Day 27: Jo Mercer

October 27, 2009 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“You’re not just a static person in this world.  Everything that you do and say has a ripple effect.  Everything you do and say has some effect on the people around you and so on and so on and so on exponentially.”

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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Jo, for participating to be part of this amazing project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Jo Mercer: Yes, sure.  My name is Jo Mercer, and I am a do-it-all kind of lady.

Toni: So what does that mean?

Jo: Well, when you’re somebody who is in the arts for a profession, it kind of means that you have to wear more hats than probably the usual.

Toni: Okay, that makes perfect sense.  Well, Jo, with everything that you do, I’m going to go right into the first question which is, when you think about inspiration, who do you inspire and how do you do that?

Jo: Well, my personal goal is to inspire pretty much everybody I meet on a daily basis.  I know that’s kind of a huge task to put on myself, but I think that it’s really important for people to be happy.  And if I meet somebody, greet somebody, and leave them with a smile on their face, then I feel that I’ve done my job with that person for that moment.

Toni: How might you go about that?  If you’re at work or in your personal life, how do you go about making sure that you leave someone with that smile or a bit of happiness from you?

Jo: Well, it could be anything from just joking around with them, you know, something as simple as that, but really the whole thing is, I think there is … there can be far too much negativity in the world and hey, you watch the news on a daily basis, you know what’s out there, and enough is enough.  We don’t have to let the little things get us down.  Even to the point where … we had a situation in our family for a little while where people were misunderstanding each other and getting angry, and that didn’t make sense to me.  Why would anybody in our family — why would any family members –purposely try to offend each other?  So, I started this whole little movement in the family, “just ask”.  And that’s what I was saying, “just ask” …

So it started with just the family, and then it grew out from there, and now I have this whole circle of friends and acquaintances and family members where, if they think that they misunderstand something, all they do is ask.  And then a misinterpretation is explained, and they realize, “Wow, you were really saying something nice about me.”  I see so much of that going on in the world, even in the media.  I see it in movies, you know, with people misunderstanding each other, and I think that communication is so important, so I guess I would say the way I try to inspire people is through simple communication.

Toni: How do you use that, that communication, that “just ask” question when you’re trying to help explore potential in others, whether that is people you work with or with your family; how might you go about that?

Jo: Well, it depends, of course, on the situation, but usually I do some teaching and as an instructor you have to learn to listen.   I mean, communication is speaking, but it’s also being careful in your listening.  Sometimes people say things that they don’t realize that they’ve given a clue to something that they might be feeling or something that they might be going through.  Even that little teeny, tiny word that they might say or just a phrase, or it could be a raised eyebrow, or maybe they’ve looked away for a moment.  You know, there’s a lot of information that goes on in every way that people communicate — from the way they speak to the way they carry themselves to facial expressions or body movements — so I really pay attention to that and try to draw attention to …  When I ask the question, I might say something that would relate back to something that I do know about that person.  I don’t want this to sound vague; I’m trying to come up with an immediate example.

Toni: No, that’s okay, that’s okay.  It sounds … what I’m hearing you say is that — you also reference this in how you inspire others — is the listening is very important to you and the communication is very important to you.  When you ask those questions and you’re listening for those answers, how then does that turn around and help the people that you’re working with or live with to help them explore their potential?

Jo: Well, a lot of times they don’t even realize their potential is there.  And there is another key element to this, which is people tend to ask questions that they already know the answers to and, in a lot of instances, all they are looking for is a confirmation.  It might be something that they feel in their hearts or might be an inclination this is the right thing to do, or “If I did it this way, that wouldn’t be very appropriate.”  And they are just looking for somebody else to say, “You know, I really like that idea,” or “You wouldn’t want to do it that way because you’re you; you know, you would feel uncomfortable in that situation.”  So a lot of times that’s what it is; people just looking for confirmation and getting it or not getting it.  I feel that it’s very important to be honest, and sometimes honesty is difficult.

Toni: Well, I think so far you have a theme here that I’m hearing, which is that the way you inspire others and help them explore their potential is with your “just ask” statements is to get to the truth; to get away from the perception and to get to the truth.  And that’s what you do as far as exploring potential, which is to provide that truth back to that person, whether it’s in the form of a confirmation or validation, or just someone to sit in that space and listen to them.

Jo: Yes, exactly.  I mean, how many times are you in a conversation with somebody and your inclination would be a little white lie, or you just agree because it’s easier, and that could wind up being … it just could wind up being you totally did the wrong thing, and it’s better to take the time and pay attention to the people that you’re with, really give them the moment when you’re there with them.

Toni: What do you need to be inspired, Jo?

Jo: I need not necessarily the same level of attention from the people that I’m with, but I do need attention.  I need to know that I’m not just here for fluff.  I need appreciation; which could sound needy, but that’s okay, because I like to know that the things that I do are appreciated by others.  And it could be a simple thanks, or it could be a hug or a kiss or a smile, anything like that; just positive affirmation and that keeps me going on a moment-to-moment basis, really.

