“The culture that I instil early on in the interview process is ‘we are not a company of agreement just to agree; you are hired to work to be creative and give your opinion’. Don’t say yes if no is the right answer and you think that this is not the right path. Speak your mind and collaborate.”

“There are a lot of people who have a very good eye and they have good taste but that does not make them an interior designer. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes kind of things and technical stuff going on. There are principles of design. There is an understanding of what to do with spaces–especially corporate and commercial spaces.”

“I fight for justice. I believe in open access to opportunities especially funding. Without funding opportunities, we are constantly in a situation where some people have it and some people don’t.”

“One of my passions is the symbolism in fantasy as escapism–as a story. There is a connection to real life. Neil Gaiman said, ‘Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.’ It allows you to work through stuff that actually happens in your daily life–that happens all the time in reality. Through the lens of fantasy, it softens the blow. It allows you to see from a new angle.”

“Most tech things don’t come easy to me. I’m 59 & I shouldn’t use that as an excuse–you have to adapt & go where your customers are. Learn to communicate the way they want to, not the way you want to because it’s easier. If it’s outside your comfort zone, adapt and learn how everyone wants to be communicated. You don’t have to be a tech guru, just learn the basics.”

“…no matter what it is that you’re trying to sell, there’s usually a unique way to meet a market demand that’s currently untapped & I love the way you phrase that: an elegant solution, delivering it in a way that’s so attractive, and that is so perfectly meeting the need. You really need to find that no matter how big or small your solution is, and not everybody’s trying to launch the next multimillion-dollar business. They just want something that’s successful & meets a specific niche.”

“I say relationships are key. People that I knew back then still come to me because I was nice to them. We had a good working relationship. They knew that I was a qualified individual. There’s nothing more important than relationship building and making sure that you leave on good terms when you feel like it is time for you to make that exit. Also, plan in advance because it’s a very different life as an entrepreneur.”

“Where do I invest that time and energy? Who am I giving it to? Who am I not giving it to? Because it’s not going to be productive. Productive isn’t, like, a sales thing. It’s not going anywhere. So, if it’s not going anywhere, why are you doing it? Give yourself permission. But like, giving yourself permission first before you go out is really important. And that’s something that I don’t think we’re talking about enough.”

“By default, you’re supposed to have a voice, that’s not good because so many people don’t feel at ease and relaxed. Your voice should not be good, because the voice is very susceptible to the body. And anything that changes in the body. Anything that makes you feel tense in the body will affect your voice, for example, we all have stress. If you feel stressed, then you are not going to have the best voice if you have never trained on that.”

“When people ask me what I do for a living, I say that I’m in the business of awakening leaders to be remarkable. I do that by enabling leaders to be in ‘heart linked to conscious flow’ and ‘success flow’. The ‘how’ will always present itself. It always does.”