“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” - Edith Wharton

What is inspiration?

What comes to mind when you encounter the word?

Here's my list: breathing, green, expanding energy, envisioning, joyful clarity, impulse to act...

Who has inspired you? Is it a long list? What does inspire you most?

Ordinary people transformed by confronting extraordinary circumstances, sometimes sacrificing their lives on behalf of others, inspire me.

What inspires me most is the beauty of a life lived with purpose, in service of a passion or an ideal that transforms those who witness it or share it. Such lives fill with significant moments and gestures that evidence the person's burning sense of purpose.

• Five martyrs I knew who understood what life required of them and died to protect thousands of others inspire me to help others come alive, engage fully and create. They died on July 4, 1976. The quote by Edith Warton above is on their dining room’s wall to this day.

• Professional athletes whom I've helped erase doubts and limitations to become champions inspire me to accept challenges and learn from them.

• High achievers in business whom I've helped discover new meaning and significance in their work inspire me to persevere and seek a larger platform to help more people grow.

• Artists who commit fully to their craft and live with an open heart inspire me to continue viewing myself as art and media.

Have you ever wondered how do you inspire others?

Do people tell you how you inspire them?

When I was coaching professional tennis players, it was fascinating to witness how fans would thank them for influencing their lives. The champions' struggle and success inspired people to overcome their own limitations. The positive energy that the athletes emanate and their determination are cues on what we need to do to survive and thrive.

Over the years, executive clients have told me: "You didn't just give advice me, you changed my life" or "It was more than the process, you helped me realize my extraordinary potential." Knowing that I'm able to inspire people to "go beyond personal best" to expand their horizons is immensely satisfying.

More importantly, I want them to understand that we all have the capacity to transform others while we transform ourselves, intentionally or not. It's what Buckminster Fuller called "the Processional Effect," the effect of bodies in motion on other bodies in motion, like the Earth's gravitational influence on planets, or the ripples caused by a stone on water, or the bees pollinating flowers with the touch of their legs. As we move forward in life doing what we are doing, we inspire others by our words, gestures and acts. We leave an imprint that can cause ripples and make an impact.

INSPIRE - a sign you are moving forward

When you commit to design your Breakthrough, you envision a goal or achievement that's beyond your current capacity, which will pull you towards it and help you identify the stepping-stones to obtain it (the IMAGINE stage).

You are now in a transformation process (the IMPROVE stage), in which you learn, train, improve your habits and gradually succeed. What seemed impossible is now feasible and you reap the rewards for the time and effort you invested.

People watch you transform and are both intrigued and attracted by your energy, they want what you have, they want to be like you, or they want to associate with you. New opportunities, job offers, investment and alliances appear before you. People ask you for advice and want "to pick your brain." You are now entering the INSPIRE stage. Now is when you might get hints of your Processional Effect.

As we inspire, we lead.

There is no need for grand gestures to inspire others. We can be the change we want to see in the world - every day - with positive actions. Empathy, a kind glance, deep listening, sharing the right word at the right time, random kindness, purposeful deeds, volunteering and many other contributions are profound ways of inspiring and showing how ordinary people doing ordinary things can also be extraordinary.

My favorite poem, "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye, describes the beauty and the power of the ordinary:

"I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do."

With positive and inspiring actions, we affirm our identity, our purpose and define how we need to be to be better together; we help define the essence of our society.

• How do you manifest your power to inspire?

• What's your impact?

• Why would anyone would be compelled to follow you or support your ideas?

Inspiring leaders recruit others to create a shared, compelling Vision and train them for living their new identity.

Inspiring leaders resonate.

Their actions, their personal story, their values and their ideals invite others to believe what they believe. They recruit by proposition rather than imposition, inviting others to dream, design, do and deliver breakthrough achievements.

It's easy to praise iconic individuals who have transformed the world. The challenge is to realize how everyday heroes such as small business owners, teachers, coaches, public servants, former inmates, artists, homemakers and even children manage to inspire and shift paradigms, never mind the scale.

Inspiring through Experiences - Timothy Miron

An inspiring leader whom I’ve observed up-close since 2010 is Timothy Miron, the Catering Director of The Ritz Carlton Charlotte, where I organize TheSircle Executive Club dinners. We met when I decided to organize the Richard Saul Wurman talks at their ballroom, followed by a sponsored private dinner. All along, Tim was supportive and clear about the requirements to be successful. He invited me for lunch often, attended TheSircle dinners and spoke at one of them. He’s one of the most well connected people in Charlotte, as he ran the prestigious Duke Mansion prior to his appointment to The Ritz’s post, where he’s been since they opened their doors.

Through our conversations, I learned that Tim has loyal friends and has built endearing relationships with every segment of society. He’s also devoted his time to teach at a culinary school for underprivileged youth, as well as Hospitality courses at universities. I’ve quizzed him often about the legendary Ritz Carlton management system and he’s told me about the famous 16-point cards and regular meetings with staff. Yet, I could sense his pride when talking about the young people in his staff who had rough starts in life but were now competent professionals (“ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen”).

When I asked Tim about his inspiring leadership approach, his answer was, “I love being around people and I always enjoy listening to the stories they tell. I have many friends and love to be amongst them. Being one of seven children (number 6 out of the 7), I grew up sharing everything. I rarely had anything that was my own so I learned how to give and take early in life. I love working with younger people and I like listening to their aspirations and where they want to go in life.