Toni: Are there places or tools, techniques that you seek out and use to inspire when you need inspiration?

Jo: Well, with my comedy troupe, definitely.  I have a really good time.  I think that laughter is very, very important.  And there are times when I need inspiration and I’ll just sit down and pop in a funny movie or a musical or something that’s inspiring, or I’ll go out for a walk.  I love to garden, and I’ll go out in the backyard, and I’ll be in amongst my flowers with my wind chimes going, and that inspires me.  Being with my family — doing something together where we’re all having a good time — that inspires me.

Being on stage in rehearsal with Dutch Blitzkrieg.  That inspires me, especially when the audience is laughing.  There is such an energy that comes out of that, and it feeds back to each other and you become one big group.  The audience and the players just become one big, happy, laughing unit, and I think that that is very inspirational.  So I guess through laughter; I guess that’s one of my biggest tools.

Toni: Okay.  And when you’re seeking to explore your own potential, to continue on that journey, what is it that you do?  What do you need?

Jo: For myself personally, I need ongoing education.

Toni: Meaning?

Jo: I try very hard to … well, I read probably 2 books a week, and they could be instructional or self-improvement or just novels.  Also, every year I try to do something for myself as far as a workshop is concerned, which is why the past two years in a row I’ve been out to Chicago to train at Second City.  Not sure where I’ll go next year, but I try to do something every year doing that.  I’ve actually been thinking about going back to school for my Master’s, but I think that education is very important.  And for some reason, it just feeds my energy to be learning something and to know that there is always something new out there to learn.

You’re not just a static person in this world.  Everything that you do and say has a ripple effect.  Everything you do and say has some effect on the people around you and so on and so on and so on exponentially.   So the more that you learn, either educationally or as a vibrant individual just from listening to other people or going to a festival, an ethnic festival of some kind; you learn so much just by doing, and that really feeds me.

Toni: When you are seeking inspiration — and how you do that with the appreciation that may come from your audience, from your comedy troupe and the laughter, your work and family, and then the way that you explore your own potential with the education and feeding your energy — do you see that what you do personally to inspire yourself and also to explore your potential, how that feeds into how you inspire others and help them explore their potential?  Do you see a correlation there?

Jo: Oh, there’s definitely a link.  It’s like a chain, and everybody is a link in it and you wind up seeing the influence with others through … well, I’ll give you an example.  I was so proud the other day on Sunday night, we had a show, Dutch Blitzkrieg had a show, and I said it’s time for warm-ups.  Here we are on stage, and I said “Time for warm-up,” and one of my cast members just said “Great!” and he went right into it and he wound up leading the entire half-hour warm-up session, and I was just so proud of him.  I didn’t say anything to him, I just stepped back and let him do it, and he did a wonderful job and I thought here is someone who — in the beginning we did a different kind of … a little bit more of a sketch-writing format, and it was more structured; and here is this guy who works for the government, he has a very staid and difficult job.  But when he is doing the comedy and when he is warming up with us, he is a totally different person, and it’s very freeing for him.

So that’s an example of learning by doing and inspiring other people and seeing it kind of spread out in the people around and it’s an exciting feeling.  It just takes you to a whole new level seeing other people communicate where they didn’t usually in a prior instance.   Just seeing the situation where somebody would be talking and then all of a sudden they stop and listen and I think “I helped them with that.”  That’s pretty cool.

Toni: That is very cool.  And what I’m getting from you on this interview as well as with your own inspiration and providing inspiration to others, with getting people to “just ask” and to take away the perception and keep things real and to make people happy — and also the validation and confirmation that you provide to others with your example of the person on stage — what I’m hearing is that creates a place of trust.  And that’s a gift that you are giving to someone else so that they can move outside of their comfort zone; and that confirmation and validation that you’re giving to them allows them to move forward, so I think that’s amazing.

Jo: Thank you.  And you know, there’s this phrase that floats around out there sometimes — I’m sure you’ve heard it — but they said you should pat yourself on the back because nobody else is going to.  That’s not true.  We can all pat each other on the back.  We can all find something to pat each other on the back about, and it keeps you going; it really does.

Toni: Well, Jo, I have to tell you, your interview has been really interesting and your insight and snapshot you’ve given us in this interview will have others learn from it and also benefit from it.  And I really appreciate your time that you’ve given to this project and this insight into how you inspire others and also yourself.  So for that, I thank you so very much.

Jo: Thank you.  And I would like to say something to everybody out there who’s listening.  Try on a daily basis to make a positive difference in the lives of the people you meet.

Toni: Thank you very much.  What a great way to end the interview!

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For more information about Jo Mercer:  www.jomercer.biz – www.dutchblitzkrieg.com

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