMPRESARIO OF THE IMPOSSIBLE” - HOUR DETROIT

“OUTSTANDING HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR” - DETROIT

MUSIC AWARDS“Perfect Imperfection is an incredibly strong album not only in message but in music as well”

- Hellhound Music

“Sean Forbes not only brings something fresh to

the scene, he takes the scene itself to an intrigu-ing, new level” - VIBE “Sean Forbes is

blowing up” - Washington Post

“Forbes may be the most successful deaf rapper in

the world” - SPIN

Sean Forbes is a force to be reckoned with. He’s outspoken. He’s relentless. He’s a one-of-

a-kind rapper and musician who’s making a splash all over the nation. He’s been featured everywhere from CNN to SPIN. And he’s just getting started. We decided to go a different route than that of the traditional interview. We spoke with his wife, his parents, as well as his friends and colleagues in the industry. We complied their thoughts, laughter, and memories to create a 360˚ view of a complex, talented, and deeply ambitious artist.

All photography for this article courtesy of Sean Forbes

A LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF

SEAN FORBES

LEVIN LEVINWarren Snipes, aka WAWA (Rapper): I first met Sean at the Kentucky Deaf festival nearly 10 years ago! I heard about him and saw his vid-eo cover of Fort Minor’s “Where Did You Go?” I found myself saying “ This dude is gonna fly...” Later, he asked me to perform with him in Philly, during the National Registry of Inter-preters for the Deaf (RID) Conference. It was a blast!

Adrean Mangiardi (Video Director): I first saw Sean at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) around 2003 or so at a house party. My first impression of him wasn’t good as he was a bit obnoxious and immature. I didn’t offi-cially meet him until later on, he came over to my apt to hang out with my roommate. I got to know him a little bit that day and from that day forward, we started to hang out more during college through common interests such as music and video. We have been friends for over 10 years.

Jake Bass (Producer): I first met Sean in 2005. He discovered a “beat” CD of mine at the studio he was working at. He asked everyone whose music it was but no one would give him an answer. After weeks of buggin’ every-one in the studio, the A&R finally spilled the truth and told Sean that the music was mine. We met a few days after that and the rest was history...

Joanne Skowzgird, aka JOJO (Wife): Sean and I are college sweethearts. We met at NTID/RIT, had some classes together, and ran in same circle of friends. It wasn’t love at first sight our first year (his second), but after I returned for my 2nd year (his 3rd year) we’ve been at it ever since.

Mark Levin (friend and guitarist): I believe we met around the summer of 2003/2004. He had started dating his wife Jojo, (girlfriend at the time) and she had kept telling me I had to meet him. Jojo and I went to high school together, and she knew I was a musician. I hadn’t really ever met another Deaf musician before (we’re a rare breed). She texted me to tell me they were going out to dinner and they had one extra ticket to Blue man group, so I joined. We met and had an instant con-nection, and immediately bonded over music

and drumming...that and he also spilled a coke all over himself which was pretty funny.

Mangiardi: His strongest personality trait is his will to overcome impossibility. Once I saw that, I became his friend because I too also have a desire to do the same.

Bass: Sean’s strongest personality trait is his work ethic and constant drive for success.

Jojo: Sean is loyal.

Levin: Hrmm...I guess I’d say he’s a work-a-holic. When he gets his mind set on some-thing, he doesn’t relax til it gets done.

Scott Forbes (Father): I think his strongest per-sonality trait is, really, working with people. If you ever talk with people that work with him on the road, he’s very accommodating. And, you know, we hope that he learned that at home

Patti Forbes (Mother): He’s very social.

Mangiardi: I noticed that he had talent through the talent show hosted in RIT. He performed one of the songs using ASL and I thought it was impressive. This talent of his was already in his blood and he became a natural performer, so this was his calling from the get go. There’s no doubt in my mind that he will be a performer as a career.

Bass: I noticed Sean had talent once we began writing our first song together, “I’m Deaf.” It was a natural connection and seeing someone who had such a powerful a message like his, there was no doubt there was future for him in this industry.

Jojo: From the first time I met him, he was always drumming on something, and sharing music with me by signing songs and telling me stories about the musicians themselves. He took me to see his Dad and Uncle’s band, The Forbes Brothers, in concert and signed all of their songs. It was the first time I really enjoyed a concert. I started to get fascinat-ed with how music really connected with peo-ple because he did not just sign it, he added soul to it.