I encourage them to pursue their dreams, explaining that, indeed, they will make mistakes and have setbacks but they can and must keep pushing forward. I share with them that they must never give up and use Thomas Edison as my reason. If Thomas Edison had given up, we would not have lights. I encourage them to find a good mentor who will guide them and help them make solid decisions. I also share that they should never tie themselves to someone else's wagon. My example is: You have a boss you love working with and trust very much. She/he moves to Minneapolis and wants you to join them there as well. Before you decide to do that, you should consider what would happen if after two weeks that person has found out they don't like Minneapolis and moves on; you might be stuck in Minneapolis. Better to follow your own dream.”

Tim has also been the protector of TheSircle by ensuring that I could deliver extraordinary experiences at The Ritz Carlton in every one of my dinners, talks, workshops and client meetings. His catering staff has developed a relationship with me and they’ve written me Thank You notes before I had a chance to thank them. They know my purpose, they understand my audience, and Tim’s quality control is everywhere, including the follow-up email asking if everything was satisfactory. Tim is a relationship builder; he understands the long-term value of connecting with the client and developing a friendship through excellent service. He inspires others to get out of their comfort zone and enjoy becoming solutions’ designers.

Inspiring through Possibilities: The Bucciero Family

Carlo Bucciero, a successful Italian advertising company owner based in Torino and Milan, decided to sell his business in the late ‘80s and find a way for his family to work together. His portfolio of business contacts included major brands sponsoring Italian football and other sports.

Since his son and two daughters played tennis, he purchased Le Pleiadi Tennis Club in Moncalieri, a few miles south of Torino. It would be a privately owned club, with a different business model than the traditional non-profit, civil associations managed by members’ committees.

The facility included indoor and outdoor courts, as well as an indoor swimming pool, a gym and a restaurant. Carlo applied his vast experience in branding to furnish the new club with some of the best coaches, who taught the most effective systems for individuals and groups. Their distinguished logo became recognizable throughout Italy, and their players’ victories at tournaments generated valuable word-of-mouth advertising.

The club was managed by Carlo’s children Massimo, Francesca and Alberta, and their supporting staff. They laid out an ambitious development plan that put Torino and the Piemonte region on the map, including a complete junior talent program, tournaments, the first ATP Legends event, as well as several ATP and WTA tournaments. Their crowning glory was winning the European Clubs Championship, a confirmation of the power of the Buccieros’ vision.

When Dr. Jim Loehr and I lectured at Le Pleiadi during our second European Tour, the quality of their promotional materials and their careful implementation of the event impressed me. During that visit, we coached the Italian Davis Cup Team captained by Riccardo Piatti and composed by Omar Camporese, Christiano Caratti and Renzo Furlan. We returned the following year for another productive session with Piatti and the team, which included more Italian young talents.

I learned that the Bucciero family had rented apartments in new buildings facing the club, where they were hosting refugees from the Yugoslav wars that started in 1991. The children received tennis coaching and schooling, financed by the club. One of them was Ivan Ljubicic, who joined them in 1993 and became #3 in the ATP Rankings, as well as Davis Cup Champion with Croatia in 2005. After retiring, he coached Milos Raonic and now Roger Federer. He publicly acknowledges that the Buccieros support changed his life.

Massimo and I became close friends. He introduced me to his large circle of friends, representative of the Italian industrial and entrepreneurial north, such as the Lancia family, founders of the prestigious car company bearing their name. There have been many memorable experiences, especially those in which “The Magician” Marco Berry (a star in the national TV program “Le Iene”) performed impromptu tricks while we were having dinner at restaurants, amazing everyone present. When I lived in England, I tried to fly to Torino as often as possible so I could laugh through an entire weekend with them and return to Southampton reborn. Massimo’s spirit is indomitable, iconoclastic and superbly comedic; a never-ending joy.

I returned to Torino almost every year, offering Mental Training clinics for their best juniors and later training professional players. During each visit, I witnessed the Bucciero family’s entrepreneurial fervor at work, focusing on developing complete athletes in a healthy environment and treating members as friends. Carlo’s vision became reality, as the family worked together, later including their adopted brother Ahmed Mursal from Somalia as a manager. They created possibilities for several generations of Italian tennis players since the ‘80s and raised the level of their aspirations. Many champions who became professional players owe a debt of gratitude to the launching platform they found at Le Pleiadi, as well as the coaches they hired, who always impressed me because of their knowledge, dedication, sense of humor and humanity.

Massimo has evolved into a superb international promoter, having managed the Nike Junior Tour for many years with remarkable success. He has also coordinated Nike’s relationship with top tennis players and with football clubs Juventus and Torino, in addition to negotiating deals with Rafael Nadal and L’Oreal. He has a long list of successful sponsorship deals with tournaments, resorts, consumer brands and he organized the Sensation mega-party in 2013 in Bologna at the basketball stadium.

One of his most extraordinary accomplishments was the organization of The White Nights during the Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006, gathering a million people in the streets. The success of the first party prompted the city’s Mayor to ask Massimo to organize another one, also gathering a massive attendance.

According to the Olympics’ website, Torino reinvented itself by being innovative; it was the first European-based Winter Games to adopt a city/mountain hosting model. Ice-based sports were staged in the metropolitan center, with snow-based events in the mountain regions. The unity of the Olympic territory made it possible to position the region’s image as more of an international tourist destination, and Massimo played a central role in the process.

I’ve seen Carlo and Massimo inspire hundreds of young players and their parents through their generosity, their consistency and their transparency. They demonstrated their confidence in their model when the 2009 global financial crisis forced them to reduce their footprint to remain operational. With less tennis courts and no restaurant, they continued to produce winning players and teams, always attracting certified coaches with solid results.

