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Biographer of success

Alum Mario Perron helps clients reach their potential by tapping into their passion
July 27, 2017
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By Maeve Haldane


Mario Perron, BA (child studies) 99, exudes optimism, positivity and a polymath’s curiosity.

An avid networker, the Montreal-based Perron is a professional coach, consultant and marketer. He blogs daily on his Renaissance Mindset site, on which he has also embarked on a public 500-day journey into creativity, inspired by his art-student niece who wanted to discuss art and its process.

Mario Perron, BA 99 Mario Perron is a self-described “successographer,” which he explains is “a biographer of the journey of success.”

He has begun to turn this journey into a book —  examples of his current and past art can be found at 1-mario-perron.pixels.com —  and he also will soon be a regular contributor to an international lifestyle website, luxury-lane.com.  

During Perron’s time at Concordia, he helped create Jim’s Adventures, a loopy pre-internet show on the university’s student-run TV station CUTV.

After completing his studies in psychology and education, Perron moved to Spain to teach English. Two years later, family matters led him back to Montreal, where he eventually opened a talent agency, which he ran for four years.

Perron loved dealing with the professionals yet struggled with those he calls the “unprofessionals.” “A lot of people aren’t honest with themselves,” he says. “They sound wonderful, but they aren’t interested in doing the work.”

He then reached out to others to help find his next path, and soon established a route in helping others through his passion for stories by becoming what he calls a “successographer,” through coaching, consulting and providing content on various business platforms.

He sat down to talk about his career and how he helps people pursue their success.

You work with others to find their passion and get their best work into the world, for which a friend dubbed you a “successographer.” What is a successographer?

Mario Perron: “I’m a biographer of the journey of success. What I love, what my passion is, is to talk about other people’s success, what their passion is. I don’t talk about what they do, I talk about who they are. I also like to write and tell stories about amazing people because that’s what motivates me.”

What would you recommend for graduating students?

MP: “Above everything else, follow your passion. I’m more and more convinced every day that people have a multitude of passions, and because society and external voices have told them ‘pick one,’ they’ve never been able to find an umbrella that connects all their passions and all their loves.

Millennials are not stimulated enough because they are renaissance souls in a world that hasn’t yet understood what that means.”

How would you recommend people to tap into that passion?

MP: “I would use a coaching approach. First thing is to write down all the things you get excited by and start connecting the dots. It’s not necessary to be pigeonholed, unless that fits your passion.

Your experience to date is just the starting point from where you can go. You have a strong foundation already. Pursue it!”

When people talk about barriers to their success, what do you hear the most, and what do you recommend?

MP: “The barrier I hear the most is self-doubt. Even time management for many people has become an excuse for self-doubt.”

How would you advise people to deal with self-doubt?

MP: “Look at it! Don’t be afraid to shed light on it, it’ll only grow in the dark. It’s a mushroom. For me, self-doubt is a fungus that doesn’t always taste very good, but it can because it’s such a rich learning experience to overcome self-doubt. And those ‘aha!’ moments have become so rich to me.

If you’re willing to answer ‘why?’ to every thought that pops into your head — and it’s going to be rough at the beginning — you will quickly change your mindset.”

What are some of the common traits you find in successful people?

MP: “I think successful people have a collection of traits that define their purpose. It’s their ‘why’ that drives their passions. The traits, in no particular order, and in no specific ratio, include curiosity, passion, positivity, silliness, adventurousness, open-mindedness, generosity, kindness, a sprinkling of narcissism and a healthy relationship with their inner child.”

How did your time at Concordia influence you?

MP: “One class that I enjoyed the most — that changed a lot the way I see things — was an art education class. The teacher was all about experimentation. She wanted to get everybody in that class to let go of failure and embrace experimentation.

For her, and for me, that was a way of motivating people. It hammered home the idea that everybody has the ability to be creative, and everybody has the possibility of doing something they love.

While I used some of what I learned to create Jim’s Adventures for CUTV, I still wasn’t at the right place to follow it at the time, but it instilled a thought that’s always been there. Have fun and do what you love. In the long run, it will turn into your purpose.”

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