I have never physically met Killian McDermott, our conversations
have always been over email or over the phone. I've found that behind
the soft and warm Irish twang lies a pure energy and many good
insights that I wanted to learn more about and share with you all.
Killian has found his truth and is embodying it - it's not always fun,
it's not always what he expected it would be, but it's real, and I
hope that in this interview you can feel the conviction he has behind
his contribution to the world, as much as I have felt it, speaking to
him.
How would you describe yourself? Who is Killian?
Laughter... I'm an ideas person, a visionary person who goes to the
cinema in the sky every day. I'm the driving force behind the project
I'm currently working on. I'm fascinated by people's dreams and
potential. I love world maps, travel. I'm curious about cultures,
different people, landscapes - I feel like I have an inate connection
to landscapes and nature. I'm a dreamer, I'm intuitive, sensitive, I
believe in people - I'm an optimist! I believe that anything is
possible!
What are you working on now?
CaféDiverso and DiversoMedia - something I'm committed to more
than full-time, which includes working on everything but the kitchen
sink! It started as an idea, and the work now is to make it real, to
make whatever needs to happen, happen. It's about exploring cultures,
connecting people, and bridging cultural divides through the sharing
of people's real stories and experiences. It's an amalgamation of
dreams, ideas, my life.
I'm rallying people around the world around the mission of the
project, doing my bit and otherwise trying to let things just happen.
It requires perseverance, determination, flexibility, agility and
being open to making changes when they are needed. It's great as I can
use both sides of the brain - creativity and organisation/logic.
There's a big element of risk involved, but if it's meant to happen,
it'll happen. At some point you realise that going against the nature
of what is, is too much of a chore, and there's only so much you can
do. I've had to learn to either constantly change or give it the time
it needs. Both difficult.
What has been your journey to what you are doing now?
I had a very traditional upbringing with a good solid Irish education.
I grew up thinking that if you study hard, work hard, then things will
go well. So I found myself in a successful career in finance, but
wondering what the purpose is of everything I'm doing. I couldn't
figure it out, so I extracted myself from it for a little while,
feeling a bit burnt out with the corporate world.
I spent a month in New Zealand where I hooked up with an old
friend. Central to our chats was that 'everyone has a good story'. We
also spent time wondering how we could give up the career ladder and
do what we really wanted to do...
I came back to London and felt very distant from the city. My
company put me on an executive education programme, which in the end
actually had the opposite desired affect and drove me to leave the
company. The defining moment for me was when the executive director
said to me: "Your values are too strong for this company." I could see
the dishonesty, the power games, not treating people as human beings.
In the end, I felt like I would be a bigger hypocrite if I stayed.
I got a new job making even more money and even though that wasn't
what I wanted, it gave me the possibility to save and do more personal
development work on myself. I knew I had started working to get out.
Yet I saw myself as a 'corporate prostitute' - selling my mind and my
soul for money!
Then my friend who I'd been in New Zealand with, died accidentally.
This put a stronger onus on me to re-evaluate my life. It caused me to
focus even more on getting out of where I was. A year later, I got
into a standstill with the people who'd hired me, I didn't like how
they treated people nor did I believe in their strategies, so I was
fired before I could leave. There were some calls about similar roles
in similar companies. I took a decision instead to finally take some
real risks.
I did a transatlantic yacht race in support of a charity (Share
A Dream Foundation), although I'd never sailed before and only had
2 weeks of training prior to our departure. After that I took time to
write a vision paper for myself for the coming year. I trained in
various leadership development and coaching methods, and set out to
Barcelona to set up a learning centre based around some of the initial
conversations I had had with my friend in New Zealand. I soon realised
though that my energy was actually in the story/media side of things.
I experimented with the production of a part- drama, part-documentary
film that explores a multi- level storytelling approach with an
international cast of non-actors. This inspired the decision to work
full time on CafeDiverso.
What voices did you have? What was your turning point?
"This can't be right! I'm not contributing anything here." I read
loads and started creating a blueprint for a better life/work balance
- and it took me a while before I stumbled across the coaching
movement, which was advocating similar things that I had been thinking
about.
"The money is great, but I'm not living my values, there must be
more to life than this." I was really frustrated while working in
these companies, the hypocrisy between the stated values and the
action the company displayed - polar opposites as far as I was
concerned. And I am a bigger hypocrite for staying.
How are you feeling now? How do you see the future?
On the up, my energy is back again. I was quite low after the launch
of Café Diverso in May. It was like a type of post-natal depression,
as this in some respects is very much my baby. I felt like it was
still so far away from what it should be, not good enough. But I'm
back now, ready to go forward, to launch phase 2 in October, and full
of belief that this will mushroom to be a success. I envision
providing unique information services on peoples and cultures, through
books, magazines, airport lounges and travel expeditions - with the
desired outcome of connecting people and bridging cultural divides.
I'm working on figuring out how to really take the idea further. I
want to personally work on expeditions and any ways that help people
directly. Barcelona is a good base. I love travelling and living in
various cultures, and I don't want to die not having lived in
different places. There is writing in my future - I met a lady mystic
once who told me that this CaféDiverso experience in itself will be a
book - perhaps another way of contributing to people!
What advice would you give to other people in similar situations as
you were in?
* Listen to your truth, and to your dreams
* Don't leave the world without having realised your potential
* Listen to your body
* Watch out for signs - they are everywhere
* Don't be afraid of taking a risk
* If it's not fun, change something
* Align people around the idea, not around you as a person - keep it
out of your ego
* Have a plan and be willing to change it regularly - keep your plan
alive!
Visit the
Cafe Diverso website, and make sure to re-visit in October with
the relaunch. And if you are interested in contributing, let them
know: "We are seeking more storytellers and phototellers around the
world."
