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Lucas Serby – A Swedish Star in the Making

Editor @ Global Man July 23, 2019 No Comments

By Fatima Gorezi

He has already worked with some of biggest stars of the movie and entertainment industry of today and there’s no sign of him slowing down: Lucas Serby is a young Swedish actor, model and creative currently situated in New York City. He is a graduate of the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the oldest acting school in the English-speaking world, and an institution that has previously been home to acclaimed alumni such as award-winning actor, director and Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford and Hollywood Golden Age legend, Oscar winner and Spartacus himself Kirk Douglas. Lucas was the first of his graduating class to book a part in a professional New York theater production, and has been seen on stages all around the city and on TV by millions since then. He talks to us today about what made him take the leap to pack up his things and move to a different country, what drives him as an actor and overall creative,  and what it’s like to be a part of one the fastest changing industries in the world.

So I’m very curious, what was it that made you decide to move to a completely new country to pursue your dreams? Because as I understand it, you’d never been to New York City before moving there and you didn’t know anybody there?

Yes, that’s true. You know, I was watching this TV show, Sweetbitter, on STARZ pretty recently. It’s about a girl who moves to New York City to… get away, I suppose, but at a job interview she’s asked why she decided to move there all by herself and her answer is “it’s kind of a calling, moving to New York” or something similar, but I think that that’s definitely what it was for me. It felt like a calling. I’m a big fan of Marlon Brando and James Dean and they both got started in New York, so being the romantic that I am I just thought to myself that “of course, there’s no other place to go or that I should go to”.

And bringing it back to you moving there all by yourself without knowing anybody in the city. Did that scare you?

You know what, it didn’t at all. Looking back at it now I feel like I should’ve been absolutely terrified, because New York City is huge and it was a completely new city to me at the time, and that would have been the normal reaction. But I wasn’t. It just felt right to me, like it was meant to be.

Also, my first night there I was staying at a hotel right around the corner from where I was going to go to school, and this was right in the middle of New York Fashion Week so there was a lot of models staying at that same hotel and I got to talking to one of the girls outside, and she asked me what I was doing there, if I was there for Fashion Week and so on. So I told her that I was from Sweden and had just moved there to pursue acting, and after a bit of talking she told me that she wouldn’t mind introducing me to her manager and she gives me her email address and asks me to send her a picture to forward it to him. So I do, and I get a response from the manager basically saying that he thinks I look like James Dean and that we should work together. Nothing really came of it in the end, but I always took it as a sign that I had made the right choice.

Obviously acting is a big part of your life, what was it that made you want to pursue it?

Well, I started working as an actor professionally in Sweden in my early twenties, but I’d say my relationship with acting goes back way beyond that. If somebody were to ask me about my first love, my answer would always be “movies”. Movies have always been a big, big part of my life for so many reasons, for example one of them being my mom who used to be a movie critic when I was growing up, so I had the privilege of getting to watch a lot of films, many of which that hadn’t even been released yet, so I was very lucky. That definitely fueled my interest. I also had a very vivid imagination as a kid, and I loved to reenact scenes from my favorite films, for instance, one of my earliest childhood memories is pretending to be Simba from the Lion King in pre-school.

A good quote that sums it up, I think, is from an older video I saw of Heath Ledger, another actor that I really look up to, may he rest in peace.

His agent asks him: “So how long have you been acting?”

Heath replies “About… 20 years.”

Steve, his agent, notably confused goes “How old are you?”

“20.”

I always liked that one.

You say you started acting professionally in your early twenties, what made you decide that it was time to really get into it, so to speak?

It had always been there in the back of my head. Always. But life is life, and things happen, and after school I found myself working in an office, unsure of… Well, unsure of a lot of things in general really. But I was lucky. Incredibly lucky even. At the office where I was working we were an incredibly tight-knit group of people, and the CEO and Founder, who is still one of my closest friends today and like an older brother to me, taught me that I was good enough at a time where I really needed to hear that. It really taught me the value of having a supportive group of friends and the importance of surrounding yourself with people that inspire you and always want what’s best for you. So I just want to give a shout-out to Aria Asgari, I love you brother.

So anyway, I think I just realized at one point that I wasn’t supposed to be working in an office for the rest of my life, and, as cliché as it sounds, realized that you only have one shot at life so you might as well take the chance and pursue what it is that you really want to do.

Tell me a little bit about how it is working as an actor professionally in New York and Sweden respectively. What have your experiences been like?

They’re obviously two very different places! But starting from the beginning, I started off in Sweden with not a lot of experience except for a couple of amateur shows, so at first I had no clue what I was doing. I had a few small parts here and there and worked as an extra for a bit, and then it started to finally feel like it was going well when I got a part in the Swedish comedy TV show Jävla Klåpare which aired for a season in 2016. But I quickly realized that as somebody who didn’t have an education as an actor and with very few contacts, Sweden did not have a lot of opportunities, which is why I started looking into moving to the US, which had really always been the plan.

New York City on the other hand is a crazy place. There are so many opportunities, and there’s so much going on, and I’ve been lucky to have met some great people there who have really taken a chance on me. It made me realize that it’s all about who you know. You can have a lot of credits on your resume and a fancy education, but what really matters is if people want to work with you, as a person. We’re also at a point right now where there’s a big shift happening in the entertainment industry, and being in New York City when all of this is going on, you just kind of feel that you’re in the middle of it all, and it’s very exciting.

So tell me about your work in New York, what have you been up to since you started working over there?

I actually started booking jobs even before graduating. I was very eager to start working, and I started going on auditions during the time that the school set up so-called “mock auditions” for us to practice for the real thing. So I’d be in school going on a fake audition, and right after I’d have to leave because I had to attend a real one. It was a very interesting experience.

The first job that I booked was a full rendition of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale with the absolutely fantastic theater company Classics on the Rocks. It was about 3 hours and 30 minutes long, and it was amazing. It was just a great thing to work on right after school because everybody was just so passionate about the work, just like it should be. It’s definitely still one of my favorite productions that I’ve been a part of to this day.

Other highlights include playing Sid Wells on the Investigation Discovery show In Pursuit with John Walsh in an episode that premiered to 1,36 million viewers, and of course working with the Scandinavian American Theater Company. I got to play the part of Jonte in a production of the extremely talented Tanja Lorentzon’s play The Courtyard. I got to work with some brilliant people and the play was seen by a couple of actors that I really admire.

Currently I’m promoting a film called Dead Air which I’m really excited to be a part of. It’s kind of an homage to 80’s horror movies and rock music and it’s a lot of fun. It’ll be playing at several different film festivals this year so I’m really excited about that.

And you’ve also been working as a model over there?

Yes, I’ve been fortunate enough to see what that industry’s like as well. Acting and modeling are similar in a way, but very different in another. They’re both a lot of fun, and I’ve had the privilege to see these big fashion events up close, working with brands such as Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren. I hope to do more of that in the future as well.

Finally, you’ve already achieved a lot in such a short amount of time, what is the source of your drive and motivation?

Honestly, I think that, to me, the entertainment industry is one of the most important industries around. What we get to do is to tell and share stories that need to be told, and it’s just such an honor to me that I get to do that for a living. If I can have an impact on just one person’s life through the work that I do on stage or on screen, then it would have all been worth it in the end for me.

Lucas can currently be seen in Dead Air which premieres July 27th at the Peekskill Film Festival.

There are no failures, only feedback

Editor @ Global Man June 20, 2019 No Comments

Paul Boross – There are no failures, only feedback

By Fatima Gorezi 

Paul Boross — aka The Pitch Doctor — is the award-winning ‘Best Corporate Speaker’ who specialises in the “art and science” of corporate communication. Drawing on a career that has taken him from primetime TV, music and stand-up comedy to production, development, consultancy and motivational psychology, Boross works regularly with such power players as the BBC, Google and MTV, training executives in communication, presentation and pitching. His frontline experience of performance — his credits include a 12-year stint at London’s legendary Comedy Store — coupled with a strong commercial grounding enable him to deliver effective and focused skills to clients from a range of industries, from media to medicine. His latest book, Leader On The Pitch (co-authored with rugby legend Scott Quinnell), is rising fast up the Amazon charts.

How did your life look like before being an entrepreneur?

I was an entertainer. I had a band called “Morris Minor and The Majors”, and we had a couple of pop hits. I also was in a comedy and music duo with my good friend Ainsley Harriott, who is now a famous chef. We were an act together for eight years playing at places such as The Comedy Store, The London Palladium and all over clubs in New York and Los Angeles.

Whilst it wasn’t a traditional business, it was still reliant on having an entrepreneurial spirit with getting gigs, marketing and working to convince record companies to sign us. We got a deal with Virgin and that was when all the hard work started, because I realised that getting into business and making those kinds of commitments means that other people have much higher expectations of you.

Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to taking that first step and setting up your own business?

I think that the entrepreneurial signs have always been there in me. As a child, I used to buy raw materials like felt and make soft toys which I would then convince parents to buy for their younger children.

Whilst in my youth I had various jobs – like working at the post office at Christmas and doing a few weeks on a building site – for periods of time, to earn money. I really was a self-starter and preferred to create my own enterprises. When I was at school most of my friends had jobs working in shops on a Saturday or newspaper delivery rounds. I found out that you could earn more by being in teenage ‘photo-love’ magazines. Once I had been in a couple, I discovered that you could earn three times as much as my friends earned by also writing and directing the stories. Basically, I was always a person who said ‘I can do that’ and had the courage to go for it. I think there was certainly an element of showmanship in this too, but I don’t think you need that to be an entrepreneur. I think you just have to find something that you get a buzz out of, because that gives you the energy to keep going.

What has been the role of luck in your success?

Of course, I am lucky. I am lucky to have been born in a country where, if you worked hard and smart, you could achieve. I believe that luck is an attitude.

My father – who was a Hungarian refugee, arriving in this country with nothing but the clothes on his back, – always said that he was lucky. That was despite the fact that he had been in the 2nd world war at 17, gone into Berlin with the Russians in 1945, been put into a prisoner of war camp for six months. Then, eleven years later had to escape from Hungary and spend 5 months in a refugee camp. He had many more tough times in his life but he always told everyone how lucky he was. I believe that luck is all about that attitude, of seeing the opportunities that life presents, to know that while you’re still breathing you’ve still got a chance to get to where you want to be.

What is the one accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I am not sure that I have achieved it yet! Like most people who succeed, I am always looking forward rather than backwards. I suppose part of the entrepreneurial spirit is the belief that you can always do a little more, or a little better. Or sometimes, a lot better!

Overall, I am proud of having raised a son I love and admire. I am proud of making my living in some of the toughest professions, namely, music, comedy and the media. I think we can only judge our life’s work looking backwards. Perhaps this is what drives me to achieve more.

If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were just getting started, what would you do differently? And what advice would you have given to yourself if you could only relay one piece of advice to your former self?

I genuinely wouldn’t do anything differently. There are no failures, only feedback. When I failed, I learned to get up quickly and move forward. Everything that didn’t turn out how I planned was part of the journey, and I would not be where I am today without those faltering steps.

As for advice to my younger self… I would remind myself that nothing is so important with the perspective of time. The old saying of, ‘this too shall pass’ is something that you should live by as much as possible. This applies to good times as well as bad times of course, and I think it helps to have a perspective that averages all of the ups and downs. Even thinking of a time as being good or bad is only a matter of perspective, because we never know where something will lead.

The only things I ever regretted were things I didn’t do but thankfully they were few and far between. At 19 years old, there was a very tall beautiful Australian woman that I didn’t ask out when I had the chance. I still think about that from time to time!

What is your experience of working with women? And what is your opinion about their talents and skills?

I have always had a very good easy relationship with women. As a teenager, I had both girlfriends and friends who were girls. Being able to share and talk with young women gave me an insight that I think hold me in good stead today. I now work with very influential and powerful women and men and I treat each with equal respect.

It is a generalisation but many women are better at listening to their intuition than men. Men can be overly analytical and practical at the expense of trusting their innate feeling. In business, it is crucial to be in touch with your instincts. Perhaps that’s a result of the environment that we’re working in, where many men feel that they are expected to be strong and decisive, and women are given more leeway to be intuitive and emotive. In that regard, I think men and women equally benefit from expressing those capabilities.

Where I do see an issue at times is where someone is trying to fit in with a cultural stereotype which doesn’t fit them. Whether that’s a female executive thinking she has to be tough and ruthless, or a male executive trying to be emotive and gentle. These stereotypes don’t help the individual to be at their best, and I don’t think that, in general, we take enough notice of the individual’s unique strengths.

I don’t see that men and women in general have any different skills; certainly when it comes to mental or creative skills. Of course, there are some physical jobs which are better suited to the male stereotype, or vice versa. But in terms of the majority of jobs around today, I don’t see a difference, and certainly the world of work that younger generations are getting into now is a much more level playing field than it was a few decades ago.

 

Cover photo credit: Emma Hughes Photography

The passion that drives to success

Editor @ Global Man June 19, 2019 2 Comments

Ronny Barthel  – The passion that drives to success 

By Fatima Gorezi 

Ronny Barthel is a professional photographer, very talented specializing in media design, photography and video production.He has  worked for some insanely powerful companies and from 2018 he has worked as  photographer for coaches, speakers, coaches on the way in the field of personality development and spirituality. He shares with us some great details from his life and speaks about the passion that drives him to do what he does every day. Photography is his muse, his true profession. He says that he don’t photograph things, but only  the way they make him feel. He aim to engage the reader through his photos; to focus on interesting subjects. He also loves snapping quicky and unusual things encountered in daily life. Portraits are a particular favourite. He says that it’s a joy seeing individual history reflected through people’s eyes and mapped on their faces.

Can you tell me a bit about how you became a photographer? What was your first exposure to photography?

My beginnings in photography were more than 10 years ago. At that time, I photographed portraits with analogue cameras and developed them myself in black and white labs. Then, over the years, I’ve been more and more concerned with photography. When exactly I get the first camera and why I do not remember exactly.

How big a role did photography play in your life before? When did you start taking photographs?

The role of photography has always been there but not the primary one in my work. I think that was due to the fact that I had to gain experience first of all because even with me this was not laid in my cradle but through much practice and repetition.

Who were your early influences?

I do not really have big names from photography that influenced me. I’ve always been an outsider in my youth, doing my thing in my own way and not looking at others that much. I still do that now.

Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?

Basically, I photograph everything that has to do with people. Photographing beautiful landscapes does not really motivate me. I would like to capture people with emotions and hold them forever. In my work, I like to do the most idle snapshots as well as my lifestyle shoots. These are already provided but should nevertheless look as natural and unimpressed as possible and depict the person in front of the camera as authentically as possible.

Whose work has influenced you most?

Most have influenced me rather good wedding photographers but these are rather not so known in public. I have photographed weddings for several years, sometimes up to 40 per year.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

There is no special thing because I now know that all things are related. Capturing people with emotions is very complex and I do not mean that in terms of technology. In order to capture someone authentically and in the emotions, there are many qualities that one has to possess. You have to be authentic yourself, have a certain empathy, your own energy has to be very positive and attractive, you have to own personality yourself.

How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Movies, books or magazines? Or is it just what’s around you?

Meanwhile, I am most inspired by myself and my environment. I try to be as outside as possible, but simply with me, to see where I want to go, what I want to achieve and implement this easily. The environment is a very important factor, which Feedbach gives you for your work, supports and guides you.

Has the industry changed a lot since you started shooting, or is there still a lot of work there?

Yes, of course, like everything else in the world, everything is always changing faster and faster, and it’s important to stick to it so you do not lose yourself. Twenty years ago, technology was still the limiting factor, it was expensive and harder to learn. Today, in the age of cell phone cameras, photographers are in need of completely different skills. It will only be successful and stay with the times, dealing with the new technologies and using them for his benefit.

What can you recommend to other photographers trying to find their niche?

You should just try different things and not stiffen. Especially with photography it is very important that you love the thing that you do otherwise it detects the opposite and there is simply no connection. For example, I had thought about making money with travel photography, but I did not know how to do it. Now I have come to the niche by chance coaches, speakers, coaches and entrepreneurs to photograph and photograph in Germany and also at their events, retreats and create your images for all social media channels.

What are you passionate about besides photography? What do you do in your free time?

In my free time I like to do sports (jogging, swimming, snowboarding), I like to listen to podcasts and I am also involved with personality development. I like to go to the movies and spend time with my son. I like to travel and experience crazy adventures and meet new people.

What are three things that people  need to know about the photography business?

– Make the photography out of passion

– Be the best in your niche

– You have to be authentic to represent people authentically

The world through the lens

Editor @ Global Man June 19, 2019 No Comments

Fadil Berisha -The world through the lens

By Fatima Gorezi

The successes of Fadil Berisha – internationally renowned photographer – are consecutive, as he has transformed his work into art, bringing a unique style of world-wide photography. While browsing his photos, whether of Hollywood celebrities, or people not necessarily with a public profile, create the idea of ​​visiting a real art gallery where colors, energy, style, elegance, thought, sensation beauty, deep artistic spirit, and so on.

