Interview with Richard (Dick) Warn

Mystical Mentor: Breaking Through Barriers, Finding Peace of Mind
Dick Warn
Trafford Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781425161651
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/08)

Today, Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views is pleased to interview Richard Warn, who is here to talk about his new book, “Mystical Mentor: Breaking Through Barriers, Finding Peace of Mind.”

Richard S. Warn is an author, speaker, consultant and coach. In 1978, he founded Richard S. Warn & Associates, which has been helping business owners, managers, and leaders achieve success in sales, marketing, leadership and team building. His first book, “The Miracle Minute: 52 One-Minute Guides to Practical Wisdom,” was published in 2006. His weekly column “The Executive Sand Trap” ran in the Portland, Oregon, “Daily Journal of Commerce” for five years with reprints appearing nationally and internationally. Nationally he has shared inspiring insights in over 2,000 keynotes and 800 custom training sessions, and his Miracle Minute radio spots are heard by thousands in Southern California. Today, he is here to tell us about his new book, “Mystical Mentor.”

Tyler:  Welcome, Richard. I’m glad you could join me today. I understand “Mystical Mentor” is based on a true story. Will you tell us, first of all, what that story is?

Richard:  “Mystical Mentor” is the story of two men coming together…the mentor, a self-made multi-millionaire named Russell Swank and the student, a “dress for success” super sales person addicted to tobacco, alcohol and occasional acts of insanity.

The first time I met Russell, I felt there was something unique about him and I wanted to know more. One phone call led to an agreement and a series of weekly meetings. In real life our relationship spanned seven years. In my book, I packaged Russell’s life altering insights in 13 meetings.

Russell remains today the wisest most loving, most mystical person I have ever known. He elevated “tough love” to the highest level I’ve ever seen and altered my life in ways I can’t explain.

Tyler:  What about this story inspired you to write “Mystical Mentor”?

Richard:  The changes I was able to make. We, in America, live in the greatest nation in the world, yet we are not given any guidance in how to live a rich, rewarding life. When I met Russell I thought money was the answer. Money isn’t. There are things far more valuable and important to our wellbeing…and, wealth without wisdom is deadly.

Russell showed me how to break though barriers that were holding me back and I began experiencing levels of peace and joy that I had never known before.

I wrote “Mystical Mentor” to share the assignments that totally changed my life. They worked for me and they will work for any reader willing to follow Russell’s advice.

Tyler:  “Mystical Mentor” has been compared to “Tuesdays with Morrie” but what do you think are the differences between the books?

Richard:  Both books unfold as a series of weekly meetings, which adds structure to the ramblings. However, at the end of each meeting with Russell I had an assignment to complete.

The magic in “Mystical Mentor” is not in the words or how well it is written. The life altering results come from the experiences one has by following along and doing the assignments.

“Mystical Mentor “is a lesson plan for life’s most important discoveries. Russell did not teach me; he pointed out the paths I could use to make my own personal breakthroughs.

Tyler:  What are some of the key lessons to be learned from “Mystical Mentor”?

Richard:  Ways to better deal with anger, frustration, guilt and shame and how to learn to trust that all-knowing inner-self. Russell helped open my eyes to the power within—that power which we all have.

Tyler: Richard, you referred a minute ago to the assignments you were given. Will you give us an example of one of these assignments and what you learned from it?

Richard:  One thing Russell had me do was brainstorm things I needed to do to put my life together. That process gave me a beginning game plan. Another thing he had me do is go to the local library and research the origin of the Golden Rule. I found that the Golden Rule, stated in slightly different ways, can be traced back 3,500 years.

Tyler:  In the book you offer an exercise using a deck of cards to bring about forgiveness. Will you tell us more about this exercise?

Richard: That exercise is aimed at eliminating any anger, discontentment or ill will we are holding within ourselves. Anger, just like a burning coal, hurts the person holding it.

Russell asked me to make a list of everyone who had ever hurt me, held me back, or made me angry. Once I had a list, I had to build a deck of 3X5 cards by placing the name of each person on my list at the top of a card. Then, below each name, I was asked to write a statement of release. Something like: “I now know that you were doing the best you knew how—at that time. We both are learning to live and we both have made mistakes. Now, with every cell of my being I choose to forgive you and set you free.”

My first deck was larger than I thought it would be, but every night, just before going to bed, I would read each card with feeling. The very first pass through that deck left me feeling better about myself. I kept up the process—almost every night—until most of the ill will within me was gone. This isn’t a once done sort of thing; it is a work in progress.

Tyler:  Richard, did you work with Russell in writing this book?

