Gold Nuggets
- “Everybody is changing the world just by existing and going through their day. It’s whether you’re changing it for the positive, whether you’re changing it for the negative, or you’re just kind of maintaining status quo.”
- “Of course I need to make a living, and I want to make some money, but I think we need to do it in a responsible way.”
- “Isn’t everything an opportunity?”
- The inspiring story of Suon Rottana that David turned into a film.
- Steve took the decision to change one of the questions. Juliet tried to protest, but it didn’t work. Will she take him along on that island getaway?
- “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
Meet David Peck
Our guest is David Peck, Founder of SoChange. He is a lecturer at the business school at Humber College in Hamilton, Ontario, and contributes regularly to Rabble.ca and TheMindMarket. He is also an accomplished podcaster, with his podcast, Face 2 Face, featuring over 500 episodes.
In 2007, David was a co-producer on the educational kids show, Spellz. In 2008, alongside comedian Matthew DiSero, David founded the Mosquitoes Such Tour, which aims to raise awareness of Malaria through performance. In 2009, Verge Magazine named David a Global Hero for his contribution towards making the world a better place.
David co-edited Irreconcilable Differences, and he is the author of Real Change is Incremental, which was awarded a Word Guild Culture Award for social change.
He holds a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Guelph.
Smart Man, Smarter Woman References
We talk about a lot in each episode; however, we don’t want you to miss a thing! Here are some key items were mentioned if you want to take a closer look.
Website Recommendations:
Podcast: https://face2facelive.ca
Personal Website: https://davidpecklive.com
Broken Courage Film: https://brokencouragethemovie.com
Book Recommendation:
The Soft Edge, by Rich Karlgaard
Stay Connected:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidpecklive
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/davidpeckfacetoface
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidpecklive
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXKLkH2e41SnKB2xsdPB5A
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Peck
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Transcript
Steve Loates (00:00):
Hi everyone. Welcome to our podcast, Smart Men, Smarter Woman, a podcast for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. Thank you very much for joining us today. I am Steve Loates.
Juliet Aurora (00:14):
And I am Juliet Aurora.
Steve Loates (00:16):
And we are your co-hosts. Before we introduce today’s special guest, perhaps my wonderful co-host, the smarter woman herself would like to say a few words.
Juliet Aurora (00:28):
Sure. I don’t really have a lot to say this morning, or I guess this afternoon [crosstalk 00:00:33].
Steve Loates (00:35):
Excuse me. Did you just say you didn’t have anything to say?
Juliet Aurora (00:38):
Well, I did say but, and then I was going to actually say something.
Steve Loates (00:43):
Okay.
Juliet Aurora (00:45):
It’s been a challenging week as an entrepreneur, and I’m sure that others in our audience have had weeks like that, where you just want to say, “To heck with it. I’m just going to shut everything down and go live on an island somewhere.” It’s been that kind of week for me. So I’m looking forward to sitting down for the next half an hour and not think about my business, our business, our team, our clients, anything other than just having a great conversation. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
Steve Loates (01:14):
Well, thank you, Juliet. You know, I do kind of like the sound though of that going to an island somewhere. I mean, I don’t really have a problem with that. Sorry, I am presuming I would be going with you, which I guess is something perhaps I shouldn’t do, but anyway, these people don’t want to listen to us anyway. So let’s bring in our guest. Today, we have a fellow podcaster Mr. David Peck. Welcome, and thank you very much for joining us today, David, all the way from the big city of Toronto.
David Peck (01:52):
Well, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Steve Loates (01:54):
Awesome. And really looking forward to our conversation today. It’s always nice to speak with a fellow podcaster. We are certainly rookies compared to David whose a podcast, Face2Face is over 500 episodes, which is an awesome achievement. He’s also a speaker teacher, writer, a self-professed changemaker, and we will touch on that a little, but also we just found out when we were chatting before the show, he’s just finishing up on a film that he’s made, a documentary, which I’d like to touch on. But before we get into all of that, perhaps we could start out, David, if you just tell us maybe a little bit about who you are, what you do, how you help people and we can go from there.