The conversation with her looks as interesting, as exhausted as possible (with returns on the past and the present), just as her photograph would surely know to withstand time and generations, changes and technological overthrow. He has a special relationship with Albania and Kosovo,  two countries that he has always kept at heart. Undoubtedly, this explains why he is one of the most beloved personalities among Albanians, and his contribution to the Kosovo war, where by his art he managed to make the world aware of the size of the Kosovo tragedy of that period, thus sparking the political response.

Fadil has today the exclusivity of photos for Rolex and is the official photograph of Miss Universe and Miss USA; with contributions to sound magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Glamor, Seventeen, People Magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Esquire, Vanity Fair, GQ and others.

He has also photographed many personalities such as Halle Berry, Tyra Banks, President Bill Clinton, Snoop Dog, Sugar Shane, Hostly, Jenifer Beds, Beverly Johnson, Robert Evans, Jamie Lynn Sigler etc., which further demonstrates the magnitude of his universal success.

Among the lines, you will learn from Fadil talking about his art and important moments that have marked his life and career, as an existential meaning for a man who has seen the world from the wonderful window of his camera.

How do you remember your early life, your childhood? You have left your country when you were 9 years old. What trace did Kosovo leave in what would happen next to you and your life in America?

I had a beautiful childhood … with very beautiful memories and surrounded with lots of love. These beautiful feelings I have taken with myself into the art of photography by pointing out the beauty.

Fadil, you’ve been working on many fashion fairs by promoting campaigns for global brands. Your work is featured into the front pages in many prestigious magazines. Going back in retrospect, how do you remember the beginning?

The beginning has been incredibly difficult … I did three jobs to get and collect income just so I could go to school.

What are the most difficult challenges you have faced during these years of your journey?

Among the hardships associated with the profession are many trips for work reasons in different places and coordination of photographs in my private studio, as well as my effort to help every young Albanian artist.

What would you classify as your most special picture, which carries a special memory for you personally, emotionally?

One of the most special pictures I have realised is a picture of Miss Albania, Hasna Xhukici and Miss Kosova Marigona Dragusha. Both girls qualified in the ten of the most beautiful girls in the world and Miss Kosova was second in this so prestigious female beauty contest.

 What is beauty for you? Should the subjects of your focus be necessarily beautiful?

I like classical beauty! I think everyone has something beautiful… somebody’s eyes, somebody’s neck.

 How much do you think has changed the image of women and the concept of beauty over the years?

I believe classical beauty goes and comes. As the saying goes: ” class is forever ”. At this time the concept of beauty is exotic, but always returns to the classics.

 Has the technology changed / influenced photography? Is this a positive or negative change?

The digital photography has changed the art of photography and I think this change is positive.

As you look at the range of your photos, it seems that the portraits are your strong point. How easy or difficult is to point out their character/ personality?

It is difficult to point out the character’s personality, but it is important to gain their trust in highlighting the best that those people have.

Is it a public figure you want to photograph but still have not done?

Maybe I want to photograph Angelia Jolie, it’s a classic face to me.

What is the report that you have today with Albania and Kosovo? What keeps you connected tightly to your mother country?

I go back often because it is the passion and love that I have for my people.

 People who deal with art, creativity, usually have a deeper understanding and perception of social life. How do you see the situation in Kosovo and  Albania today? I mean from an economic, political and social point of view ? How is your image for them in your mind?

Albania and Kosovo have advanced a lot. There is art everywhere!

What is your greatest ambition in life, as a human being and as a photographer?

 My personal ambition was to open the doors for Albanian artists to inspire them with my art and I think I have achieved this; in some ways I have become a tie.

How many photo albums does Berisha family count? How is  your relationship with your children and wife?

Maybe not so much. I have many pictures of the children when they were young. We have a very good family relationship.

 You are well acquainted with being a philanthropist and participating in charity campaigns. Can you share with us some more details about this?

I am always ready to support various issues, including organisations against various diseases. Charity is important to me. It is also important to give your contribution to the human community.

Shaping the future

Editor @ Global Man June 10, 2019 No Comments

Richard Sibalier – Shaping the future

By Fatima Gorezi

Founder of Richard Conseil Consultants, Senior Consultant Executive Coach and Corporate Trainer. He advises and helps leaders to make distinctive, lasting, and substantial improvements in performance.

Richard believes that continued self-development is something very important  and one of the pillars of growth. In this cover story for Global Man Magazine he shares with us some important details of his journey, his experience in coaching and why he believes that coaching can help people to get results in their projects, business and everyday life.

He speaks about how to build a real business and not just one to be self-employed. He also goes into detail about what’s needed at this time when technology is flowing and how some things in the modern workplace have changed and improved.

What can you tell us about your childhood and upbringing and how it has influenced you?

I came from business family: my father was a well-known businessman.

I grew up close to him, accompanying him in every step in his business life since I was child.

Being surrounded by this professional business life influenced me a lot to be an entrepreneur.

Who are your family today and what are your personal interests?

I have a beautiful wife with three adorable successful children. At the main time my personal interest is business clubs membership, voluntary work, community involvement, blogging and sports.

Being an entrepreneur, how much would you is due to nature, your genes, and how much is it instinct and nurture?

To be an entrepreneur is something to born with. It’s something in your DNA. But this alone is not enough. These genes must be refined with study, hard work and experiences.

What attracted you to become involved with coaching?

I believe in the power of sharing our experience. The key to make your life really unique Is to share what you know. I wanted to share my experience with the world, because when you discover something, it only has a value if it provides benefits to the society. The first thing that you should think about is: How can I share it with the world? And How can I make it available for everyone?

Why do you believe that continual personal development is so important for everyone?

I believe in change; change is one of the pillars of growth.

The continual personal development is a powerful tool to raise skills and competitiveness.

You are a very Corporate Trainer as well. What are the common challenges faced while training coordinators?

There is a big gap between what people learn in universities and in the real business life. The way of theoretical training must change.

Corporate trainers must be more than typical trainers. They have to be interactive course designers and must deliver real value.

After 20 years of experience, I express my corporate training philosophy in one sentence: “I don’t teach words, I teach a real business experience”.

What life and business lesson did you learn from these experiences?

Life is a journey of tenderness: the more you give, the more you take.

How do you see the role of women in business and as speakers on the big stages, now and in the future?  

Nowadays we see a lot of successful feminine leadership across all business sectors. Women have started to take their real place in business life. It is inspirational to see keynote speakers on the big stages, help and influence more women into leadership.

Why and how did you find your passion for empowering people in business?

The idea to be useful, making an impact and changing the business life of someone to become better naturally attracted me.

My passion is to transfer my experience and to help entrepreneurs to fulfill their ambitions to achieve growth and to turn their passion into a successful business.

What words of wisdom would you give to our readers, either already successful or aspiring to succeed?

If you ask me to describe myself in one word, I will tell you that I am the risk itself. So take the risk and enjoy the journey of entrepreneurship.

As someone who’s built successful, large-scale teams, I’d be curious about your leadership and people-management philosophy?

“Human capital” is our most valued asset.

“My management philosophy is to provide an environment that leads to productive employees. Provide guidance, direction, leadership, and finally set an example to subordinates.”

Our group established a training center to train our employees. The programs cover all areas of:

  • Strategic management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Brand Management
  • Marketing strategy
  • Sales strategy
  • Customer Experience

What are some of the characteristics you look for in the people you hire?

Actually there are “10 Qualities to Look for in New Hires”

. Long Term Potential

. Enthusiasm

. Ambition

. Putting Skills to Action

. Team Player

. Responsiveness

. Communication Skills

But the most important thing is to be Passionate about our group and about what they do.

How do you ensure that you enjoy brand loyalty among your customers?

Loyalty Is not a given, it needs to be earned,

It needs to be earned and constantly nurtured. Loyalty is all about the customer.

The biggest misconception brands have when it comes to the loyalty question is the definition of where it starts and what it looks like.

Too many brands make the mistake that loyalty begins and ends with great offers and meeting the customer’s needs at point-of-sale.

Any brand can offer great discounts. Any brand can undercut competitors and make an offer a customer really can’t refuse.

That’s a good offer, but it doesn’t build loyalty.

Instead, the wider customer experience is key.

Customers don’t buy PRODUCTS !

They BUY Stories, Relations, Emotions.

We determine who we are and what our brands stand for.

Our group are loyal to our DNA.

Our brand identity tells our customers who we are, what we do and why we do it.

Best Brands are built on great STORIES. We have an authentic story, so they are passionate to be part of our story and to our brand. We built a strong strategy that makes our customer experience uniqueness in each visit to our shops.

What are the main reasons why people attend your workshops and seminars?

Actually I am not an academic professor; I am an executive with 20 years of concrete experience.

