Everyone has an “inner genius,” a uniquely personal skill set that enables them to stand out from the crowd and shine. Mark Fogarty, an editor with New York based SourceMedia, recently delivered this message to a group of students at Grady High School in Atlanta.

Fogarty discussed a slate of ideas and issues, ranging from stories of his own past to experiences and insights he has gained as an editor for a nationwide trade magazine. He told the students that finding one’s first job and the process of sending out resumes is in large part a number’s game – he told the students that when he hires new employees, for every 100 resumes he receives he schedules 1 interview, and for every 10 interviews he makes 1 job offer. His message: don’t get discouraged by rejection, because it’s all but inevitable, just keep at it.

Fogarty talked to the students about the increasingly fast rate of change in today’s world. As an example, he quoted the Atlanta based band Outkast and their song, “Hey Ya,” which features the lyrics, “Shake it like a Polaroid picture,” telling the students that someday soon, high school students may have no idea what a Polaroid picture is, now that the Polaroid instant camera has been discontinued. He further gave an example from his own industry, telling the students that in the not-too-distant future, high school students may not even know what a newspaper is – considering how quickly e-media is growing!

Amidst his suggestions to stay enthusiastic and dedicated in spite of rejection and change, Fogarty continued to return to the idea of the inner genius. Fogarty told the students that they all have a special talent to contribute to the world, and he stated that in his experience, so long as one works hard, pursues what they enjoy, surrounds themselves with people who give them positive energy, and continues to hone their talents (all of which amount to bolstering the inner genius), anyone and everyone can change the world.

• After listening to you presentation, I have a better understanding of journalism and how important it is to our society.
• Thank you for coming all this way from New York just to speak to us.
• I think that journalism sounds like an interesting career to have and I might want to do that in the future.
• I found your presentation very interesting and beneficial because I plan on majoring in communications for college.
• I thank you with all my heart for the inspiration that you gave to us.
• I loved your presentation, especially the giving away of the Kindle even thought I didn’t win it.
• Thank you for all the advice and for taking the time out to come and speak.
• I want to start a better life so I can become some one just like you.

SUGGESTED POINTS OF INTEREST:

-1:11: This is an important point. One must remain current and aware of changes in fields to remain successful.

-3:10: Is money really what’s important? Here, Fogerty talks about the direct financial compensation versus other benefits of journalism (Also pay attention to the AJC example at about 4:20).

-6:08: Note the importance of numerical data to journalism (and by extension, other fields).

-9:25: Pay close attention to the distinction here: simplistic, near instantaneous relaying of facts versus analytic pieces.

-13:22: Special emphasis on what one can do right away.

-17:37: This is important. Remember that the person who applies for thirty jobs has a much better chance of getting one than the person who applies for five.

-18:57: Important emphasis on networking and application of skills into new settings (in this case, his English background was helpful for his career as a journalist).

OPEN-ENDED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

-An important topic in Fogerty’s talk concerns the difference between print media and electronic media. With news being more dispersed across multiple sources, is it possible for a news story to have similar impact today as The Color of Money in the late 1980s? Why or why not?

-Mark Fogerty mentions how he works for a trade newspaper targeted to specific audiences, and goes onto show just how many fields SourceMedia targets. Does “journalism” seem larger to you, knowing this? Do you think other fields have similar levels of granularity? (Hint: yes they do).

-Fogerty uses a famous Thoreau quote: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” What does “success” mean to you here? Is it referring to something material, something personal, or both?

-What are some things that a talented journalist can do that make his or her work to transcend the mere reporting of facts? How does this enable his or her journalism to become a legitimate tool of change in the world?