The Bucciero family behaves with elegance, ease, directness and empathy. People trust them. Everyone knows that they are purpose-driven tennis lovers and promoters who put family values first. They designed their success from the start, based on the inspiring premise of “Yes, you can.” They dared to question the status quo and crafted solutions never attempted before, investing their own money to demonstrate their commitment. They see the glass full and a half, always. Their most important reward is the gratitude of all the players and coaches they helped along the way.

Massimo and I continue to collaborate in the development of large projects within Europe related to sports events and sport technology. We plan to continue inspiring new generations by creating theaters of purpose where they can design their Breakthrough opportunities and expand their possibilities to leave a legacy as the Buccieros do.

Inspiring through Innovation: The Loccioni Play Factory

When I organized the first International Sircle in collaboration and hosted Sabrina Dubbini of the Istituto Adriano Olivetti in Ancona, Italy in 2012, she kindly arranged a visit to the Loccioni factory, located nearby in Angeli di Rosora. Sabrina rightly thought that the company would be the best example of Breakthrough thinking, embodied by a family who has seen the glass as full and a half since they started operating from a barn. They now have bases in the USA, Germany, China, Japan and India.

In 1968, Enrico Loccioni and Graziella Rebichini (deceased) established the company, envisioning it as a model of civil enterprise, oriented towards the values of trust, friendship and beauty. Their personalities represented two souls of it: the most innovative and the most concrete one. Their fundamental values involved putting the customer at the center, building trust, growing new knowledge, social and environmental commitment and, first of all, attention to the people.

Their manifesto shows that their focus is on projects rather than on products, because every project is an adventure that integrates ideas, people and technologies. “We work for the wellbeing of people and the planet. Profit is instrumental to share culture, wealth and innovation with the territory. To take care of the future.”

My friend Alejandro Rossi (international investor and CEO, former J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs investment banker) and I were welcomed by Sabrina’s husband, Renzo Libenzi, and top executives. They invited us to participate in their intriguing welcoming ritual: to throw a rubber ball into a small water pool besides a wide screen reading “Play Factory.” The screen provides real-time measurements of the “waves” created by your throw.

The ritual is a wonderful metaphor for "projection," created by Japanese designer Isao Hosoe and instantly exemplifies the values innovating through creative thinking and play. The waves in the water project outward to the future and return towards the thrower. Must be fate, but I got the higher possible score... I'm all about "projection," indeed...

The Play Factory is a new way of thinking and communicating the work philosophy out of the material and physical aspects of workplaces, becoming the full expression of personality and possibility to create relations with the people. Play Factory was born from the collaboration of Isao Hosoe with the idea of promoting and diffusing this creative culture. We saw a library of publications that tout the achievements and benefits of Loccioni’s collaborations in community with a vast number of enterprises. At the core, these elements identify their Humanism.

The next step was joining one of their trainers to engage in a few rounds of “Play 40,” a game designed by Isao Hosoe based on two packs of 40 cards. One pack has a word and a picture, and the other the same words and a short comment on the word and picture: a tip, more detail or maybe a new approach to explore. In addition, it has four blank cards. The game is not like traditional western playing cards. It does not require rational thought, calculations or risk. It is a game of association using pictures, words and concepts. These cards serve to play with ideas and create new ones. There are three main ways of playing. You can start with the game called Alaya. This way you can familiarize yourself with the cards, words and pictures. Then move on to Play, which encourages an exchange of ideas. After this, you should be ready for Trickster, where you associate ideas using your creativity. The blank cards are an encouragement to invent new games.

The eye-opening visit to the factory floor and the grounds helped me understand how an excellent organization centers on innovation, sustainability and social engagement, while excelling at its core business: the measurement of high precision instruments. They develop measurements and control systems to help manufacturers perform at their best, saving time and money while respecting human safety and the natural environment.

They serve industries such as transportation, energy, manufacturing and health (Ferrari and Boeing are among their clients). The floor plan is open and shows multiple workstations where teams can collaborate and perform their tasks according on schedule. You can see the entire factory floor from an upper floor, demonstrating the value of an inside/outside perspective for all team players.

Loccioni is a knowledge-based company where everyone is an entrepreneur and uses his/her talent to develop business from within. The organization is horizontal and the relationships rely on trust rather than hierarchy. Knowledge workers grow by developing their competences, know-how, leadership and communication skills. School and work are connected. The company itself is a school of competencies. It fosters people to develop new skills and make their dreams come true.

Through the visit, we saw high school students from the region walk around the factory and participating in engineering and sustainability projects. One of them is the centralized monitoring of the plant’s energy flow, some of it generated through hydraulic energy from the nearby river. The goal is to stay “green” within the highest range possible.

We were offered a wonderful lunch al fresco with the founder Enrico Loccioni, his son Claudio and his daughter Maria Cristina. I had met her before at the Istituto Adriano Olivetti when she attended two of my talks on Peak Performance Training for Leaders. Claudio participated as a speaker during the International Sircle, contributing his experiences in expanding the company’s collaboration with young innovators in India and China on the medical field with breakthrough results.

As we were standing under the shade of their magnificent trees and accompanied by wandering peacocks, we were overlooking a river. We were told that they used to have unexpected and historical floods and that the employees themselves designed a way to redirect a portion of the river so the factory would be spared and the region would benefit with its irrigation as well.

