What if money didn’t matter?

I was 17 years old and sitting at the kitchen table when my dad came home early from work….

My passionate fire for development was lit at an early age. In my awkward mid-teen years I was introduced to the great outdoors and all the beauty and fulfilment they provide. That lead to a short but inspiring career guiding long distance canoe and kayak trips. Every day I witnessed people go through powerful change by simply pushing the boundaries of what they thought they were capable of. They were building confidence, inspiring others, and becoming better leaders in just a weekend. The match was struck. I wanted to be involved. I wanted to help make this happen.

Fast forward and there I was…17 years old and at a crossroads. I had been studying hard and achieved the honour roll status necessary to get into engineering when at University. Now all I needed to do was fill out the forms that sat on the table in front of me. I was sure the smart, responsible move was to get into a field that would always be in demand, pay well and provide security. And then my dad came home early from work.

He walked in the kitchen and asked what I was doing. I told him I was completing my application for university and with all the beaming pride of a parent who helped get their child to success, he sat down to help.

“What are you applying for?”, he asked.

“Faculty of Engineering, Dad”, I replied - with all the maturity and patience of a teenager who had discussed this ‘a bajillion times before’ (insert eye roll)

“Okay, okay” he replied. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

*Petulant exhale*

“Well yeah, Dad. I’ve been working towards this for 3 years!”

And with all the patience I’m sure he could muster, he became the right person, at the right time, with the perfect message - “I understand that son…but what I’m asking is this - is that what you REALLY want to do? What would you do if money didn’t matter? What would you be registering for if all you had to worry about was whether you would LOVE what you do? Would you still apply for engineering?”

In the most condescending way possible I replied, “well if money didn’t matter dad, I’d want to be a teacher.”

Silence. Staring. Blinking……LIGHTBULB!

I scratched out ‘engineering’ on my declaration and wrote out ‘Faculty of Education’. And I never looked back.

I moved from the river to the hockey rink, the hockey rink to the classroom, and from the classroom to the boardroom - and every step of the way I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to help other people have the same kind of ‘lightbulb moment’ that my Dad created with me all those years ago.

Fast forward again and here we are today - you demand speed from your people, teams above hierarchy and quick-thinking responsiveness to the ever changing landscape of the day-to-day. That takes lightbulb moments. As many as you can make. As fast as you can make them.

Having worked with and inspired people to change all over the world, I want to help create these experiences for you, your teams, your businesses. Let’s work together to create powerful change.