Day 88: Sam Renick

December 27, 2009 at 12:01 am, Category: Featured, Inspiration

“The whole thing where, by them doing the right thing, that inspires others to do better as well.  I’m a big believer in the old starfish story.  They say ‘Well, there’s a million of these starfish on the beach … if you throw one in the ocean, how does that help?”  Well, it helps that one!’”

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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Sam, for agreeing to be part of the Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Sam Renick: First, you’re very welcome.  My name is Sam Renick.  I’m a social entrepreneur.  I helped to found a company called It’s A Habit and created a character called Sammy the Rabbit.  We’ve been traveling all over the United States and the world encouraging kids, their parents, and anyone else who will listen to get in the habit of saving their money.

Toni: I love that, I really do.  Can you think about that word inspiration and the work that you do – who do you think that you inspire and how do you do that?

Sam: We receive a lot of phone calls and emails, so we know we’re inspiring kids, first of all.  That’s our primary audience, but I’m happy to report to you that in addition to the children, we’re also inspiring adults and teachers.  We’re in that environment quite a bit.

I think we primarily do it by going out and doing the work we’re doing and doing something we call Showing The Family The Way, which for us … we have a song with that title.  It basically means we’re all leaders, we’re all potential inspirers when we go out and set good examples.

We’re kind of pioneers in this field.  We started around 2000.  There were people doing it at that time, but since then — and based on what’s happened with the economy — more people are now getting into this field.

By going out there, doing it, following my passion and my dream to want to help kids lead a more empowered life, that’s, you know … around our character, we’ve created books and music.  And so just having done all that has inspired other people, at least that’s what they tell me.

Toni: Now, when you work with kids and the adults and the teachers and you’re working to inspire them, how do you think that then translates into helping them explore their potential?

Sam: Well, to start with, I’m not focused necessarily on inspiring them.  I have a message that I’m very passionate about.  Saving is a great habit.  Saving makes us strong.  What I focus on to begin with is delivering that message in the most professional, most impassioned way I can.  I think as a result of that, as a byproduct of that, it creates inspiration for the kids and the parents.

What I try and do is I think about this issue and what it means, what it’s meant to myself and what it can mean for them, and then try and figure out a variety of ways of delivering it in a compelling fashion.  And I think that creates the inspiration and encouragement.

Toni: How does that then translate into the learning that they’re taking away once they’re in front of you and they listen to what you have to say or they see what you’re doing?   How does that then translate into helping them explore potential within themselves or others?

Sam: Well, what it does is it … okay … the message is one of saving money, being more fiscally responsible.  The person that does that and practices it, we give them the information that they can act on, like why saving is a great habit, how to do it and where to do it.  That puts them in a more empowered state so they’re in a better position to help themselves and to help others.  It  puts them in a better position to explore their … Basically, when you save, that basically is a statement that you do have a future and you believe in that future, because saving is deferred spending.

It’s all about the future.  When they act on a message, that’s what helps them be better positioned to explore not only their own potential for themselves, but their own potential for helping others as well, be it their families, friends, or loved ones, whoever it is.

Toni: So it really does carry forward in a ripple effect.

Sam: Absolutely.  The whole thing where, by them doing the right thing, that inspires others to do better as well.  I’m a big believer in the old starfish story.  They say “Well, there’s a million of these starfish on the beach, how can helping … if you throw one in the ocean, how does that help?”  Well, it helps that one!

Toni: That’s a great story!  Let me ask you, from your perspective, Sam, what do you need to be inspired?

Sam: Well you know, I need very similar things.  I need to see people out there who are “walking the walk.”  I gravitate towards people who have integrity and are tremendous professionals in the work that they do, and have a tremendous amount of passion for what they do.

Myself, I like to ask myself questions.  That’s part of what inspires me as well as other people.  I’ll ask myself constantly “What is it that I really want?  What am I willing to do for it?  Am I really willing to dig in and do what’s required to get done?”

In addition to that, I love reading biographies.  I love seeing videos of people who are accomplished and have done things, particularly things against tremendous odds.  That’s one of the things that I love about the United States of America, it’s filled with stories of people who started with nothing but have accomplished tremendous things.  Of course, in addition to that, you can find the stuff not only in books and in videos, but you can find it on YouTube even.

Toni: Let me ask you, were you always this way?  Were you always this positive, and did you always come to the table thinking this way?

Sam: I don’t know if always, but I think for the most part the answer is probably yes.  I grew up in an environment where my parents were very positive.  We didn’t really have a lot in terms of resources, but they always shared with us that, you know, if we were willing to work hard, we could accomplish anything we want.  So even though we didn’t have a lot of resources to throw at issues, that was never a barrier, because if we threw our heart and our mind at something, we could do it.

There wasn’t a lot of room for excuses regardless of what the circumstances were, so I think that that really helped to shape the way I looked at situations.

Toni: Now, do you yourself reach for any type of methods or tools when you are looking to fill yourself up or to be inspired?  Are there things that you reach for to help you to do that?

Sam: Number one, I reach for books.  Books are a tremendous source of inspiration for me.  I also love attending seminars and workshops; that’s another tremendous source.  I find some resources online, as I mentioned.  I love things, television or video related like The Biography Channel that shares these kinds of stories and messages as well.  Books are my number one source.

Toni: What types of books do you reach for?

Sam: You know, I read a lot of what I guess people would call self-growth and then also biography type books.  So you might find, you know, stuff … The name that pops into my head right off the bat probably just because it’s good marketing is Tony Robbins, but I have read his stuff.

Online on Twitter, interestingly enough, I’m meeting a lot of people who are into positive growth messages.  Right now, Tony Robbins is the one that comes to mind in terms of … I read a lot of sporting type stuff as well.  I’m in Los Angeles, so the Lakers are a big deal.  Phil Jackson writes books;  I find him inspiring as well.

Toni: Sam, when you talk about all these things that you find inspiring and what you reach for to stay inspired, how do you think that then helps you to continuously explore your own potential?

Sam: Well, one thing, it tells me if they could do it, I could do it as well.  I hear that a lot from people as well, and I think that’s why it’s important for myself or anyone to keep doing the right thing; you don’t know who’s watching.   A lot of people use that thinking … “If you can do it, I can do it.”

Another one that just came to mind was Pete Carroll here in L.A.  He’s a big football coach at USC — that’s another hot thing — but in addition to his USC thing, he started a nonprofit called A Better L.A.  I just love the idea of the title of it.  But I’m hearing all the time on commercials now more information about his nonprofit than I hear about USC football.  I just recently heard he’s out trying to do basically like a Toys for Tots type of drive, and I’m thinking to myself “You know, if Pete can do it, I can do it!  How else can I make a contribution?”

I also think, frankly, Toni, it’s a part of maturing as well.  I just turned 51 and I know for, I don’t know, maybe it’s been the last five or 10 years, I have been thinking more, “How can I be of more value to society and more of service in general?”

Regardless of politics, you know, I found current President Obama and former President Bush’s Point of Light Foundation – their calls for service.  I grew up when John Kennedy was President, that whole “Ask not what your country can do for you, what you can do for your country.”  All that stuff weighs more heavily on me now than when I was younger, and I want to make some contribution, basically.

Toni: So how you believe that the inspiration as you approach it and what you need, okay, to help you explore your potential — which is that you can do it and how you want to make a difference —  how does that then, from your personal perspective on both of those issues, how does it then translate into what you do for others?  Is there a direct correlation with what you go through and what you need to what you do for others?

Sam: I think there is.  Okay, first of all, what I think I need.  I need some inspiration to begin with, but generally that inspiration translates into me taking some action, and that inspiration that usually I’m seeking comes from some action.

Pete Carroll, the football coach at USC, he’s doing more than football.  He’s doing a nonprofit as well.  He’s taking action to do that.  I find that inspiring.  And so what that helps me do, especially as an entrepreneur, because you’re creating your own structure, your own discipline.  It helps me say “Okay, I can take the action I need to take and take even more action to be as good as I can be to contribute to the lives of others.”

I only know from others, you know, when they contact me and email me or write me letters and, fortunately, I’ve received some of those.  One that just comes to mind now that I’m talking about this is there were some ninth grade girls who I trained to help use our materials to go into elementary schools and teach kids about saving.  They did a project where they went out and taught 140 second graders that saving is a great habit using Sammy Rabbit books and music.  When the project was over, they wrote me a nice thank you card and said that the project changed their lives, thanks for being an inspiration to them.

Toni: That’s fantastic.

Sam: I hope that answers the question.  I don’t know if it did.

Toni: No, it certainly did.  I think that …

Sam: At the end of all … you get a notion that you can do something, then you have to do it.  Seeing that others have done it helps.

Toni: Absolutely.  I think that’s the point that is loud and clear in this interview for others to benefit from, which is you need to see action taken, which then inspires you to take action and it is – it’s a cycle.  And what’s different here with some is that what you do is you don’t just think about it, you do it.  That’s very inspirational.

And so, that’s what I took away from this interview is the passion and the fact that you know you can do it and what you’re trying to do to make a difference, not only in children but, you know, in everyday life.  For that, at the Get Inspired! Project, we really thank you for coming to the table and joining us on this interview, Sam.  Thank you so very much .

Sam: You’re very welcome.  Thank you.

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For more information about Sam Renick:  www.itsahabit.com/sammy.html

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