Interview with Bill Petro, a Retired Silicon Valley High-Tech Sales Training Executive
Retired tech trainer, now historian, writer, and teacher
I published this interview on Medium for further visibility. Thank you for reading and sharing.
Dear Friends and Freelance Writers,
Besides writing and curating valuable content from inspiring and authentic writers on this platform, I enjoy introducing influential writers and leaders in their fields to my audience. I have been conducting writer interviews on Medium since 2019
Previously, I conducted many interviews with senior leaders and entrepreneurs for my ethnographic leadership studies at a postdoctoral level in large organizations and startup companies. I gained insights into their learning patterns and shared them with the younger generation as a learning and development resource. Each interview opened a new window in my life, allowing me to connect with another kind soul on this earth.
When I became a Friend of Medium last year, early adopters of the program expressed an interest in curated content and increased visibility for the work of influential writers who could inform, guide, and entertain them. To fulfill this request, I have continued introducing writers I know and admire. I take great pleasure in publishing and curating their impactful, insightful, relatable, and memorable stories in my publications.
Unfortunately, Medium does not curate interview stories, and the algorithm does distribute them, as I mentioned in a previous story.
Why Does Medium Block My Interviews for Influential Writers?
I spend hours interviewing many writers for Friends of Medium, but they receive ZERO views from the platform. Is this…medium.com
However, this restriction no longer impedes my success. I now share these interviews on Substack, reaching thousands of readers through their emails and Substack’s advanced, non-censoring algorithm and the impressive social media tool, Notes. When one door closes, another opens. I am grateful and will continue conducting these interviews without relying on Medium. It’s a pity, though, that Medium readers miss out on discovering these influential writers.
As I build a large community on Medium, my next venture is to create an equally large, if not bigger, community on Substack. My strategy involves creating a bridge between the two platforms, empowering writers by mentoring them, and helping them build their audience through guidance, collaboration, cross-pollination, and community support. Leading the Way and Empowering Writers for a Bright Future.
This strategy aims to facilitate a vibrant, interconnected network of writers across both platforms. I will empower this new community through a new publication our editors and curators established.
Here’s a high-level perspective of the organization I am developing with the support of brilliant minds and kind souls.
How I Architected a Charity Organization & Why I Will Run It Like a Business
Outline of my draft plan for creators, freelancers, and entrepreneurs empowered by the Substack networkmedium.com
Meet Bill Petro
In this story, I will share the transcript of a short interview with Bill Petro, who has a background similar to mine from technical, leadership, academic, and entrepreneurial angles. I have been following Bill for a long time. He generously contributes to my publications with his wonderful stories on historical events. Bill is connected with me on social media and on Slack workspace for collaboration. He also generously sponsors the ILLUMINATION Community on Substack.
Let’s meet Bill Petro, our history expert, illuminating us on Medium.com.
Tell us a bit about your background, Bill.
Thank you for this interview, Dr Y. After undergraduate and graduate work in history at Berkeley, I worked on the University’s Staff, where I ran an IBM computer system. This began my 40-year career in high-tech, where I worked for several Silicon Valley and Boston companies, including Sun Microsystems, EMC (now Dell), Cisco, and Hitachi Vantara, as well as five startups. As a tech evangelist and sales trainer, I’ve traveled to 53 countries and flown over 2 million air miles.
What are your hobbies?
I love to write because I love to teach. I’ve been teaching for over half a century and am thrilled to watch the “light” go on in people’s eyes. Writing is a way of addressing a larger audience, people I’ll never speak in front of, asynchronously.
Writing is a way of thinking. When you write, you must organize your thoughts, prioritize your argument, rearrange your supporting points, build your thesis, and sometimes provide a call to action.
I love to travel. The cover picture is of London, one of my favorite cities. I’ve written several travel guides.
I ride an e-bike for the sheer joy of it. It’s faster than walking but slower than a car ride and doesn’t have a windshield.
I’ve been practicing Tai Chi for over a decade. I call it “Kung Fu for older people.” I love to learn new forms and more complicated bo staff routines.
What are the top three books that affected your life?
The Bible: This perennial best-seller engages the mind, heart, and soul. It inspires a connection between oneself and the divine by telling the story of the words and life of Jesus.
The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus, a feigned history of pre-industrial northwest Europe, features mythic and epic figures involving subtle yet vivid biblical archetypes. The first time I read it, it changed my life. Every time I read it, it colors my world.
Nightwings: Robert Silverberg is one of my favorite science fiction writers, and this novella is among his most engaging, with a near evangelistic fervor.
Why do you write on Medium?
Medium, in general, and ILLUMINATION specifically, has a unique readership. I wanted to share my writing with this audience for feedback, to answer questions, and to interact more with the community than is possible on my blog.
What are your values as a writer?
I’ve been publishing history articles on the Internet for 40 years. I’ve strived to Educate, Entertain, and, if possible, Inspire. A writer can share information, but it doesn’t stick unless it engages.
Similarly, if what a reader learns calls them to something higher, something beyond themselves, this is a worthy aspiration.
