Wisdom of Life: “Pick the right people to surround yourself with, it will set the bar, encourage and support you. However, if you choose the wrong people, they will bring you down a different path,” Invisible Mentor, Jeanne-Marie Robillard tells her 12-year old son.
Interviews for Mentoring: Key Lessons from Jeanne-Marie Robillard
- Be grateful for what you have in life and count your blessings.
- Prepare for your day the night before, to help to decrease stress the following day.
- Network, network, then network some more, and never let little things such as shyness or “introvertedness” stop you. (Note to self)
- Allow people to get to know the real you.
- People rarely remember what you said to them, but they remember how you made them feel.
- Give a new job sufficient time – at least two years – before you decide if the fit is right
Invisible Mentor: Jeanne-Marie Robillard, Senior Account Executive
Company Name: National Speakers Bureau/Global Speakers Agency
Website: http://www.nsb.com
Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I am currently a senior account executive, which is an agent to public personalities and celebrities for their speaking engagements. I’ve been doing that for 11 years. Prior to that, I was an agent to the performing arts community – groups like the National Ballet, Canadian Opera Company, to helping place them into seated environments for audiences to enjoy.
Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: It’s not always easy, is it? It’s hard when people are passionate about their work and passionate about their family. I would say that I’m trying as best as I can to compartmentalize tasks, responsibilities, chores, commitments and obligations, so setting time aside to do specific tasks as opposed to running around doing too many things for too many people.
I try to put my phone away at home in the evenings and try not to look at it as often even when I’m tempted to. I log on to the computer and try to get an hour or two later in the evening. I get so much done preparing for the following day that I go into the next day feeling confident to start the day in a safe place if you will.
It’s a constant challenge, and it’s one of the top topics we get asked for speakers, is work-life balance and it will continue to be so as we improve technology.
Avil Beckford: When you have some down time, how do you spend it?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: Entertaining absolutely! I love entertaining. I love to have people over. I love to cook. I love to shop for food. I love everything around food, going to the market etc. Planning a dinner party and setting the table, and picking which guests will love each other, another form of connections. As you can see, I apply that everywhere, and yes that would be my favourite thing and I’d like to record those times in a book as well.
Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: It’s a little bit of what I’ve already said.
- Be honest.
- Approach life with intent, purpose and meaning.
- Even if you’re shy or introverted, try your very best to get out and about. Take someone with you if it’s hard. Having another person with you will be the best thing you ever did. They can brag about you, you can’t really brag about yourself because that comes off a little odd. They can pull you away from someone who may not be the person you need to speak to all night if you’re trying to network. They can also be a great support if you’re feeling a little nervous about the experience. So get out and meet as many people as you can. People do want to help each other – inherently it’s human nature. It’s like so many things in life, the more you do, the more you try, the more chances you have on landing on what’s more meaningful for you.
Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I believe we come to better decisions and better results when we do things in a group. Pulling a team together and brainstorming, sending a mass email out to those in your network who have a common experience with what you’re struggling with, reaching out for ideas and bringing those ideas together. I also use the Internet quite extensively and subscribe to many different chats and blogs.
Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: That’s hard for me because I live a life that’s filled with quotations because of the people I represent. But if I had to choose one it would be, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” Maya Angelou, American Poet.
Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: Success is when you’re truly happy doing what you’re doing. When you’re happy with your life, you’re proud of your life. Proud in a good way, that you’re contributing. Contributions to your community, your workplace, your family and your friends are essential to defining success. The formula for success is trying as many things as you can in life. It’s trial and error.
Avil Beckford: What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard:
- Asking a lot of questions to the right people, that means asking questions to a lot of people until you figure out the right people.
- Taking chances.
- Staying in a job and seeing it through for at least a good two-year period. I think that’s very important that full cycles be lived. A calendar year is a full cycle, rarely do we start in January so you are landing in the middle somewhere in that second year, so give it the time it deserves, unless it’s clearly for some interpersonal reasons. Give it the time it deserves and give yourself the chance you deserve.
Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I would give the same advice to someone just starting out. I would say, ask around, you can make an educated decision, but once you’ve made that commitment to something, commit to it and give it your best shot. And it also looks a lot better on a resume quite frankly.
Avil Beckford: If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard:
- Maya Angelou
- Oprah Winfrey
- Nelson Mandela
- Madam Michaëlle Jean (I represent her and have met her a handful of times but would love to get to know her better)
They are truly good people making a difference in the world, and I would tell them “Thanks!” I would thank them for their great contributions to bettering the world.
Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: One of our current speaker on the roster is Izzeldin Abuelaish who wrote I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey. It’s a bestseller and an unbelievable book that I highly recommend to anybody and everybody.
Avil Beckford: You are one of the 10 finalists on the reality show, So, How Would You Spend Your Time? Each finalist is placed on separate deserted islands for two years. You have a basic hut on the island and all the tools for survival; you just have to be imaginative and inventive when using them. You are allowed to take five books, one movie and one music CD, and whatever else you take has to fit in one suitcase and a travel on case. What would you take with you and how would you spend the two years? T he prize is worth your while and at this stage in the game there really aren’t any losers among the 10 finalists, since each are guaranteed at least $2 million?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard:
Five Books
- I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven
- Maybe I’d like to learn more about the Bible.
- Ulysses
- Jane Eyre
One Movie and Music CD
Big Night for Big Night
Big Night – Trailer
If you cannot view the movie trailer for Big Night click here.
How I Will Spend Two Years
I would spend the two years learning, reading all the classics if I could. I would like to learn more about classic literature, religion, and learn to meditate.
Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: People, I love that everybody has a story. My current husband is an architect, and he laughs when I say that I love looking at office towers or high-rise office buildings, or condos. I think, “All those stories in there, that’s so cool.” So people for sure.
Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: By surrounding myself with positive people, and finding the time to be alone to refuel when I need that time. I go to bed quite early by most people’s standard. I try to head to bed by 9:30 pm on weeknights, and I read. So that’s how I nurture my soul.
Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: To help the disadvantaged, to make less suffering in this world.
Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..
Jeanne-Marie Robillard: I’m helping others.
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