Day 239: Mary Jo Martin
“… scientists and space explorers and people who really are pushing the frontier and looking for the wonderment and the magic in the world are the people who inspire me. That’s quite a bit beyond market research, but the principle is the same; the principle is finding information and good stuff.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Mary Jo, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you introduce yourself?
Mary Jo Martin: Yes. My name is Mary Jo Martin, and I am President of a company called Cynapsus, LLC, and Cynapsus provides market research services, so we get businesses the information that they need to run their businesses better.
Toni: Well thank you for that. Mary Jo, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Mary Jo: Well, I like to think that the majority of the people that I inspire are my clients, because I get them to think a little bit more broadly outside of their immediate circumstances, and to help them step back and to understand what kind of information they might need to help them do their jobs better, to make their companies better places, to serve their customers better.
The other people that I’d like to think that I inspire are my son, his wife, and our two grandchildren. I try to do that by exposing them to new things, to things that they may not be that familiar with, to show them a sense of excitement in learning, and to understand that no matter how old you are, that there should always be that sense of wonder in learning, and to not be afraid to try new things.
Toni: That’s fantastic. How do you think that message that you’re putting out there helps others to explore their own potential?
Mary Jo: Well, I think it helps a lot. I think most people can certainly understand theoretical things and concepts, but I think if they can see very concretely how someone or some group of someones is taking a concept and putting it into action and making it work, it makes it much easier for them to say “Well, if they did that or if she did that, that gives me an idea for something that I might do.”
Toni: So it’s really learning by example and saying that, you know, putting things out there, you actually need to put them into motion.
Mary Jo: Absolutely.
Toni: And what about that wonderment? How does the wonderment translate into potential?
Mary Jo: Well, I think if you get too terribly jaded about anything, whether it’s business or it’s personal life, or it’s science, or it’s math, or it’s English, or it’s history, or whatever it happens to be, if you can’t react in such a way that makes you say “Oh my gosh!” that learning then becomes very rote rather than fun, and learning should always be fun.
Toni: It’s interesting, Mary Jo. I just wrote this down listening to you – being aware of the magic.
Mary Jo: Yes.
Toni: That’s pretty incredible. What inspires you, Mary Jo?
Mary Jo: Well, I think what inspires me and what has always inspired me has been people who are not afraid to try things, people who were always willing to push the envelope a little bit. Certainly, scientists and space explorers and people who really are pushing the frontier and looking for the wonderment and the magic in the world are the people who inspire me. That’s quite a bit beyond market research, but the principle is the same; the principle is finding information and good stuff.
Toni: Absolutely. So really, you are inspired by both – it’s cultivating that information for your clients, but also cultivating information for yourself.
Mary Jo: Exactly.
Toni: And have you … you said that you are inspired by people who are not afraid to do things. Where does that come from, Mary Jo?
Mary Jo: Well, I think part of it may have come from my mom, who was in the Marine Corps in the second World War.
Toni: Wow!
Mary Jo: The Marines were the last bastion of male superiority, and women were only allowed in in the mid 40s … early to mid 40s during the second World War, and she was one of the eight women from the Philadelphia area who were some of the first to become – and they weren’t full-fledged Marines, they were Women’s Reserve – but there was a perfect example of someone who was willing to step off the edge.
Toni: That’s one heck of a role model!
Mary Jo: I know! A tough one to live up to, too, I can tell you.
Toni: Wow. Have you always had a sense of that adventure that your mother … and that sense of spirit, you know, to be able to do what you want to do?
Mary Jo: I think so. It’s interesting, we were talking about the magic and the wonderment, and I never really thought of that as being something special, and my husband and I were somewhere and saw a bird or a butterfly or something, and I just, you know, I reacted the way I always react and said “Oh wow, look at that – isn’t that cool?” and he just looked at me and he said “You are amazing, because there are very few people who still have that sense of wonder like you do.”
And I said “As long as you don’t lose that, you won’t get old.”
Toni: That is fantastic. What else inspires you?