David Peck (02:47):
Yeah. Thanks. Again, thanks for having me on the show. It’s always strange to be the one who’s on the other side of the microphone. I do enjoy speaking. I do enjoy interviewing people and then that’s part of the reason why I started Face2Face, but I think I just love great conversations. I think that’s the bottom line. Thankfully I’ve been able to have some pretty wonderful guests on my show, and had some pretty incredible conversations. The best ones are when you get to the end, you realize that, “Oh, wow, we got to wrap up and didn’t we just start?” Like, “Didn’t I just start this a few minutes ago?” You know, isn’t that a wonderful thing about relationships and community? Thankfully we can still talk about a business made for COVID, right? Podcasts. You know? My podcast is called Face2Face, and it’s rare that I am face to face. So it’s pretty interesting.
David Peck (03:39):
Where did it all begin? Right? Wow. Big questions. I don’t know if you guys know, but I did a master’s degree in philosophy. I’ve done postgraduate work in international development, so that’s a huge question for me. But I think what I’m currently doing today is trying to tell stories. I’m trying to affect change of a particular sort and trying to get people to sort of peel back the layers and just reflect and see the world in a new way, and to look a little bit closer at the people they love and the communities they belong to and the things that they do. So it’s very much connected to why I started Face2Face really, because I do believe that out of great conversations, out of asking penetrating questions, the solutions do arise. Isn’t that the root of entrepreneurship to some degree? I think you do have to ask great questions. I guess you ultimately have to have a great product as well.
David Peck (04:40):
I think it all began with, I think two… I mean, I say this often, two very hospitable parents. My mom and dad, Harold and Nancy entertained a lot of guests and people in our home. We had people staying with us. Our house was a place you could wear your shoes on the carpet. You didn’t have to take your shoes off at the door. And it was warm and it was welcoming. I think that really planted the seeds for me to want to affect change in the world. And the way I think I learned that change was possible was through others. I think ultimately as most of the modern existentialism that I’ve read, the French and the Germans for sure has taught me that we know ourselves through others in our relationships to them and how we interact with with them and so on.
David Peck (05:30):
And then of course that takes place in our families and our communities and our schools and all those things. So all of that is connected to what I’m doing today, which is essentially consulting and working with, for the time being anyway, with nonprofits, sometimes corporate clients, and helping them coming alongside them to build capacity, I guess you could say, with respect to a very specific thing, fundraising, water-related project, gender-based projects. I have a big Rolodex now. I’m not even sure if some of your millennial listeners will know what that is, but you know, a lot of contacts and I try to bring people together to make things happen.
David Peck (06:11):
I’m a construction worker, by the way. I did 18 years, almost 20 years as a construction worker, and so I think that really… I’m an electrician by trade. I think that had an impact on what I’m trying to build today. It’s so funny. I generally don’t even answer the questions that are asked of me, Steve. But it’s a technique of persuasion by the way.
Juliet Aurora (06:40):
I think that’s a male thing. I don’t think it has anything to do with anything else.
David Peck (06:43):
Oh, here we go. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Maybe, maybe.
Juliet Aurora (06:48):
That’s an amazing journey, especially when you said that you come from the background of being an electrician in the construction space for 18 to 20 years, and now you were out there trying to affect change. A lot of people, I think entrepreneurs especially, feel very strongly about wanting to change something, which is why they start their business, offering a new product to change the way somebody does something or offer a service that isn’t out in the marketplace right now. You’ve actually carried that through a step further as well, and are looking to not just affect your local community, but to affect global change. For a lot of people in our audience, I know for myself, I would find that really daunting and think, okay, I need to just stick to my little corner of the world. What is it that you think, if you can even answer this, that made you think that you could change the world?
