Book Review by
Sheri Bruneau - Brighter Business Empower
When the opportunity to review Mr. W. Brett Wilson’s new book,
“Redefining Success: Still Making Mistakes”,
came along, I couldn’t pass it up. Although I don’t know Mr. Wilson
personally, I have been an avid fan of Dragon’s Den and have watched
various entrepreneurs try to pitch their idea to the panel of
‘Dragon’s’. While Mr. Kevin O’Leary would often say, “How is this
going to make me money?”, it was Mr. Wilson (and a few other Dragons)
that would show true compassion. I also have a little bit of a soft spot
as Mr. Wilson calls Calgary his home – which is also my home town.
When the book arrived at my home, there were two books. One was
addressed to me and signed by Mr. Wilson and the other was for me to
give away to one of my readers however I like – also signed by Mr.
Wilson. I was pleasantly surprised at the kindness of this gesture.
After reading his book, I looked back at the letter that came with my
books (addressed to me and signed by Mr. Wilson – not typed). I realized
that something as little as addressing and signing a letter can seem so
simple, but can be a lasting impression.
As I started to read Mr. Wilson’s book, I had two areas of focus that I wished to learn:
- What can I personally learn from this man and all of his success?
- What can I take and put into practice for the two companies that I run?
As I read and came across something that I found valuable, I would
fold the corner of the page over. After reading half the book, my new
book looked like it had gone through the wringer! One of my favourite
parts of this book are the quotes that are interspersed throughout each
chapter. Although there are many, I think this one is my favorite:
“My new life motto is: simplify. In
order to live a life of integrity – by reprioritizing, rebalancing and
redefining success – sometimes you just have to get rid of the junk.” –
WBW
The book is broken into ten chapters. Each
chapter is titled with words that reflect the kind of person Mr. Wilson
is and has become. Chapters titled, ‘Making Choices’, ‘Choose
Integrity’, ‘Go With Heart’, ‘People First’, and ‘Philanthropy Is Good
Business’ are just a few of the chapter titles.
What Can I Personally Learn From This Man And All His Success?
Throughout the book, there are many lessons that I can personally
take from Mr. Wilson. One that continues in my thoughts is the one
about
making choices. I’ve already had to
make choices in my life that were difficult. After seventeen years of
teaching, I chose to leave a profession that I truly thought I would be
in forever. The choice to leave was not one that I took lightly and had
many things to consider. Leaving my dear teaching partner was one of
the hardest things I had to do. That being said, the choice to leave
the education field is not one that I have looked back on or have
regretted. My choice to take the scary step to start my own business
(without having a single business class) was a huge step for me! My
choice to start a second business with my wonderful business partner,
Christina Rowsell, was also a choice that I did not take lightly. In my
family, my husband and I often talk with our teen-aged kids about
choices. Choices about who their friends are, choices about what they
do with their little bit of free time, and choices about their
attitudes. As my businesses grow, I know there were be many more choices
that will have to be made and considered. I do believe that we all
have a choice. It’s the choices we make that will determine the road we
travel in life.
Choosing integrity is another part of this
book that really resonates with me. I grew up with two, hard-working
parents who moved from Edmonton to Calgary when my twin sister and I
were six months old. My brother was three years older than we were.
They had no extended family to call upon or turn to. In the chapter’
Choose Integrity’ Mr. Wilson touches on many facets of integrity: be
fair, be respectful, learn from challenges, and never give up. These
are all qualities that my parents instilled in me and that I hope to
continue to instill in my children.
“Never be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not learning from mistakes.” – WBW
What Can I Take And Put Into Practice In My Businesses?
Along with ‘making choices’ and ‘choosing integrity’, ‘people first‘
is one that I am dealing with right now in my business. As Mr. Wilson
puts it, “Partnering with the right people is the best way to find
lasting success and satisfaction in business and on a personal level.”
Those words are ones that I will continue to come back to.
Mr. Wilson also talks about
looking for passion. When I met Christina Rowsell, she wanted to interview me to blog about my
company.
Although I listened to Christina for many years on the radio, I had
never met her. We had a great first meeting and discussed many things.
The one thing we discussed were the businesses we come across in our
lives. My company had grown from a residential organizing business to
one that also included business services ( Social Media, time
management and productivity). We were finding that businesses I worked
with and businesses that Christina were blogging about were having the
same issues: how to move their business forward to the next level.
Over many coffee meetings Christina and I discussed what we could do to
help businesses – educate and empower them to grow. Building off of
Christina’s blog, ‘
The Brighter Side‘, we formed
Brighter Business Empower.
“For most successful people, hard
work and enthusiasm are usually evident in everything they do. I don’t
buy that people have different morals and values in their personal lives
than in their business lives.” W. Brett Wilson
As Christina and I look at building,
expanding, and tweaking Brighter Business Empower, I am confident that
our passion for helping individuals and businesses will be our guide.
It is absolutely refreshing to meet and work with someone who holds the
same values and has the same passion in life.
Philanthropy is good business is one aspect that I am just starting to fully understand as a business owner.
Get It Together has had many opportunities to give back. Working with
Inn From The Cold
was definitely a highlight. Giving up my time to help redesign their
donation center was not only a fun project, it was such a rewarding
one. Although the project is not complete, I can hardly wait to see it
when it is! I know that as I move forward, giving back will be a higher
priority in planning for the future.
As part of Brighter Business Empower, we
find guest speakers to speak on various topics for business owners. Our
guest speakers are asked to choose a charity of their choice. At every
seminar, Christina and I go out and find donations for the
Brighter Business Basket.
We sell tickets for $2.00 each and 100% of the proceeds go to the guest
speaker’s charity of choice. It is one area of Brighter Business
Empower that we are very fond of. After much consideration, I have
decided to donate my extra copy that Mr. Wilson sent to the Brighter
Business Basket in January. I believe that all business owners should
own this book.
Although I could go on and on about many
insights that I’ve learned from reading this book, I wanted to touch on
one last item. Mr. Wilson uses the words, ‘
moral compass‘ throughout the book. When I first saw the word in the book, I had to read it over again. My dear friend and life coach,
Elizabeth Critchley,
first introduced me to those exact words years ago. It was Elizabeth
that guided me with my decision to leave the teaching profession. It is
Elizabeth that I turn to for business and life advice. And, it is
Elizabeth that I look to as my mentor. She has such wisdom, compassion
and quite honestly, common sense. I just couldn’t imagine my life
without Elizabeth in it! It is those words, ‘moral compass’ that guide
me. Not only in my personal life, but in my business life as well.
“A moral compass is a mental process that consistently points a person in a particular direction in life.” W. Brett Wilson
I am so glad that I built up enough nerve
to email Mr. Wilson when he was asking for people to review his book on
Facebook. The 252 page book is a fairly easy read filled with
knowledge, wisdom and truth. The teacher in me often says, “If you
learn something new each day, it’s a great day.” After reading Mr.
Wilson’s book, I can truly say that today has been a great day!
Sheri Bruneau
Get It Together Inc
Sheri Bruneau
Brighter Business Empower Inc
And now, building on her gratitude, Susanne started (what she thought was) something small. She hosted a celebration evening where she wanted to give her supporters a "thank you", Motivated by Nature. Collecting from nature, she paid artists who utilize the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre to paint key words connected with each of the 26 faeries in her book on these rocks and give them away at the celebration. And now, it's your chance to support these artists! These Gratitude Rocks are now available through 6 stores in Calgary! The proceeds from EVERY rock sold goes directly to the artist who painted it. 