Levin: One of the first times I went out to Detroit was to see him perform, that might’ve

LEVIN LEVIN

He’s constantly looking for ways to push the envelopE as artists should be doing.

SEan’s concert is ideal for everybody. He performs his songs in both ASL and his voice, which is a rarity in this world.

A Sean Forbes con-cert is like nothing else out there. It’s fun, inspiring and LOUD!!!

He has screens behind him with his lyrics appearing on the screen as he vo-calizes and signs it. His timing is always perfect.

It’s scintillating to the senses. You have the visuals with the lyrics and videos, you have Sean rapping and signing along, you have Jake Bass (His producer and keyboardist) on keytar, which isn’t an instrument too many people have seen, you got me on the guitar, and signing along on some songs, and for some of the shows DJ Robbie Wilde. We put out high energy, and are usually sweating by the second song. There’s a lot to look at and see, it’s visually pleasing, it’s loud and it’s inviting.

It’s the story. Sean is very entertaining. For us, it’s just Sean being Sean.

When you watch and you get emotional because his live show is as great as anything I’ve ever seen. The songs are great; they’re very catchy. I mean, his visual show is as good as it gets.

LEVIN

MAN-GIARDI

P.FORBES

BASS

WAWA

SCOTTFORBES

JOJOSEAN

been 2005/6-ish? That same weekend after I first saw him rap and perform, we jammed out, him on drums and me on guitar, and I was quite impressed with his rhythm, it was a fun weekend, and I learned the scope of his talent.

Scott Forbes: I noticed, before he got his drum set, that he did have perfect rhythm. He’d read his mother’s lips a lot when they drove and sing along with her. And, you know, he loves the feel of music. We used to have a lot of musicians come over to the house, like Mitch Ryder. Ryder’s drummer, Johnny B, used to come over and work with him on the drums. He taught him a lot. More than any-thing he taught [Sean] to never let anything hold him back.

P. Forbes: Hearing is so much more than sound; it’s visual, it’s emotional. It’s very internal for Sean. I walked out of a doctor’s office with him one time after a specialist told me that I needed tell my son there would be limitations put on him because he couldn’t hear. And I said, “No, no. If you feel that way, then you’re not the right doctor for him.” I don’t know that Sean ever really struggled

with music. It never stopped him; he always drummed. They were little boys and had a basement garage band called Bloat. Oh, they had a ball!

Wawa: LOL He’s a nut! We’d talk about so many things but mainly it’s music. His love and knowledge of music is like an ocean! The energy just keeps pouring. Kinda addictive, ya know, cuz you wanna keep building that creativity.

Mangiardi: Sean is the same person both on stage and off stage.

Jojo: Sometimes he tells personal stories on stage when I’m there and I just want to crawl into a hole and hide. He always calls me after a show and tells me things that he told the audience, but that’s Sean... he’s an open book and he wants you to know him.

Levin: He gets pretty goofy on stage some-times, but that’s who he really is.

Wawa: He’s a hard worker and very serious about his work. Sometimes we would Face-time and talk ideas til late. We’d advise each other on business, possible collaborations

“...always love that one! He’s positive

without the swear-ing!” - WAWA

“There was a little girl that he was fond of who was 9 years old and she never grew bigger than a baby.

They grew up together and then she died.

That song was written over a long period of

time.”-SCOTT FORBES

“It’s the first video that we created together.

It’s fun to watch and it was the starting point of ‘cool captioning.’”

-MANGIARDI

“He wrote it about us when we were going

through a rough patch. He’s been signing a lot of his new songs to me and I’m really

excited about them. I can connect a certain lyric to a specific time

or memory.”-JOJO

“Other than that his songs are fun and

catchy, I can actually understand the lyrics (usually). Sean makes

his lyrics accessible through ASL and

visually on screens, so I actually know what’s being said, so for once I actually pay attention

to the lyrics.””-LEVIN

HAMMER

CRAZY ABOUT

YOU I’M DEAFDEF

DEAF GIRLS

WATCH THESE HANDS

FAVORITES

“He needs his food. He gets hangry. ha. He’s also a history buff, we definitely enjoy getting to go to museums or visiting historical sites when we tour.” -Levin

“The funny thing about Sean is he made a face to fix his hear-ing aid. And he tends to sit up straight to burp.” -Mangiardi

“Sean gets hangry!!! You must feed him every 4-6 hours or else... Always have a snack ready for him.” -Bass

“He hates clowns. We put some wall paper in his room one time with some clowns on it. It didn’t go over real well.” -Scott Forbes

