We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tony Busnardo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tony below.
Hi Tony , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
Ha. Talking about one’s generosity is as ironic as talking about how humble one is. Even so, here I go, mocking myself. Every thing that I’ve experienced, every person in my life, every thing I own, every victory and heartbreak and help and betrayal and love and loss and trials and turbulence and beauty–all of it is a gift of grace. In some cases, I don’t understand or accept the gift for years. I guess that speaks to humility, or the lack thereof. But the longer I’ve been around, it seems the more ready I am to accept the gift. It’s not that I didn’t and don’t work and work hard for plenty of things in life, but nothing would be possible without the countless graces given me at every moment.
All that to say, if everything is a gift, then whenever I give I get to join in what truly and deeply is all around me. And when I give, I see all the more the way everything is a gift to me.
The funny thing is, if I’m really accepting a gift, then I hold it very loosely. In fact, I can’t help but give in the same way. This is true even when and especially when circumstances speak the opposite. So, the true mark of generosity is if somebody is giving even when they can’t afford to be. I think a lot of people wait to give till sometime when they think or hope they’ll have more. Good luck. Giving isn’t some thing you do. It’s a reflection of who you are, in spite of your circumstances or status.
So, practically speaking, my business partner, Kent, and I started out the business being generous. We didn’t think it through, it’s just that’s who we were. We started the business in 2002. Kent was penniless. I had a thousand bucks. When Kent’s old paint sprayer broke our first day of operation, I put that thousand dollars down on a new sprayer. We each made less than twenty thousand dollars that year. Kent was married, and he and his wife lived on people’s couches and shared rooms all year. I lived in a thousand square foot cabin with seven other guys. We both drove old cars that were on the verge of dying at any moment. I lived off of beans and rice and oatmeal. Everything we owned fit in the trunk of our cars. All of that seemed like gifts to us, and we gave away more than ten percent of our earnings that year.
And we’ve done the same every year. This has been true without exception, even in years were business got really slow and we had kids and were living below the poverty line.
The amount we give actually isn’t even a calculation, we just bump into things that could use help, and the list that we give time, money, energy, etc. to grows most every year. But not with obligation. It’s just the gifts given to us passing right through us. I can’t begin to say how grateful I am for that. It’s driven my whole perception of people. Good, difficult, kind, or harsh, they all have gifts that slip my way. And not just people, but everything.
So, that’s generosity, I think.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Kent and I run Old World Painting in Breckenridge, Colorado. We paint mostly residential homes, majority of which are high end. From the start, the business has been an excuse to be together–Kent and I went to college together, and afterwards wanted to pursue life together in some manner. We do an amazing job, creative, clean, efficient, punctual, professional. All that. But what excites me is doing it with a friend, and gaining more friends through employees and clients along the way. For me, the whole thing is kind of a family.
I suppose what I’m saying is what excites me is the energy behind it, which hasn’t been trying to make tons of money or trying to push growth. Rather it’s just one way we try to inject a bit of good into the world.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The first thing would be that my internal journey (some might say spiritual journey or faith or integrity or something like that) is primary. Who I am is where I live from and ultimately where I will end up. I’m not talking about having it all together. That’s hardly spiritual. I’m just talking about living with a deep openness to the depths around me. One that gets me out of being the center of my life. One that can embrace how tiny I actually am in this wide universe as well as how wondrous I am.
The second thing would be that there is no such thing as failure. Failure assumes I’m way more important and way bigger a deal than I actually am. I’m just one of billions of people on a planet with billions of organisms that is billions of years old in a universe that has billions of stars and is still expanding. What have I got to lose? I’m spec. A beautiful spec, but a spec. It’s all good. Go out there and fail. Then use it.
The third thing would be human intimacy. I choose it. I choose it over being right. I choose it over being financially secure. I choose it over being comfortable. I choose it over most everything. I do this very practically. Here’s one example: for at least half the year, Kent and I cold dip in the alpine river behind my house. Now, there is always something to do for the business. But, every day, we stop working and go get in the river in the afternoon. It’s sounds simple, but it’s actually a sort of ritual. It’s a way of saying we choose our friendship over the business. Another example is that I go to lunch with friends every Thursday. It doesn’t matter how much there is to do, if there is a crisis, or whatever. If I’m in town, I’m going to that lunch.
I do sort this sort of thing daily.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The Divine Conspiracy, Moby Dick, Siddhartha, Tortilla Flat, Just Mercy. Too many to name.
What do these books speak to me? There’s beauty and wild and danger everywhere. Don’t try to tame it. I am tiny. Participate fully in all of life, from the pain to the wonder. Life is whole. Don’t look for perfection, look for wholeness. That means all of the dust and the death and the beauty and the bounty. Laugh. Laugh a lot. And do it loudly. Get over yourself. If bitterness takes hold, stop everything and look at yourself and remember this is the one moment you have.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.oldworldpaintingcolorado.com