I try to make history accessible to people, building on what they may already know and explaining the backstory they may be less familiar with while pointing out a few popularly held misconceptions.
How do you connect with your readers?
Humor is an excellent social lubricant. One of my mentors taught me: “When people have their mouths open laughing, the next thing you say, they’ll remember.” Laughing brings down the deflector shields. It puts the speaker or writer on the same level as the audience.
Why did you join ILLUMINATION, and how do you find it so far?
You, with your cadre of editors, help make good writers even better. He and his team have trained me in disciplines ranging from photo provenance to punchline endings. Thanks to this instruction, the quality of the writing you see on ILLUMINATION is superb, and I’m grateful to join this growing group of writers.
Who are some writers you follow on ILLUMINATION or Medium?
Of course, I follow you because your topics, from science to writing, are informative, and even when critical, he graciously states his points. I also like your Technology Hits, which you curated and offers scintillating science and technology topics. I’ve published some of my Tech Trends articles there.
Mike Broadly, DHSc like me, is a retired professional. His expertise is in how to live a healthier life. I’ve learned a lot from his research’s depth and approach to expressing it.
Kurt Dillon has written some incisive articles. His article on NewsBreak is particularly illuminating.
I follow Aiden (Owner of Illumination Gaming) as he promotes some of the most intriguing stories on ILLUMINATION.
John D. Leavy is a prolific best-selling author. His book The Medium Quick Reference Guide is an excellent starter for aspiring writers and is available on Amazon. It is well worth reading.
TfTHacker is my mentor in the world of PKM and Tools for Thought. He’s been deeply involved in the Roam and Obsidian developer communities, and his recent insights on AI are quite illuminating.
I follow Theo Stowell as he writes on Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), an area of particular interest to me.
Ed Nico writes on PKM as well, from a different perspective.
Shu Omi is a former data scientist who has emerged as a singular voice in the world of PKM.
Ellane W writes about the move to a more paperless world and personal productivity. She’s a fine writer, too.
What are the top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?
I’ve recently published articles on five of the Founding Fathers ahead of my article on the history behind Independence Day:
History of the 4th of July: Thomas Jefferson, The Enigmatic Founding Father
History of John Adams, Our First Vice President, Second President
History of Ben Franklin, The First American
History of James Madison, Father of the Constitution
History of Alexander Hamilton, the non-musical version
What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?
Interaction is a sign that I’m connecting with my audience. As much as claps and the number of hits, I most enjoy the responses to my articles. Whether asking me questions, making corrections, or even criticizing, I love responding to my readers.
What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?
Edit, edit, edit. Even with writing tools like Grammarly, what you may have been thinking did not appear on the page.
Secondly, provide navigational signposts to the reader so they know where you’re going and where they are in the narrative. Headers are a great help, as are shorter paragraphs, and Medium can supply separators between sections.
Pay attention to what your editor suggests. They’re here to help you become a better writer.
What are your plans as a writer?
I’ve been researching two areas for the last few years that I’ve not written much about… yet.
Artificial Intelligence.
I’ve been watching the AI space for 45 years, but most recently, end-user access to chatbot technologies has generated more heat than light in the popular media. Is it the panacea that will solve world hunger and usher in a new utopia, or is it the realization of a dystopian science fiction movie that will destroy all life on the planet? I plan to address topics between these two extremes.
Thinking About Thinking: From Note-taking to Tools for Thought.
I’ll be tracing my journey as an avid lifelong note-taker and the use of various tools and technologies. From Getting Things Done insights to the study of Personal Knowledge Management systems, how can modern technology and specific apps stimulate a person’s thinking, learning, remembering, and writing?
Multi-platform cross-pollination
My goal is to re-purpose my content on Substack, Quora, and perhaps X Premium, as you clearly pointed out their values. I believe that through these platforms, my content can reach a broad audience. I will also continue my blog at
https://billpetro.com/
Here is the link to my Substack newsletter:
Thank you for taking the time to give a glimpse of your interesting world, Bill. I love your stories about history. My favorite one was about the history of my country, which you wrote in 2017, so I linked it to interested readers.
History of Australia Day: How does it relate to the American Revolutionary War?
HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA DAYbillpetro.medium.com
You can connect with Bill on his blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, or X/Twitter. You may follow his Quora profile and connect with him on the ILLUMINATION Slack workspace for collaboration.
Thank you for exploring Bill’s stories and supporting him.
I also publish interviews on my Health and Wellness publication as health is essential to me and my readers.
I am pleased our Health and Wellness Network was selected as a bestselling publication on Substack. Thank you for your wonderful support to grow this network. These funds will go to our Substack Mastery Boost Pilot program to empower writers, readers, and editors of the program who keep the community vibrant. I wrote a story about this on Medium to guide freelance writers yesterday.
To celebrate this milestone, I am providing a 50% discount to free subscribers who want to support our work and help this community grow fast.
Thank you for being part of our joyful and exciting journey.
You can check out more interviews from this section to meet other writers. On Medium, we keep them in collection.