At the end of our visit, we went to a custom-built house, fully sustainable and fueled by green energy, which Loccioni uses as a model to inspire builders and politicians to expand the concept within the Marche Region. Every aspect of the house reduces its carbon footprint and provides the highest ecological benefit to the owner and their neighbors.

In 2015, founder Enrico Loccioni was honored with the “Cavaliere del Lavoro” distinction in Rome (Knight of the Order of Merit for Labor) for his enormous contributions to innovation, industry and sustainability with global impact. The Order of Merit for Labor was founded as a national order of chivalry in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy; it is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and commerce, crafts, lending and insurance. The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic.

Inspiring by Seeing with the Heart: Klaus Regnault

Klaus Regnault and I met in Germany in early 1987 during one of my teaching tours with Dennis Van der Meer. He wanted to specialize in Mental Toughness Training and supported my plans to bring Dr. Jim Loehr to Europe. Klaus boldly agreed to become a Germany organizer and host me at his home in Dusseldorf for eight months.

The entrepreneurial experience was marked by ups-and-downs (we were selling a new service developed in the United States to an unaware market at a time when Boris Becker was filling German tennis with pride), yet it ultimately paid off as brand positioning, networking and the recognition of Klaus’ expert role as mental training coach. The relationships built over that period became his new capital, which he nurtured “through the heart” as it’s his style.

Most importantly, we became close friends and I’ll always be grateful for pointing out “the way of the heart” to me when I was most focused solely on achievement to escape my perennial survival mode. Klaus introduced me to the many wonderful culinary, artistic, historic and nature experiences of Germany. We traveled together by car and train to “evangelize” the German tennis market and persuaded influencers to send attendees to our courses. I went with him to tournaments, conferences, dinners and parties in which I met interesting executives and entrepreneurs and got a glimpse of their way of doing business.

After the Loehr European Tours, Klaus and I shared meetings with common friends in tennis from England, Spain, Austria and Italy. He also joined me at the Nobels Colloquia in Venice, where we met Nobel Laureates in Economics and prestigious professors, expanding our horizons and our capacity to absorb new concepts. Over the last two decades, Klaus has worked with owners of renowned brands as private clients, as well as top athletes from a variety of sports. He became a Buddhist and he funded English courses for the Maasai tribes in Tanzania, spending time with them for months at a time.

Our last meeting was in Italy at The International Sircle event in Ancona, and afterwards he decided to move to New Zealand and marry a German woman whom he had met in school. When I asked him for his perspective as in inspiring advisor to executives and athletes, he sent me the following:

“As a coach for peak performance and communication, values such as connectivity, growth, balance, elegance, friendship and love are very important to me. In this context it is very obvious to me I could have never been able to grow without the love of my dear friends and family. They know me and they are more than happy to let me know if I get disconnected to my values. They also keep me challenged on a mind level.

My new home New Zealand with its kind and caring people and the stunning nature are giving me almost everything I need of my environment. Diversity is my universe. There is space for all of us, if we are ready to give and take.

As far as influences, my father was having a major impact on my life. I will not forget all the night through discussions about philosophy. My parents made sure that my roots are deeply connected to earth. My Buddhist friends taught me to see with my heart. My African friends taught me that you got everything you need to be happy. Hans Eckner taught me to stay humble. Dennis Van Der Meer taught me about the power of vision and passion. Dr. James E. Loehr taught me the art of peak performance and the power of living what you preach. All the athletes and coachees I was honored to coach in the world of business helped me to grow myself. I am so grateful for this opportunity. Prof. Fritz Simon opened the world of systemic coaching for me which is now such an important part of my life.

My mission in life is to let others grow and grow by yourself. My advice to others is to live a life you want to tell your grandkids about and one they love to listen to.”

Klaus Regnault used his ability to inspire young talents on the tennis court to achieve peak performance to philanthropic educational programs in Tanzania for the Maasai, blending the lessons learned to inspire corporate executives on how to give significance to their work beyond their daily schedules. His relationship with European CEOs had a similar impact, by stretching their imagination through the question: “What’s the next dimension of your quest? Who else might benefit from your success?” Their answers helped them see and act with their heart.

Inspiring through Pride: Creating Something Special Together

I’ve known Michael Strepp since 1988, when I lived in Dusseldorf, Germany for eight months setting up Dr. Jim Loehr’s first European Speaking Tour. Klaus Regnault introduced us and we played tennis often.

Since then, Michael has become an extraordinarily successful entrepreneur, as Managing Partner of PowerPrinting GmbH, a company he built from scratch with his father. They specialize in corporate printing services and digital media, staying ahead of the curve and managing a tight-knit, loyal team of specialists in the midst of a highly competitive market. He has diversified into behavioral software for sports performance, restaurant investments and supports regional sports.

Michael inspires his team through Pride, fueling High Positive Energy into their working lives. As a solid tennis competitor, he knows the difference between giving up and facing the challenge to conquer it. From the start of his company, he has focused on instilling a sense of responsibility and accountability for a job well done, instead of a laissez-faire, just-do-the-job attitude. In managing high-speed printing and digital services for some of the largest German corporations, responsiveness is everything, so Michael set to create a culture around it and use it as a competitive advantage. As a result, he’s a major player in a region where one third of Germans live and conduct business. His secret: building employee and client trust.

"My first role in my business is making my employees happy. I do everything possible to make them feel secure and happy within a good atmosphere. These guys are working like crazy, they are working like hell and I make my own decisions regarding the direction where the business will go. If they have no satisfaction in their work, it's very hard to work with them. They will block everything new, yet I wanted to bring new things into the business because doing always the same is boring.