David Peck (07:48):
Yeah. That’s a great question. There’s a real presumption there, isn’t there? It’s kind of presumptuous to think that. There’s almost a level of arrogance. You know? Oh, wow. You think you can change the world. See, I think Juliet, I think I eventually realized that we all are changing the world in particular ways. So those little things. I’m very much an incrementalist, like the splash and ripple effect. The butterfly chaos theory, if you want to get into it, those kinds of things. So this conversation today here will plant seeds that none of us know what they’re going to blossom into, but ideas could be generated here. Questions could be raised. I had a call just before this one where I went, “Wow. You know what, I never thought of that before?” And isn’t that a wonderful thing?
David Peck (08:38):
I think I finally realized that when I drop that pebble, it can have a positive, or it can have a negative effect. So let’s start talking about having a sustainable, meaningful impact in everything that I do. I think it’s what ultimately drove me to philosophy as well, because in order to get to that, you need to peel back some of those layers. I think some of those tools, and really, again, we’re back to conversation because you know what’s so interesting about Socrates, Plato, where it’s sort of all started to some degree, all of it was conversation. These guys didn’t write things down. You know? I mean, some of them did obviously because we have lots of it written down, but a lot of the work they did, the preliminary work was walking to, and the Academy was all about mentorship and the things that you could pass on.
David Peck (09:31):
I also think that I had some incredible people in my life who planted seeds. And I started to recognize, it was an act of recognition that, wow, I do that today because of what that person said or the passion that they drew out of me. I do sleight of hand magic, and I’ve done that for many, many years, and I have a deep love for it. There’s a real craft to it. Many of the books behind me are magic books. You would be amazed, or maybe not amazed at how far a magician will go to fool you. But I saw somebody at a very young age that absolutely, it boggled my mind. How is this possible? I now had to find out, I had to know.
David Peck (10:17):
I’ve always had this desire and this curiosity, I think as well. I think that plays into this idea that there are ways to do things in a better, more meaningful, sustainable way, and there’s also just ways to be better human beings. I mean, maybe that sounds a way too idealistic, but I hope I didn’t stray too far from your question.
Juliet Aurora (10:37):
Not at all. I think you said that it probably sounds arrogant or presumptuous that you’re going to go out and change the world, but we need people to believe that and to be out there trying to change it for anything to change. So, no, you absolutely answered my question. Thank you.
David Peck (10:56):
No, it’s great. I think we sort of in a way have to get out of bed in the morning, and if it requires putting a great big post-it note on your ceiling so it’s the first thing you see in the morning, you know, I am a changemaker. I think if we believe that going in, it will affect how we do things. It will affect the news we read. It will affect the food that we eat, the questions we ask, the clothes we wear. All of a sudden we could be talking about supply chain transparency legislation, because that’s going to affect some family in Cambodia in the garment district if we just were willing to spend just a little bit more on our clothes. You know? I love that. I love peeling back those layers and seeing how those dots connect, and if we just all got out of bed in the morning going, “Yeah, I’m changing the world already. I haven’t even had a shower yet today and I’m making a difference.” I think that could go a long way.
Juliet Aurora (11:54):
I do believe, as you said, that everybody is changing the world just by existing and going through their day. It’s whether you’re changing it for the positive, whether you’re changing it for the negative, or you’re just maintaining status quo, but you are affecting those around you and impacting. So let’s all try and make a positive impact.
David Peck (12:14):
Absolutely, and it’s so connected to entrepreneurship. I just saw a recent post. I don’t know how true this will ultimately turn out to be, but I believe Nestle is going to be plastic free by 2025, or at least that’s what they hope for. All their products will be recyclable, their candies, et cetera, et cetera. Well, that’s somebody believing they could change something probably at the candy industry. Wow. I mean, that’s interesting, right? Back to entrepreneurship again, that drive to do it a little better and hopefully make lots of money doing it as well. Right?
