From my earliest recollection I have always wanted to contribute in a positive, meaningful manner. My goal was to find a way to participate that satisfied my need to learn. Then teaching what had been learned as a result, created happiness. Wanting to drink-up as much as the world had to offer, I was that kid who never wanted the adventure to end, often saying, “do we have to go home now?” It didn’t matter what it was, I wanted to do it bigger, better, faster, and more times than anyone else.
Quite a number of times the suggestion was made to become a teacher, but the restrictive nature of the formal education environment was not appealing to my renaissance-like attitude. The answer came to me kind of by accident, at age 14. I rode my bicycle to the outdoor store in need of fishing supplies. There I and found a product which was manufactured locally—trout flies. I learned how to make them, then convinced the store they needed a new vendor, and used the credit to barter for the supplies.
Later, I would realize how being an entrepreneur would enable me to share my knowledge with others. It was my first way of teaching as I trained my employees. It was one of the more enjoyable parts of owning a business.
So, over the course of 40 plus years as an employer, sharing and teaching people new skills has created a continual sense of joy, watching as the employees enjoyed applying their newly learned crafts. Working alongside them created a great sense of camaraderie and connection, but more importantly kept me on path with my mission to give back, in this case by teaching.
It was clear the world had enough negative media outlets and my Boy Scoutish nature inspired me to do something different when I acquired Cityview. The magazine’s mission is to provide accurate, positive, and inspiring information about the people, places and activities in the area. An all class, no trash, no goofy, and no stupid approach. That would be my way of giving back and serving the community in a positive manner.
Many times I have experienced the greatest life changing moments from listening to someone sharing a simple idea in a story. These, often-simple-teachings have really changed my life for the better time and again. When someone tells a story really well it is easy to remember, and that makes the message easier for me to incorporate into my life. That is why I feel compelled to share not only my story, but the stories of the people that are also making significant contribution.
My mission is to help empower the lives of others by sharing that which I have learned in a positive inspiring fashion, both as a teacher and by example. I do that now through the pages of Cityview and plan to begin public speaking, producing video/podcast content and help to organize and teach seminars. I have been so blessed to have learned so much and now it is time to share it with everyone. Thank you for being interested and taking time to help me in my mission by reading Cityview and visiting our website.