Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Berger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Samantha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

Why thankya kindly, CanvasRebel! I DO, in fact, have a story a about one of the best bosses (and also Co-Colonoscopy Buddies! True Story!) I’ve ever had. Ahhh, yes. His name is Niels Schuurmans, and it was during our time working together in the early aughts, at good ol’ Nickelodeon. There were a bajillion reasons why he was a great leader, but here is a top ten list of the things I learned, that I always kept with me and tried to do myself as a leader. Drumroll, please.

1. Give people a chance. When Niels believed in you, he gave you a chance. All it takes it *one* person to believe in you and give you a chance. Then you can rise, and shine, and exceed all expectations. Now I always remember that and do it too! Can’t say that enough. Give people a chance.

2. Credit people. There is no such thing as overcrediting. There is DEFINITELY such a thing as undercrediting. Don’t be that person. Learn people’s names and credit, credit, credit. It takes a team.

3. Risk-take, rule-break, and apologize later. Never ask for permission first.

4. Lead. Real leaders don’t follow and copy. They LEAD. So no need to compare yourself with others. No need to acknowledge “competition.” No need to use links and GIFs, explaining your ideas by being derivative of something that already exists. Use your mind, your words and your heart and IMAGINE. INVENT. INNOVATE. That is creative leadership – empasis on the lead.

5. Don’t complain. It’s a waste of time and energy.

6. Don’t trash other people. Uplift and elevate others.

7. If a company ever gives you the opportunity to go work somewhere else in the world? And pays you for it? TAKE IT! Wait, that needs more exclamation points. !!!!!!!

8. When presenting your work to others, do NOT give a preamble! Just let the work speak for itself. It’s human nature for folks to take the *opposite* opinion of any set-up you offer. For example, saying “I love this piece! It’s the best thing I have ever created,” will naturally make the viewer skeptical from the get-go. It’s like if a stand-up comedian came out and saying, “This next bit is HILAAAARIOUS.” The audience will HARUMPH, and think, no it’s not. “I DARE you to make me laugh now!” So tough as it is – say nothing! And try to master that poker-face too. I never could.

9. Keep your sense of humor ALL THE TIME! Laughs save lives! Really, they do.

10. Trust is a must. The best teams trust one another and let each other fly. If your boss doesn’t trust you, they should replace you with someone they DO trust. But when mutual trust is in play, everyone brings out the best in each other and soars.

That’s it in a nutshell.
I’ll save the Coworker Colonoscopy story for another day.
And wrap up by saying, I have taken all these life lessons with me, and try to do them myself and pass them on to everyone I know.
I have endless gratitude for Niels, and all the people I have worked with, who gave me a chance, walked the walk, and believed in me from the get-go.
May everyone have, work for, and become a boss like Niels.

-Samantha Berger
aka Samberger
aka The Impossible Berger
aka The Anything is Possible Berger
Fall, 2023

Samantha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Wait – did I not do that yet?

Oh snap. Well, SURE. Here we go.
Ohhhhhh, HELLO!

I am Samantha Berger aka “Samberger Helper.”

I’m a picture book author, who has written over 100 books (sometimes under the pen name Martha T. Ottersley.
The T. stands for The). I am also a writer for children’s television, such as Sesame Street Social Impact, Nickelodeon, PBS’s Carl The Collector, aaand many more. Sometimes I voice characters on cartoons, sometimes I write entire marketing and promotional campaigns, sometimes I draw Jon Hamm on an actual slice of deli ham.
That is hard.
Pens don’t really like to draw on deli meat.
And my dog ate the first two attempts.
But the job got done.
No matter what, I create every day in some kinda way, and have almost no other life skills.

Gee, let’s see…what else.
I’ve been doing this all my life, professionally for twenty-five-ish years.
I’ve been nominated for three Emmys and can, indeed say it is an honor to be nominated.
In 2019 I was inducted into the Women’s Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame at Temple University, and wrote a rhyming speech filled with insider Philly references.
It’s tricky to rhyme hoagie, but not so hard to rhyme jawn.
I was a We Need Diverse Books Mentor in 2020, and strongly believe in shining a light on new voices.