I don’t believe that one size fits all; every company is different. I have to design a customised & tailored training program for each company depending on the needs and the weakness points of a given company.

I help my audience to achieve sustained massive success with confidence & to take their business to the next professional level. They will benefit from my 20 years of international experience in strategic management & business development.

I design & conduct 100% innovative & dynamic tailored-made trainings, workshops, career paths, coaching programs that incite the desire to change. I am constantly looking to give something different to my audience, to add value in a way that others don’t. And I provide the best services by offering innovative solutions to answer their needs. I’m going to show them how they can make it happen.

Where is your company heading to in the next 5 years?

Since it’s birth to what is now known as the CHIC Group 1960, we made a promise that we will be the leading partner for luxury business across the Middle East.

After 50 years of doing business internationally CHIC group keeps building bridges and strong relationships between the Middle East & the West.

The wide experience  and the unique history with the High reputation will led the CHIC group to become a REFERENCE for luxury business internationally in the next 5 years.

How have you incorporated technology to deliver a better experience for your customers?

Technology has had a major impact in the modern workplace, revolutionising the way businesses conduct their daily activities.

Whatever industry you are operating in, technology helps our customers access all the information they need to successfully interact with our group. It can also help staff perform their jobs more efficiently.

Technology allows businesses to speed up production processes, maximising productivity. Technology improves company’s flexibility to deal with queries quickly and efficiently. Interactive websites, online chat support services and 24/7 customer service via social media set us apart from our competitors and help us to increase our profits.

And finally email marketing can also be effective, allowing us to reach out directly to our customers with news, updates and special offers.

Building self leadership

Editor @ Global Man May 8, 2019 No Comments

Mark Stephen Pooler – Building self leadership

By Fatima Gorezi 

Mark Stephen Pooler is a professional speaker, host, coach, author and international press and PR expert. His area of expertise is self-leadership and transformation born out of his amazing life and near death experience. He is passionate and dedicated to inspiring others to overcome their own adversity and find their inner entrepreneur to transform their lives. He helps entrepreneurs to create  a mindset and belief system that makes their success a reality. He told the Global Man Magazine : ‘’Everyone is a leader we lead our own life everyday from getting up brushing our teeth to creating the day.’’ Mark’s early life was a less happy one because of bullying, something he has overcome to grow from a person of low self-esteem to be the outgoing and confident person he is today.

Tell us a bit about your background and how you became involved in speaking?

I was always the guy at school who got bullied about the way I looked and about my sexuality before I knew it myself. I suffered from low self esteem and low self confidence. Late teens, early twenties, my life had spiralled out of control. I was addicted to crack cocaine, heroin and many other drugs. At age 21 I collapsed and died from drug use: my heart stopped. That was a wake up call for me, as I slowly started to rebuild my life. I have always been a hard-worker and have worked for some of the biggest names in hairdressing in the UK. Aged 30, my entrepreneurship journey started. I set up as a freelance hairstylist. I then joined a network marketing company, which really opened up my world to social media entrepreneurship. After a couple of years, I decided to leave network marketing. I used to watch the speakers at network marketing events and knew that was what I wanted to do. It’s been a great journey of speaking the last 2 and half years. I am very proud to have built a successful professional speaking business and my passion is coaching entrepreneurs in public speaking. I have built a great public speaking coaching business. My one to one brilliance speaker coaching program is very popular and I am soon to release my brilliance speaker online program. I am super excited about the launch of my new book “Step into your brilliance”; a story telling how to positively influence. Additionally, there are public speaking and a social entrepreneurship course book coming soon. Doing international press and PR Radio are two things I love, and am currently working with big names in media, celebrities, business leaders, and contributing to big publications in business.

 How do you develop yourself and continue to grow?

I read and work with great coaches and mentors. I have had a business coach, life coach, voice coaching courses  seminars, and attend many events to grow and evolve.

 How does the critical, self-sabotaging internal voice (the voice of self-doubt or lack of  believing) limit your clients?

My public speaking coaching clients can let their self doubt hold them back from moving forwards. That’s why I love my job as their coach so much. I love giving them the skills and tools and self belief needed to create a successful speaking and social media entrepreneurship business.

A lot of people don’t consider themselves as  leaders. What would you say to them?

Everyone is a leader: we lead our own life everyday from getting up, brushing our teeth to creating the day. I would like to say that we can create any reality or future that we desire. It starts with having positive belief systems and making good choices. With repetition, anything is possible. I would like more people to follow their true dreams and goals and lead a life of purpose that serves others.

So what can leaders do to create a more motivating environment for their people?

Firstly, as a leader, you must lead by example and do what you would like to be done. Have empathy and love, be a good listener, and most importantly, come from a place of service.

Which leader has had the biggest personal influence on your life?

I was recently lucky to meet and have dinner with Jack Canfield, and feel blessed to have spoken on the same stage as him this year. His work on moving forwards in business and in life is incredible.

What book would you recommend to someone taking on new leadership responsibilities?

Jack Canfield Success Principles.

What is special about your lifestyle?

Coming from the past that I have, I am a true example that your past doesn’t define who you are. Waking up everyday and coaching my clients in public speaking and social media entrepreneurship. Interviewing celebrities and big business leaders on Radio and contributing to international business publications. Speaking and sharing my story of self leadership and transformation. I am living a life I have created by design, taking action, lots of personal development, working on my mindset. I am living a life that makes me proud from a past of hardship to a future of serving and success. I am excited about an event coming end of this year – early 2020, with some big names in show business. I have to pinch myself sometimes because of how special my life is becoming.

 What is the most important tip you can give for developing self- leadership skills?

Focus inwards on your own goals, your own dreams and desires; don’t look at your outside circumstances. Work on your mindset belief systems, be aware of the choices you make. Meditation, visualisation, and journaling are so important. Take big actions and never let anyone tell you you can’t achieve your dreams. Consistency and repetition are very important.

What are the secrets behind your success?

Hard work, failing lots, getting lots of no’s before the yes-es, personal development coaches, mentors, taking big action, never giving up, building good relations, and coming from a place of love and honesty.

You are a great advocate for supporting women as well. Can you tell us more about why you choose to do this, and the importance of it in today’s world?

Women today are really shining. Bright women throughout my life have always supported me. My grandmother, who I lost recently, was one of the strongest women I knew. My mom has always been a great support in my life. Women are close to my heart.

http://www.markstephenpooler.com/       

https://www.facebook.com/MarkStephenPooler/

Les Brown – You have greatness within you

Editor @ Global Man September 17, 2018 No Comments

 

*This interview is transcribed from the Global Woman Show with Mirela Sula

Today I feel very fortunate to have met an amazing person called Les Brown. I hardly need to introduce him because almost everybody knows about him and the way that he has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world. I am so happy that I can now share my interview with him that I know is going to inspire all the women who support the ‘Global Woman’ platform.

Les Brown, thank you so much for being with me today and giving your time to ‘Global Woman Magazine’. You know women love your work so please tell us more about what you do.
I am very glad to hear that you appreciate my work and I am very happy meeting you. But there’s something important that you said to me. I asked you about something that I want to get done and you said, “Anything is possible” and you said it with such conviction. That’s exactly the mindset that people must have, because, according to psychologists over 87 % of people’s negative ‘self-talk’ goes undetected by the conscious mind. But you have deliberately programmed yourself to believe, as an optimist, that anything is possible. And when you said that I believed it because you didn’t just ‘say it’ but you spoke with great conviction. This is what I say to Speakers when I train them. That having conviction is more important than the actual words you speak. So – I guess what I need to say is, ‘Thank you for blessing me with your presence’.
Your own story is incredible – and probably there are a lot of people who are feeling a bit down and trying to find excuses or complaining about politics or the situation of the world or, of course, they come from a poor family background or from a dysfunctional family. There are lots of reasons to complain about things – but you never seem to complain.
I do talk about things that have happened to me, but I don’t allow them to stop me. My new book is called; ‘You have got to be Angry’ and it’s about saying to yourself, “Here’s something I want, and I am going to get it in spite of the fact that it’s an unfair world – and also it’s not right that women doing the same work as men in the USA get paid less than the men get paid”. We all know that such inequality is simply not right. I was once working in a job that claimed that if you are the number one salesperson you become the Sales Manager and you will then get a bonus and I did it for six months in a row but they passed me by and then I was required to train other people that they would put over me. Clearly that was not right or fair. The only reason they did it was because they had the ‘complexion of connection’ and ‘I had the complexion of rejection.’ However, I decided I was going to ‘make it’ in spite of everything. Helen Keller said ‘when one door closes another door opens’ but most of us spend time trying to open a closed door rather than creating a door ourselves that we can then walk through unchallenged. In other words, we need to be able to live our own dreams and there are many women who have always had to fight against all the odds to make it through. There’s a gentleman by the name of Fred Astaire and back during the time he was in Hollywood they said he was the greatest dancer in the world – but the young lady that he danced with – she had to dance with him step for step but backwards and in heels! So, what I’m saying is that women have always had to be persistent to make it against all the challenges they have had to face. My mother adopted seven children and I was one of the seven. She made it against all the odds and although she didn’t have a great education she definitely had a PhD in ‘Mother’s wit’ and she always found a way forward even when there didn’t seem to be a way! Women have always had to do that and that is why I am excited to be a part of this interview and to be in the presence of women like you.