Steve Loates (12:46):
Yeah. Well, it does seem… I mean, obviously, for business owners, corporations, the reason for their existence for most of them is to make money. But there really does seem to me that over the last few years, there’s been much more awareness of how can we make more money, but also do good things at the same time. They do good things for more people, do good things for the planet. So I think that’s very, very refreshing. In your experience, David, how would you rate… Maybe it’s an unfair question, but I will ask it anyway. How would you rate today’s world of entrepreneurs, if you will, in terms of trying to make change for the better, and really trying to incorporate that into their business and how they do business?
David Peck (13:58):
That’s a big question. I think we need to look to the global south. I think that people who are living in the two third world countries that are struggling to make ends meet, that are living with subsistence farming, these types of things, what are some of the things they’re doing to survive well, to get beyond surviving, to get beyond extreme poverty, at least by definition, about a dollar 25 a day. I think there’s some really, really exciting things that are happening there from a electrical perspective, a water and sanitation perspective. I mean, at the risk of sounding… If any of my listeners are listening to this, they’re going to laugh because… But I think I’m going to to be positive on this one.
David Peck (14:46):
I think things are much better than they used to be with respect to the notion of… You know, there’s the three P’s. Yes, of course it’s about profit, but what about people and planet and where do they fit into this as well? I think that in a lot of cases, those are preliminary or primary questions. Yes, of course, I need to make a living and I want to make some money and maybe even want to get rich, but I think we need to do it in a responsible way. So, our children’s children will be… To ask a question about the environment would be silly because of course we’re trying to do what we can to make the environment better. You know? I think in a sense, we’re still pushing the rock up the hill. There’s no question. But I think that I see the questions my children, Spencer and Victoria, at a young age, and I’ll say to Elizabeth, my wife, “Wow. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t asking those questions at 13.”
David Peck (15:40):
So yes, there’s all kinds of horrible things going on in the world, and the internet is a dangerous thing and all those things, but wow, there’s a profound amount of goodness and beauty as well. Sometimes I think we just got to step back and see it. I was introduced, and I can’t remember the name of him recently. You guys will love this story. But they’ve created, and this is the electrician in me here as well. There’s a, I forget what it’s called, but a box essentially, solar panels on the roof, box on your wall. You can live in a tin shack here in the remotest part of the world, you’re picking up this energy and you use a portion of that.
David Peck (16:14):
So maybe you have a television, maybe you have some kind of an electric stove, let’s say, and a few products, you charge your phones, but at the end of the day, and every end of the day, you’re left with a surplus. You have a wire that’s running to your neighbors and you now can share that surplus with them. And then in this film that I watched, and I’ll think of the name and the film before the end, the drone shot goes high up and shows you this grid of this. And then through animation, they connect all these homes. Now you’ve got the farmer who doesn’t use as much as the carpenter selling some of the excess electricity. The carpenter doesn’t have any money, so instead he barters and gives him some rice or free labor or whatever the case might be.
David Peck (17:04):
And you just go, wow. All of a sudden we’ve redefined what power grid actually means and what does a local utility mean. I mean, this stuff is exciting but at the same time, how scalable is it? And that’s where you got to bring in experts to help. And how safe is it? You’ve got to ask other questions, but yeah, it’s a great question and I like it. I think at the root of it though is, there are some pretty incredible things taking place.
Steve Loates (17:30):
Yeah. Yeah. I would agree with that.
Juliet Aurora (17:32):
With us having been in a pandemic for the last many, many months, I’ve noticed the conversations have changed between people, the conversations have changed to much more or much less about material things, because you’re now appreciating the things that are important to you when you can’t do them, people you can’t see, relationships and connections that you can’t maintain, but what we’ve also heard a lot is when, for example, when Ontario and Toronto was in lockdown early on in the process, you could fundamentally see a change in the environment where it being less cars on the road, less pollution, we saw more animals. We saw more birds. So there was a visible, noticeable change to the planet. Have you seen, and there’s been jokes that this is mother nature resetting herself.
David Peck (18:31):
Right, right.
Juliet Aurora (18:32):
We didn’t do anything, so she’s taking over and doing [crosstalk 00:18:35].