So, I try to let them feel that they are part of something special and that we are creating it together. They are creating. I plant the idea in their heads that whatever they are doing they are doing with the team and with us. And that's a kind of pride. I try to make them proud of themselves, of their work and the company."

I’ve enjoyed many inspiring experiences with Michael. I brought American executives to meet him in Dusseldorf to absorb and understand how pride and trust built over long periods (taking the long view) have made him a success. As a friend, he inspires me through his tireless entrepreneurial spirit and passion for doing good for his family, the community and the region. He’s appreciated wherever he goes, and that’s my favorite definition of wealth.

As much as he’s a focused and goal-driven CEO, Michael shines through his generosity. Many of this business decisions and investments are about not letting someone’s dream die. Others have been geared towards showing a dispirited group of people that inspiration grows out of possibility, once it’s discovered and acknowledged. He has invested in sophisticated personality software tools that allow individuals and teams understand how they can maximize their skills and identify possibilities. The tools are applicable to team sports, which has opened the door to Breakthrough in particular cases, such as the local soccer team where Michael is a sponsor.

Michael’s eye for corporate profitability blends with his long-term approach and interest in sustainability. Their core business is digital media, yet their mission is to grow together as people through pride in their collaboration.

Inspiring through Curiosity: Richard Saul Wurman

Richard Saul Wurman is an Architect, prolific Author and the Founder of the TED, TEDMED and EG Conferences.

In 2004, I was given the opportunity to invite Richard to Venice, Italy for an exclusive event organized by a private bank based in Switzerland. After the event, I interviewed him at his hotel and asked him about his worldview and sense of mission:

"At a certain moment in my life I realized, although I was a very good student – I was first in my class in the University of Pennsylvania, I took more courses than everybody, I had the highest average – I didn't know very much. I knew only what I was taught. I was kind of an empty bucket and I was uncomfortable. I wanted to put in my bucket what I really understood. So, for a long time, I didn't have much in my bucket and I had this epiphany that I was kind of a dumb guy. I didn't want to fool myself. I couldn't read hard books. I couldn't understand a lot of stuff, I couldn't understand it well enough to tell somebody else, to explain something. So, I realized that I would try to do was to make use of my curiosity because I couldn't make use of my brain. I could see patterns where other people couldn't see patterns. Patterns of connections between ideas, subjects and thoughts. I'm really good at that.

Most things are boring to me. I get bored brushing my teeth in the morning, so when I really got curious about something I told everybody I was going to do a book about it because the only stronger emotion I had than laziness was I wanted to avoid humiliation. So, I could avoid humiliation by actually doing a book. If I didn't do a book, didn't do the project, I was humiliated, so I pushed myself into doing things. I ended up today having done eighty one books on probably fifty different subjects. That's it. It's not very hard. I'm a simple guy. I'm really simple. I get interested in something and I figure out how to explain it to myself.

Now, I'm also charming and I know how to convince other people to help me. So, you take what you have and that's all I have. I'm a little crude, I'm charming, I'm honest and absolutely tenacious, you know... My hooks are in.

My life's mission is to clear up the mess in my head. We all have a mess, if we are honest with ourselves. It's trying to connect things so there is a clear pattern. It's to assuage my curiosity. See emperor penguins sit on their eggs on the South Pole. Land on an aircraft carrier. Do a book about dogs. See a volcanic eruption. Do a big event and be on the stage the whole time. Control an audience, control my life, control quality. Think up a new idea. Have a good night sleep. Not have so much gas in the morning. I mean, I don't have this Big Mission. I'm just a guy. I know what I am and I think I know most of my strong points.

I've been so fortunate to have been, in other people's mind, rather abrasive, not necessarily loved by all that I meet, that I've been allowed to survive and survive in style. And, for most of my life, even when I was financially a failure, I didn't change and eventually I became more comfortable with myself, more comfortable with life and people became at least respectful and comfortable enough to allow me to make a living. So, it's a great fortune.

So, my mission is hopefully to engender that in others, to give people permission so there are not so anxious and self-conscious. During a presentation, they can see that I'm not. I really don't care. I really care about the next thing that I see and learn. I'm not PC [politically correct]. I'm consistent."

Read more about my friendship and interviews with Richard Saul Wurman in “The Tao of Wurman” section of my website:

Inspiring through Provocation: John W. Love, Jr.

John W. Love, Jr. is an interdisciplinary artist whose crystalline and mythic worlds examine the mercurial nature of everything we know to be true. He’s a Guggenheim Fellow and 2020 Creative Capital Awardee for his latest interdisciplinary venture, The Cathedral of Messes. He’s a two-time artist-in-residence at the McColl Visual Arts Center and first individual artist to earn the Arts & Science Council McColl Award in 2011 for his work “FECUND,”

I met John W. Love, Jr. at the first TEDxCharlotte event in 2010, where his closing performance resonated through the city and beyond. Since then, we’ve collaborated in a series of experiences held at art galleries and studios, integrating his art and expertise with my passion for conversation. John has participated in numerous dinners at TheSircle as a catalyst for creative thinking. He inspires me through his authenticity, his commitment to art, his social engagement and his friendship. When others rely on you for advice, having an opportunity to exchange views freely is rare. John and I have wonderful lunches where we explore a universe of ideas and possibilities freely and creatively, and I’m always grateful for such mental playdate.