“Sean loves history. He will watch documentaries about different peo-ple, sports, time eras, etc. Last night we watched a documentary about Fort Knox the gold depository in Ken-tucky... out of all the things we could watch that’s what he picked.... I fell asleep and woke up and he was still watching it holding our daughter.” -Jojo

FYI

FIRST D R U M S ET

MILESTONES

RELEASED “I’M D E A F” M U SIC

RELEASED F IR S T A L B U M

MARRIED JOJO

GETTING SIGNED TO A RECORD LABEL

CO-FOUNDING OF D-PAN

PERFORMING IN L .A . SURPRISED BY STEVIE WONDER

TOURING INTERNATIONALLY

“LET’S MAMBO” M

USIC VIDEO, FEATURING MARLEE MATLIN

HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR AT THE DETROIT MUSIC AWAR

DS

BIRTH OF SEAN’S DAUGHTER QUINNwith other artists, goals, loads of stuff. He cares and really wants to make a difference in the music industry.

Mangiardi: He’s a hard worker and doesn’t give up. His process is “doing it”. He’s the type of person to put things into action.

Levin: He gets into his tasks, get frustrated when he can’t get something done or gets pulled away, he’s devoted to seeing things through.

Jojo: He is a hard worker. He will work at something like a song or a beat for hours and hours, or even a business or technical idea

that he wants

to make happen - you will never meet some-one as passionate as he is, sometimes he doesn’t go to bed until 4am because he has an idea and can’t sleep...if he’s in bed tossing or turning I’ll have to give him a look and he’ll get out of bed and go do his thing.

P. FORBES: I know sometimes he will tell me that he couldn’t sleep because he couldn’t turn his mind off. I think, like a lot of other artists, um, it comes to him at different times

FIRST D R U M S ET

MILESTONES

RELEASED “I’M D E A F” M U SIC

RELEASED F IR S T A L B U M

MARRIED JOJO

GETTING SIGNED TO A RECORD LABEL

CO-FOUNDING OF D-PAN

PERFORMING IN L .A . SURPRISED BY STEVIE WONDER

TOURING INTERNATIONALLY

“LET’S MAMBO” M

USIC VIDEO, FEATURING MARLEE MATLIN

HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR AT THE DETROIT MUSIC AWAR

DS

BIRTH OF SEAN’S DAUGHTER QUINN

and he will be sitting down doing some-thing and he’ll say, “I have to go write

this down.” When it comes to him, it comes to him.

Scott Forbes: You know, a lot of time cranking the bass

up would drive everybody nuts and when he writes

he puts his hands on the table a lot. I think he gets a lot of his ideas from conversations. He takes a line they

say or he reads something in a newspaper and finds a line or,

you know… he just knows

how to do it.

Bass: Sean’s greatest contribution to the

world of music and hip-hop is that he is

literally changing the game like no one else

has done before. Being able to follow your pas-

sion and make a living at it despite any adversities that

one may have is astonishing. If he can do this and be successful at

it, what’s stopping anyone else from doing what they love to do.

Wawa: He’s opening eyes in the music indus-try and hip hop world. Here you see this white kid throwing his hands and making shapes for people to SEE what he’s saying. He’s breaking the myth that the idea that “the deaf do not like music” is set in stone. Guess what? We’re not even done!

Mangiardi: He’s providing accessibility for both deaf and hearing worlds through his songs and his hands. There’s nobody like him and he is considered valuable to many of us.

Jojo: When you see someone like Sean doing what he loves, his goal is to encourage you to do what you love to do.

Levin: There weren’t too many, if any lyric videos out there when “I’m Deaf” came out. It opened eyes, and changed perceptions. He made people conscious that Deaf people do like AND enjoy music.

Scott Forbes: When you hear of Luis Resto, Em-inem’s song writing partner, say, “Yeah…I’ve won an Oscar and have several Grammys but I never created a new genre of music or popu-larized a new genre of music”… Luis Resto is one of his biggest fans, you know, because he gets it. He understands the gravity of it. Some people are like, “Ehh…this is a hip hop artist. This and that. His voice is a little bit different.” But it’s far beyond hip hop because it’s beauti-ful and it’s visual and it’s cool.

Bass: Now we see artists putting out lyric videos left and right and making their music more accessible. There’s no doubt there is a correlation between when this started hap-pening and when Sean first came on to the scene.

Levin: You can’t go on youtube without seeing lyric videos or signed songs anywhere. Also the respect and acknowledgement that Deaf ACTUALLY DO listen to music and enjoy it.