Mary Jo: Oh, hard work, probably. Satisfaction of doing a job well and coming out with a good result for someone. Faith certainly is inspirational. Gosh, I’m drawing a blank here …
Toni: When you find yourself waking up on a particular day – and I don’t know that you ever do – but if you do wake up on a particular day and you’re going “Gosh, you know, I could use a little inspiration today,” what do you tend to reach for?
Mary Jo: I think goals, things that I would like to achieve, whether it’s work related or it’s personally related. Just to get moving and get something done.
Toni: What do you tend to do now, Mary Jo, to explore your own potential? Are you still learning? Are you still trying new things?
Mary Jo: Absolutely. I have taken on … I’m at a point in life where I’m thinking about “Gee, I won’t work forever, I won’t be doing market research forever,” and am thinking about transitioning to that next phase. And I have done a number of things to start taking me along that path.
One of those is genealogy, which is like personal market research – it’s wonderful, except sometimes you find out things that you think “Oh gee, I really wish I hadn’t found that,” but it’s kind of an amazing journey. And anyone that has watched any of the NBC things that Ancestry did would understand how you feel when you begin working on those kind of things. Again, it’s the sense of discovery, it’s a sense of wonder, it helps you understand yourself a little bit better.
Toni: So have you found any surprises?
Mary Jo: Oh, lots. Well, I found a whole family that I didn’t know I had. I’ve discovered probably at least half a dozen cousins that are various second, third, and who knows how many degrees removed cousins all over the country. My family … part of my family came originally from Switzerland and another part came from England, and I think there were some French in there somewhere, but I’ve kind of hit a roadblock on that part, but I’ll get past it.
Toni: What else are you doing to explore your potential?
Mary Jo: Getting involved, I think, with volunteer activities. I serve on the board of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. They’re a contemporary ballet organization here in Houston – just absolutely amazing, amazing athletes. Being on that board with a very diverse group of people, I think, has helped me develop and sharpen some leadership skills, because basically I have not managed people for the last five years. So those skills got a little bit rusty, and serving on that board, I think, has helped sharpen them up again.
Toni: So you find yourself really inspired by setting those goals, moving forward, setting that example, but also it sounds as though they really still take risks for yourself, put yourself out there to explore your own potential and doing the research on yourself, by getting involved.
Mary Jo: Right.
Toni: That’s amazing, and so as far as doing the work on yourself, are there other things that you are doing, Mary Jo, for exploring your own potential?
Mary Jo: Well, I think once I get the swimming … I mentioned earlier to you about I’m trying to learn how to swim and overcome a lifelong fear of water. Once I get the swimming under control, I will learn how to scuba dive.
Toni: Oh! So for those who were not part of the great conversation that we had prior to the call, you are just learning how to swim …
Mary Jo: Trying, very hard.
Toni: Okay, and to overcome your fear of water. And that’s going, you said, a little bit slowly, right?
Mary Jo: But I’m not a patient person. Everyone tells me “You are doing amazingly well.”
Toni: But then … but how awesome is that? You will not only get over your fear of water, but you want to do scuba diving next?
Mary Jo: Oh, yeah.
Toni: Oh, that’s amazing. See, Mary Jo, that’s why we’re absolutely thrilled to have people like yourself on this Get Inspired! Project. And what can’t be missed here is that what you do at this point in your life as far as market research as a job, as a career, to find out information that can benefit companies about their customers or their product or themselves, that’s the research you do. You also do that in your day-to-day life to explore, to be in wonderment of what you find, and to push yourself in learning new things, and that’s amazing.
Mary Jo: Thank you. And I never really made that connection until we talked. So that’s great, see?
Toni: Mary Jo, you’ve been a complete delight. I thank you so very much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project, and good luck with those swimming lessons.
Mary Jo: Well thank you so much, and thanks for your time, Toni. This was great fun.
Toni: You’re quite welcome. Take care, Mary Jo.
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For more information about Mary Jo Martin: www.cynapsus.com
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