David Peck (18:34):
Yeah. What would the free market capitalist have to say about that metaphysical reset? Yeah. [crosstalk 00:18:41] I’d be interested to know.
Juliet Aurora (18:43):
Have you seen in your circles and the groups that you are in talk about there being a different, a greater importance to the social responsibility because of what we’re going through right now?
David Peck (19:01):
Yeah. I think we’ll know the answer to that question in a few more years, in maybe five, 10 years. But I think in the moment, I think my intuition is aligned with where you’re at, Juliet. I think it is a reset. I hope it’s a reset for more people than we know all over the world. I have friends, dear friends in Cambodia right now, who are tuk tuk driver, who makes very little money by our standards. He has no work, but his whole life has been reset. So he’s actually now trying to sell real estate. On one hand, I just find that really humorous that my dear friend, Mr. [Wan 00:00:19:38], that’s what he insists I call him, and I’ve known him for almost 10 years, is out there selling real estate. His entrepreneur is coming out.
David Peck (19:49):
I think what I’ve really loved about this time, if I can say it in that way, is that it’s two walks a day with my family, with the dog. We’re playing a game together on a weekly basis. We’re trying to have a movie night once a week. So we’re asking new questions. We’re spending our time in different ways, and I’d like to think that we’re going to look back and say, if you can graph something like that, which somebody can graph something like this, I suppose, we’ll see a spike in some of those more, not just entrepreneurial things, but things that are connected to social responsibility and meaningful impact and so on.
David Peck (20:30):
I mean, what’s the mining sector going to look like in 10 or 15 years as a result of COVID? That is a pretty big question for somebody to pursue and do a PhD on. Who knows? Maybe someone’s already started. I think there’s been a few movies coming out about COVID, and I think we’re going to see a lot of those, and I’m interested to see what some of those stories are and seeing not only how people coped with this, but how they thought about the future. So once again, talking about Cambodia, but Cambodia is now in a stage where they’re saying, “What can we do to make our country a tourist destination of choice to beat others out?” Well, that’s a question they weren’t asking eight or nine months ago, and maybe that’s going to propel them into the future in a whole new way.
David Peck (21:18):
So on a certain level, I guess, it’s… You know what. I mean, isn’t everything an opportunity, I guess? I’ve never really thought of that that way before, I don’t think, but every conversation, every hand we shake, every person we meet. You know?
Steve Loates (21:31):
Yeah. No, absolutely. It’s all in how the situation is viewed. Right? The time’s flying by here, but I mean, I do want to touch more on your podcast, but also I want to touch a little on this documentary thing.
David Peck (21:46):
Thank you.
Steve Loates (21:49):
What inspired you or made you crazy enough to want to make a documentary film? Where did that come from?
David Peck (22:01):
I did an undergraduate degree in philosophy and film. So a bit of a film student always loved docs, always loved… I suppose you could say I’ve always loved storytelling. I mean, who doesn’t really love a great story? I think what really drove me to it was meeting this man. By the way, the name of the film is Broken Courage. If you want to check it out, BrokenCourageTheMovie.com, and there’s lots of reasons for why we called it Broken Courage. Maybe we’ll have time for that, maybe we won’t, but it’s about a man by the name of Suon Rottana, who was a child soldier, lost his leg to a landmine, a former Khmer Rouge soldier in Cambodia who’s actually trying to run a war museum right now and open his own. And it’s all about him.
David Peck (22:41):
The film is all about him telling his story over and over again on a daily basis, essentially to tourists, but sometimes to local Khmer Rouge folk and school groups and so on, and his healing in a sense or lack of healing. And so we don’t really take a position in the film. It’s a very poetic and personal journey as we follow Suon, and some of the challenges he faces and his philosophy on life and his take, but a lot of different things come up in it. So I think the short answer is what.. And you do have to be crazy to make films. I have a whole new found respect. Wow. The funding, the production, getting the right people involved. I’ve been very fortunate to meet some really talented people all along the way.