I’ve written books about stubborn otters, and cranky monsters.
I’ve written books about how the power of creativity can triumph over any obstacles.
I’ve written books about how, no matter what we have to work with, we always got something to rock.
I’ve written books representing glamorous grandmothers, not wicked stepmothers, and how giving can make you become a forest, instead of a stump.
My next books are about the magnitude of kindness, being grounded in gratitude, and staying eternally immature.
My life’s mission is to make work I love with people I love.
It’s that simple.
And one sentence!

Shablam!

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Now that is a segue.
Recently, I was the Editorial Director for Gary Vee’s (Gary Vaynerchuk) NFT company, VeeFriends. And Gary is one powerhouse of an entrepreneur!
While I was there, I had a bigtime shift in perspective about NFTs.
And that is — intellectual property comes from ANYWHERE.
And EVERYWHERE!
If there are great characters, with great stories, and a great world, then who’s to say how their path to success evolves.

For me, it helped to think of like this:
Once upon a time, there was a flow to how IP evolved.
Say it started with a book.
The book was optioned and became a movie.
The movie did well, and spawned toys and games.
And maybe a sequel, or trilogy, and maybe even a ride at Disneyland.
We have all seen this story a kabillion times.

But then you have big success stories that did *not* follow this formula.
Like Pirates of the Caribbean.
It *started* as a ride at Disneyland.
And some brilliant person said, “Heyyyyy, what if we got a jumbo star and made this into a movie franchise!”
That was someone thinking differently, and it was a big success. It also showed IP can flow in lots of different directions, not just the way we have traditionally known it.

So, I think of NFTs kinda the same way.
If there is brand love and loyalty, there is more for the folks who love that brand.
If there is something MORE – like characters that we fall in love with at first sight?
Then it’s great to have an ever-expansive growth mindset that recognizes great big ideas and IP can come from anywhere!

All that said, I have never purchased or owned an NFT myself.
But had a fabulous experience working with VeeFriends.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Oh sure I do.
Who doesn’t.
This one involves poop.
It’s a story that, as a child I didn’t want anyone to know, and worked VERY hard to make sure no one knew, and would have murderized my future-self for telling now. As a kid, I was chronically constipated. It was the worst feeling and kinda ruled my life. My parents took me to many doctors, they tried all the usual oat bran, stewed prune, castor oil kinda suggestions. But it got worse and worse, and I ended up in the hospital when I was eight to rule out any kind of serious problem like internal blockage. It was traumatizing AF, and embarrassing beyond. I got hooked on laxatives for years and developed all sorts of OCD rituals. It was a dark shame and pain I carried with me EVERYWHERE.
I did not want to think about, talk about or ever deal with poop.
Little did I know…
one day I would write a book called The Great Big Poop Party, all about a kid who wants to throw a poop-themed party.
This was based on a real kid’s experience, I met during book tour in 2018.
The book is piled high with poop puns, poop jokes, poop bands, poop costumes, and poop humor, and one of my best buds, Manny Galán got to illustrate.
Lemme tell you, when you can take something that HAUNTED you as a child…
the thing that plagued your existence….
the thing that you thought you would die if anyone knew…
and find a way to laugh at it?
You have changed the narrative.
I have found, no matter what is going on in life, creating and humor have been the savior every single time.

It’s like my friend Kelly Light says, “Take your heart, and make it art.”
Or as Lin-Manuel sings in Hamilton, “I wrote my way out.”
Or as I said at the end of the book What If…”As long as I live I will always create.”

That.
I will always do that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://samanthaberger.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthabergerauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samantha.berger.31
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-berger-1a60895/

Image Credits
What If…. book cover art by Mike Curato, published by Little, Brown Books Crankenstein and Crankenstein Valentine – book cover art by Dan Santat, published by Little, Brown Books Snail Mail book cover art by Julia Patton, published by Running Press Books I Love My Glamma – book cover art by Sujean Rim, published by Scholastic Rock What Ya Got – book cover art by Kerascoet, published by Little, Brown books The Great Big Poop Party – book cover art by Manny Galán, published by Henry Holt