John on Breakthrough: “I was a four year-old able to identify the writing on all my 64 crayons. Broken pieces denuded of paper and lighter and darker colors bearing the residue of their counterparts were child's play compared to the very serious issues I was having with the one labeled "blue-green". In my fantastical, boundless, and tenacious four year-old logic "blue-green" meant any shade of blue or green held in my imagination should magically appear on the paper. The tussle went on for days and somewhere between resilience, resistance, resolve, and awe I decided I'd render EVERYTHING in blue-green and simply see in my imagination all of it in the colors they were supposed to be. Additionally, the characters would talk, bounce around the page, and slide off the edges to race across my hands and feet.

I realized blue-green was an actual color like burnt sienna shortly after I realized my imagination was more magical than my crayons. I felt the breakthrough at four. I grew to rely on it for the rest of my creative existence.”

John on Peak Performance: “From the emergence of my first one-person work, Picture Perfect Images From the Mocha Regions of a Chocolate Boys Reality, seminal interdisciplinary work, FECUND, unorthodox appearances in film, television, and the stage to my distinction as a Guggenheim Fellow and Creative Capital Awardee, there is a single reality that holds true. Only after an effulgent and excitement inducing existence in my imagination does any peak experience in my life come into being. In my estimation, Peak Performance is actually not the achievement of the thing but the psychic unfurl that calls the thing into being.”

John W. Love, Jr. traverses literature, performance, installation, film/video, sound, mysticism, and new media in the creation of worlds of blurred lines, glimmering ephemera, and Absurdist kisses to the psyche. His collection of mythic characters laugh at our banal hold on realness as cultural ists and isms are turned inside out in an enthralling navigation of sex, money, power, beauty, desire, humor, and identity.

Internationally recognized works Petal Boy (installation), Black Lily Billy and the Labia Who Knew Him (performance), FECUND (installation), and Ooo girl, Anchorage! (video) feature his crystalline, salt, glass, and black earthen works along with his mystic, The Perpetually Pregnant Man, and the anthropologist of the Ridiculous and Absurd known as The Gem Collector.

Intuitive and empathic, John’s guided meditation and creative visualization experiences encourage the participant to use their imaginative powers for an autonomous and empowered relationship with their own healing.

John’s awards have served notice to Charlotte, his native city, that his artistic and social leadership is valued beyond its borders. He inspires younger artists to heed the call and become leaders themselves, reminding them to show up and participate, to confront their own fears and speak up. No one wins when artists play small. John inspires by presence and by challenging his audience’s held views on being a citizen, on race, gender, art and on how we contribute to lift those who are not part of the larger conversation.

Inspiring through Resilience: Jack Grossman

Jack Grossman has created and designed national advertising campaigns, product packaging and has developed successful strategic marketing and advertising campaigns for numerous regional and national companies. He also won 1st Place in the Tampa Bay Region Billboard Magazine Songwriting Contest, along with dozens of other songwriting awards.

Jack’s fundraising efforts have raised in excess of $18-million cash and in-kind for numerous nonprofit organizations. Jack was the recipient of the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award in 2018, following Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s award in 2017.

He’s a Founding Member of Dove House Children’s Advocacy Center and is now a Legacy Board Member. The Dove House facility is affectionately known as “The House that Jack Built”; a $2.2-million project that Jack spearheaded during the economic meltdown of 2008. Ultimately, it was completed with 93% donations and is currently mortgage-free. Dove House provides services for sexually abused children and has been recognized by the Governor of NC and has won two Duke Power Community Service Awards.

Jack has served on over a dozen non-profit Boards and has received dozens of community service and humanitarian awards. He was awarded a humanitarian award by an NYSE $1.5-billion company.

Jack co-authored Child of the Forest, a true story about a 12-year old girl and her experiences following the Nazi invasion of her small town in Eastern Poland. He tells the story of Shulamit "Musia" Perlmutter, born in 1929 to Simcha and Fruma Perlmutter, and stands as a memorial to her extraordinary courage. Alone, starving, freezing at times, and running and hiding for her life, Musia sought refuge in the forest for two years while Holocaust death camps loomed nearby. The book has garnered tremendous recognition and has already won a Benjamin Franklin Award by the IBPA and was also a finalist in the International Book Awards competition. Child of the Forest is in the early stages of film series development.

Jack resides in Mooresville, NC, with his wife Kristie. They have three daughters, and Jack has a daughter and grandson from a previous marriage.