Ed Hill: Nobody Owes You Anything

Ed Hill, a business executive and vice president at Atlanta based Prommis Solutions, shared insight and advice with a group of seniors at Grady High when he stopped by the school to participate in the Talk About Your Future program.  Hill began with a personal maxim he coined as a young man to help guide himself through the ups and downs of life: good decisions lead to blessings; bad decisions lead to consequences.  Everyone has made a number of both, Hill continued, and everyone will continue to make bad decisions here and there.  What really matters, Hill said, is that you take responsibility for your decisions; that you enjoy your rewards as the fruit of your labor and own up to your mistakes.  Hill shared stories of some of his own poor decisions with the students.  He told them about his choice to drop out of college and his struggles with alcohol and drugs as a young man.  He told them that his poor decision-making and the resulting consequences led him to feel, at times in his twenties, that he could not and would not ever succeed.

That changed, however, when Hill reconnected with a distant cousin, who taught him about the value of taking responsibility for one’s actions and thereby regaining control over one’s life.  His cousin helped him learn to face up to his struggles and take ownership of them.  It’s never too late, Hill learned, to change for the better and to break away from a negative cycle.  Hill urged the students not to blame the world for any problems they might encounter as they grow older; instead, he urged them to spend their energy making positive choices and looking for practical solutions.  “Take the word entitlement out of your vocabulary…No matter where we start, it’s where we finish that matters.  We may have been dealt a bad hand, but we have to own it and embrace it…Attitude and work ethic determine success,” Hill told the class.  Hill continued, “You are the sum total of all of the decisions you have made.”  Hill ended with a few simple words of advice.  He told the students to avoid complainers, keep a good attitude, and work hard – all while always remembering the importance of every decision they make.

Ed Hill serves as Senior Vice President of Trustee Services for Prommis Solutions, LLC., a national provider of default processing services. Hill brings to Prommis more than 25 years of mortgage servicing experience. Hill is responsible for providing executive leadership for Prommis subsidiaries Cal-Western Reconveyance Corporation, Reliable Posting & Publication Company and Interface, Inc.. In addition to leading the strategic growth of these companies, Hill will interface directly with their leading clients to ensure the highest level of service and satisfaction.

Prior to joining Prommis Solutions, Hill worked as Managing Director for Lender Processing Services where he led the successful development and implementation of the Desktop Loss Mitigation platform for a top 5 servicer and several other clients. Hill was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Eagle Vision Communications LLP., a default technology company that was acquired by LPS after designing loss mitigation, document preparation and attorney management applications. Hill also served as Vice President of Default Technology at Litton Loan Servicing, where he guided the development and operational deployment of proprietary tracking systems that supported the company’s foreclosure and attorney network management functions.

Ed Hill: Nobody Owes You Anything from Grady Talks on Vimeo.

As a Talk About your Future contributor, Atlanta personality Jeff Johnson brought his unflappable enthusiasm to the halls of Grady High. Johnson asked the students to think back to the halcyon days of early childhood: imagine, he said, that you are taking a walk on a hot summer day, and right in front of you is a big, deep, puddle. What would the younger you have done? Johnson told the students what he would have done: jumped as high as he could and landed right in the middle of it. Sometimes the puddle was clean and clear; sometimes it was muddy and murky. But, Johnson said, he would still jump, be the consequences what they may. Which is a lot like life, Johnson told the class. Life presents us with clean puddles and dirty ones: with challenges and rewards, successes and failures, struggle and peace. While a little more circumspection might have saved Johnson’s family some laundry detergent in his younger days, life, Johnson said, differs a lot from puddles in that respect. You can’t spend your whole life on the sideline. Eventually, Johnson stated, you have to deal with life; you have to just jump right in.

Life is all about relationships, Johnson continued. Jumping into life, he said, means building relationships at every opportunity to do so. Network, he told the students, intern, mentor. It’s not easy, but it’s not too hard; and the rewards of such proactive relationship building, Johnson advised the students, are fantastic. People can be applied to the puddle metaphor, too, Johnson said. Good influences are like clean, sparkling puddles – seek them out. Bad influences are like shallow, muddy puddles – step right over them and keep doing the good things you’re doing.

