Meet Grace Sammon

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Grace Sammon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Grace, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

Thanks so much for having me! I love your platform. Generosity? What an interesting question! First, let’s define generosity. For me, I define it as giving freely and openly of all that we have.

Let me be clear, that does not translate into, nor disallow for, monetary contributions. True, genuine generosity of spirit, however, comes from within. It is the small kindness you show by greeting someone on the street and looking them in the eye. It is the mentoring or sharing your expertise with someone seeking guidance. It is opening your home to a friend who lost their home in a flood, running an errand for a neighbor, asking a neighbor if they need anything from the grocery while you are out, remembering an important occasion, and recognizing it.

Generosity, I have found, is given without expectation of anything in return BUT the return on the investment is immeasurable in your own spirit and experience. My spirit of generosity comes directly from my parents who volunteered often, using their strengths and talents. While not wealthy, they always also helped financially where they could with family, friends, and community. Their enduring legacy, and I hope mine, is that they gave of themselves, were always ready to listen, and were always ready to lend their talents to the task at hand.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Part of my bio always includes the word “re-inventor” because I have had the gift, or more accurately, the challenge, of reinventing myself on many occasions.

I have always been a writer, from brochures on first jobs to newsletters on subsequent ones. Then came the first book followed by six others. I write fiction and non-fiction and find fiction the biggest joy and challenge. Career paths aren’t linear or necessarily easy. I’ve been fired from jobs (the best thing that ever happened), started businesses, closed businesses, risked a little, and risked a lot.

All of that has to do with reinvention. I think the ability to do that, to “pivot” in the current lexicon, is critical to professional and personal success and happiness. In the last four years, I published my first novel (THE EVES), hosted two award-winning radio shows (THE STORYTELLERS and LAUNCH PAD), and created a three-book series on writing, publishing, and marketing your book (THE LAUNCH PAD series); my husband was diagnosed with cancer, I broke my leg and had an emergency appendectomy, and we both got Covid). It’s been busy and a challenge, but what has been the glue that has kept me going? It is the “juice” I feel when I am creating, contributing, and collaborating.

For me, all three of those things are critical. Creating – using my talents to continue to write, to nurture other authors in their writing, and to work on multiple projects. Contributing – joining boards where I both learn from and positively influence, the growth of organizations by using my talents and building my skills; participating in the writing community and serving as a book coach. Collaborating – seeking out and working with others – lifting up their talents, benefiting from their skill sets. All of this. for me, translates into meaning and purpose now, and future growth – sometimes when you least expect it.

The least expected is exciting, even if it is sometimes unsettling. I like looking for the open door, the possibility, the creative collaboration. I also delight in it when an opportunity comes up out of nowhere and slaps me in the face – like my two radio shows. I know that, once again, I am at a pivot point. I’m taking time to look for the doors, centering on my creativity, and waiting around for the “slap.” All will be there if I’m open to it and THAT is exciting.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back – ah, that’s the gift of hindsight. Obviously, when we are in the moment, or just outside of it, we don’t have that gift. So, the first thing I’d share with your readers is that they should be gentle with themselves. Don’t beat yourself up for “mistakes.” We all make them and they can be the best teachers. Even in the most gut-wrenching – “I lost my job, best friend, dog, and career” moments – when you can’t see the forest for the trees, know this, be gentle – there is learning in mistakes and missteps. There is a life after this moment. There will be a before and after, there will be a different than, but there will be a next – a next that could be, and I know can be, better than “this.”

That said, there are things that we all can do to improve our journey. Be honest with yourself in a few areas. Ask what skills you need to improve (interpersonal as well as ‘technical’), and seek help in working on those. Ask yourself what part you play in the problem. I have a friend who frequently says “everywhere I go I find myself.” If you are seeing patterns of “failure” look more deeply at your own piece of the puzzle.

A key issue for me was investing wisely in money, time, and people. When I was growing my companies, I did what many women did in the day – save up for a rainy day. I probably should have re-invested profits more to grow the businesses. I should have found a prudent financial mentor, that would have helped plan for and build “success.” And people, while I always have taken time to be authentic and genuine and connect with individuals I work with, or have hired, I know I did not truly “network” and “use” people and connections to the best of my people skill set. Today, my first thoughts are always “creative collaboration” – who will make this project better, who will I enjoy working with, who will bring something to the mix that I don’t.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

This is going to sound self-serving, so I am putting a huge caveat with my answer. I think you are asking two separate questions – the “who” of overcoming the challenges, and the “who” of the skills, qualities, and knowledge. The answer to the first part of the question, and the self-serving part, is me. I’m responsible.

At the end of the day, we are masters of our destiny. Only we can change ourselves. Only we can take the steps that lead us to, or away from, “success” however we define that success. With this mindset, we are responsible for both our successes and our failures. In the very old days it would have been called “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.” Today, we’d talk about it as “hustle and grind* or “making it happen”. But it’s the idea of taking initiative, working hard, and relying on oneself to overcome challenges. When I talk to employers today, they frequently bemoan employees without that initiative. To me, it is that characteristic that is paramount not only for success, but for self-satisfaction.

Now, here’s the caveat, I may be the master of my universe, but it’s a universe with many elements. None of us do this alone. If we are lucky enough to be born into a family where individual skills and qualities are nurtured and knowledge prized, we will be well ahead of the game called success. I was born into such a family. It wasn’t perfect and issues of gender roles were clear. However, my parents deftly laid the groundwork for developing skills and abilities. Later, I was gifted with mentors who saw potential, offered me challenging objectives, and nurtured me to success as I gained the courage to take risks. Later still, I was wise enough to realize what I didn’t know and sought help from others.

Earlier, I mentioned creative collaborations – now, my hallmark. We are better together than we are apart. I’m still very competitive, but I realize that surrounding myself with others with the skills, qualities, and knowledge I may lack, or need to enhance, is a key element of future and long-term success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.GraceSammon.NET
• Instagram: /GraceSammonWrites
• Facebook: personal page Grace Sammon, author page /GraceSammonWrites
• Youtube: Grace Sammon @gracesammon3848