David Peck (23:27):
Nathanael Draper is the co-director, he’s the editor. He’s been a huge addition. And boy, am I ever glad I invited him to come on board a couple of years ago, but you could say the seed for this film was planted in 2003 when I met Suon, but we didn’t start shooting a single frame till about 2015. So that’s like 10 years later. It just shows you the power back to your question, Juliet, about the little things making a difference. This man’s story just blew my mind in 2003. 10 years later, I was back in the country and I decided, “Hey, I wonder if that guy still works there at that Siem Reap war museum. I went, and there he was. He didn’t remember me, but I sure remembered him. You know what, soon as I saw his face, it was like, boom, I knew who he was. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I guess you could say.
David Peck (24:19):
But this is a man… Here’s a great, I think, takeaway for all of us. He cared enough about me and some would say, “Oh, David, he was working you for a tip.” Well, you know what? I know this man now. He wasn’t working with me for a tip. He wanted to share his story and that’s what he did, and it went deep. That was one of the first things I said to him, when I reconnected with him, I said, “You have no idea who I am, but 10 years ago, we sat right over there. And you told me your story and I’ve retold your story hundreds of times.” And big smile appears on his face, and we were off. So, yeah, rooted in relationship, we’re back to conversations. I had a great conversation with this guy, and holy cow, now I’m making a movie about him, and we’re almost done, which is really exciting.
Steve Loates (25:10):
Okay. That’s terrific. It’s a great story. I look forward to seeing that movie on [inaudible 00:25:14].
David Peck (25:14):
Thank you. Yeah, thanks for asking. I’m trying to let everybody know. We’re still actually trying to raise a little bit more money, but we’re close. We’ve got the Genocide Foundation in Montreal on board as a partner. Emmanuel Jal, a former soldier and author of War Child, he’s a hip hop artist nominated for some Junos. He’s going to be doing some music with us. So, I’m really excited.
Steve Loates (25:38):
Terrific. That’s great. Now the podcast. Why? Why? I mean, you’ve been doing it a while now, so certainly I think you were doing it before it was trendy, let’s say.
David Peck (25:53):
Yeah, I think so. I think so, too. Yeah.
Steve Loates (25:55):
Why did you want to do a podcast?
David Peck (26:00):
I think I’m an unlikely podcaster in a sense, because… I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a producer. I love events, love being on stage, love the backstage part of it as well. I love being behind the curtain. I love all the buzz, the things that the audience doesn’t get to see. So I think at the core of it is this desire to tell a story. I love the power of the question and what it can reveal, and just practically, once again talking to a guy and a friend and someone who I had hired in Peterborough, Andy Guthrie, and this is about eight years ago. And, “You know, Andy, what am I going to do to get more work, to get my message?” “Oh, you should start a podcast.” I didn’t even really know what it was. And once again, Juliet, I was presumptuous/arrogant enough to think that I could actually pull this thing off.
Juliet Aurora (26:53):
Oh.
David Peck (26:54):
Yeah, and I look at the crappy equipment that I started with. You know what, I love it, too. And I’m getting the sense from you guys, you do, too. There’s something really cool about knowing that you’ve got an audience, and it’s important to get the right guests, et cetera, et cetera. There’s just so much to learn as well. I’ve been fortunate to just be able to step into other people’s worlds for a brief moment in time, and then share that with the rest of the world. That’s an exciting place to be, and I have no desire to end it. I just think I got to figure out how to monetize it. It would be nice to… You know? What kind of an entrepreneur are you, David? You’re going broke over there. That’s no business model to pursue. Anyway.
Steve Loates (27:44):
I mean, one of the things I do love about doing the podcast is just how much we learn from our guests, because we get people like yourself for completely different background from ours and you just… I love it.
David Peck (28:01):
Same.
Steve Loates (28:02):
So that’s probably my favorite thing about doing podcasting is the learning, and you never know what you’re going to get. Right?
