Enough is Enough

 
 



































An Interview With Ken Marslew

Bravery Is Always In Fashion Be

Read an interview with Ken Marslew AM, Founder and CEO of EIE. Ken was interviewed by Belinda Cordina from Brave Coaching. He met Belinda when they both attended The Results Coaching Course in Sydney during 2006. Ken used this material in many of his programs and presentations. Belinda has set up her own business "Brave" and is moving to the UK.

Q: Can you give me a highlights and lowlights summary of the life of Ken Marslew?

The birth of my two children - A real highlight. Starting my first business - A highlight. The break-up of my first marriage - A lowlight that lead to the failure of my first business -Another lowlight. The murder of my son - A lowlight beyond any imagination. In hindsight, everything that has happened to me has been a highlight. Shakespeare sums it up well, although I don't know that I totally agree: "There is nothing good or evil in the world, only thinking makes it so."

Q: Describe for me what "Enough is Enough" is all about

Enough is Enough has become known to some as "the anti violence movement that kicks butt". We work with the victims of crime, violence, road trauma and anti social behaviour. We sell hope. The hope that life can be better, a community can be better and a world can be better by changing our own actions.

Q: What prompted you to create Enough is Enough?

The murder of my son in 1994. I saw the way that people were being treated by "the system" - by that I mean by the legal system, the government, the judiciary and the broader public. I saw a real need for a holistic approach to dealing with the ills of society.

Did you know that there are four and a half times more words in the dictionary to describe things negatively than there are positively? Enough is Enough is about teaching people that when you change the way you look at the world, the world begins to change. We firmly believe you can change adversity into advantage, bitter into better and conflict in congruency.

Q: Can you describe a typical week in your life Ken?

A typical week for me consists of presentations to schools, prisons and to community groups. It involves attending committee meetings, the management of the Enough is Enough organisation, research, lobbying for policy change and avoiding chocolate where possible. My commitment to Enough is Enough is total, 24 hours a day. I often wake up in the middle of the night and wake my wife Lynette with an idea about how we can do things better, or scribble a note down before I can get back to sleep.

I do find it hard to prioritise when everything is a priority! If you were to ask me what my biggest failing was, it would definitely be time management. Finding time to relax is always a challenge for me. Fixing my boat has taken me 4 months to complete a job that should have taken 6 weeks!

Q: What achievements are you most proud of?

That's a difficult one...Receiving the Order of Australia, the Centenary Medal and the Advance Australia Award touched up the old ego, but it's the achievements I make with people that really matter to me. It's the kids that matter. We do a lot of work with schools. After a recent presentation an 11 year old girl shared with me that she had been raped. I know how damaging it is to keep things like that in. When I lost my son, being a macho guy I did just that and it almost killed me. We send the message to kids that there is nothing so awful that you can't speak to someone you trust about it. My presentation had given her the courage to speak up. When I visited the school 2 weeks later the child's mother was waiting there for me. She thanked me and said just she didn't know how to handle it. It's this stuff that matters.

Q: In your line of work, I'm sure things don't always go to plan. How do you remain flexible and effective?

We're told when we're young that we learn from our mistakes - well we don't! I no longer make any mistakes... I just have lots and lots and LOTS of learning experiences. Rather than "poor me" I now say "lucky me". Whenever things don't turn out the way I planned I ask "what can I learn from what has just happened?" Changing my thinking from the negative to one of learning allows you to find out why it didn't work and what could you do differently. In my line of work this is critical.

Q: What's been the toughest time you've had at Enough is Enough?

When we first started, seeing the enormity of what we wanted to achieve - the enormity of the problem was tough. We have had to approach it the same way as eating an elephant...one bity at a time. The key was also being really clear on what our goals were - knowing exactly what we wanted. And never taking no for an answer.

Despite being a sales person for much of my career before Enough is Enough, I also had difficulty asking for money and this nearly sent us broke. I still struggle with this conflict between head and heart. At a critical point a good friend of mine set me straight. He said "You know exactly what you need to do - you're just not listening to your heart!" He was right. Has it been difficult? Yes. Has it been fun? Absolutely.

Q: What motivates you most to keep doing what you're doing?

The victims. The kids. The offenders. All of the team at Enough is Enough wants to make a difference, I am determined to make a footprint in society. How big? I dunno, but I haven't kicked the bucket yet!

Q: If you could choose 5 famous people to have over for a BBQ, who would they be and why?

Choosing my role models is quite different to choosing 5 people for a barbie. My role models are people like Ghandi and Martin Luther Jnr, but that BBQ would be boring. I'd like to invite Rudy Giuliani, to discuss the way he handled brining New York back together after 9-11, Osama Bin Laden. Why? To understand why he does what he does. Steve Irwin, because he was such a great Aussie character, Condoleeza Rice, because every BBQ needs a strong woman and probably Hugh Jackman, because he seems like great fun, but he has his head screwed on.

Q: How is coaching playing an evolving role in the work that you do?

Coaching plays a huge part. Life is a series of coaching situations-Opportunities to stop when you're too close and actually see the forest for the trees. Coaching is about identifying goals, creating the strategies to get what you want and give yourself the motivation to get off your butt. Coaching is a "mental tune-up" and it's playing and increasing role in what we do.

Q: What is your definition of bravery?

Doing what you see is right, irrespective of the consequences.

Q: What are your top 5 tips to achieving fulfillment in business?

a) Doing what YOU want to do is the key. If you make you hobby your work you will never have to work a day in your life.

b) Be really clear on your intentions - the outcomes you want to see.

c) Get the right people around you.

d) Understand your own strenghts and limitations and employ people to fill the voids and then manage them.

e) Believe. Just believe. If you believe, anything is possible.