TIMELY WISDOM

Monday, May 30, 2016

”The Proust Questionnaire”



If I’m home for lunch on a Monday, I enjoy turning on the radio and listening to CBC’S “The Next Chapter”, hosted by Shelagh Rogers. It showcases the lives and works of Canadian authors. It also has a segment where a guest is invited to answer the program’s own version of the Proust Questionnaire.

According to Wikipedia,”The Proust Questionnaire” is a questionnaire about one's personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust.

At the end of the nineteenth century, when Proust was still in his teens, he answered a questionnaire in an English-language confession album belonging to his friend Antoinette, daughter of future French President Felix Faure titled "An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, etc."

I thought it might be fun to answer this version myself, so I jotted down the questions and gave it a go. I also thought about how my answers might relate to business:

Q: Your favourite painter?
A: Salvador Dali. His creative interpretation of everyday items and images makes us stop and think. In business, being creative, allows us to rise above the crowd.

Q: Who are your real-life heroes?
A: Terry Fox. Terry had a goal and was totally committed to it. In business, there are no half measures. I once read that “Life is like a plate of eggs and bacon, the chicken participates, the pig is committed”.

Q: What is your favorite journey?
A: Running along a coastal or mountain trail in the fog. In business, it sometimes feels like that but when I know I’m going in the right direction, I just have to stick to the trail.

Q: What is your greatest extravagance?
A: Buying the best running shoes for the conditions. That means a pair of Salomon Gortex trail shoes for the ice, snow and rain. In business, the same concept applies. Which email marketing and Customer Relations Management package is right for you?

Q: What is your greatest regret?
A: Not always keeping in touch with family and friends. In business, it’s establishing, developing and maintaining relationships. This takes discipline and focus. It’s the glue that keeps things moving forward

Q: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A: To see my children and grandchildren grow and blossom. In business, it’s having an idea and, through hard work and perseverance, and seeing it come to fruition.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Through my six years of fund raising, I improved the lives of thousands of children around the world. In business, it’s working with clients to set and achieve goals in order that they can reach their full potential.


Martin Parnelltalks about helping people "Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve your Full Potential". 
How we can all set goals and achieve results we never thought possible. 

He is an International Keynote Speaker, Author and Multi Guinness World Record holder.

In 2010, following a 25 year mining career, Martin started his "Quests for Kids" initiative. 
Over the next five years he completed 10 "Quests".  

These included running 250 marathons in one year, setting five Guinness World Records and submitting Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours.   

At the end of 2014 over $1.3m had been raised for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and 27,000 children had been given the gift of hope.


Martin's book "MARATHON QUEST" was be published by Rocky Mountain Books and was listed as one of Alberta's top five authors for 2014 by CBC Radio. He is also featured in Chris Guillebeau's best selling book "The Happiness of Pursuit". 




 Link: http://www.martinparnell.com/blog/posts/2016/may/20/7-questions-to-boost-your-life-and-business/


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