{"id":7380,"date":"2015-02-12T13:48:22","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T18:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sebastien.jobillico.com\/blog\/?p=7380"},"modified":"2018-12-21T13:15:06","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T18:15:06","slug":"a-mapped-route-for-bruny-surin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/en\/a-mapped-route-for-bruny-surin\/","title":{"rendered":"From Olympic athlete to entrepreneur: A mapped out route for Bruny Surin!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><q>Together we are stronger.<\/q><br \/>\nWhether it\u2019s by sharing his knowledge or his commitment, Bruny Surin is an outstanding role model of cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>The athlete has been involved in the community for several years now \u2013 be it with youth, athletes or businessmen and women \u2013 and today hopes to inspire companies and job seekers alike as a way of helping others attain their goals.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing inspiration from his own experience and career path,<i> <\/i>the Olympic runner and entrepreneur at the helm of Surin Group now travels all over Quebec hosting motivational conferences that emphasize the importance of never backing down in the face of adversity, setting goals and pursuing one\u2019s dreams. Interview with the living embodiment of determination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"break__jobillico\">\n<h2>Subscribe to Newsletter<\/h2>\n<form id=\"newsletter-signup\" role=\"form\" name=\"\"><input id=\"email\" name=\"email\" type=\"\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Email address\"><br \/>\n<button class=\"btn btn-cta-filled\" name=\"submit\" type=\"submit\" value=\"submit\">Send<\/button><\/form>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>How did you make the switch between your career as an athlete and the world of entrepreneurship?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s a plan I\u2019d already formulated or at least thought about 4 or 5 years before I retired. I\u2019ve always taken a keen interest in the business world, but it really began happening at the end of my 1999 season when I clinched my best performance, namely 9.84 in the 100m. Technically, that was the moment when I said to myself that once I was retired I\u2019d launch my own clothing brand. I could already visualise my surname, people wearing clothes with my name on them. Then, 2 years before my retirement, I put down in writing all my business plans and a few projects that interested me. Over time, I gradually added more and crossed off others, and I finally ended up asking myself which fields appealed to me the most.&nbsp; It was then that I realized, immediately after I retired, that the switch had been virtually instantaneous. Everything I\u2019m doing today had been planned out and, knock on wood, it\u2019s all going really well!<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>Would you say that your route was mapped out in advance?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, you could say so. Launching my own line of clothing came as no surprise. I do a bit of work in television, but that was also planned out because I attended ProM\u00e9dia, a specialized radio and television school in Montreal. It\u2019s something I\u2019d wanted to do, especially for my conferences, and it has proved to be tremendously helpful. So yes, it was all very sudden, but I\u2019d already mapped out my course. And today it\u2019s working well.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>You give conferences all over the province, at schools and companies and so forth. What\u2019s the message you want to transmit to people?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>I want to show them the importance of not putting up personal barriers and to always think positive and maintain a positive attitude. I want to prompt people to talk about their dreams, because the verbal has an impact on our behaviour too. Some people panic, others can be negative and don\u2019t believe in their goals. We need to change all that.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>What\u2019s your source of motivation for doing all this?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>I simply say to myself that I can change people\u2019s perspective, the way they visualize their goals and life in general. If I can have a positive influence on just a few people, it would be amazing! I\u2019ve been inspired by others myself, by my very first coach. \u201c<i>The me I see is the me I\u2019ll be\u201d<\/i> is something I learned and at the time it really helped me grow as a person and it continues to do so today. For me, it\u2019s a question of paying it forward. I can\u2019t have acquired all this experience, I can\u2019t possess all this knowledge and baggage, and then just keep it all to myself. I want others to benefit from it, that\u2019s what I\u2019m striving to do as much as possible.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>You\u2019ve had a career as an athlete and you\u2019re at the head of a group that bears your name. You also host conferences at schools and businesses. With all these different projects, would you say you\u2019re happy in your work life? <\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Oh! I\u2019m completely happy! I\u2019m happy and I try to maintain a balance. Obviously, sometimes my work gets to be a bit much. However, I believe a balanced life is work and the professional side of course, but more importantly it\u2019s family. And there are spiritual aspects too. For me, all this forms a whole. I often transmit this message to businessmen and women. Because the trap that people sometimes fall into, especially those with big goals in life, is to become so focused on attaining them that they forget the rest. I\u2019ve met men who have spoken openly about their personal experience and who\u2019ve admitted that they are very successful in business, who have incredible revenues, but who aren\u2019t happy. They\u2019re never at home and don\u2019t see much of their family. For me, success can\u2019t be limited to just one aspect; it has to cover all areas of one\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>You spoke of a balanced lifestyle but what value do you cherish the most and ensure is part of your corporate culture?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>My parents always said never cheat, be honest and help others. These are the three values I always bear in mind. In fact, this is the reason I set up my own foundation fifteen years ago. It is crucial to show integrity and be oneself in life. I don\u2019t play a role. \u201c<i>What you see is what you get<\/i>\u201d, as the saying goes. I\u2019m not going to act a part; I am how I am and that\u2019s how I am with everybody. Honesty is very important to me.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>You admit you\u2019ve never been afraid to dream and that this is important to you, it\u2019s what helps you progress. What\u2019s the next dream on your list, the one you\u2019d like to fulfil in the coming years? <\/b><\/h3>\n<p>From a business perspective, I\u2019m about to launch a range of Surin shoes. We\u2019re also expanding the clothing line. I\u2019d like to dress the entire family.&nbsp; At the moment I have clothes for men, women and teens, but not for 3 to 8 year olds. And that\u2019s the age when children start becoming physically active. It\u2019s another project of mine.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"soustitre\"><b>Have you been thinking about these projects for years? Or have they slowly developed over time as you gained more and more experience as an entrepreneur?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The idea for a shoe range came at the same time as the clothing line but I had to follow a series of specific steps. I said to myself, let\u2019s start small and then gradually expand. I must admit that where I am today is where I saw myself from the very beginning. I\u2019m aware that there\u2019s still lots and lots of work to be done but I\u2019m ready to take it on.<\/p>\n<p>*&nbsp;Don\u2019t miss the follow up to this post in the next few weeks as part of a collaboration between Bruny Surin and Jobillic<i>o<\/i>!<!--:--><\/p>\n<p>By Arianne Caron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Together we are stronger. Whether it\u2019s by sharing his knowledge or his commitment, Bruny Surin is an outstanding role model of cooperation. The athlete has been involved in the community for several years now \u2013 be it with youth, athletes [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carriere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7380"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8394,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380\/revisions\/8394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}