Interview With Author Lenn Millbower
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Disney, training, and entertainment expert who spent a childhood performing magic, ten years as a musician/magician on a cruise ship and in 48 of the US states, and 25 years at Walt Disney World, staring as a host on Epcot’s Listen to the Land boat ride, running every Epxot Future World Attraction, stage managing characters and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Disney MGM, writing training for internal cast members at Disney University and for business professionals at Disney Institute, and on the opening crew for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Post Disney, I speak at training and other conferences and have written six books for training and business professionals.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Santa System: Ten Leader Lessons from the North Pole, published November 12, 2024, was a work of love. For years I’d wondered how Santa, if he were real, would run the North Pole. I finally decided to figure it out and spent ten months thinking through how Santa’s Workshop actually works. The book is meaty and fun. It delivers ideas for business professionals and anyone seeking self-improvement AND shares the true story of Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Santa’s elves, and the Workshop’s interactions with other entities like the Easter Bunny.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have two habits of note. (1) For me the hard part is not writing, it’s knowing what to write. A lot of experts say to write, write, write until something happens. That doesn’t work for me. I will often write a sentence or two and then spend hours, or days, figuring out what I want to say next. For me, writing is essential because it helps me think and decide what I think. (2) When I am writing on a subject, I avoid reading anything else that has been written on that subject. I don’t want to be influenced by what other s have thought and written. I want what I write to come from me. not someone else.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was amazed at J.K. Rowling’s ability to create a whole Harry Potter world and absolutely loved Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy for the fantasy world it created. Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney, Everything Was Possible by Ted Chapin, and Showmanship for Magicians by Dariel Fitzee were entertainment career favorites. Focusing on learning, Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Health, The Creative Brain by Ned Herrmann, and Soar With Your Strengths by Donald O. Clifton and PaulaNelson (this one changed my life) influenced me.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I got two gems of advice when I was working at Disney. The first was when I got envious of those promoted before me, especially when I thought the promotion should have been mine. My supervisor told me that everyone has their moment and that you cannot judge your success based on what happens to someone else. Your path is your path and their path is their path. Accept who you are, follow your own path, and don’t waste time on envy towards others. The second bit of advice concerned those trying to turn Disney into something it is not (it happens all the time inside the Mouse House). He said that you can’t blame Disney for being Disney. People know it and want it. You either embrace what Disney is or go elsewhere to do what you really want to do.
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