I recently came across Marcel Proust's character questions. Carter Forbes of the Surrender Trilogy answered some of them for me:
Proust’s Questionnaire:
1.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
It’s a work in progress, but…my life, right
now.
2.
What is your greatest fear?
To lose the ones I love. I came close a few
times.
3.
Which living person do you most admire?
Penelope—because she puts up with me every
day.
4.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Knowing about the world as it is, and being
able to shut it out completely every once in a while.
5.
What is your current state of mind?
Calm. Happy. Alert. I am constantly juggling
these three these days. I need to be focused to do my job, but unexpected,
sometimes unwanted surprises happen, and I have to be ready for them. Happy…for
a long time I didn’t even know how that felt, but it’s definitely a big part
now.
6.
What do you consider the most overrated
virtue?
Modesty—especially in a woman. Those who ask
for it usually have ulterior motives.
7.
On what occasion do you lie?
When it’s necessary—to help progress along,
to save lives.
8.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Authentic confidence, the knowledge that
treating women as their equals doesn’t take anything away from them.
9.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Authentic confidence, when she doesn’t take
s**t from anyone…Sorry about that. The confidence to know what she wants, and
not being afraid to ask for it.
10.
What or who is the greatest love of your
life?
Penelope Elliot, in case you couldn’t tell.
11.
When and where were you happiest?
Right now, with the life I have. There’s so much work
left to do, but I’ve been lucky and privileged to be able to do what I do, and
have Penelope by my side.
12.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Be better at golf. I’m terrible at it, and
sadly, it’s a sport I have to participate in once in a while (Charity events. I’d
rather just give them the money!)
13.
If you could change one thing about yourself,
what would it be?
Being more open to sharing. I try, but I am used to
taking care of things, and people looking to me for answers. I have a hard time
being vulnerable. That makes me even luckier to have a partner who understands
me.
14.
What do you consider your greatest
achievement?
Changing the lives of many women to the
better—and whatever it is I did to make Penelope love me.
15.
Where would you most like to live?
Fortunately, I have the option to live
wherever I want to, at least temporarily, because I still have to take care of
the company…but if things slowed down at some point, we might move to New York
City or the Caribbean.
16.
What is your most treasured possession?
This can’t be a person, right? It might
surprise you, but I can’t come up with anything materialistic. The houses, the
cars, it’s nice if you can have it. None of it matters as much as having
Penelope’s trust, and she gave it to me at a time when she had little reason to
do so.
17.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of
misery?
Being hateful and willfully ignorant. It
means no amount of education and information will change that person’s mind…and
that’s as low as you can get in my opinion. Worse, to be the other person in an
interaction with such an individual, because it’s them who experience the pain.
18.
What is your favorite occupation?
I love what I’m doing now. I’m good at being the boss.
19.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I might be a bitch, but I’m the bitch who gets the job
done. At least, that’s what people say about me.
20.
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and honesty. Without that, what is a
friendship worth?
21.
What is your greatest regret?
That I couldn’t be there when Penelope’s
mission was underway. Looking back, I still don’t see an alternative, but I
should have been there every step of the way.
22.
What is your motto?
Never quit.
Amelia
Carter Forbes
The Surrender Trilogy:
