Day 185: Avil Beckford
“I’m inspired by what conversations I hear, you know, conversations I’ve had, and I realize that we can learn so much from others if we are open and know how to actively listen …”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Avil, for being part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Avil Beckford: My name is Avil Beckford. I am a writing researcher. I am also known as a content producer. I founded my company over 15 years ago. It’s called Ambeck Enterprise, and I am originally from Jamaica and have been living in Canada for 25 years.
Toni: Thank you, and thank you for being here. When you think of the word inspiration, who do you think you inspire and how does that happen?
Avil: Okay, well, I inspire professionals, and I do that mainly through my writing. First was through my news at Ambeck Edge and now through my blog, The Invisible Mentor, and also through my book Tales of People Who Get It. I have been told that when I write, people feel as if they are sitting across the table from me, and when I am speaking my truth and writing from my heart, I connect to my readers, because my passion shines through.
So I am someone who goes out and does things, and people are inspired by that. I just go out and execute my ideas, and I know how to persevere. And because I was born in a developing country, I know how to make something from nothing, which most people in North America don’t know how to do, and I have this distinct ability to make connections even when it appears that there are no connections.
So I guess, you know, people are inspired by me because I often do things that they would never think of doing, and interest in things that sometimes so focused by what I am doing that I’m unaware of the impact that I am having.
Toni: Absolutely, I can imagine that. Now, Avil, how would you think that you … how would you describe how you help other people explore their own potential?
Avil: Okay, well, one of my signature in my writing is to use quotation and to ask questions, so I am a very detail-oriented person, so I force people to think, and they think about things that they normally wouldn’t think about.
And I also conduct interviews of highly successful people to post on my blog, and the interviewees thank me, which I am very surprised by, because the kind of questions that I ask, it forces them to go inside, okay? So they appreciate the opportunity because there are 40 questions. So I ask questions like, you know, “What are three events that shaped your life? What’s one of the toughest decisions that you have to make?” So just by this, you know, going through that whole process, it forces people to explore their potential.
Toni: And then once you ask these questions and they have their response, are the responses documented? Do you do further work with them based on those answers? What happens then?
Avil: Okay, so what I often do … the interviews are transcribed, and I go through it, and there are certain things that resonate with me, so I will pull out those things, and sometimes what I do … I go through the interviews, and I take out applications so the readers could see how they can apply to their life right now. I sometimes, depending on what the person says, I have, like, great ideas. So that’s the way I do it.
Toni: Okay, so you look for applications that they can apply to their life. So really what I’m hearing from you is that you listen to these interviews, you pull out … you listen to some of the answers, and then if there are some ideas that come to you regarding those answers, then you make those connections with them?
Avil: Exactly, and it’s interesting. Like recently, I interviewed Ojibway First Nations Elder and, you know, during the interview he was telling me about a conversation he had with the CEO from a mining company, and he was saying they were talking about the notion of the glass being half full and half empty, so here is this Elder. He says “You know, I never bother about stuff like that, because if my glass is half full all I do is get a smaller glass, and now my glass is full again,” and I would never have thought of something like that, and I thought it was so amazing.
And recently I was interviewed for Women Over 40 Reinventing Themselves, and I was relating that, and I said “In the context of reinventing yourself, we all have core strengths in life,” so it may be children or whatever, so if your reinvention is too big, all you have to do is just follow what this man said, and just don’t be scared.
Toni: I like that a lot. So Avil, what inspires you?
Avil: Well, I’m a very self-directed person, so I’m always exploring new things. I’m inspired by that, and I’m inspired by what the interviews tell me, because it makes me see something that I didn’t see myself, or it makes me think about something, just like that half glass, you know, half full notion. That would never, ever come to me, so I’m inspired by what conversations I hear, you know, conversations I’ve had, and I realize that we can learn so much from others if we are open and know how to actively listen, which I’m very good at.
Toni: And when you are finding yourself needing to be inspired, what do you tend to reach for on a consistent basis?
Avil: Well, Toni, I read a lot, so I’m always getting ideas, and what I usually do is act on the ideas right away. I don’t procrastinate. So, I also believe in myself and my capabilities, so I’m always doing different things like that. And one of…
Toni: Go ahead, sorry.
Avil: One of the things I’ve done, I’ve learned how to honor commitments to myself, and that helps me a lot to explore my potential.
Toni: Before I go into exploring your own potential, which was a great way to say that, that you honor your own commitments, you said that you believe in yourself, and throughout the Get Inspired! Project there are people that are at various stages of that self-belief, and for yourself, what did it take? Did you always believe in yourself? Did you always show up that way, or was that an evolution or a process for you to get to that place that that belief was strong?
Avil: Well, it’s interesting, because I was initially that way, and then I’m not sure what happened, and then I started second-guessing myself. And then I realized that’s not working for me. I need to go back to that place and do that.
Toni: So it really was a process that you recognized that you needed to make a change.
Avil: Exactly.
Toni: Did you use … was there anything … was there a moment for you, Avil, that you went “You know what? No, I can’t go back here,” or was there something that had occurred that other people can learn from, because we’re all experiencing that?
Avil: Yeah, my life was no longer working for me, like, everything started going haywire, you know, and I got into some relationships that weren’t working for me. And it just got to a crisis point where I felt like I was losing myself, so I had to take drastic action, and it also meant getting rid of some of the people in my life.
Toni: Now when you listen to people on your interviews and you hear maybe some of their answers and they may resonate with what you’ve been through, do you ever use your own experience to guide others?
Avil: I seldomly do that because I try not to make the stuff about me. But there are some times when I do splatter some of my experience in it, but I try not to make it too much about me, even though people like to know because they feel like, you know, you’re a real person.
Toni: Right, right, they can kind of empathize or come up with a similar example. We experience that as well. So with your own potential, Avil, you said that you honor commitments – what does that mean, and how does that help you explore your potential?
Avil: Okay, so I say, for example, like I’m going to do something — like I told myself I’m going to write a book, and that was important for me to do. So, I was writing the book, and it was taking a long time, so I sat down and I gave myself a timeline, and I came in 2 weeks after that deadline, which is actually pretty good. Yes, I said I was going to do it, and I did it.
Toni: So what else do you do to explore your own potential? Are there tools, methodologies, systems that you use?
Avil: Yeah, I guess. Yeah. Okay, so, I usually act on my ideas, and the way that I get ideas, I guess … years ago I read this book, The Art of Thought, and they have a simple model that he used to generate ideas, so you prepare and then you do all the research you can. Maybe talk to people or observe, okay? And then you let it percolate for a while. When you feel as if you can’t do it, you just let it sit, and then all of a sudden you have an “ah-ha” moment, and then you implement your idea.
But in that process, right, you’re testing the idea as well, so if it doesn’t work, you go ahead and you change it so that it’s better. So I’ve used that to come up with titles for articles, titles for products, and that’s a pretty good way for me, so I do that, and I also like to try new things, and in trying new things, I learn something about myself.
So it’s all these different things. So, you know, a lot of people, they are inside their comfort zone, and they don’t want to try new things, and then you stagnate that way, so try something different, maybe walk a different route or drive a different route. Go try a restaurant you have never been before. Just do stuff that’s different and, you know, many times you’ll find out that you really do like it.
Toni: Absolutely. What great advice, and Avil, it sounds to me as though the learning here for those who are listening or reading the Get Inspired! Project interview with you is not only what you do with as an invisible mentor, which I love that, but it’s also what you’ve been through and recognizing that when you were at that crisis critical point you didn’t stay there. And you realized that you had to disengage and do something different so that you could be as successful as you could to explore your own potential so that you could help others. And that is what is so amazing about this Project and people like you showing up.
Avil: And don’t be afraid to fail, because we learn lessons from that. Okay, so you fail, and you look at what you’ve done, see how to do it differently, and that’s okay. The problem is if it just stays put and stagnates, that’s a big problem.
Toni: Right, wow. Thank you so very much for everything that you have shared with us, and we will post the way that people can get to you and see your blogs and your book, and we really appreciate you coming to the Get Inspired! Project today.
Avil: Thank you so much, I appreciate it as well.
Toni: You’re quite welcome. Take care of yourself.
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For more information about Avil Beckford: theinvisiblementor.com, stores.lulu.com/avilbeckford
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