We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paul Dorrell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paul below.
Hi Paul, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
When we opened against daunting odds in 1991, I recognized that as difficult as it might be to launch a gallery of national consequence from a Midwestern city–in my case Kansas City–it’s far more difficult to make a living in any Third-World country. Thus whenever we had a setback or were broke once again, I always maintained an attitude of gratitude. I mean the fact that we could even pursue this dream in this very wealthy country, while in most countries people struggle just to have enough to eat, meant that we were incomparably fortunate. Keeping that in mind, while envisioning all that is possible, made it easy to be resilient. A sense of humor helps also, as does discipline, vision, and good wine.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My wife Annie and I raised our sons in Kansas City, where I did the usual things: coached baseball, took our kids camping in the Rockies, hiked through numerous national parks, and probably worked a little too much, but that seemed the only way to succeed. Prior to marrying I spent ten years roaming America by motorcycle, riding through every contiguous state. I’ve lived in Alaska, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Italy, and England. My passions are philanthropy, mountain-biking and hiking. I sold my last Harley four years ago because traffic has become too insane; it’s not my time to go yet.
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?
Optimism. Innovative discipline wedded to an unflagging determination to realize our vision. Persistence–which of course is essential to any career.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I carefully chose a group of three older mentors to advise and encourage me during our early days of near-bankruptcy. Their ideas and guidance helped us break through. One of them even loaned us a large sum of money, so much did he believe in our mission of advancing culture in my region and others. I paid him back–with interest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leopoldgallery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leopoldgallery/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeopoldGallery
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-dorrell-68b3576/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeopoldGalleryKansasCity/videos
Image Credits
Lyman Whitaker, City of Boston. Drew Hine, University of Kansas Hospital. Jacob Burmood, National Soccer Hall of Fame. Tyler Kimball, CrossFirst Bank. Sumner Academy, Kansas City, KS. William Lobdell, H&R Block Headquarters. Phil Epp, Private Collection. Elliot Norquist, Arrowhead Stadium. Leopold Gallery collaborated on all designs and oversaw all installations.
