Suppose I would define me perhaps through words from my parents and siblings…gifted as an athlete who would sacrifice body and oxygen to catch a football, or speed & agility on the basketball court like I was a tall 5ft 3.5” person or had the right amount of foolish naivety that obstacles never looked that way… Cycle through life graduating top of class and never being satisfied with ordinary ways of doing. I needed more what ifs and bold attempts at taking paths that were carved from raw intuition, fear of why not or maybe that was just courage?!
Maybe me is a slice of a recent moment where I surprised a friend retiring and drove a few 100 miles to do so preparing to leap into a bush any moment to ensure the surprise was timed to the best I could control. Timing…. that reminds me of sitting next to my grandpa and watching reruns of the HoneyMooners TV show with Jackie Gleason. As one of the sound guys, he knew the exact second of the LIVE Applause. I saw gadgets and gizmos growing up as we fixed stuff the old school way…use what you have and learn from years of innovation traits passed down generations. My siblings would call me driven and a Renaissance woman and then try their best to improve my skills at dry humor…no luck on that yet.
Starting the company of my dreams, YOUTOPIAN…I knew it was time. Living my purpose to give personalized innovation to the world, build the leaders of tomorrow, and bring complex dreams to life across industries. See for those who know me, I self-trained creating my own innovation playbook. Imagined since learning came easy that if I pursued art and rapid problem-solving that would somehow be needed in the future. So maybe I took a longer path or a really intentional path super early in life before I could connect all the dots as I just knew. I started by simultaneous sight training. What if I could memorize all the people, architectural structures, animals…well then, I could draw fast enough to impact. So that’s what I did.
Being a CEO is very much like jumping into the biggest dream and meeting great people that mold and challenge us. It is like somehow when I met Dee Byrnes and Bob Allen the stars smashed together and became what magic is defined to be. It is funny how people see us as we go through the highs, lows, and unexpected rocky terrain our story requires. Many ask me how, why and how did I not reduce the BIG dream?! That is easy. Solving the ‘impossible’ is inherent and I have a thin skin. Someone once told me Steve Jobs did too. It is a gift as we feel everything extra and in the moment every little thing in human behavior we are attune. Character, rolling up my sleeves, and owning my story is a guide and selfless give the shirt off my back was how I was raised. My why is catapulting my team, people, partners, and champions. Ordinary really has a chance at EXTRAordinary.