Thank you. So basically, you are saying that there is a lot of injustice out there in the world, but our duty and responsibility is not to complain about the unfairness women face but to prove that we can make anything possible if we face up to the challenges.
Yes. You have to do it ‘in spite of…’ Communities and countries are created by people and they can be changed by people and the secret is to maintain commitment through all the frustrations and disappointments we are going to encounter. We must all attempt to change the way that we function and also attempt to change the way women are treated – and in attempting to change the way we treat each other we need to understand this is a human problem. Human beings created it and human beings can therefore resolve it!
Well, as human beings we usually tend to see the problem not the solution. But not all the people have this ability to turn their perception in a direction that can guide them to the solution. Is there a secret to making this happen?
You know Einstein said “I don’t think I am so smart. I just have more patience than most people.” Most people want change to happen directly but it’s not that kind of world. You have got to be willing to be patient and it takes persistence and it takes going through some frustrations and disappointments and setbacks and things happening to you that you cannot anticipate. Some setbacks and problems just keep coming back again and again and I believe that sometimes angels are dispatched – and I believe that those angels support us by saying, “You know what? She’s really determined and she’s not gonna stop or ever give up.” That’s tenacity!
They did this study once and found that with a certain mathematical angle a spool of thread – after it’s released – hits against a two-ton steel beam. After so many hits – ‘pip pip pip’ – eventually it will begin to vibrate and then eventually the beam will move. Well, that’s what you are doing. That’s what we are doing in tapping into the consciousness of people and helping to create a different kind of world and changing how women should be seen not as just ‘receptacles for men’s orgasms’ but as thinking, feeling human beings who have something to give and something important to contribute to life. And it takes time to reverse that conditioning. I saw in the newspaper yesterday an article about a beautiful young lady that was raped and killed by her uncle. What kind of society have we created and what kind of mindset can give someone the permission to be that inhumane to another human being? It’s going to take time to reverse that sort of thinking and that type of behavior.
It feels that the shift is happening in the world and that more and more women are waking up. It feels like we have been sleeping for a long time. Now it’s time to wake up, to come to a higher level of consciousness, to connect with ‘higher self’ inside us and to see things like you just said. But sometimes we can’t anticipate things and we don’t have control over things. We can take responsibility for certain things we do in the world – but how can we coordinate and co-create with men? Not by feeling that we are against them or that we are separate but by working together. As we all know – we have left the world in men’s hands for a long time and it looks very messed up. So how can we get to the level when men see us as partners?
Think about where the world would be now if those who are in control had been inclusive in their thinking rather than exclusive. In other words, if women were allowed to participate and if people were allowed to participate even though they’d had an accident, even though they had slanted eyes, even though they came to the table with different sexual orientation, even though they might be in a wheelchair. Where would we be if all the thinking that’s available on the planet came together to collaborate and to work together with a mindset that said; ‘We can solve this. We can create a different kind of world’. Where would we be now? It’s like the way it was in the USA for coloured people in the USA. I am 73 now, but when I was a kid I would get on the bus with my mother and people would be seated in the back and there were seats up front where white people sat and even though there were some free seats there, mama said, ‘’keep walking Leslie’’ and I had to go past a yellow line to sit down. I said, “Why we can’t sit up there?” and she just said, “You can’t”. But the only reason we couldn’t sit there were because we were black. So that culture effectively said, ‘you are less worthy’. That culture and those laws in Society were designed to make people like me feel inferior.
I was invited to speak at the beginning of my career in Florida and unbeknownst to me they thought I was a different Les Brown. So, when I knocked on the door at the back of the theatre a guy said, ‘’May I help you?” I said, ‘’Yes, I am Les Brown’. He said, ‘’You are Les Brown’s driver?’’. I said, “No – I am Les Brown”. He said, “You are not Les Brown the bandleader!” I said, “No I am not”. You know he looked at me and then he was trying to spit on my shoes. I was so glad that he didn’t spit in my face because if he had I wouldn’t be here now. I would have grabbed him. He said, ‘follow me’ and people were already seated in the theatre and they had these album covers of Les Brown the bandleader. And this guy went at the microphone and says, “Ladies and gentlemen – Les Brown!” He then looked at me with contempt and walked off without shaking my hand and greeting me. So, I walked up to the microphone and I’m thinking, ‘How am I gonna deal with this?’ Everyone in that room were shocked because they only knew black people as football or basketball players but not as a Speaker. I am the only black face in the room and then I looked up and there was a sign that says, ‘You have the power to seize the hour’ and then I looked at the audience and I said to myself, ‘Right, I need to take control of this room. So, I said ‘I want you to think about why we are here. We have the power to seize the hour, to recognise your children and to give commitment to these young people because they are being moulded into who they will be in the future. I said, ‘Let’s give them a tremendous round of applause’. I knew they were gonna clap for their children. I needed to be strategic, so I said, ‘And all the parents would you please stand up? There are many people that loved you and believed in you and prayed for you – right up until this moment where we are now. Let’s seize this opportunity to recognise them with love and respect. Give them a tremendous round of applause!’

So you created this crazy energy in the room?
I just increased the energy by taking over the room and filling it with love and appreciation. After that they looked at me as if to say ‘Okay. What are you going to do? We will listen to you now.”

All this power and this energy. Where does it come from? What is the source?
The source is in all of us, who we are behind our eyes. We are all the same and so what I do is call for that source which I call ‘greatness’. I believe that when you are pursuing greatness you don’t know what your limits are – so you act like you don’t have any limits. And then I looked at the audience and I said, ‘You all have greatness in you. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know anything about you but I you all have greatness in you and we all speak from that place – the universal language of acknowledging each other and seeing the value in each other and loving each other.
That began to dispel the rejection, the hostility, the racism in the room and they began not to focus on my colour but focused on me as a human, because at the end of the day and – Jane Elliot said this – it’s not a black race and a brown race or a yellow race and a red race – it is just one race and it’s called the human race. It is brought together by love and God is love. Women are the greatest embodiment of love for me and I am here because of two women. One gave me life and the other gave me love. God took me out of my biological mother’s womb and placed me in the heart of my adopted mother and I think that there is a shift that is taking place and women are the pioneers of that shift. Women will help move us into a different future that Mother Teresa spoke about when she said, ‘’Lord I know you know how much we could bear, and I could bear”.

I am sure a lot of women will resonate with you and so much admire you for the fact that you speak so highly about your mother and the way that you put her on a pedestal. Can you share with us something that you never shared before about your mother?
Interesting that you said that. I had a moment with myself last night praying for my son and I asked myself is there something I have not done? As a kid I had a congestion of the lungs and another friend named Gramps he had the same condition. We were ten years old and we would sit in the back yard with two chairs side by side. One day I came to the backyard and Gramps had died. I remember that night when Doctor Johnson came over as doctors used to make house calls at that time and said, ‘Mamie give Leslie these drops every two hours’ and she had to be up all night to do that. Then she had to go to work on Miami Beach to cook for families with hand-me-down clothes and I remember distinctly my mother hands trembling as she was getting the drops out and putting them into my mouth and she‘d wrapped me in some leaves called ‘Palmer Christian’ leaves and was saying, ‘God don’t take my son, take my life, let me die, but don’t take my baby”. She didn’t give birth to me, she didn’t carry me for nine months and she is asking God to take her life and allow me to live. So, when I was praying for my son the other day I said, ‘God I had not asked you to do this. What mama can love me more than I love my son Calvin. I beg you take my life but give my son more time. I am 73 and I am an old man now and I am okay with going now so take my life instead.” I told this story on the Internet and a lady texted back. ‘God don’t listen to this fool. The God I serve could do it all – he could save you and your son. We don’t serve a limited God”.
What I learned from, my mother is that we must push forward in spite of everything. She believed everything is possible and that’s the kind of mindset that we must have to leap and grow our wings on the way to understanding. If you are not willing to take risks, you can’t grow. And if you can’t grow you can’t become your best, and if you can’t become your best you cannot be happy and if you can’t be happy then what else is there but to walk by faith and not by sight alone.