Richard:  No. When I first told Russell that I would be writing this book, he asked me to promise not to share any principle without first proving it.

With day jobs, a large family and backsliding into hell more than once, I didn’t start putting words on paper for twenty years. Then, the actual writing and revising demanded ten more. Mystical Mentor has had a life of its own with over forty name changes.

The last time I sat with Russell was in the spring of 1977, the year I left Alaska. Russell Swank died that fall.

Tyler:  How do you think Russell would feel about “Mystical Mentor” if he were still alive to read it?

Richard:  Late one night I asked Russell, “How in the world am I ever going to repay you?” He smiled and replied, “The only way you can…is by helping others put their lives together.”

I have been helping others for thirty years. What Russell shared with me were simple truths that truly work and life altering assignments that anyone can do. He knew what he was doing. I know it now.

Russell was a kind caring man, willing to help anyone—provided they were willing to help themselves. Seeing his own words in print would have thrilled him.

Tyler:  When your readers finish “Mystical Mentor” what is the one thing you most hope they will feel or do as a result of reading your book?

Richard: Above all else, I want readers to feel better about themselves and what they can do.

Life is a classroom. Mistakes are how we order our lessons, and we are here to learn the truth about ourselves. I want readers to discover the benefits of reading, the joy of forgiveness, and the power that results from looking in a mirror and getting honest with themselves.

Russell not only taught me awesome ways to live, but he also helped me become more comfortable in my own skin. Those alone are greater gifts than anything money can buy.

I do not expect readers to agree with everything I’ve shared. Yet, if they do nothing more than try the forgiveness process or define their game plan, their days will be brighter and their laughter more often.

Again, Tyler, the life altering power within “Mystical Mentor” is not in the words, but in the experiences readers will have by following Russell’s advice. If they do everything, their lives will be transformed into grand adventures.

Tyler:  Richard, as I mentioned above, you are also the author of two other books, “The Miracle Minute” and “More Miracle Minutes.” Will you tell us a little about these books and how they are different from “Mystical Mentor”?

Richard: The first of these books wasn’t planned. My “Miracle Minute” radio spots were on the air in California and listeners began requesting a book. The day that first request arrived I had 90 scripts on file.

These short 160-200 word inspirational pieces were written to remind people of things easily forgotten. By packaging 52 scripts into a book, we created something most non-readers love. Each chapter can be read in a minute, and each chapter leaves the reader with something worth thinking about.

What we have yet to find is an easy way to reach non-readers and very busy people.

Tyler:  Do you have plans to write any other books?

Richard:  Tyler, when I first started down this path I was a professional speaker who occasionally wrote. Now I am an author who occasionally speaks. The Miracle Minutes demand a new release every week and I am sharing those with the world free of charge.

There will be additional books.

Tyler:  Which do you enjoy more—speaking or writing—and does your style change depending on which you are doing, or does your writing style reflect your speaking?

Richard:  Initially, speaking was my strength and I truly love it. As a speaker, I work the audience. Presentations are give and take. Minor misunderstandings can be corrected because I am working with the audience.

Writing is more painful because of the one-way nature. What can be misunderstood will be. During the last five years of writing “Mystical Mentor” I shared working copies of my manuscript with people willing to give me feedback. I was searching for the holes that I might have left.

I love what I do and my work is my hobby. Does my style change? Not really. I speak from the heart and I write from the heart. However, when I work an auditorium filled with high school students (something I have been doing for thirty years), my style is different than when I’m dealing with a room filled with highly successful engineers.

Does my writing style reflect in my speaking? It has to…they are interdependent activities.

Tyler:  Thank you for joining me today, Richard. Before we go, will you tell our readers about your website and what additional information they may find there about “Mystical Mentor”?

Richard: By going to www.TheMiracleMinute.com, people can read the first chapter of Mystical Mentor.

They can listen to one of my Miracle Minute radio spots.

They can download a free time management tool, “Five Steps to More Effective Days.”

And, if they like, they can sign up for my free weekly Miracle Minutes.

Our goal with the Miracle Minutes is to help build a better world—one reader at a time.

Tyler:  Thank you, Richard, for being here. Do you have any last words of inspiration you would like to impart to our readers?

Richard:  Yes. To anyone reading this, you were created, and designed, to live full and rewarding lives. Discontent, boredom, and frustration are Nature’s way of telling us that we can do so much better.

If you haven’t found your way and you want more than you’ve found, “Mystical Mentor” might be the answer. That first night, when I met Russell, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Within days I was climbing out of the funk I had been in. Russell’s insights altered my life forever and they can do the same for you.

Tyler:  Great advice, Richard. Thank you again for such an inspirational interview.

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