Don’t shoot for the moon; shoot for Jupiter. That’s the message from Paul McIntyer Royston – one of Canada’s leading fundraisers and the biggest advocate for dreaming big. After all, we’ll never know if an idea is impossible if we don’t try. And Paul has made a career of making the big ask and, more often than not, watching his dreams become a reality. Before leading the Grand River Hospital Foundation in Kitchener, Ontario, Paul served as the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the CEO of the Calgary Library Foundation, where he raised more than $300 million, the largest library fundraising campaign in Canadian history. Paul is also behind the FAT Project – from Food Addict to Triathlete – where he worked to lose 400lbs over three years…and failed. His honest reflection and willingness to try, even in the face of failure, is why he’s succeeded far more often than he’s come up short.
We sat down with Paul at the Canadian Olympic Foundation headquarters to better understand what it’s like to test ideas in a cutthroat market and why failure and revision can lead to our biggest success.
What do you think?
- What did you learn from Paul’s story?
- Do we need to link mission and passion in order to reach our dream potential?
- Does an aspect of selflessness give us more fuel to shoot for Jupiter?
- Do we need mentors to help us know how and when and if to act on our dreams?
- How can we solicit feedback that helps us grow, without running the risk of stifling our creativity in the process?
- Is Paul a fundraising unicorn or a window into the potential we each possess if we’re just willing to unlock it?
More on Paul
View more of what Paul does: A message from Grand River Hospital Foundation’s new CEO and President, Paul McIntyre Royston
Read about his past work: Top 40 Under 40
Favourite Book:Tao Te Ching by Laozi
Favourite Website: Hacker News – my absolute best go to for ideas and different approaches