So you sometimes have to say ‘yes’ but you don’t always need to know how you are going to get there?
The key is to make a commitment. That’s what it will take for us to create a culture in our cities, in our countries, in the world and in the work place for women to be seen as equals. We just need ‘the will to do it’. What will it take for us to reduce the sexual abuse, the physical abuse, the domestic abuse and violence to women and children – those who are powerless and voiceless. Just the will to do it! What will it take for us to stand up to the universal bullies – the most powerful bullies on the planet? Everything that exists is because somebody had the will to do it.

You seem to be enjoying your life a lot now?
Yes. Because we don’t know how much time we have. Someone asked me, ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’ and I said, “I aspire to inspire until I expire” and I always tell my children that when they say ‘Your dad is dead’ don’t allow them to embalm me for three days! Come down to the funeral home and bring a microphone just in case!’ I’m here to teach people to live fully and not die empty. We have to develop the courage and the willingness to follow our life purpose in spite of the fact that we might live in an environment where women are treated inferior or in an environment of racism that does not recognise humanity. You must decide ‘I’m gonna do this no matter what’.

You mention a lot in your speeches that lot of people probably hope to have an easy life because it is difficult to lead a hard life, but you have turned this around and said that when life is hard work then your life is going to be easier. I really love that idea. Can you tell us more?
If you do what is easy your life will be hard. But if you do what is hard, your life will be easier, and we must be willing to do hard. Let’s talk about struggle. I am reminded of a little boy going through an area in the forest when he saw a caterpillar trying to come out of a cocoon. So he watched and he observed and after a while a butterfly came out of the cocoon and hit the ground of the forest fluttering its swings and then flying off. And a few weeks later he came through the same area and saw another butterfly struggling to get out of the cocoon and naively he decided that he wanted to help it to come out faster. He took a safety-pin out of his pants and he made a little incision and the butterfly fell out of the cocoon, hit the ground and fluttered his wings and died because it was the struggle itself that gave it life. The struggle itself – when the dream is big enough – means the odds don’t matter. In life you will always be faced with a series of god-ordained opportunities brilliantly disguised as problems and challenges. Challenges will introduce you to a part of yourself that you might not know right now. We must embrace the challenges because we grow through the challenges of life.

Thank you for this area of our discussion because this is very important especially for women who have realised that if they want to connect with their power and to stand in that power they also need to become more entrepreneurial. Financial freedom is where get most of the power because a lot of women are abused because they are dependent on the finance of other people. A lot of women are starting their own journey as entrepreneurs and starting their own business, but they are facing a lot of challenges. A brilliant idea is not always easy to achieve and so they give up. What is your advice and your wisdom to share with women entrepreneurs to motivate and inspire them to keep going and to be successful?
Three things. My mother was an entrepreneur when she could no longer work at Miami Beach for these wealthy families because they fired her. So, my mother had to become an entrepreneur and she didn’t have multi-level marketing during that time it was like a lottery. She sold moonshine and she sold homebrew. I never talked about it on stage because I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to do it without crying because at one time she went to prison. So, one of the things that I am training Speakers is never tell a story that you are not emotionally capable of handling yourself because this is no place for therapy. What I learned from my mother is she always said, ‘Every tub must stand on its own bottom’. My mother become an entrepreneur and she made a commitment to my birth mother that we will that we will never go to bed hungry – and we never did. We always had a roof over our head and we always had clothes on our back.
Women have always been the catalyst to say, “I am going to provide for this child or these children.” I remember talking to a man who should have been paying ‘Child Support’ and he said, “Oh they’re gonna let the mother take care of him instead.” I said, “But she didn’t get a child through immaculate conception – so you played a part in this child’s life too – so you should participate.” But a lot of guys who I call ‘sperm donors’ just walk away and leave the woman to struggle and make life difficult for her. That’s why the ‘Global Woman Magazine’ is so important in teaching women. Now is easier than before because of technology. These are women who are becoming entrepreneurs and becoming healthy through the comfort of their home with a computer. There are more women now that have a level of independence and more women who have a strong sense of identity. When your life has a sense of identity it gives your life a sense of purpose and a sense of direction and so they are now women who don’t just see themselves as wives or as mothers but as a global entrepreneur. They are living a life of contribution, not just standing in the shadows but can live and be fulfilled and make a difference to the planet. Women now have more access in certain areas of the world than ever before and that’s a good thing.

RJ Harper- Leadership and Living Your Best Life

Editor @ Global Man August 7, 2018 No Comments

RJ Harper- Leadership and Living Your Best Life

By Fati Gorezi

Robert Harper Jr, is a NYC- based award-winning filmmaker and producer from Germany. He is an alumni of Brown University, Digital Film Academy and Harvard Business School where he studied film, finance and international economics. He has also worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs in their prestigious investment banking division as an Associate and later developed and managed international banking conferences while with Euromoney, LLC in both NYC and Hong Kong. In 2007 he produced the film “Typecast,” an “Official Selection” at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. He is a passionate environmentalist and has appeared regularly on American television with MSNBC, NBC, VH1, MTV, TeIeMundo and Dateline NBC. I had the pleasure of speaking to him and asked him to tell us more about what drives him, the challenges he has faced, his future plans and more!

Tell us about your childhood, your parents, and what shaped you into who you are today
I was reared in Nuremberg, Germany, the Bavarian town famous for the Nazi tribunals of 1946. I have, since then, always had a keen sense of right and wrong. During my youth, I spent some quite idyllic summers romping around with friends and family in the Black Forest, France, Switzerland and other parts of eastern Europe. My nomadic family moved a lot but I still call places like California, Italy, Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, Oklahoma and Germany home. I also lived in Costa Smeralda, Italy for a time as well and after visiting more than thirty countries, I don’t think there is a more paradisical place on the planet than the scattered islands of the Mediterranean. The summer of my junior year in high school, I was a student at Columbia University Graduate School of Business in their LEAD Program. Living in NYC that summer changed my life and I have cherished living in the NYC area ever since. It’s great for children to experience the planet in their youth and those many live-abroad experiences still govern much of how I see the world today.

How would you describe your career as a filmmaker and producer?
I took the career road less travelled and wouldn’t change it for anything. My career has been a winding road, a path that no other professional has been down before. I’m proud of that fact on many levels. I’m very curious by nature and firmly believe our existence as humans is a life-long learning process. I worked on Wall Street as an Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs for a time doing $300M municipal bond deals in cities across America. However, filmmaking was my real passion, so when I barely survived the World Trade Center bombing in 2001, I went back to film school in NYC at Digital Film Academy to brush up on my skills in editing and directing. I’m an alumni of Brown and Harvard University and Brown, in particular, has one of the best Semiotics departments on the planet. I’ve been spending time recently filming underwater as well. I just edited some great shark footage from the ‘National Association of Black Divers’ (NABS). A few years ago, a film I produced and directed won the “Audience Award” and “Best Musical Score” award as part of the NYC Film Race where more than 200 experienced film professionals compete to make a film in just 24 hours. That film contest is a gargantuan production and planning undertaking and I had thirty crew members working for me. It was great to win those filmmaker awards in NYC and many doors opened for me in the film business after that because I think I’m still such a Goldman Sachs-type workaholic.
Sometimes filmmakers make sense of things in their own lives through their work. Do you feel you do that?

On some levels, modern life in America doesn’t make a lot of sense but having a great sense of humour about it all often keeps me smiling. Passionate, filmmakers strive to tell unique stories, so our lives do show up in the work. I produced an award-winning comedy that screened at the Cannes Film Festival a few years ago and it centered around two Italian-Americans trying to make it big in Hollywood. The film was a combination of fiction and non-fiction but some of my own comical adventures in the entertainment industry was certainly thrown into the plot. I have a very funny (and random) story about me and Robert DeNiro drinking solo for an hour at the Supper Club that, looking back, became a life-changing interaction for me. DeNiro is the nicest Hollywood icon ever but during our conversation he made me realise that, in many ways, anyone is acccessible to me in the movie business. Eventually, I went on to work with acclaimed music video director, Hype Williams, NAS, MethodMan and Diddy on “Belly” and many other independent films as well. Senator Cory Booker also hired me to do a lot of very successful Democratic political Ad work in New Jersey and now there are several politicians in office who I’m proud to say, “I helped win their elections.”