Jojo: People in Detroit love Sean. He gets stopped when we’re out in town by hearing musicians, many who knew his Dad and Un-cle, or who know his story or have seen him on TV. Young hearing kids ask him how they can make it in the music business which is crazy, hearing kids asking a deaf person.

Scott Forbes: I think his voice sometimes is like, for some people, like tasting coffee for the first time when you’re five years old. Whether you’re him or anybody else, you know, that’s gotten to a different level, there are people that are jealous and some people that just hate you. And he addresses that in a really humorous way just by saying “Thank you very much!”

Levin: Deafness is his a huge part of who he is, and that was a theme on many of his early songs. As for where he is now, he’s kinda phased that theme out. The media has largely penned him as a “Deaf” Rapper, and he has a hard time escaping that title - even though

he is a Deaf rapper...he’s a rapper that hap-pens to be Deaf. Not like the media always calls someone a “Black” Rapper, or “White” or “Asian” rapper with every article they pen

Mangiardi: His development as an artist is something that we can never understand. He has his own way of losing himself in his world and finds his way around to create musical art. He evolved through situations that changed him emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Bass: At first he started just as a drummer and then a lyricist. Now he’s writing tracks and bringing a lot more to the table when it comes to recording and his live show.

Jojo: When I met him he was signing songs he grew up on. During road trips with our friends this was a great way of passing time. His stage presence has evolved so much since I saw him, his confidence, and even his signing has improved tremendously. He was timid in the beginning in front of the audi-ence.

Scott Forbes: I was privileged to hear some of this new material that they’re working on, re-cently. It’s almost rock. The newer stuff keeps getting more interesting; keeps getting better and better. They keep evolving.

Mangiardi: Sean’s future is full of opportuni-ties. It’s up to him to seize them.

Levin: His future’s bright, that’s for sure. There’s a lot more music to come. Who knows, maybe he’ll start playing drums on tour too. He’s just getting started, and from everything that I know...he’s not slowing down either.

Scott Forbes: I think Sean will take music as

far as he wants to take it. Then he will be the Senator from Michigan one day. I am not joking.

Jojo: He will always be a musician first, that’s his first love. But I see him expanding that and doing so much more for the deaf communi-ty. He has a fire in him that I’ve seen devel-op and mature especially over the past few years. Now that he’s a dad I’m excited to see what comes next. He always surprises me and

always goes so left field, so if he does something that is so out of the

ordinary, don’t be surprised.

Bass: Sean’s career is just beginning. Just wait.

He’s got a thing or two to show this world. He’s definitely one of a kind. Were all lucky enough to be able to witness it.

Wawa: One day, he’ll be running a label! To

be honest, we’re just scratching the surface. Se-

an’s been pushing the barrier for so long now. There are other

dear rappers/singers out there who can team up and create a nuclear bomb and totally make the world stop in their tracks and focus on the deaf in music. Sean got peeps’ attention and held it. Our foot is in the door...who’s gonna blow it wide open?

“Music is for everybody.”

-Sean Forbes

A different kind of job for those who want more than just a job.

Photo by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.com/

slow or FAST CHANGE?

Leveraging Change In the Workplace

by AMANDA PARKOPERATIONS MANAGER: ASL AND SPOKEN LANGUAGES

Photo by Ken Hermann @ http://www.kenhermann.com

slow or FAST CHANGE?

PART 1: SLOW CHANGEDespite the amount of positive changes

we experience in our lives we often fixate on those that affect us negatively. For instance, it’s rare to hear someone say that they love change, let alone find it easy to accept. De-spite the constancy of change, why is it that we allow ourselves to become:

• angry • afraid• upset • worried• stressed • resistant • defensive • rebellious • emotionally

distressed

and just plain worn out? Some of this has to do with the manner and speed with which change is delivered. Typical-ly, slow, evolutionary changes, are more easily assimilated. In manage-ment, delivering messages in a way that empowers and allows employees time to adjust are key factors in leveraging change successfully. Lengthening the time given for individuals to adjust to the change can lead to a more positive state of acceptance, calm, and a gen-eral reassurance of safety. Then employees are better prepared to ask good questions, sup-port colleagues, embrace change, and move forward.

Slow change is often viewed as non-threatening. Conversely, we often view quick, sweeping, changes as threatening and when we feel threatened we are not able to move forward in a positive way.