Jack on Breakthrough: “On Monday, January 4, 2010, just three days before my 54th birthday, I suffered a near-death brain stem stroke. I was fortunate to have one of our daughters at home to drive me to the nearby hospital. We were there in under 10 minutes. I walked in on my own, and three hours later I was laying on a gurney with I.V.'s and electrodes, wired for sound and surrounded by a small army of nurses and physicians, totally paralyzed on my left side. I could not wiggle a finger or a toe. I looked up to my wife Kristie and asked her to remember to pick up the invitations at the print shop for an upcoming fundraising open house. Crazy, but true. I was admitted to ICU. The nurses and doctors weren't very encouraging when I would ask them if I would ever walk again. In fact, most were discouraging. Except for one... her name was Yang. I had lost all movement on my left side; I wanted to know if I would be able to walk again. She really cared. She told me that each stroke victim was different, and that some did in fact learn to walk again. She encouraged me daily during my four days in ICU and up until my ambulance ride to inpatient rehab. Before leaving, I told her I would walk in to see her soon, unassisted. Even after 21 days of rehab, I went home in a wheelchair accompanied by a quad cane. In fact, we almost built a ramp for me to maneuver the 5" step into the house. The 15 steps up to the master bedroom were another story. I had to learn to walk again. I didn't see that coming, but I was grateful to be alive and be able hug my wife and children. I dodged a bullet, as the brain stem is the control center of sorts. Breathing. Vision. Heart function. Swallowing. All things I enjoy on a daily basis. After a couple of months, I eventually ditched the quad-cane for a regular cane, and then one day I threw the regular cane in the back of my SUV. I said to myself if I fall, I fall. No falls for a few years, and since then I've now fallen five times, several times due to my bad knee (my non-stroke good knee!), which has since been replaced. I asked Kristie if she wouldn't mind setting me up with some gifts for Yang as it was time to visit her. I could walk unassisted, albeit a bit wobbly. I called the hospital to confirm that she was still working there. I rode up the elevator with flowers, candy and a card in hand, and a deep sense of pride and gratitude. I walked by the nurse's station knowing that a couple of the negative Nancys recognized me. And there was Yang, walking towards me down the hallway and realizing who I was. It was like a Hallmark commercial that blurred into slow motion. By the time we reached each other, which seemed stalled in time, we were both balling our eyes out. We embraced each other with a tearful hug and I thanked her for her encouragement during my most challenging time. I have now been inspired by writing this to visit her again. I am calling the hospital next week hoping she will be there. I know she will remember me. You have a choice. You can be an "encourager" or a "discourager". You'd be surprised at the difference you can make in someone's life.”

Jack on Peak Performance: “I was voted on the Board of Directors of a Florida Boys & Girls Club at my first introductory meeting. My foot had gone through the floorboard of a dilapidated, termite and cockroach infested doublewide trailer, and I felt that they desperately needed help or 500 children would be left without a program that summer. I still remember the smell of that trailer. Within 15 months, under my leadership and direction, the children moved into a new mortgage-free 5,500 sq. ft. facility. I was also responsible for leading the club out of a negative cash flow and probationary status with the national B&G organization, subsequently winning a Power Board Award from National B&G Clubs. I then organized a first-class annual community Thanksgiving dinner in the new facility for individuals and families in need. The children created the decorations, and they helped serve up a gourmet menu vs. buffet style. We even delivered meals, and served van-fulls of assisted-care residents. My other example of peak performance was serving on the board of directors and suggesting that Dove House Children's Advocacy Center build a new facility to better serve the child victims of sexual abuse. I began soliciting donors in 2008 during the economic meltdown. There were plenty of naysayers, but I put my blinders on and hit the streets. Dove House moved into the new $2.2-million facility in November of 2009, with 93% of the project donated (mostly building materials, new furnishings and contracting services). Dove House quickly retired the mortgage and owns the 6,500 sq. ft. facility and 4 acres of land mortgage-free. Overall, I've been instrumental in raising over $18 million in in-kind and cash for nonprofits.”

I invited Jack to speak at TheSircle dinners for his inspiring story of personal resilience and his dedication to his philanthropic endeavors. We share a common thread: we were chosen to tell stories that needed to be told, and we embarked on the mission knowing that it would be tough and filled with obstacles. Yet, we dove into the task and the world gradually responded. Jack continues to inspire through his role as an encourager against all odds.

Inspiring through The Best Brains - The Nobels Colloquia by Promostudio

Since 2001, Promostudio International Consultants organizes The Nobels Colloquia in Venice, Italy, with the participation of Nobel Laureates in Economics and some of the best thinkers in Business Management, Leadership and Economics.

The Nobels Colloquia is the brainchild of Giovanni Vescovo, an international marketing expert born in Venice who passed away in 2019, who understood the power of the legendary floating city as a theater of purpose. He created a unique event where “The Best Brains” could exchange ideas from the podium and simultaneously socialize with business leaders from all over the world. He regularly invited high school and university students to the events to expose them to the luminaries and to share their own ideas and innovations.

The Nobels Colloquia is an exclusive branding opportunity for corporations seeking to make a memorable impact in their environment and complete their social legacy with an investment in education. The event is an opportunity for integrated event management, in which economic knowledge represents a stimulus to identify or reawaken market needs and interests. Economics helps business leaders have a better understanding of the global context and management is able to adapt what has emerged from macroeconomic scenarios to the organization’s context.

Manuel Vescovo, Giovanni’s son, continues his legacy and expands Promostudio’s activities with the best brains to the industrial networks in Italy and Europe, as well as the top universities. Manuel is an avid tennis player, which is how we first connected, through our shared passion.

In addition to the Nobels Colloquia, Promostudio invites some of the top experts in Economics to present at a Business Management Seminar, which includes a list of distinguished professors and experts from Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford and many other leading educational institutions. I spoke at this event in 2011 and attended the Nobels Colloquia in several editions.

Seating at the same table with Nobel Laureates, university deans and top professors is an intellectual luxury few can experience, much less with Venice as the backdrop. I’ve always felt privileged to be invited by Giovanni and Manuel, for those days spent exploring topics related to the future of the world Economy have been priceless. In talking with Nobel Laureates, I want to understand why they focused on a certain approach, what their personal experience growing up was, what motivates them to continue on a quest and how they deal with their worldwide visibility and responsibility to forge a legacy of students and doers.

