I’m certainly not the fastest, strongest, or most disciplined runner on the road or trail.

I’m definitely not the most talented and creative artist you will ever come across.

I’m not even the most educated, most experienced, or most exemplary business person you’ll meet.

Yep. I’m not the best, or even an expert, at anything.

However, none of us has to be the absolute best to share valuable reflections and experiences that can potentially help others. We just have to be open to doing it, even if it makes us feel vulnerable or uncomfortable.

Throughout my entire professional career, it seems I’ve had a knack for sharing knowledge, lessons and stories to help people understand something just a little bit better than they did before.

I’ve always been curious and open-minded, which always seemed to lead me down paths less traveled. With conviction, I learned things by doing them. Trust me, it wasn’t always easy, but I always worked my ass off to earn my keep, always honoring the responsibilities and accountabilities I had. I have also made a shit-ton of mistakes in my life, but in doing so, gathered a massive amount of alternative experience along the way. None of this has ever failed in making me a more well-rounded person and better teacher and mentor.

My Purpose

Over the years, I found my purpose and passion, or you can say it found me.

I have a deep care and motivation for helping people and I’m energized and driven about making a difference.

And even more so recently, I’m relentlessly focused on bringing my talents to life in a way that creates positivity, meaning and happiness for myself and others.

As an extension of this, I’m excited to bring my running, my art and my business background together in way that helps people from all walks of life look at life and work just a little bit differently.

As a Runner…

As a runner, I used to spend a large portion of my running time thinking about my work. Whether I was running from stress, thinking through solutions to complex problems, or trying to work through a new challenge or opportunity, running was always there to help me. As a leader, running was always a valuable tool in my toolbox. I didn’t fully grasp this until my recent break from work. In the absence of work, my free running mind now goes back in time to the many experiences I’ve had in life, along with its many valuable teachings and interpretations.

As an Artist…

Before getting sucked into the world of footwear and retail, I went to university to study art with the dreams of being a grade-school art teacher. My motivation: I had a really miserable experience with an art teacher early in life. Degrading, uninspiring and disengaged, this teacher was just plain awful. For years, I told myself I would become a teacher myself so no kid would ever have to bear witness to that kind of instruction again.

Although being a certified art instructor would never be in the cards, I found a way to lead in a different way. However, art was always there if I needed to disappear from real life a few hours, get lost in creating something, or to mentor my own kids through the creative process (all who have blossomed into fantastic artists over the years).

As a Worker, a Professional, and a Leader

I spent 27+ years working for two retail companies.

The first, a brick and mortar, family-owned sporting goods store where I built a really great foundation of business acumen, understanding what great service and experience meant to me and my customers, and discovering the importance of having a great team.

The other company – one of the most widely known employee, customer, and culture-centric companies in the world. It was exhilarating and life-changing to be part of something so much bigger than myself in those early days. It was here where my skills, capabilities, and experiences were groomed and heightened. My years here were the most influential years in helping me become the person I am today. What a hell of an amazing ride. I will always have utmost gratitude for this company.

You can check out all I’ve done and accomplished on my resume and LinkedIn.

As with most change, there’s a risk that as time goes on, people and organizations grow apart. I chose to step away from my career to take a break, to find the time I never prioritized to engage in some much needed self-discovery, to connect closer with the things I love most and to start writing a new chapter in my life.

My Dedication To This Blog…

Although I left the company that helped me discover my purpose, my passion for it hasn’t changed. I feel more energized than ever to be happy and to deliver that happiness to others by providing the best possible service and experience to my customers, my clients, my partners, and/or my readers.

I hope you enjoy this blog. More importantly, I hope it gives you some inspiration to discover your own path forward, one where you get to write the script and make the difference you’ve always wanted to.

Gratitude for being here and sharing this journey with me!

cp