Mother Teresa; Tupac; Woody The Cowboy from Toy Story

I have to be the unique advisor on the block. I know 2023 is my first year, but I have to believe this. Not because I want bath in vanity (although, knowing me, very possible and often done among close constituents) …

… Not at all.

It’s because it’s painfully true (Lol).

My mother was from Trinidad and Tobago, and I had a father that seemed to come from Patrick Swazy and Kevin Beacon - I was destined to be.

When my child-like imagination gets ahold of me, I would tell you that I walked the path of a tribal warrior that went through trials and tribulations that tested the mind as much as the body, stuck in an environment that wouldn’t let me dance. It especially felt like that when I was working for other firms.

However, at every firm I worked for, they all asked the same question: What kind of advisor do you envision yourself being?

Before, I usually would give a typical bullshit answer: “I envision myself as one of the people with the perfect view of the capital from his office.”

Sike. Not this time.

Below is a description of who I will be, and here are my three dance partners.  

Mother Teresa:

Growing up, I remember my mother often referring to Mother Teresa and how she lived her life. If I were to guess, I would say she was a mentor for my mother. Considering that my mother hails from Trinidad and Tobago, She must’ve been one of the first little girls embedded with a dream. Considering the environment back then, it was not a developed country during her childhood, and dreaming was certainly not expected of a young woman.

The type of mindset my mother had as a young girl must’ve been ahead of her time - to dream - remarkable.

However, nonetheless, Mother Teresa is a Catholic Saint and was a badass woman. If you took a few moments of googling (ChatGPT for the Techies), you could easily see how this woman became like that in the eyes of many little girls.

(I plan on using the most words on her.)

After reading a little more about her - inspired by my mothers’ respect for her - I have concluded that there are two general perspectives. The first one is very similar to my mother’s; she is a great woman and accomplished many things. The second one, however, and of course, is the opposite. Many believed she was a fraud. Their primary complaint stated she lived lavishly and took advantage of the system (the church in this case) while the people she watched over were seriously ill.

However, there should have been a third opinion that gives a pretty good response to the negative one I just shared.

In times that appeared she received better care than the people she cared for, I believe she did it for political reasons. Because although The Catholic Church is a Church, and it seems like the kind of work she was doing, she should’ve received unlimited support. Unfortunately, that just was not the case. She understood there were rules to a system that required her to finesse politically and needed to do so to help herself accomplish her goal.

Again, if this is true or not, I don’t know. But the tool of politics used in this thought, I believe, is something important that I need to learn as a professional.

At the moment, let's say I'm at the very beginning of learning this skill.

Tupac:

We all could use a little aggression pointed in the most productive direction for us and the network surrounding us.

In many of his ideals, speeches, and music, he was a man the was seeking a common ground, a platform, for people to discuss their own creative ambitions freely. Most importantly, be aggressive about reserving the right to have that form of expression

Simply, he was creating the work that highlighted differences to mesh together, not separate. In fact, take time to mix paint, and by the end of the exercise, you typically create a unique color (one of a kind in most cases). That unique color may inspire a unique tone in a painting that never existed before.

This is seen in a large range of his work, he understands the first part, and that meshing was a skill that needs to be worked out.

A lot of the opposite is happening at the moment. And for that reason, I feel it is time for me to become more honest and share more about my observations, and if necessary, do so creatively and candidly as possible.

Professionally, I have never done this; Personally, I don’t see myself taking adding this idea to my toolkit.

I see myself as a leader, I will have a strong opinion at times.

Woody:

I highly recommend reading a book I claim is the playbook on marketing by Dean Movhovitz, Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films.

This book completely changed and rewired of how I want to express myself.

As stated in the title, “... Rules for Effective Storytelling,” Two ideas in the book stuck out to me - Interesting Characters Care Deeply, which stems from strong opinions; Woody’s (from Toy Story) loyalty was his strong opinion.

Woody’s loyalty was to what he called his “kid” - Andy. Andy was his kid owner in the movie. In fact, every movie is about Woody ensuring he is accomplishing what he needs to be there the next time Andy is looking for him. He believes this is his sole purpose - to serve with unshakable loyalty.

I believe this to be true for my clients. Because despite the conflict at hand, how good or bad the decision was, he remembered being there for Andy when he was looking for him was the forefront.

I plan to do this with MechFi as my tool of choice.

What kind of advisor do I envision myself being?

Well … I think I finally have a good answer for that …

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