Photo: Jon Stulich / Location: (Novado Gallery) / Stylist: Thorne Nugent / Designer: StevenLand.com
/ Hair: Felicia Verna – EllureZion

What has been the biggest challenge you faced and how did you tackle that challenge?
In 2011, a group of environmentalist friends and I sued multi-national, PPG Industries in federal court for dumping over one million tons of toxic chromium 6 waste in a largely Black community in America. Chromium 6, if you don’t know, causes lung cancer and the toxic waste had been there for more than thirty years. Critics said we were crazy and would never win in court because that multi-national firm makes about $14 billion dollars a year and Jersey state courts are very corrupt. I, however, kinda knew we could win because I understood the power of the media and social media and I felt like we were on the right side of justice as well. And Obama was in the White House. I made some shocking environmental Youtube films about chromium that got the national press interested and five years later, one of America’s top polluters, settled that federal case in record time to the tune of $600M. That chromium 6 case was really the Erin Brocovich story on steroids.

How important is having the right motivation to be successful?
Passionate motivation is critical for success! Cutting corners never really works out too well. You just have to always want to outdo the competition. Be smarter, be more curious, be more strategic and most importantly, do your homework better than everyone else. I’m confident I learned that formula in high school and from my parents because I graduated third in my class. Adult life really begins in high school and many adults wake up to that fact too late in life. I have worked alongside some of America’s top billionaires including Alex Rovt, David Tepper, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Rudin. I’ve learned those industry titans are principally motiviated by the work they are passionate about. Bloomberg will go down in history as one of the best mayors of NYC and he was earning a $1 a year from that job. His passion was fixing the fixable things in New York City while in office and you can only do a job like that for so long with the right motivation.

Who have been your greatest influences in life and why?
God, Sade and time! British/Nigerian singer Sade had been my wife in way too many dreams of mine (lol). My parents and grandparents have also certainly influenced me most intimately but my personal heroes are an eclectic group of global icons of history like: Shaka Zulu, Huey Newton, Queen Amanirenas, diver Carl Brashear, Thomas Sankara, Piye (Nubian King of Kush), Hannibal (the Godfather of Strategy), Steven Biko and boxer, Muhammed Ali. They were all pretty unapologetic and proven leaders with a vision. They were true BOSSES!! And that’s a rare commodity today. And as for film influences, my favorite films are “Cinema Paradisio” and “The Red Balloon.” My former girlfriends have accused me of being a mushy, film romantic sometimes. I’m also a big fan of the legacy of films by Jean-Luc Goddard, Helmut Lang and Akira Kurosawa. I’ve come to realise that my tastes in film tend to be a curious mix of film genres. I gotta say that director, NYU professor and Hollywood activist: Spike Lee also impacted a large part of my early inspiration.

The world is being shaken up with some momentous changes coming. How do you see the future, the role of women, and is it bright?
I’m a realist. Thanks to the internet, world communities are waking up and organising revolutions and I think some of this global turmoil presents an incredible opportunity for visionary female leadership to emerge and there is now, more than ever, room for broader diversity in our global, state and local institutions. Women wield incredible power on this planet. Some of that power is still untapped though and I’m not completely sure why. I’m excited to see more women working together and prospering. I am very inspired by the incredible life story of Global Man founder, Mirela Sula. She is such a big personality and business trailblazer for women around the world. It’s so refreshing to see leaders like her that fully understand that diversity matters. I look at women like Meghan Markle, the new Queen of America, and have high hopes that women’s growing influence will continue to shape a better, more peaceful and sustainable planet. I really like that t-shirt that says “The Future is Female” because global power surely can’t be “all-male” forever if we as a species intend to stick around.


Photo:Jose Pagan (Hunks4Hope.com)/ Location (NYC)/ Stylist:Lila Green

Can you tell us a little about your out-of-work life and your personal interests?
I’m a proud PADI-certified scuba diver and a board member of the ‘National Association of Black Scuba Divers’ (NABS.org). I hope that global marine conservation is part of my legacy but equally as important, I hope more Americans learn to swim and/or teach their children to swim. Statistics show that about “65% of Americans can’t swim the length of an Olympic pool.” My fantasy is to make basic swimming a requisite for high school graduation – starting with Americans. “Nine people die each day from drowning in this country and six of those nine people are minorities.” These alarming statistics have to change! It’s July, summertime, so let’s teach our youth to swim. Save a life! Promoting scuba diving all over social media to my 60K followers and beyond is my way of nudging people softly to “be cool” and learn to swim because you can’t get to certified scuba diver status without knowing how to swim.

What is your experience of working with women? And what is your opinion about their talents and skills?
I have some incredible and talented sisters whom I love very deeply. Throughout my career I have worked closely with women and I have high hopes that the brilliant global women leading the charge for equality in the workplace will continue to prevail. As an African-American male, I understand the role that discrimination plays in the workforce against women. Businesses need to be held more accountable in our court systems for the on-going global wage discrimination that is a sad fact of life for too many women. However, women need to continue to band together and support each other on all levels of the corporate, political and financial landscape in order to make meaningful and lasting changes. A tremendous opportunity was potentially lost for all women when Trump won the presidency but the tide is turning on many fronts for women internationally and the #MeToo Movement has driven a necessary stake in ground that frankly says, “Enough is enough!”

Can you tell us more about “MEN AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE”?
I was selected by activist, Lila Green to be Mr. October 2018 for the annual ‘Hunks4Hope’ calendar (www.Hunks4Hope.com). The calendar’s mission is to raise awareness and critical funds for persons (both women and men) affected by domestic violence. I’m honoured to be among such a committed group of sexy male model “Hunks” who stand as advocates and spokesmodels against domestic violence. The calendar has been a great way for many of us men to finally talk openly about our personal views when it comes to domestic violence. My journey with this very successful annual calendar has been educational and very inspiring. There are so many complicated layers to the constant struggle of trying to address these kinds of traumatic relationships that I have found myself being called in the middle of the night numerous times this year because someone heard about the calendar and had a friend that needed to be rescued. I certainly don’t have all the answers yet but its been been great working with a network of organisations that support our mission. Abusers themselves often require an intervention themselves. Too many men grow up watching loved ones get abused and think that is tolerable behaviour. At the end of the day, domestic violence is really an issue of trauma…and it affects both sexes. I have learned a lot in the last year and actively engaging men in this controversial conversation is frankly critical. Men do have views on domestic violence and it’s important to explore those experiences as well. For far too long, men have been seen as the potential enemy when it comes domestic violence but ‘Hunks4Hope’ is actively challenging that notion in a big and very refreshing way. The “Hunks” have supported all of the annual galas celebrating domestic violence survivors and when we show up, all the ladies in the room invariably want their calendars personally signed. I gladly sign but I always give a kiss too. The 2018 calendar I’m in has been ‘Hunks4Hope’s’ best-selling year and I’m happy to have been given the opportunity to represent the growing community of males standing up against domestic violence and sexual harrassment in any form.

Matthieu Kaczmarek – Finding Business Success and Building Loving Relationships

Editor @ Global Man May 2, 2018 No Comments

By Fati Gorezi

Matthieu Kaczmarek was born in Lille in the north of France where he lived until he was 20 years old. He then moved from Lille to Limoges, in central France, in order to follow a master’s degree in ‘Computer Science and Engineering’. He started his professional career in IT consultancy in Brussels in 2008 and worked for major companies such as ‘BNP Paribas’, ‘Orange’ and ‘Total’. In 2013 he decided to create his own company to continue working in IT consultancy and to generate some new ideas. He also launched ‘Consult & Event’, a wedding planning agency, at the end of 2013. Since then he has organised and coordinated several weddings in Belgium. At the end of 2016, he decided to launch ‘Le Grand Amour’, which is the brand that he is currently using for all the marriage events that he organises. In 2017, with Stella Bida, he decided to create ‘Innovation Strategy Results’, a company that helps business owners and their staff to be in control of their innovation cycle in order to get more clients.

How do you remember the beginning of your career?

During my studies I had the opportunity to travel for my different internships in the UK, Turkey and other countries. As I felt like a world citizen I wanted to continue travelling and working away from France in order to develop my mind within different cultures.

I had the choice between two opportunities: one in Columbia and one in Brussels. It was a hard choice to make but I decided to go to Brussels, the “European capital city”. It was a great symbol for me to live in a place with more than 170 nationalities in order to continue developing my mind. I have never regretted this choice as I met my wife there and built my own ecosystem there.

What motivated you to follow your dreams and to create your own company in IT consultancy?

After five years as an employee, I wanted to have the ability to choose my clients following my own expectations and to complete my own training plan from a technical point of view.

I started with a first client, then a second one and since then it has never stopped. When you have the feeling that you are doing the best for your clients then you are aligned with your mission.  Now I have accomplished one of my goals in life: having my own company.

At the end of 2016 you launched ‘Le Grand Amour’. Can you tell us more about this brand?

The objective of ‘Le Grand Amour’ is to create unforgettable moments for couples with amazing romantic surprises and marriage proposals. Frequently, men and women want to surprise their loved ones but cannot split themselves between the organisation of the event and the surprise itself – or they have an idea but don’t know how to make it happen.