An example of slow change is the Japanese practice of Kaizen, which means “change for the better.” However, in the workplace it means more than that. The

focus of Kaizen is on the intentional, well planned, and gradual execution of that change. Kaizen in the workplace is strategic and systematic. In fact, many have taken this practice beyond the workplace, applying it as a personal philosophy in every aspect of their lives. Those seeking Kaizen strive for a high-er standard and desire continuous, gradual improvements.

What happens when we do not meet this standard? Envision a WWII aircraft carrier equipped with threat boards. These large boards helped identify threats to the

ship’s safety and gave a warning to those on board in order to prepare for

enemy fire. We are hardwired with such threat boards.

When we see something as a threat to our safety we trigger that early alarm system and react in a rash of heightened emotions.

As leaders, we must learn to prepare

messages that consider what types of emotions

might be triggered. We should invest the time neces-

sary to talk with our teams about changes prior to implementing them.

We should explain WHY the changes are happening and allow time for questions. We should work toward consensus with our teams, determining whether we are imple-menting change from a position of power or a position of meekness. One definition of meekness is “power restrained.” In other words, just because one holds power does not mean that power should be exercised to the full extent. Instead, one who leads out of meekness restrains that power in order to allow for the growth of others.

  According to Frank Gallimore, the creator and editor of Get a Z Life Maga-zine, “It stands to reason that a truly effective message of change to employees starts with truly listening to them. And real listening can’t be a token act. Real listening is con-sequential, empowering to the speaker, and it leaves room for the employee to create

change as well.” We are accountable to our teams and we demonstrate that by listening, and by inviting them to be proactive agents of change. Our teams are instrumental in supporting the emotional wellbeing of all parities as well as the outcome of the change.

PART 2: FAST CHANGEWhile slow change is clearly prefera-

ble, we don’t always have the luxury of being able to execute change in small degrees. Even as it’s clear that going too quickly without proper messaging can lead to sabotaging emotions and counter-productive behaviors, going too slow can be destructive to compa-ny and team goals. Sometimes fast change, unpredictable and even revolutionary, just happens. Fast change is often emotionally charged, reactionary, and can become violent. It can even have lasting repercussions that alter the course of societies.

Fast, or revolutionary changes occur most often because people are not heard; those in power either ignore or do little more than lip-service to those they should serve. At some juncture, those that have no voice reach a point of no return. Lines are drawn and people take sides. While good leaders will seek ways to mitigate revolutionary changes before it escalates to this point, bad leaders will oftentimes attempt small chang-es after the fact in the hopes of placating dissenters. Unfortunately, these gestures of “good will” will only be viewed as disingen-uous, completely off- base, or too little, too late. Even if those in power do demonstrate genuine efforts towards positive change it can still fail.

Nonetheless, even in a revolution-ary environment, kaizen can happen. Once we are in the midst of the fallout from fast change, we must remember that our response greatly affects the experience of the people affected. Take, for example, the words of Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdi-nand Steuben during the American Revolu-tionary War. Here is someone who tried to respond to fast change in a proactive manner. Baron von Steuben was born in Prussia and became a Major General of the Continen-

tal Army. He noticed that his troops were untrained, living in filthy conditions, and recognized that they would fail if he did not do something fast. He immediately began teaching them military drills, tactics, and became a disciplinarian. However, he did not “rule” by using fear. Those in his command would often ask “why” something was done. He recognized that if he wanted an order to be obeyed he better supply an answer and explain the reasoning behind it--and it better be a good reason! When this was provided, the soldier would obey. In his own words,

“The genius of the nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. You say to your soldiers, ‘Do this’ and he doeth it; but I am obliged to say ‘this is the reason why you ought to do that,’ and then he does it.”*

Here the Baron is referring to one of the quintessentially American characteristics that we might trace to the Revolutionary War, namely a general dislike of hierarchies and our overpowering desire to ask WHY. Given how ingrained this is in our culture, it’s a wonder how many businesses are run using antiquated hierarchical systems where such questioning is never tolerated. The Baron knew he could not sit back and order others. He knew he had to establish a sense of pride, create better working conditions, develop consistent practices, allow questions, and provide solid answers. He also had to break down hierarchical systems and build empowered teams. He led with boldness. When we fail to do the same, we sow the seeds for the wrong kind of revolution before we begin.

Allowing people to have a voice takes time but inspires teams to do their best work. If you’re having trouble introducing change in your workplace, consider relinquishing some of your power, listen, and allow your employees to effect some needed changes. You may find that by empowering them, they will in turn empower you to effect the bigger changes needed for the long term health of your team.

