Skip to main content

10 Things You Didn't Know About Me


[ONE] I’m Left Handed

There aren’t that many of us, 10–12% of the global population.

It’s one of those things that people typically don’t notice and then when they do they are surprised.

What surprises me most of all is how often though that people I connect with are left handed. Maybe we gravitate to one another!

[TWO] I Used to Shy Away From Leadership

Leadership is a huge part of my life.

I have been leading teams in my professional life for the last 12+ years.

Considering the passion I have for it, this makes me laugh. I distinctly remember talking to an old boss one day where he was struggling with my attitude and sharing why it needed to change — because I was a leader.

I couldn’t deny it fast enough.

[THREE] I Love Learning

This sounds strange.

I think a lot of people feel that they like to learn new things.

Ask yourself however when was the last time you learned something just for the sake of knowing.

This is a big change for me. I was never a straight A student and my parents most certainly didn’t put that kind of pressure on me.

I have come to realize that one of the biggest gifts of a digitally connected world is our ability to learn about almost anything.

There is never enough time.

[FOUR] I Used to be Morbidly Obese

This is a tough one. Writing that sucked. The term morbidly makes it sound so extreme. I never felt it was so extreme. But when you can lose 80lbs and still not be rail thin, you can’t argue.

It’s a hard frame to have around yourself. It distorts your entire world. Mainly because you are in denial most of the time.

This change has been one of the ones that hit me the hardest through life. Your understanding of the world changes, of people changes.

Here’s one thing that no one admits to and no one tells you but that everyone who has gone through this transformation knows.

You are treated differently before and after. It sucks, I wish that weren’t true, but it is.

[FIVE] I Read Almost Exclusively Non-Fiction

Leadership, psychology, decision making, human behaviour, sales, marketing.

Anything that has a connection to people. We love to believe we are so smart and clever. We aren’t. It’s fun to dig in.

[SIX] I Have an Obsessive Personality

I get hyper focused on things. Sometimes in ways that is too deep.

I can be enthralled with something for a week, month or even years and then all of a sudden … gone. It just feels done and my focus shifts to something else.

Some notables over the years:

  • Home Improvements
  • Computers / Tech
  • Gaming Console Repairs
  • Clothes & Fashion
  • Backpacks — this is (or maybe now was) my latest crazy dive


[SEVEN] I’m Fluently Bilingual

I always get weird stares when people see my last name yet I can speak

French perfectly.

It’s really not that uncommon in Canada for people to be bilingual so I am always surprised by this.

[EIGHT] Success Has Come From My Trauma

I’ve come to realize I had WAY more baggage than I ever knew from when I was younger.

The defenses I used to protect myself helped me build my career w/o knowing it.

They allowed by to have a lot of drive, to push myself to “be better” all the time. It supported by learning and the person I am today.

That being said, not all for the most altruistic reasons. That was hard to realize and accept and only happened over the last few years.

[NINE] I Was Voted Biggest Class Clown

I love this more than I should. It’s one of those things people don’t expect. Some senior level person in their organization that used to frustrate teachers by disrupting the class (all the time!)

I wear that graduating class award well.

It always makes me think of Al Bundy from the show Married with Children — Polk High Football rules!

Yes, I am sure I have further dated myself with that one.

[TEN] I Still Don’t Know What I Want to be When I Grow Up

Some people were locked onto their career or their path in life early. That’s amazing and I hope they are living their dream.

I have never been that fortunate. I that there is too much I am want to experience.

I started in computer science, went to law, now I work in supply chain.

Interests > Passion for me. The world has so much to offer and experience.

Writing speaks to a deep interest I would have to be able to travel the world while working on my own terms. Will it ever happen? Who knows. Have to start though. And you never achieve anything by quitting.


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This 1 Thing Increases Your Career Capital More Than Anything Else

The Art of Better Decision Making Have you felt scared to make a decision? Maybe you get preoccupied with making the 'wrong' decision?  Did you know that 68% of people have admitted to not doing because they thought it would be harder than it actually is. Getting comfortable with making decisions is one of the biggest challenges new leaders face. You will be placed in situations where there isn't enough time to get all of the information. Or even harder, you will be placed in situations where you'll never get more information than what you have. The good news? Making better decisions is something that you can improve by being deliberate with your learning and how you choose to approach it. This is the approach I take to decision making. These have been test and is what I have used over my 15 year career to teach and develop teams. - Accept that you will make mistakes. There is rarely a perfect answer. Getting comfortable with ambiguity is a leadership muscle you need to...
2 comments
Read more

Do Your Interesting

   How many times have people told you the best thing to do is make your job something you love? Easy right, just go out, get hired into a role that speaks to you professionally and personally, love life and be happy. Reality? Not anywhere near that easy. That dream is out there an exists, however it is probably one of the hardest things to define, find and then actually make happen. I am not sharing that to discourage you, far from it, if you follow my writing here and on social you know that I constantly encourage people to push themselves to do the things they want to do. The point of the post is to support you until that happens. We all need to work, maybe you don't have everything completely figured out yet, so what do you do until you do? Or maybe you will never be one of those people that has one burning passion that you can turn into your life's work, and that's more than okay too. If you don't have that passion, what do you do then? Follow your interests, follo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Confusion to Clarity

  Have you ever been scrolling your feed, listening to a friend or what to shout out "EXACTLY!" during a presentation?  That happened to me earlier as I saw a post on Twitter, and some how I found the quote that I had save quite some time ago (synchronicity, who knew).   There is a lot of confusion in the world. In almost every area we interact, there is a gap in perspective, understanding or breadth. We have expectations that the other party should be the one explaining, and breaking it down, surely it is their reason why we don't understand. This can be the answer. Sometimes it is for the other person or party to explain. They need to build out their idea, their solution, their value proposition. Here's the challenge however. What is on you? If you are not looking to see things completely with other eyes, if you are not willing to let go of what you hold onto, it is often extremely difficult for someone to explain an opposing thought or position to you because they ...
Post a Comment
Read more