Johnson told the students that jumping in also means practicing your craft, learning new things, and honing your skills. Find what motivates you through life, and go for it, Johnson said. Don’t sit back and expect success to come to you, Johnson said; instead, think about what you want to do for your career and do it now – if you like it, keep doing it and getting better, if not, look for something else! “Practice your passion! Every day is a gift,” Johnson concluded by saying, “open up each day the best way you can. Live it the best way you can. Enjoy that gift, it means so much.”

Jeff “JJ” Johnson is a trusted media professional and Emmy Award winner whose dedication to the television and radio industry is evident in the positions he has excelled in, the enthusiasm he exudes, and the sheer joy he has in connecting with his audiences and all he works with.

Recently, “JJ” was the Executive Director of the “Department of Community Interest” for Peachtree TV which serves the 8th largest media market in the country in Atlanta, Georgia.

“JJ” played a key role in broadcasts of the Atlanta Braves by opening every game and welcoming Braves fans to the broadcasts to providing fans with important and entertaining Braves information and interviews with players and staff.  As the driving force behind the station’s community outreach initiatives, “JJ” quickly has become one of the most recognizable personalities in the highly competitive Atlanta market.

In 2005, Jeff started Jeff Johnson Enterprises, Inc. “JJE” is a “Content Driven” media development company who believes that positive, productive partnerships with others in the field can help ensure success in our rapidly evolving industry.

In addition to his television and radio work, “JJ” is a motivational speaker.  He has spoken to hundreds of schools, civic and professional organizations on the value of a good education and the importance of having a positive outlook on life.

• Everyday we wake up is a a gift and it can be taken away in a heartbeat, that put a lot of things in perspective for me.
• Using the puddle analogy really provided a different way for me to view my associations with other people.
• The thing you said that stood out to me the most is that you said you believe in faith, family, and friends.
• You informed me to take advantage of my life while I’m young and to always keep myself around positive people.
• It’s not always about getting money, but rather about making connections.
• Your lecture has really encouraged me to sit down and think about my future and how I’ll contribute and impact the world.
• You are AWESOME, I say that in my loud voice because you are loud and I love loud people.
• Listening to you speak helps me gain more positive support.
• I think your speech inspired me to value my future even more.
• Thank you for coming!
• You have inspired me and made me realize how much I have to look forward to in the world.

Jeff Johnson: Asking Adults for Career Help from Grady Talks on Vimeo.

JEFF JOHNSON: “ASKING ADULTS FOR HELP”

Synopsis: Jeff Johnson, owner of his own production company and longtime communications worker, explains his keys to success. In particular, he emphasizes the importance of gaining experience as much as possible, seeking help from others, and above all else maintaining a positive, yet realistic, attitude.

Key Points:

-2:08: This is important. Start as early as you can!

-4:25-6:04: The puddle metaphor is an excellent point in this video, a recurring, easy to understand theme throughout.

-8:28: This is a key point: success is never found by thinking about “what could have been.”

-12:35: A good reflection point: What do you see yourself doing in ten years?

-15:00: Note the importance of maintaining useful connections with respect to financing ideas.

-20:30: An important point most high school kids may not think about: cost of living.

-23:44-End: Attitude, attitude, attitude! Not the first speaker to say this, not the last either. It’s a very important point.

Discussion Questions:

-Early in the video, Jeff Johnson talks about his wide range of experience and areas of work. How has this helped shape his career? Why is this helpful?

-Mr. Johnson is a clear proponent of learning through doing. How is this different from learning through a classroom or guided instruction? What advantages does this approach offer?

-Mr. Johnson says, while discussing acting careers, that it is important to “understand the business.” How is this related to his points on seeking advice from experienced mentors?

-Jeff Johnson is certainly not the only speaker who has stressed the importance of attitude. Why is attitude so important? What is special about people with good attitudes? Why are they successful?