*cited from a letter to a Prussian officer.

Photo by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.com/

GET A LIFE.COM

Help People. Make Friends. Have Fun.

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who pre-fer listening to speak-ing; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to intro-verts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

At just a few months old, Zoe was gradually losing her hearing. Her adoptive par-ents loved her—yet agonized—feel-ing they couldn’t handle raising a Deaf child. Would Zoe go back into the welfare sys-tem and spend her childhood hoping to find parents willing to adopt her? Or, would she be the long-sought answer to a moth-er’s prayers?

By turns heart-tugging and hilarious, Myron Uhlberg’s memoir tells the story of growing up as the hearing son of deaf parents—and his life in a world that he found unaccount-ably beautiful, even as he longed to escape it.

Recommendedeading

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” - Oscar Wilde

“Self Taught”© by Matias Sierra @ matiassierra.net

ecommendedeading

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” - Oscar Wilde

Author of the best-selling book QBQ! The Question Be-hind the Question, John G. Miller now takes readers to the next level to show how they can use the power of the QBQ! and personal accountability every day. With compel-ling real-life stories and keen insights, Miller demonstrates how anyone can find success and satisfaction by “flip-ping the switch.”

WWW.GETAZLIFE.COM

We learn from other leaders and are

always working to improve our leadership - we never stop

learning and growing.

We use inclusive communication

in several forms to communicate with our teams

and colleagues.

We have no sacred cows and are always

looking at ways to improve. We act with integrity and

accountability.

We know that change brings

growth and makes us stronger as a team - we eat

challenge for breakfast.

Photos by Ezra Moore @ http://sidewalkandthesea.comand various employees of ZVRS

We don’t always know the way - but we are always willing to go

together and find it.

STANDING OUTZ AMBASSADORS:

Out of numerous books on leadership, I came across one that resonates closely with the role of ZVRS’s Ambassa-

dors.

Robert Galford is the coauthor of three books on business. His most recent book, written with Regina Fazio Maruca, was published in 2006, entitled Your Leadership Legacy.

Galford presents six categories of leadership roles in which people can now think about their legacy. He explains that not everyone can be all of them, and shouldn’t try to be something they’re not. He also suggests that beginning to think about your legacy now will make you a better leader today.

Your leadership legacy has very little to do with your abilities, your measurable perfor-mance, or your strategic savvy. It has every-thing to do with who you are, as a person, at work. It has everything to do with your natural role, as opposed to your title and responsibilities.

Here are Galford’s Six Roles of Leadership: • Ambassador

• Advocate

• People Mover

• Truth Seeker

• Creative Builder

STANDING OUT• Experienced Guide

For our purposes, let’s focus on the Ambas-sador leadership role.

Ambassadors instinctively know how to handle a variety of situations with grace. They tend to be the people diffusing nasty situations — the ones getting involved in conflicts on behalf of broad constituencies, rather than for their own benefit. They are apt to be persistent in a gentle way — to be persuasive and at the same time respectful.

In addition, an article written by Patrick Bassett*, a former president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), expands on Ambassadorship as a leader-

ship style that is now popular in leadership studies as it emerges in the corporate world. This concept stemmed from a Japanese team management approach, as well as a study of women’s social structures. In this model, an ambassador immediately connects with the audience with a style that is personal and personable. Clearly, if building trust and empowering others were the essence of one’s preferences in a leader, one would choose to follow the role of the Ambassador.

Let’s meet two of our Z Ambassadors who are personable and capable of handling a variety of situations with grace.

*http://www.nais.org/Articles/Pages/Leadership-Styles-145371.aspx

“I encourage current leaders to have a mentor.

It helps grow leadership capital in the community.”

Photo courtesy of Paul Robertson

hails from Tennessee. He joined ZVRS in 2007. Rob-ertson is cur-rently serving his third term

as the president of the Tennessee Associa-tion of the Deaf (TAD). Paul explained that his first two consecutive terms (2003-2005, and 2005-2007) focused on financial recov-ery and building a strong membership base. Robertson was instrumental in establishing the Deaf Tennessean Expo in 2005-2007, and he successfully recruited 5 TAD mem-bers to attend the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference in 2006. He then recruited 7 more TAD members for the 2008 conference. This involvement helped to secure the 2012 NAD conference site in Louisville, Kentucky.

