The Invisible Mentor Interviews Delane Cooper, Goldsmith and Jewelry Designer Part Two

Interviewee Name: Delane Cooper, Goldsmith

Company Name: Delane

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Delane Cooper: I am a goldsmith and jewellery designer. I used to be in technology for a couple of decades helping build datacentres. I started off in California, lived in New York, got married and moved here to Toronto.

Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

Delane Cooper:

Have a focus.
Just do it.
Find meaning.
Think differently.
Stay on target.

Avil Beckford: When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

Delane Cooper: I spend it meditating and reading

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Delane Cooper: I sit, pull out a design journal that I have, and I put these words down and actually work on them: Focus, Act, Connect, Deviate and Evaluate and I go through that process on a regular basis for all designs when I am sitting at my bench.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Delane Cooper: My favourite quote is by Mary Anne Radmacher, and it goes like this, “Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.” And I love this quotation because a very good friend of mine shared it with me while we were having a cup of tea. And it was one of those bad, entrepreneurial days, and I asked her, “How does one stay motivated? How does one have life balance?” because I felt I was putting so much work into my business but not spending enough time with my husband. This quote just seems to summarize what I was experiencing, what I was feeling in these short couple of sentences. I basically read this quote out of my calendar every second day.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Delane Cooper: I will use the quote from Albert Einstein, “If A is success in life, then A = X + Y + Z. Work is X, Y is play and Z is keeping your mouth shut.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Delane Cooper: Once again, I will use the quote from Albert Einstein, “If A is success in life, then A = X + Y + Z. Work is X, Y is play and Z is keeping your mouth shut.

Avil Beckford: What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Delane Cooper: I made the hard decision and went back to school, which took about three years. I went online and learned from others. I continue to seek out other entrepreneurs from other fields and learn from them as well. There is a great website http://www.sprouter.com and what’s fantastic about it is it connected me with a lot of entrepreneurs from all over the world. Each entrepreneur may have a different type of business whether it be technology, selling some sort of widget, to someone like myself being creative creating jewellery. As entrepreneurs, we all experience the same ups and downs and hurdles. It’s a great place to seek resources and that’s been quite helpful.

Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Delane Cooper: Identify what you have fun doing and make sure you enjoy the ride. The ride’s going to have a lot of ups and downs, but know that if you are in it for the ride, the benefits are going to be fantastic in the end.

Avil Beckford: If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Delane Cooper:

John Lennon: Thank you for giving us words through music when words could not be said.
Georgia O’Keeffe: Thank you for bringing colour into our lives.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Thank you for sharing the story of your life and for being brave.
Albert Einstein: I would like to know what kept him motivated every morning. I read a lot of his quotes, and he must have been a fantastic individual, not only intellectually, but very self-motivated to get up and continually do experiments on a regular basis, whether they failed or were met with success. I would say, “Thank you for failing your way to success.”
Gandhi: Wanting to know how to put people first, and just groups of people, their lives, their livelihood, calling governments when they are doing wrong. Gandhi was very inspirational. “Thank you for sharing your fears and insecurities.”

Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?

Delane Cooper: The book is called Illusions: The Adventures of the Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. What I got out of this book is that life is an illusion and it’s all about how we choose to take part in it. This book was given to me when I was 20 years old and I have read it probably eight times since, and I’m 41 now.

Avil Beckford: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why?

Delane Cooper:

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Richard Bach
The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand (Ayn Rand Box Set)
The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran
Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austen
Love, Illustrated and designed by Gian Berto Vanni, Story by Lowell A. Siff

I would say the books were all suggested by my mother, very close friends or my husband. When I read these books, I feel like I’m experiencing what my husband or my mom or my friends experienced, and that they are there with me reading these books.

Avil Beckford: What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

Delane Cooper: The CD would be All The Seasons of George Winston Piano Solo. I find that the piano is a very unique instrument and this compilation reminds me that life is all about the seasons. There is always a winter, followed by spring, which then is followed by summer and fall. The movie would be Cinema Paradiso, which reminds me to never forget where I came from and always know where I’m going.

If you cannot view this George Winston Thanksgiving (Piano Solo) 1998YouTube video click here.

If you cannot view the Cinema Paradiso YouTube video click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Delane Cooper: Not to be simple, but life itself. There is just so much going on when one wakes up. You never know what’s going on, from the joy of my husband telling me, “I love you,” to getting an amazing email from a client, and then sometimes you have some of the tragedies that we have recently witnessed like in Japan.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Delane Cooper: Through meditation and enjoying the company of friends, my husband and my lovely dog Pelasso.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Delane Cooper: I would wish or at least hope that my mother who adopted me knows that she saved a child who has blossomed to be a participating adult in this world. That’s what I would wish for.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Delane Cooper: When I’m with my friends enjoying a great meal, and sitting at my jewellery bench creating a beautiful piece of jewellery to be part of someone’s life.

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