Genie Sockel: Your Akamai Self

“R-E-S-P-E-C-T / Find out what it means to me,” Georgetown Law graduate Genie Sockel sang these Aretha Franklin lyrics to the students at Grady High.   Sockel stopped by the home of the Knights to talk to the students about becoming their “akamai selves” and respecting the akami selves of others.  Sockel spoke with the class about the importance of following their hearts, and the equal importance of allowing everyone else that same privilege.

Akamai is a word from a 13 letter native Hawaiian language, Sockel explained, which means smart.  She then asked the students to state the apparently obvious: to tell her what “smart” means.  “Getting As and Bs,” most responded.  Turns out, the answer isn’t quite so obvious; Sockel said that yes, it is certainly smart to get good grades.  But there’s a lot more to it than that, she continued.  She told the students about Jerome Kagan and his idea of “multiple intelligences.”  “It’s not how smart you are, it’s how you are smart,” Sockel said to the class.  She explained the idea behind multiple intelligences: that intellectual abilities aren’t the only determinants of intelligence.  All skills, passions, hobbies, dreams and interests are intelligences, she said.  Whether it’s in music, art, sports, math or stamp collecting, everyone is akamai in something.  Sockel told the students that to become their akamai selves, they must answer the question: “what’s akamai about you?”  Sockel advised the students to think long and hard about what matters to them, about what excites and invigorates them and makes them want to get out of bed in the mornings.  Pursue your interests, Sockel said, because your interests are your gifts, they’re the keys to your akamai selves and they will help you make original contributions to the world.

Genie Sockel has worked with managers and key leaders to provide one-on-one intensive sensitivity training for the last nine years.  These professionals have heightened their workplace antenna to nimbly identify and follow actions that add to workplace comraderie and respect.  They have improved the clarity of their communication so that the impact of their behavior is consistent with their positive intentions.    With these enhanced skills, these professionals have improved the overall morale, productivity and professional timbre of their workplace.

Genie has conducted one-on-one sensitivity trainings for high level executives and managers from large corporations to family owned businesses with diverse industries including college athletics, lending institutions, medicine, automobile manufacturing and the military.

Genie’s interest in the interplay among cultural influences on group dynamics began as she grew up on the multicultural island of Oahu, Hawaii. Genie explored this interest at Yale when she wrote her Senior Thesis as a Psychology Major, “Academic Achievement at the Expense of Cultural Identity: Psychological Stressors of Academically Advanced, Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents”.  She further developed this attention to different perspectives when she wrote “Evaluating The Reasonable Woman Standard in Labor Arbitration” while at the Georgetown University Law Center.

• You convinced me that you have to follow your dream. I was absolutely inspired by your presentation.
• You helped me put my future into perspective. You showed us when you said just because you went to college for law, you still changed your career path.
• Your presentation has motivated me to take more control of my life and career path. I admire your hard work and it make me want to work even harder.
• You made me realize that through work and perseverance, you can achieve anything.
• You have inspired me and releaved stress. Now, I’m not worried about zig-zagging and changing my major or career path.
• You are an amazing person. Even your background story was influential and touching.
• Thank you for coming on short notice. I really did learn something.
• You are awesome. Your personality is wonderful. I enjoyed your time.
• I really took what you said into consideration.
• Thank you for being an inspiration and teaching us something new.
• You taught me “Akamai” which I think is cool.
• I feel as though you have a great personality and you are also a great person.
• You have inspired me and relieved stress. Now, I’m not worried about zig-zagging and changing my major or career path.
• You are great people!

by Alex Viguerie

SYNOPSIS:

-Everyone has their own unique strengths and intelligences. Genie Sockel, successful attorney turned sensitivity coach, talks about the importance of identifying these strengths and building one’s career and life around them.

KEY POINTS:

-2:00 – Here, Genie and the group discuss different ways of being “smart.”

-3:39 – Genie discusses how people can use their strengths to overcome their weaknesses.