Currently, the TAD has a strong mem-bership base, and Robertson is focused on pushing two kinds of bills on interpreting licensure for educational interpreters and freelance interpreters. Paul is also pushing the Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights!

PAUL ROBERTSON

INTERVIEW

Do you define yourself as a leader?

Leadership means learning about people, about their strengths and weaknesses. A leader can work with people to come up with solutions. I don’t consider myself a born leader. I wasn’t a leader until my community perceived me as one.

Why did the community perceive you as a leader?

I asked them that and I learned that it has to do with how I get along with people. I’m open and I listen their con-cerns. Being a leader always comes with challenges.

How did ZVRS help you as a leader, and how did your community leadership experience help ZVRS?

ZVRS provided me with tools to persuade my community in choices of video relay services and products. They helped me explain communication access to my community, to provide information about the FCC, and to help them not be fearful in choosing which video relay services they can use.

Being TAD president helped me understand how custom-ers think and act. Having this kind of experience benefits me in that it helps me improve ZVRS’ customer relations skills with the community.

Do you have advice for future potential leaders?

I encourage current leaders to have a mentor. It helps grow leadership capital in the community. Furthermore, failure is not an option, but be open to mistakes. Be adaptive. Work-ing with ZVRS has helped me to be more adaptive and accept changes with ease. I’ve noticed several former ZVRS employees have moved upwards into different leadership positions across the nation.

How do you describe yourself ?

I’m the kind of person who believes you must be yourself.

INTERVIEW

“No one can do everything. Always include people.

Don’t be afraid. Just be involved. “

Photo courtesy of Lori Krakora

started working with ZVRS since 2010. Krakora is from Illinois and she actively holds five different lead-ership roles simul-

taneously!

Krakora is the President of the John Hersey School Deaf Alumni Association. She re-cently hosted a huge reunion of over 100 alumni of the John Hersey School, plus other two high school programs. She is also responsible for hosting the “Duppies” event every month, a tradition that began in the 1980’s for Deaf Yuppies, the name being a deviation of “Yuppies” by changing the letter “Y” to a “D”.

Krakora is very savvy with social media. She handles public relations work with the Illi-nois Association of the Deaf (IAD) by man-aging their Facebook and YouTube accounts, the goal being to help improve communi-cations with IAD members and the com-munity. The Governor of Illinois appointed Krakora as one of nine commissioners for the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Com-mission (IDHHC). She attends quarterly business meetings overseeing IDHHC’s service to all deaf and hard of hearing people in Illinois.

Last but not least, Krakora is currently the acting President of the Chicago chapter of IAD. She says proudly that all of her roles are voluntary, and she loves to give back to the community.

L0RI KRAKORA

To shape your own leadership legacy, reflect on how other leaders, such as Robertson or Kra-kora, have influenced you. Those memories hold your legacy’s theme: the way you transmit your traits and values through your work as an ambassador--and most of all, your role within the community as a leader. Be the best ambassador you can be!

Do you define yourself as a leader?

I don’t “seek” leadership roles. I’m doing my part to improve the qual-ity of life within the Deaf community, and bring them up to the next level. I want to give the community knowledge of their existing re-sources in Illinois. There is no ego in leadership.

Why did the community perceive you as a leader?

I walk the talk, and not talk the talk. It is not about “showing off.”

How did ZVRS help you as a leader, and how did your community leadership experience help ZVRS?

ZVRS helped me develop tolerance while dealing with different situ-ations. I learned to be more open to different possibilities and creative in solving problems.

When I meet my customers, I love hearing their life stories and being able to reach out to people by actually listen to them. That helped me to deal with different people who are ZVRS customers and Illinois Deaf community members.

Remember that it’s not about me, it is to focus on them, who are cus-tomers and community members.

Do you have advice for future potential leaders?

I believe that talk is nothing and there is nothing being accomplished by talking…Just do it, don’t wait for someone to take this role. Just go ahead and do it.

How do you describe yourself ?

I am me! What you see, is that you get!

Do you have any last thoughts?

I want to share that being a leader is all about teamwork. Do what you can to make a contribution to the team. You will never know what one person has to offer: make sure to bring this person to the team. It will be outstanding! No one can do everything. Always include people. Don’t be afraid. Just be involved.

It is important to approach these issues through discussion and seek for solutions, instead of dwelling on being negative or fighting against the organization.

KATIE BAYSin memoriam

KATIE BAYS“Knowing all of you and working with you has made my life richer, and I don’t think that you realize just how very fond of you I have become...Never have I worked in such a caring, supportive environment, and never have I been as grateful for people as I am for you. So, consider yourselves hugged and kissed and know that this interpreter considers you priceless.”

