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I danced on the moon and for that I am forever grateful.

9/26/2018

a beautiful gift my co-workers at Sprint made for me

Thank you Jay, "TeleNav Tim," Rick, Dominic, Jimmy & Dan for giving me the opportunities you did and for saying Yes to a kid who at times had no clue what he was doing, but together we figured things out. Today is my last day working for Sprint & it is bitter/ sweet leaving the industry after 16 years.

Growing up my Dad used to tell my brother and I to find a job we loved and we'll never have to work a day in our lives; I found that to be especially true for the last decade and a half. I learned three very important things working in sales that I will take with me in this next chapter of my life.

People who help other people are the real MVP's.
Say Yes!
Chase something or someone.

People who help other people are the real MVP's.

If anyone gets the opportunity to volunteer and teach for a day I suggest you do it.

I wish I understood earlier on in my career how important it is to help others succeed. Achieving goals of my own was great but helping others with something they are struggling with was much more rewarding than doing something for myself.

While working at Sprint I was able to volunteer and be a teacher for a day nine different times and it was an amazing experience each and every time. I also got involved in a three year mentoring program at Joliet West High School through a program called My Brothers Keeper. We all have a unique set of skills, some of us are born with them and others spend a good amount of time perfecting our craft, whatever our skills are, share them with others & you will get it back 10 fold. Again, whatever the skills are, people who help other people are the real MVP's.

For so many years I was focused solely on myself & self promotion, once I started helping others, doors opened and I began to see how rewarding it is to hear from someone they are better today than they were yesterday because of something we worked on together.

Thank you Jay, Rick & Dan.

Say Yes!

Lunch with one of my favorite bosses TeleNav Tim.

Thank you "TeleNav Tim" for giving me a chance and saying Yes to a 21 year old college kid slinging cell phones out of a Nextel shop in 2005. Truth be told I was scared to death the first time I presented "GPS Technology" in-front of a group of 10-15 seasoned sales professionals but you had faith in me that I didn't even see in myself at times. By saying Yes to things it allowed me to experience so much I may not have seen if I otherwise said No. I traveled all over the US and Canada and it didn't cost me a dime.

I was able to surprise my Grandparents with a few visits to Florida when I had business meetings in Tampa, I saw the Statue of Liberty in NY with friends from College and I got to eat In & Out burger and see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco every few weeks when I commuted back and forth to Sunnyvale on the west coast. Looking back I'm certainly not the same 21 year old I was wearing dockers and a wrinkled blue Nextel button up shirt, I'm now an adult that wears a wrinkled button up shirt & poorly tied neck tie.

Thank you "TeleNav Tim."

Chase something or someone.

There are three things that I need every day to be happy; something to be proud of, something to work on & someone to chase.

In the last 16 years I was darn proud of being a leader among my peers who some had been in the business twice as long as I was. Working in an industry where the only constant is change, I was continuously fine tuning my approach and had something new to work on every single day. As an Enterprise Accounts Implementation Manager, Solutions Engineer & Business Sales Trainer I was often around people that inspired me to be better; I was always chasing someone. I made it a goal of mine to surround myself around someone I wanted to be in five years. Tomorrow I get to be the person my eight year old self would really look up to; chase something or someone.

Thank you Jimmy and Dominic.

thank you Mom & Dad

Last but not least, Thank you Mom and Dad for your unwavering love and support the last 34 years. You have been an incredible inspiration. You continue to teach me there is no substitute for hard work. You taught me to always do my best, never give up, keep my commitments, and to be a good Man. If we ever stumbled you were there to give us strength with your unconditional love, even as grown men we turn to you for that same love & encouragement.

I love you Nicholas, Jackson and Charlotte

Thank you for teaching me the importance of Grit, doing good work & having a positive attitude regardless of the circumstances. There is nothing more important to me than making you proud and being a positive influence to Jackson, Nicholas & Charlotte.

Growing up you demonstrated “mental toughness” in facing adversity and you created the environment where it was ok to make mistakes. You both taught me me how important it is to accept failing fast so we can try again with the lessons learned.

It is comforting and brings a sense of peace knowing that we don’t have to get things right every time but we can strive towards progress. Naturally leaving a profession that is all I've known since I was 18 years old brings mixed emotions. I am anxious, curious & optimistic but most of all I am prepared.

Thank you Mom and Dad, I love you.

About 30 days from now I'm going to get my 1st cell phone bill since 1999. Last time I bought a phone it was a Nokia 6110, if anyone in the business can help me upgrade that dinosaur, I would really appreciate it. Thank you all for saying Yes, you helped me tremendously and you are the real MVP's. Go chase something & let me know how I can help.