“Who am I?” It’s a question that everyone who goes through life will find
themselves asking at one point or another. It’s hardly ever an easy answer, and all who dare to ask can expect to find themselves on a lifelong journey of discovery and growth. For Karlyn Percil, founder of KDPM Consulting INC; finding herself and improving who she is, is what her journey is all about, but we start with the question…
Who is Karlyn Percil?
Karlyn is a woman who’s determined to die empty, to discover and use every single talent that she has been given. Another piece of Karlyn is a young girl who grew up in the heart of Banse, Laborie, doing homework under candlelight, walking an hour to catch a bus to go to school, bathing in the river in the morning, cleaning mud off of her shoes, that’s also Karlyn. I am also the girl who has successfully built a career for herself. I’ve had 23 years of experience in the financial industry. I started my career in St. Lucia at Scotiabank as a teller, eventually I worked my way up and decided that I wanted more so I moved to Toronto, Canada.
Describe your experience leaving home and going into this whole new world being employed in Canada as a St. Lucian?
I applied for a job in the analytics department at Sco-tiabank because the head office is also in Toronto. When I moved there it wasn’t easy because you don’t notice how different you are until you get there. The roles that you get are entry level, and when you look to your higher ups there isn’t anyone there who looks like you that you can relate to. I worked my way up and different opportunities allowed me to have more face to face interaction with people to develop staff training techniques and so on, that’s kind of where I found my sweet spot for what it is that I wanted to do.
When did you decide that it was time to start a mentorship company that would guide others to create their own destiny?
On the quest of trying to find fulfilment for myself I’d watch TED talks, read motivational books and take example from my possibility models and the success rituals that they practiced. When I noticed how much of an impact that it was having on my lifestyle and my growth, I decided to share that with others. I’d do small group meets, one on ones… while this was going on. I went back to school to obtain my Master’s Certificate in Adult training and personal development. Thereafter I earned additional certifications. I did think about making a living off of that at the time, but I was a bit scared and unsure… until I met Claudette McGowan. I remember telling her that I felt like it’s time for me to get up from the table. Then she asked, ‘why are you waiting? why haven’t you started your own business already?’ I didn’t really have an answer, so I asked myself, why not? That’s when I started taking a closer look at what my company’s structure would be. I wanted to empower more lives and help more people.
What kind of services/products does your company offer?
KDPM Consulting Group INC & SisterTalk Leadership Academy focuses on inclusive leadership strategies & consultantcy for creating an Inclusive workplace culture for the 21st century leader. Our most requested services are wellness as a leadership strategy; because a lot of companies are looking to help their employees create a personal wellness plan. The second one would be emotional intelligence in the workplace & Creating an Inclusive workplace culture; and communicating with the brain and mind. The final one that’s most common is relationship intelligence. That is figuring out how you can take your emotional intelligence and leverage it for greater success in your relationships and also in social settings.
We recently launched Elephant Stories Leadership Program – designed to help leaders address the “Elephant” in their Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
To what do you attribute your success?
I attribute my success to what I call my three P’s; Perseverance, Prayer and Purpose. Perseverance because that always keeps me coming back even after I get knocked down or I’m tested to trust myself and my destiny. Prayer, God, having a connection with a higher power, the universe, that’s another one. That’s how I trust my intuition. And purpose… because there’s a purpose to everything that I do, everything that I go through. My belief is that I go through it so that I can grow through it and be of service to humankind, especially women and girls.
What has it been like coming back home and contributing in different ways?
I’ve seen the potential of so many amazing young women who I’ve worked with over the years. So, I came back home to remind women that they have agency and that everything they need, is already all within them, it’s just a matter of developing the ability to tap into that. In this day and age, we have access to so much more so there really is no excuse. I’m here to give them the tools to be their biggest cheerleader. The practices, tips and success rituals that I’ve learned and practiced for the past ten years, I have packaged it and called it the Success Planner. The name was inspired by Napoleon Hill. He’s one of my biggest teachers and the author of the book “Think and Grow Rich”. In it he says that whatever the mind can conceive it can achieve and that’s something that I live by.
What is your biggest achievement so far?
In addition to self- love & self- acceptance – It’s between getting on Oprah Winfrey’s Show and getting chosen as a keynote speaker in 2018 for Mandela 100; Giants of Africa. Being asked to be one of the speakers on Mandela’s 100th birthday, who is one of my biggest idols, was a humbling experience. The third biggest achievement I’d say is me creating a self-love practice that allowed me to find my way back to being Karlyn. I’m really proud of that and without the foundation of self-confidence anything and anyone can knock you off of your path. But if you have the practice of replenishing yourself, no matter what you go through or what happens, it means that tomorrow you can get back up again and keep going. Achievements are equal to ones growth. Right now we’re launching AmplifyHer2020 – a campaign highlighting the stories, voices and skills of Black, Indigenous and non-Black Women of color. Stay tuned for more.
How did you get that opportunity to be on the Oprah Winfrey Network?
A call within me said that this was the right time for me to talk about my elephant story of child sexual abuse. I know that there are so many young girls in the Caribbean who are struggling with the same thing. For me, it’s so important to speak up and to give a voice to the voiceless. It just so happened that OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) Canada was doing a show called “Life Story Project” and the producers were looking for stories. And because I was going through my self-discovery, I asked myself “why aren’t you raising your hand to be chosen?”. So at that time I decided to share my story and the universe aligned and the producers said yes.
What is your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?
The way I see it, failures are just lessons on your journey to success. So my biggest failure, I would say is self-betrayal – not believing in myself enough to get started on my dreams. I believed that my past disqualified from a life I love. What I learned from that experience was that you can still take action and be brave even if you’re afraid.
What piece of advice can you give young individuals who are looking for their purpose?
The advice I would give is to stop looking and start paying attention to it, because you’re actually living your purpose. Our purpose lies in the effective use of our talents and skills and the creativity and ideas that we have. We are always on purpose. So even if you’re in a place where you’re not satisfied or you’re upset, that is part of your purpose, so the question is what are you going to do about this thing that you’re not satisfied with? How are you going to utilize that in terms of your living experience? Remember that last time where you said “someone should really try this or do something about that” take that thought and ask yourself what’s one step you can take to make that a reality. And always remember that your gift and your purpose is next to your pain.
With everything that Karlyn is getting up to, we wish her all the best in reaching even more of her goals in the near future!