My personal objective is to provide happiness to couples and special moments where they feel fully connected to one another in order to experience true love. When your partner takes time to think about your relationship and finds the idea that will make you feel in love again, that’s a beautiful situation to be in.

Since the end of 2016, ‘Le Grand Amour’ organised multiple surprises across Europe and so far, we have never heard a “No” to a marriage proposal! 2018 has now been launched with a lot of new romantic events planned and we are very excited about it!

What are some tips that you can share with us in order for people to improve their business?

The first one is to ‘WOW’ your clients in order to make them press the ‘buy again’ button. That’s why I have launched, with Stella Bida, ‘Happy Clients = Higher profits’ a Company that guides small and medium B2C business owners to improve the client experience they provide to their clients.

The second one, learned and adapted from one of my Coaches, JT Foxx, is the speed of implementation of your ideas. If you implement ten ideas a month while your competition implements a maximum of one or two how far ahead of them will you be after a year? Even if an idea is not a good one, you will grow because you know quickly if it works or not.

A lot of people see only the success that you have achieved – How many times you had to fail before this?

When I started my wedding planning company, I was struggling with the marketing and the business strategy bits and I lost a lot of time and money in trying to do things without consistency.

The most important thing is to learn from your failures in order to grow. So, when I started to learn and was coached by another business man, my sales started to grow. I also met wonderful people that are helping me to develop my skills and providing me with opportunities like Mirela Sula, the founder of Global Woman Network. From that time, I haven’t faced any major failures. As mentioned before, I implemented a lot of ideas every month to develop my businesses. Sometimes it doesn’t succeed as expected but I have limited the risk.

What is your vision for the future?

From a business point of view, I am sure that the ability of a Company to offer tailor made experiences and products to their clients will be a key factor. But most importantly the human factor will be the key element. In the hyperconnected world, it will be so easy to have everything we want in a short time that the human relationships provided by a Company will be the key differentiator. People buy from people even if there is a lot of technology involved.

From a personal point of view, the future appears exciting. The development of knowledge in all scientific domains will provide opportunities that we cannot even imagine yet. I am sure that those developments will lead to big changes in the way we think about the life we have on earth.

Q7-What are three steps that you encourage women and men to take to empower themselves?

The first step is to assume that you have to change something in your life if you want to achieve new challenges. Either you need training because you are not good in a domain or you need to change the people you are surrounded by.

For instance, regarding training, I noticed that it was important to always be in learning mode. Why is it that we concentrate so many years learning in school, but when reaching adulthood and during career years, so many people abandon training and treat it as the last level of priority? It is fundamental for me to encourage people to sharpen their actions continually, by learning critical business skills such as marketing, accounting, strategic thinking, branding or negotiation.

Regarding the people that surround you that I mentioned above, it is sometimes difficult to admit it, but there will always be some people around you that are not happy and excited by your new way of thinking or your wish to evolve. It can be due to jealousy, fear of losing contact with you, or because you might expose their own failures. So, you need to take care of your mind by filtering out the people that are don’t need advice from.

The second step is to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself or your idea it will automatically be reflected in the way that you present yourself and your Company. The first reason why customers don’t buy is because they don’t trust the credibility of the offer you have offered them. Lack of personal confidence sometimes means you will listen to anyone that might have an opinion about your business even if they have never launched a business themselves.

The third step is to find a good Coach that is a more successful than you – and that will help you to think about new ideas and prevent you from making mistakes. I started without any training or a good Coach and I have therefore lost time and money – but once you have a good Coach you will shine like the star that you are.

 

Luca Spaghetti- A name to remember

Editor @ Global Man April 30, 2018 33 Comments

Luca Spaghetti- A name to remember

 

By Fati Gorezi

Luca Spaghetti was born in Rome, Italy. His name, but above all his nice surname, has become famous thanks to his meeting with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the bestseller “Eat, Pray, Love”, which then became a film with Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, in which Luca was present as a character because of his name. Being connected to a great book (and later a film)  brought  many changes  to his  life.  Now  Luca is a  completely charming writer too. His first book “Un romano per amico”, is published in thirteen countries.

 ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, The story of Elizabeth’s life, literally, became a sensation in many countries captivating millions of readers (and later viewers) All of the “characters” in her book are real people and you are one of them. How do you feel about that?

Well, first I have to say that I didn’t know I was going to be in the book. When in 2003 Liz explained to me her project she told me that her book was going to be a ‘sort of biography’ but I couldn’t imagine a “real” biography. When she sent me the draft of EPL and I read my name for the first time I fell down from my chair. Then I started to appreciate it and the book became a phenomenon and people began to search me out and asked me: “Are you the Luca Spaghetti of EPL? Do you really exist?”

Then the movie came out where I am depicted as being bald and fat – but the problem wasn’t that I’m bald and fat in the movie but that the production team tried to make me become a Roma fan!!! Probably you know that in Rome there are two soccer teams, Lazio (The Good) and Roma (The Evil). And when we went with Liz on the movie set in Rome one night to meet Julia Roberts I met “myself” for the first time and I saw the actor who played me (Giuseppe Gandini) coming with a yellow-and-red Roma’s scarf on his (my!) shoulder.

At that time I said laughing: “I need a lawyer! It’s okay being bald and it’s okay being fat – but I’ll never be a Roma fan!” So they took mercy on me and I returned to being a Lazio fan in the movie.

You became a tour guide/guardian angel to Liz (the protagonist) How would you describe your relationship and friendship with Elizabeth Gilbert?

A gift! When a common friend wrote to me to say she was coming to Rome for three months and asked me to take care of her I was scared. I knew she was a writer and I thought of her as a very boring, intellectual, snobbish and a sophisticated person. Then, day by day, after some “penne all’arrabbiata” and a few glasses of wine I discovered how wonderful she is. I learned from her how to stop hiding my feelings and now I’m not ashamed to say: “Leave your door open always and take care of those you love.”

And we also found out a lot of things that we have in common: we have the same way of protecting our friendship deeply and strongly and we have the same sense of humour and we love eating. Most of the people remind me how lucky Liz and I are to have such a great friendship. And I completely agree. Even after her great success she’s still the same girl I used to know.

Being a person in a great book (and later film) what changes have been brought to your life?

First of all, I am now at peace with my last name! When I was child I suffered a lot, then, on becoming an adult, I learned to laugh about myself and I started to think that it wasn’t such a giant problem, and now I am a good friend with my last name. My grandmother always used to tell me, “Your last name is going to bring you luck! When people meet you it will make them happy and a little bit hungry too.” Now I can say that is absolutely true!

It has brought me luck and a lot of new friends and experiences like becoming friends with my idol James Taylor, becoming a member of the ‘Carbonara Club’ as Ambassador, and it has given me a funnier and happier life.

The book marks a revolution for women. An uprising and a rare search by Elizabeth Gilbert about how women should rise again after every failure and seek success. In your opinion what are the biggest challenges that women face today?

Probably their equality with men based on all the recent stories about abuse in the media and economic factors in terms of pay and remuneration. In a civilized and equitable world women should be paid the same as a man but I’m afraid it still isn’t so. Economically there are some tasks that have different remunerations if the worker is a man or a woman. My wife, for example, is the Director of a chemical laboratory with two hundred people. She is the first woman trusted with this task and she’s happy and appreciated. But many of her colleagues are sure that if her job was done by a man he would have better pay. Personally, I prefer to work with women. I have two girls who work for me and I would never change them for men. Every day I work with clients who are women and every day I appreciate their skills. I’m happy that Liz is a fantastic living example of every positive thing a woman could dream or plan to be.

You are a completely charming writer too. How would you describe your experience of writing books?

Thank you. A fantastic experience and the realisation of a dream. When I was a kid I dreamed of becoming a soccer player, then a songwriter like James Taylor, and at 40 years old I discovered that writing was easy for me. This was, and still is, a great lesson to me. I tried and I loved it. I started just to tell the EPL phenomenon seen through my eyes – the story of an ordinary guy with a special last name, who was born and grew up in the most beautiful city in the world and how a friendship and a book changed his life. Then I found that writing is one the best ways for me to let my emotions come out and so I went on. I’d love to write more, but often my other work doesn’t leave me so much time to do it – so I try to exploit every free minute I have.

What we should know about Italian women and men?

You should know that Italian women are the most beautiful women in the world and that Italian men are the most charming men in the world (not me of course!) Italian women and men are the funniest creatures on the planet, the best cooks, the most elegantly dressed, the insuperable wine makers and of course, the most romantic lovers in the universe. Of course I’m kidding, but I can swear we all have a great sense of humour too.