David Irvine has a message so simple that it’s worth repeating and reinforcing. Caring really is everything, he says. It's so important that it's right there as the title of his new book.
The international speaker and best-selling author of self-help books on leadership will be at the St. Albert Public Library tomorrow for a presentation and discussion on the importance of caring. For decades, he has worked in the fields of organizational culture and leadership development, all fertile fodder for his professional writings.
It was only when personal tragedy struck his family that he turned his thoughts to the subject. His brother was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
“I spent three and a half years walking him through the cancer journey until he died. It stopped my life. I spent more time with him in the last three years than I had in the past 30,” he said.
During these visits, he would push his brother around in a wheelchair as they went around the facility where his brother practiced as a physician himself for many years. They encountered many people who were his former patients.
“They would cry when they came out to see him. His colleagues would cry. He was loved. Just before he was diagnosed, he was voted as Alberta’s outstanding physician. It was actually when he was out to Vancouver to get his award that he collapsed and got diagnosed with this thing.”
“What happened was, I asked people, ‘what makes a great doctor?’ They all said, ‘Because he cared.’ He cared about his work. It’s the same question about what makes a great leader. My work is evolving about the importance of bringing caring into all aspects of our life. My brother actually helped me to emerge to a new level, the new perspective that I’m bringing to my work.”
His new book Caring is Everything: Getting to the Heart of Humanity, Leadership, and Life expounds on that philosophy and examines how caring relates to people in various roles and responsibilities in their own lives.
“It’s a reflective book about saying it’s not always about trying to rescue people from their unhappiness. It’s about being with people in a caring way. I’ve been very passionately exploring the notion of what does it mean to be caring. Certainly, this whole episode that has happened with this bus tragedy has awakened in us all this caring nature, awakened how we actually all are caring at our roots. Sometimes it takes a tragedy, unfortunately, to bring that out.”
“David Irvine presents to thousands of people each year across North America in a wide range of venues, from huge conventions to small retreats, so I am really pleased that we can give St. Albertans the chance to share in his down-to-earth, simple and powerful philosophies,” said Michelle Steinhusen, the library’s adult programming librarian. “His book Caring is Everything fosters the notion that all of us can make a difference and bring joy to others and our community, and I am sure the audience will find the event inspiring and motivational.”
The event begins at 2 p.m. at Forsyth Hall on the main floor of the library. Attendance is free for the event but pre-registration is recommended as space is limited. Visit www.sapl.ca for details. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
The day after he appears at the library, he will be hosting another speaking engagement for the public. That event runs on Monday, April 16 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and includes a question and answer session. A limited number of tickets are available. People are encouraged to contact their school office for details. The appearance takes place at Lois E. Hole Elementary School, 120 Everitt Dr. N.
