Donald Van de Mark
Success Television
I just saw Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia.” I was charmed and
delighted by Meryl Streep’s portrayal of the cooking icon, Julia
Child. But
The good life
In an interview that Streep did in the U.K. with John Hiscock, she talked about the woman she portrays: “Julia’s approach to her day was one of energy and appetite and a blanket determination not to let troubles get you down. It’s a great quality and she really had it… When you talk about passion, Julia Child just didn’t have it for her husband or cooking; she had a passion for living. What was compelling about her was her joie de vivre and her unwillingness to be bogged down in negativity. She loved being alive and that’s inspirational in itself.”
Why and how was this six foot two inch, far-from-pretty, diplomat’s wife so in love with life? I believe she was for several reasons, not the least of which is that she was, a success. But she was a success at life and love as well as cooking and writing because she shared several of the personality traits of the psychologically healthiest human beings. I touched on some of them above, but here’s a more explicit list:
1. She and Paul were global not national or provincial in
outlook
2. She treated everyone with a healthy dose of
respect, and idolized no
one
3. She was comfortable, even excited with the
unknown
4. She was a good animal with
hearty, shameless (in the good way) appetites
5. She recognized the
reality of all situations (remember her
comment to her sister as they gazed at themselves dressed up for
dinner!)
Read more for the other five on the list.
Donald Van de
Mark has interviewed hundreds of leaders in business and
politics including: Andrew Weil, MD, former U.S. Senator Bill
Bradley, Jack Welch, Starbucks' Howard Schultz
and Intel's Andy Grove, in his nearly 3 decades as a
correspondent and anchor at CNN, CNBC and public television.
He integrates practical tips from these great
leaders to provide a riveting motivational
speech on the personality traits of successful
people. Donald is also the host of the corporate training
video, The Wisdom
of Caring Leaders.