1959-2015

fin

QUESTIONS & COMMENTSto find out more about magaZine

its host site GETAZLIFE.COM contact us at http://www.getazlife.com/contact-us or click on the INTERPRETERS tab for informaton

on jobs and education

•COVER - Photograph by Ken Hermannhttp://www.kenhermann.com

•pg 8 - Unless otherwise stated, the photography for this article courtesy of Scot Lerner at Orlando Headshots. Lerner

can be contacted at 407.925.6235, or through his website at

orlandoheadshots.com

•pg 8 - Malia Johnson is a proud owner of Deaf Talk LLC Interpreting services in Orlando, FL. She received her Bachelor’s degree

in Business Management in 2008 and has been operating Deaf Talk

LLC ever since. She has conducted numerous workshops and

training sessions for sign language interpreters and

deaf language mentors nationwide.

•pg 16 - John G. Miller, founder of QBQ, Inc. and author

of several books, was born in 1958 in

Ithaca, N. Y. Throughout a decade of selling and

facilitating training to and with executives and middle

managers, he discovered the incredible

need for personal accountability. In 1995, he chose to become a keynote speaker, titling his

sessions “Personal Accountability and the

QBQ!”—even though some people told him that

“personal accountability isn’t a topic”!

His speaking career took off and John soon began writing books, gaining the new title “author.”

In late 1997, the Millers left Minnesota for Denver, Colorado, where the sun shines over 300 days

each year! They have seven children ages 15 to 31 … six girls and one son!

As John likes to say, they achieved four “the homemade way” and in 2000 gained three through adoption. They also have five grandchildren.

creditsJohn and Karen have recently written Parenting the QBQ Way.

Reach John by email at John@QBQ.com. He responds to every email he gets!

•pg 20 - Kristen Brown: “In a nutshell, I’m a Work/Life Strategy Expert, Integral Theorist (the art & science of multiple perspectives), Keynote Speaker, Corporate Trainer, Business Consultant, Podcast Host, Bestselling Author and Widow Mom. I help organizations and individuals create work/life harmony, productivity and success in their personal and professional lives. You want to be happier at work, have less stress, go after a big goal? I’m your power-source to help you discover your right path using my interactive and inspiring expertise, tools and message.”

•pg 26 - Diana Walsh O’Toole has worked in video relay call centers since 2002, and continues to love her career as a Sign Language Interpreter as much now as when she started in 1993. When taking a break from her work in the Colorado Springs ZVRS Center, Diana can be found hiking Colorado’s 14,000+ foot high mountains or ticking items off her bucket list, including visiting the Parthenon in Athens, Greece and climbing 19,341 foot tall Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.

•pg 36 - Mack Story: His story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

John C. Maxwell is one of the world’s most recognized leadership experts. He has written over 75 books and has trained others in many countries worldwide. Mack’s experience with the

John Maxwell Team includes teaching, speaking, coaching, and an international training event in Guatemala as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala. Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth.

•pg 46 - Sean Forbes is an American deaf rapper who released his debut album called Perfection Imperfection in 2012. He became deaf from spinal meningitis when he was a baby. He started writing songs and playing guitar at 10 years old. He is now the co-founder of D-PAN, The Deaf Professional Arts Network. Special thanks goes to Scott, Patti,

and Jojo Forbes, as well as Warren “Wawa” Snipes, Mark Levin, Jake Bass, and Adrean Mangiardi for their help in forming this 360 retrospective of Sean’s career.

•pg 56 - Amanda Park has been an ASL interpreter for 25 years. She has been with Z for almost 8 years and in the VRS industry for 11 years. She has recently joined Stratus Video. She considers herself a lifetime leadership student and is loving the journey.

•pg 62 - The photo and sculpture entitled “Self Taught” are by sculptor Matias Sierra: “The sculpture ideas are born from personal experiences or only are there, turning in my imagination, they are born at a tranquil moment or underground journey. Is found the tip of an idea, pull it and model it in my head to capture it on a piece of clay.” You can find more wonderful pieces at http://matiassierra.net

•pg 66 - Many thanks to Amy Cohen Efron, Paul Robertson and Lori Krakora for lending us their time and thoughts to create this perspective on Ambassador Leadership.

•pg 72 - Many thanks to the Austin, Texas center for their overflowing love and support of Katie Bays and her family. She is dearly missed!

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