Who am I
Who am I: Professional
From an early age I have always had a deep interest in understanding how things work. This expressed itself in school by my graduation from the University of Calgary with a degree in Biological Sciences while also having conducted cancer research and being publish in a paper. This pursuit then pivoted to the arena of business and entrepreneurship when I joined my wife in her landscaping business and built out a new construction division in it that provides over a half a million dollars of services annually.
This interest to understand also lead me to the study of Bowen Family Systems Theory and the area of relationships and human connection.
One of the most formative experiences of my life was the death of my first child: Emma. She died of unknown causes at 38 weeks of pregnancy and was still born. Life is hard at times. Unfair and unjust. The pain of this experience, navigating life afterward, and the task of resurrecting the marriage in the years that followed were more than I thought I could bear. However, this experience is what convinces me of the truth that the greatest points of personal pain, or felt failure, can be the greatest opportunities to grow and change. I would much rather have my daughter with me today, but her absence has groomed and helped grow my compassion, kindness and humanity. These things are precious to me and I would not give them up.
Who am I: Personal
I grew up as third/fourth generation Canadian in Calgary. I am the second son of a second generation Canadian mother whose parents immigrated from Italy after WW2 and a third generation father whose grand-parents immigrated from Poland after WW1 and WW2.
The most fun I have had in life has been laughing with friends around a camp fire, or chasing cattle on horseback. My pass times growing up were riding horses with my dad for a local ranch or cooking heirloom Italian recipes with my mother and tending the garden with her. In my university years I also enjoyed country swing dancing and winter mountaineering. I have also participated in a number of humanitarian aid trips to the countries of Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. I still enjoy country dancing with my wife of ten years, and my three sons are expressing more interest in horsemanship; much to my delight.
Statement of Belief.
The most painful moments in our lives are the greatest opportunities for personal growth and
development. The moments where our utmost best fails and we are left bewildered and disoriented. It is from this place that we can begin to give up our ‘best’ and start to do different. This is the point where we stop complaining about how others or the circumstances did not allow us to win, and we take full responsibility for ourselves and begin to make a win out of what we have; working with our environment instead of wailing against it. I specialize in helping people move from “best” to different.
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Although a crisis can precipitate change and accelerate the discovery of different, crisis is not always required. When motivated, one can being to reflect on their own lives, functioning and relationships and begin to see the patterns that bring them the most strength and the patterns that take it away. Having this knowledge is powerful in avoiding major crisis as you can choose what to change and what to keep the same, instead of being blind to it all. There is no guarantee that you will not have a crisis again, but at least when it arises you will have either an understanding of how you got there (and also how to get out), or you will have the kind acceptance of the consequences and calm that comes from respecting one’s own beliefs and integrity with a respect for how this might impact others.
Collaboration with Industry Leaders.