David Peck (28:11):
It’s so true. I hope I’ve learned to become a better listener. I don’t know that I’m a great listener yet. I think we put on different sets of ears depending on the people we’re with, different masks, different hats, et cetera. But yeah, I think that was part of the reason ultimately for it as well, to practice the art of listening.
Steve Loates (28:34):
Yeah. Well, that’s great. That brings us to the part of the show, which is the Smart Man, Smarter Woman version of the James Lipton’s Actors Studio. If you’re ready, David, we have six questions that we ask every guest, same questions. We would like to put you on the hot seat now. If you’re ready, we can begin.
David Peck (29:00):
Yeah. Is there a timer starting, and is the prize money actually worth it, Steve? That’s what I want to know.
Steve Loates (29:06):
It is, it is.
David Peck (29:08):
Excellent. Glad to hear.
Juliet Aurora (29:11):
The prize money is actually in sharing your knowledge with our audience. Who knows where and what that ripple effect could be?
David Peck (29:19):
There you go.
Juliet Aurora (29:19):
[inaudible 00:29:20].David Peck (29:19):
Touché. Nicely done.
Steve Loates (29:23):
Thank you, Juliet.
David Peck (29:24):
I was hoping at least for, I don’t know, a Fairtrade chocolate bar or something.
Steve Loates (29:29):
Yeah. We’ll see what we can work out.
David Peck (29:31):
That’s right. Sounds good.
Steve Loates (29:34):
Okay. Question one. What one word best defines an entrepreneur?
David Peck (29:43):
Creative.
Steve Loates (29:46):
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?
David Peck (29:54):
I want to say filmmaker, but I’m kind of becoming a filmmaker. How about a professional filmmaker?
Steve Loates (30:01):
Fair enough. What profession would you like never to attempt?
David Peck (30:08):
Underwater microbiologist.
Steve Loates (30:12):
Okay.
David Peck (30:13):
The scuba diving thing scares the heck out of me. My wife scuba dives. I don’t know. It’s too deep. It’s too dark.
Steve Loates (30:19):
Okay. What sound or noise do you love?
David Peck (30:25):
The crackle and the spit of a fire burning.
Steve Loates (30:29):
Very good. Now this question, I may actually change up just for you.
Juliet Aurora (30:37):
Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know if you’re allowed to. Every episode, same questions.
Steve Loates (30:41):
Well, actually it’s my list. So I think I am allowed to. This is not a democracy. Okay?
Juliet Aurora (30:48):
Apparently not.
Steve Loates (30:49):
Normally the question is, what book would you recommend every entrepreneur should read? And perhaps I should ask you what movie do you think every entrepreneur should see?
David Peck (31:04):
Wow, that’s great. That’s so much fun. So asking me the question of one book or one movie, very difficult for me to answer. I love to read. I love books. As crazy as this sounds, I think Ghostbusters is a great movie to watch if you’re an entrepreneur, and there’s a lot of reasons for that. Not only do I love the film and it’s funny and it’s in my mind, timeless. I know people either love it or hate it, but you want to talk about entrepreneurs. The things that they had to do in order to get where they ultimately got to become a success and had a whole lot of fun doing it. So I’d say Ghostbusters, as unlikely as that might sound.
David Peck (31:47):
I think the book, The Soft Edge would be pretty high on my list of books for entrepreneurs. And it’s by [Karlsgaard 00:31:54], I believe is his last name. Rich is his first name. And it is worth every penny. I mean, everything I needed to know, I learned in kindergarten. Also, I might want to add to that list, and How To Win Friends and Influence People would be high up there, too. Sorry. There’s three books. See, I told you I couldn’t answer just one.
Juliet Aurora (32:15):
No, answer the question.
Steve Loates (32:15):
Yeah. I appreciate saying one is difficult.
Juliet Aurora (32:17):
It’s so hard.
Steve Loates (32:18):
That’s why we asked the question. No one said this was going to be easy.
David Peck (32:21):
Well, Juliet, you talked about that island, and immediately, it’s so funny that we kind of come full circle because I wanted to ask you right out of the gate. I want to know the books you’re taking. I want to know the music you’re taking, how many films are going to be… You know? Anyway.