-7:40 – Here, Genie talks about an important career decision she made with her natural talents in mind.

-11:19 – Genie is starting her own company- and it’s largely based around her own personal strengths and interests.

-13:10 – Genie reminds her audience to always be aware of the impressions they leave. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

-When discussing her college career, Genie mentions that she applied to fifteen schools? Why is it important to cast a wide net in such situations?

-What are some ways that people can discover their own strengths?

-How can people be aware of the impressions they leave?

-Genie discussed the theory of multiple intelligences. Are some of these intelligences inherently more valuable than others? How can this theory be applied to team-based work?

-Is the theory of multiple intelligences similar to the Hermann Brain Dominance theory? How is it different?

Genie Sockel: Being Your Akamai Self from Grady Talks on Vimeo.

Denis Brosnan talks to a group of high school students about necessary evils in life. He tells about three tools that can help propel you forward in life. Modeling your behavior after others can help you fit in and do what people do. We join groups to accomplish more than we can do on our own. We can get great guidance from mentors. Denis talks about the pitfalls of using the three tools.

Denis Brosnan is the principal of the consulting firm YellowPark Garden.  He is also the Volunteer, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Talk About Your Future, Inc. d/b/a “Grady Talks,” an Atlanta based non-profit organization which links urban public school students with business professionals. The program provides high school students the opportunity to engage experts in a number of business fields, in an effort to provide guidance and encourage meaningful career paths.

Most recently in the for-profit realm, Chief Executive Officer of Prommis Solutions, a leading national provider of knowledge-based processing services to the real estate finance industry. Extensive relationships in the mortgage banking community and substantial experience leading large-scale initiatives in organizational transformation & growth, systems improvements, and strategic and capital structure change.

Prior to joining Prommis, Brosnan was a founding partner and principal of E-A-G Consultants LLC, a professional services firm that specialized in strategic consulting focused on the mortgage and financial services industries. Brosnan advised clients on strategic planning, organizational design, technology selection and implementation, project management, marketing strategies and media usage, public relations and corporate governance. Prior to that, Brosnan was Executive Vice President and general counsel of Prizm Technologies, an IT outsourcing firm, and AP3 Solutions, a related software development firm.

Brosnan began his professional career as a practicing attorney, representing mortgage servicers in lender liability, foreclosure, and bankruptcy eviction actions for a number of years. Brosnan was also a Captain in the JAG Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve for eight years, serving both stateside and overseas.

Brosnan holds a B.S. degree in Management from Clemson University and a J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina.

DENNIS BROSNAN: MODELS, MEMBERSHIPS, AND MENTORS
By Alex Viguerie

SYNOPSIS:
Denis Brosnan, CEO of YellowPark Garden, emphasizes the importance of staying humble and seeking guidance from others in order to better yourself.

KEY POINTS:
-5:50: Denis introduces the key points of his talk: Models, Memberships, and Mentors.

-8:28-9:07: Denis discusses the importance and benefits of behavior modeling

-11:41-12:05: In this segment, Denis highlights the importance of collaboration and interaction.

-15:49-17:12: Denis outlines the pros and cons of seeking of mentors.

-20:43-21:14: Denis wraps up and resummarizes the main points of his talk.

-27:24-28:15: Here, Denis relates a personal character-building experience and how it’s helped shape him his life.

-30:22-31:42: Denis’s ideal traits in an employee.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
-Throughout his talk, Denis focused on both the pros and cons of different approaches- what does this say about the optimal approach- is it balanced or skewed in one direction?

-Denis stresses the importance of humility, and acknowledges it as a key to his success. Why is humility important? How can it help you?

-At several points during the video, Denis describes his job as a CEO as being that of a “decision-maker.” Why is it important that he relies on other people to do their job so well? What does this say about codependence vs. independence?

-How can you rely on others to better know and understand yourself? Why is this beneficial?

Denis Brosnan: Models, Mentors, and Membership from Grady Talks on Vimeo.