Day 363: Tammy Gunn
“… the more positive influences that we provide as adults for younger generations, the better the mindset is. Moving forward, we can instill that in our children … just really give them an opportunity to be self-expressed and be inside of that conversation. I think that’s really where inspiration takes place.”
.
.
.
Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Tammy, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Tammy Gunn: Yes, for sure, and thank you for inviting me. It’s fabulous. My name is Tammy Gunn. I’m one of the cofounders of a company out of Toronto, Ontario, called Up 2 Big Stuff, and what we do is we recognize global youth achievements around the world.
Toni: Fantastic. Now, this will probably be a pretty easy question for you to answer, Tammy, but when you think of the word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Tammy: Oh, when I think of the word inspiration, I think of teens, young people, their parents, people who have seen teens and young people out there in the world creating things like … who do I inspire? It’s hard to say in the sense of how much they inspire me, but that’s really who we target to inspire, and have them just come alive, you know, like those things that just light them up.
So how we actually do that is through Up 2 Big Stuff, we’ve created a website. You can go to up2bigstuff.com, and it’s really an essential platform for people to use to see and read of other youth that are up to big stuff and taking on things that you may not see in the news that are actually happening, but there’s these teens and young people that are out there doing this. So that’s one way that we look to inspire.
Also, we’re working currently with a production company on a television show that would really feature some of these young people and teens that are doing really amazing things and seeing how they can support other teens. I don’t want to give away too much yet, but it’s definitely going to be a place for teens and young people to really see what’s possible and maybe give them an opportunity to go like, “Hey, I can do that too.” Like it’s not so far out of reach.
Toni: So it’s not only what you’re focusing on your website and the stories, but it’s putting a face to those stories and having them tell their stories on camera – is that part of the great plan there?
Tammy: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s one thing to see it in the form of on a website, and it’s another thing to really get the reality of it. Like, “Oh, these people really exist.”
Toni: Right. How exciting that must be. When you think of the work that you’re doing, Tammy, how do you think that it’s helping others to explore their own potential?
Tammy: Well, some of the things that have actually come up since we’ve started doing this were some of the young people that are featured on our website. I’ve gotten emails from different young people and teens now that have said, “Hey, you know, I’m so happy that I found that, and I found this other person that was doing like ‘X,’ because it’s inspired me now to actually look at, hey, I have a dream and I could live it too.” And so then it’s really like having them be lit up to take it to the next level.
Toni: So really it’s the examples that they’re setting. It’s the trials and tribulations that one might be going through that someone’s already been through and came out on the other side of it. Are those the types of examples that you are getting?
Tammy: Yeah, absolutely.
Toni: How did you become involved in something like this, Tammy, that would bring such a focus to teens and that mentoring piece of it? How did it happen?
Tammy: Well, I’ve been working with children for about four years. I’m just really interested in how they develop, and you know, what’s out there for them. I remember about a year-and-a-half ago, I was watching TV. I was watching the news, and I kept seeing these stories of teens like not shed in a positive light but different negative things that were happening. I’m thinking, you know, there’s always a flip to everything, so there must be some kids out there too that are doing some pretty amazing stuff.
And so I started Googling around and searching, and I got so inspired by what I found. Like a 16-year-old who is working in cancer research already, and her science project is winning amazing awards for what she’s up to. A young gentleman who is a poet actually here in Toronto who is just like … his words are just like impacting people around the world, and I was so moved by what they were creating.
I was speaking with a friend of mine who is now the cofounder of Up 2 Big Stuff as well, and we had done like a morning call every single day, and we had been talking about wanting to do something really big and be able to give back. Through that conversation, we really realized we were both walking on the same path of wanting to make a difference with youth, wanting to have them have a voice out there, you know, really having them shed in a light that shows like, hey, these are our future generations and we can impact them positively and give them a place where they can just excel.
Because really, they’re our future governments, they’re our leaders, they’re the people that will find the cure for cancer or for AIDS or anything such as that. They’re just really going to bring one community together.
So that’s where we came up with Up 2 Big Stuff, because teens and young people, let’s face it, they’re up to big stuff!
Toni: They certainly are. We had an example of that on the Get Inspired! Project of a gentleman just very … it sounded like, “yeah, guess what I’m doing?” and you ask him, “So what do you do?” and he said, “Well, I help bring clean water to underdeveloped countries” and he’s nineteen years old and has been doing it since he was six!