Steve Loates (32:35):
I just wanted to know whether she was taking me, but anyway, that [inaudible 00:32:38].
David Peck (32:38):
That’s right. A little self-absorbed there, Steve, but I’m okay with that.
Juliet Aurora (32:42):
Well, it will definitely not then be a democracy on the island [inaudible 00:32:46].
Steve Loates (32:49):
I did kind of leave myself open to that and [crosstalk 00:32:52].
David Peck (32:51):
You did. Yeah, without a doubt.
Steve Loates (32:54):
Anyway, we have one last question here. When your own entrepreneurial business journey is completed, what do you hope your legacy is?
David Peck (33:04):
This is going to sound pretty generic, I think, but that I will have planted the seeds of change in the most cynical of hearts, minds, and/or souls, and been able to hear possibly, and I’ve heard some stories of change connected to an event or a post or a podcast or a project that I’ve been involved in. So I think, yeah, yeah, it’s again, really hard to come up with that one thing, but I think it would focus on those seeds of change that I’ve tried to plant over the years.
Steve Loates (33:39):
Awesome. If our listeners wanted to connect with you, David, what is the best way for them to do that?
David Peck (33:46):
Yeah, the best way is to… Well, two places right now, I suppose, but davidpecklive.com is my personal site. It’s actually currently under a big revamp, to be honest with you, but you’ll get redirected to my podcast site, Face2Face Live. That’s what the number two, face2facelive.ca. Everything’s going to be coming under the umbrella of the David Peck Live brand in the near future. Foolishly, but my phone number is there too, but it’s easy to… I mean, holy cow, we’re all carrying a device we can fire missiles with basically around in our pocket. People can find you if they want to get ahold of you. Right? So, yeah, that’s probably the best way, but I’d love it for you to check out the podcast on Face2Face, Face2Face Live.
Steve Loates (34:28):
Terrific. We will certainly do that. Before we conclude our episode, Juliet, do you have any final thoughts?
Juliet Aurora (34:37):
It was a really interesting conversation. Thank you so much, David, for joining us. And a great reminder for me, especially with the week I’ve had and for our audience as to how we all can make a change, a small change and what kind of a ripple effect that will have across the community. So thank you for joining us.
David Peck (34:57):
Oh, you’re welcome. Yeah. I’m glad to hear that because I struggled with those. I am nuts myself. You know, you’re not worthy. You won’t make the change and we just need to… We need to believe it. We need to believe it from the inside out.
Steve Loates (35:09):
For sure. Before we conclude, David, any final thoughts for our audience?
David Peck (35:16):
No, not really. Just thank you for having me today and it’s a real pleasure to be a part of it. I love what you guys are doing. I hope you keep going and congrats on… Was it 50th anniversary or 50th episodes? That’s amazing. Well done. And let’s continue to tell new stories in new and wonderful ways. Richard Wagamese said, a indigenous Canadian writer, that stories are meant to heal. I truly, truly believe that. So well done.
Steve Loates (35:45):
Thank you very much. That was a great segue. That brings us to this episode’s words of wisdom, and for this episode, I chose the following. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world,” Harriet Tubman.
David Peck (36:15):
That’s an amazing quote.
Juliet Aurora (36:17):
Perfect.
David Peck (36:17):
Amazing. Love it.
Steve Loates (36:19):
And that brings us to thank you. Thank you to you, David. You’re an awesome guest. Really enjoyed it.
David Peck (36:27):
Thanks.
Steve Loates (36:28):
Thank you as always to my awesome co-host. Couldn’t do this without you, but most importantly, thank you to you, our audience for giving us a listen and some of your time. We hope you found some value, some entertainment. If you did, we would love it if you would subscribe. We’re in all the regular places, iTunes, Spotify, or you can go to the website, smartmensmarterwoman.com. so thank you. Until next time, take good care of yourself and those that you love. Bye for now.
Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0