I had special and unforgettable conversations with Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams, co-founder of the Community for Peace People, an organization dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. She heads up the Global Children's Foundation and is the President of the World Centre of Compassion for Children International. Her inner fire and commitment are unparalleled. Other memorable dinner conversations included Nobel Laureates in Economics Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Christopher Pissarides. Two prominent professors stand out as well: Douglas Anderson and C.K. Prahalad, who passed away too soon. In addition to the jovial and collegiate atmosphere that the Vescovos created, there’s always been a sense of urgency about the topics discussed, such as the future of the Euro and Europe, or the increasing isolationism of the United States. I might have been an odd guest among them, but I was an eager student and sought to understand deeper.

Why should you lead anyone?

We become inspiring leaders by inspiring ourselves first and engaging in a lifelong process of open-ended, openhearted transformation.

I can't avoid sharing Inspiration: almost every personality test I've ever taken shows I'm the Inspirer, the Campaigner, the Promoter and the Early Resolver who partners with Trailblazers to design new futures.

My purpose is to help others come alive and create. It's the aliveness that I find inspiring and that I forever want for myself. The process of creation is rewarding in itself, yet it's exciting to admire the result for the story of transformation it represents.

I invite you to inspire and lead. We are art and we are media. As we transform ourselves, we transform others, and our influence grows from ripples to waves.

The Ripple Effect

"Do you want to be a positive influence in the world?

First, get your own life in order. Ground yourself in the single principle so that your behavior is wholesome and effective. If you do that, you will earn respect and be a powerful influence.

Your behavior influences others through a ripple effect. A ripple effect works because everyone influences everyone else. Powerful people are powerful influences.

If your life works, you influence your family. If your family works, your family influences the community. If your community works, your community influences the nation. If your nation works, your nation influences the world. If your world works, the ripple effect spreads throughout the cosmos.

Remember that your influence begins with you and ripples outward. So be sure that your influence is both potent and wholesome. How do I know that this works? All growth spreads outward from a fertile and potent nucleus. You are a nucleus."

- John Heider, "The Tao of Leadership"

INSPIRE - TheSircle Executive Club, a story of fascination

TheSircle Executive Club is a private Round Table where intellectually curious and culturally diverse executives explore ideas and new ventures. I founded in in 2011 and attendance is by personal invitation only.

I created TheSircle to entertain myself and make new friends. For the past decade, it has become a solid source of connections and differentiation for me. Many of my guests have publicly said that they crave the atmosphere and the depth of our conversations, which apparently they can’t get in similar professional gatherings. I’m fascinated by by real stories lived and passed on by profound people.

TheSircle is my source of inspiration and where I’ve felt that I can grow in the company of kindred spirits. We practice recovering and enhancing the lost art of conversation. We dive into the magic of revealing parts of ourselves that we didn’t imagine we would share with people we just met. My joy is to assist in the collective creation of such magic. My invitation is a pathway to my Theater of Purpose.

TheSircle has been in residence at The Ritz Carlton Charlotte, where I organized dinners for regional leaders several times a year.

• TheSircle is a place to understand, clarify and simplify; a place to explore strategies and build; a place of integrity and respect, a place for true leaders to find co-creators and collaborators.

• TheSircle represents the purpose, the metaphor and the philosophy of the legendary Round Table, where intellectually curious and culturally diverse executives explore ideas and new ventures.

• TheSircle recalls the European tradition of the Salon, in which thinking and perspectives lead to confluence, collaboration and social progress.

• Every session of TheSircle features a specific topic related to Leadership. I design each experience focusing on exploring practical solutions to the daily concerns of the distinguished business leaders in attendance.

• My previous events in Charlotte, NC which gave shape to TheSircle include: Interact Live (2009), Re:NEW (2010), the SIR Conference with Richard Saul Wurman (2010) and True2Self (2011).

The International Sircle

TheSircle has expanded internationally into Europe, producing events in Italy (Ancona, 2012) and Switzerland (Zurich, 2013). These are one-day workshops gather executives to discuss topics that advance leadership thinking.

TheSircle’s DNA

TheSircle has a unique identity represented by a blend of parameters that I monitor for consistency:

1) Who’s in the room: I invite guests whom I presume will be both engaged and engaging, who can modulate their egos and participate generously. I purposely don’t invite individuals who would attend to “sell” and “network” in a transactional, self-serving way. TheSircle’s guests have a thirst for authentic conversation and are willing to be vulnerable, allowing themselves to disclose personal views and listening without judgment.

2) The variety of topics and the quality of the presenters: I choose the topics that interest me, the ones I want to learn more about. I’m shameless about this. I also choose the presenters for their willingness and capacity to engage the whole room in conversation, to ask insightful questions and prod rather than coach or lecture.

3) Seeking the confluence of ideas: In every session, I aim to connect everyone in ways that can provoke collaboration has shared. The key questions are “How is this practical? What can we use tomorrow morning at the office? Who will be inspired by these ideas when they listen to what happened tonight?”

4) Connections between people: Sixty percent of TheSircle’s guests return and 40% are new ones, an encouraging statistic that allows the friendship network to grow by word-of-mouth. I distribute everyone’s e-mail so they can get together afterwards. I’m always excited to learn how alliances grow, which favors are traded and how there’s an enormous amount of generosity and altruism in TheSircle’s community that confirms that there’s a confluence of values at play as well.

You can read more about TheSircle Executive Club in this section:

Your Fundamental INSPIRE Questions:

• What feelings, thoughts and actions make you feel fully alive, fully engaged?

• Who's your inspiration to stretch your goals and aim higher in life?

• How do you persuade others to commit to collaborate with your plans?

• How do people tell you that you inspire them?

• If your life purpose were a question, what question would it be?

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