Tammy: Yeah. Phenomenal, isn’t it? What is our excuse as adults? That’s what I have to say about that.
Toni: So Tammy, what inspires you?
Tammy: Oh, what inspires me? You know, where it really starts though, what really inspires me is my mom and dad. They told me “You can do anything you put your mind to,” and literally, like I have been living through that. My mom and dad are like … they’re just the coolest, and being able to bring that to young people and teens … like what really inspires me is being able to give them that, and then knowing … like I said, knowing these are our future generation leaders, and they’re the CEOs of companies that are going to build things we don’t even know about.
Who I am inspires me to be able to give back to them, like to give them the space for that, and just to see all of the wonderful children that are out there and growing into young adults, and what they’re creating, it just … it gives me shivers when I think about what’s happening out there.
Toni: And so for you, it’s a frame of mind, isn’t it?
Tammy: It is. Yeah, absolutely. It all starts with our mind. What we believe, we can achieve. And the more positive influences that we provide as adults for younger generations, the better the mindset is. Moving forward, we can instill that in our children; like whatever you believe you can achieve, you know, whatever you think you can do, you can do it, and just really give them an opportunity to be self-expressed and be inside of that conversation. I think that’s really where inspiration takes place.
Toni: When you find yourself needing to be inspired or you’re looking to build yourself up a bit, are there tools and resources that you tend to reach for on a regular basis?
Tammy: Yeah, I read. I read a lot. When I’m looking for inspiration, one of the most important things that I do is I turn to looking for quotes. Quotes from great leaders, as well as looking for, you know, different books that I’ve read like The Alchemist or Philistine Prophecy or The Element by Ken Robinson. All sorts of different avenues I use to really get inspired. Listening to music. Music is a great inspiration for me as well.
Toni: What kind of music do you listen to?
Tammy: I have a very wide array. I love jazz, I love blues, I love the pop music. One of my favorites – this is going to sound very funny right now – but one of my favorites is a song that actually my friend sent me that is off Sesame Street, and it’s called, “What I Am” by Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas. It is literally like 1 minute, 53 seconds, and if you are not smiling by the end of that and inspired to just like go out there and just make stuff happen … I don’t know …
Toni: Shame on them, then, isn’t it?
Tammy: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Toni: Oh, well it sounds as though you are doing some amazing things, and I would hope that those that you are inspiring are carrying that forward as well and inspiring others.
Tammy: Oh yes, thank you. Yeah.
Toni: Now, how are you exploring your own potential?
Tammy: My own potential … this has been such a journey over the past year, you know? I really take into account like doing my own professional development of course, working on myself, reading lots, meditating, looking for and creating – all the time – from absolutely nothing.
Like really … exploring my potential would be always saying, “anything is possible,” even when it looks impossible, and just living from that.
Toni: That takes a lot of courage.
Tammy: You know, I say it, and I can honestly say, there’s moments where it’s scary to really look from there and to be able to do that. But you know, at the end of the day if you look from “anything is possible,” it’s like that opportunity to really impact and make a difference, where you may not have thought you could actually do it.
Toni: Tammy, there are a lot of people that are following the Get Inspired! Project, and they may want to also step inside of that thought, which is “anything is possible,” but it is scary. So what advice would you give people that might be at that place? They’re taking that first step through the door of “anything is possible” – what would be the push that you would give them from behind?
Tammy: I would really let them know, it’s literally one step in front of the other. It’s just like climbing a mountain. It’s going to look like a mountain, and as long as you continue to take every day taking one step forward, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
Toni: How does that thought process then tie to what you’re doing with these children?
Tammy: It definitely is a huge part of what I’m doing with the children is through working on workshops or developing a workshop phase, and it’s literally around that. It’s literally like let’s create … like, “Let’s really look at and break apart what it is that you really want to do that would make a difference for you in the world, if that was actually happening in your community or in the world, and then let’s look at it step by step and walk together and really being in communication with people, using your communities, like literally one step in front of the other. You can make it happen.”
Toni: Fantastic. What a great piece of advice to leave the interview with as well. And it is just fascinating what you’re doing and the achievements that you have created, not only for yourself, but for the people that you’re trying to serve, and I think that that’s pretty amazing. We cannot thank you enough for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Tammy: Thanks, Toni. I really appreciate being a part of such an inspiring group of people.
Toni: Thank you. Take care, Tammy.
Tammy: You too.
___________________________________________________________
For more information about Tammy Gunn: www.up2bigstuff.com
.
Post Comment