Passion: A lifetime of doubters….

I was never the fastest or best athlete, but I always made the team. Never the brightest student, but always managed to pass the class. How? Work ethic, passion and persistence. For better or worse, I have lived my life proving people wrong. It’s that burning desire to achieve and exceed deep inside me that will never go away. So much so that it’s that same passion that at times can get me into trouble. But I will take passion any day over living a day without a spine.

In middle school, wrestling was never the cool sport, the most popular, or the team with the winning tradition in my home town. Even swimmers mocked my decision to wrestle in high school. It was the first challenge, early in my life, to change the cultural and tradition of wrestling in Moorestown. At the expense of many sacrifices, I finished my high school wrestling career a 3 time captain, district champ, and 6th all time in wins in my high school history. But it was probably being voted captain 3 years in a row by the team, starting my sophomore year, that stood out the most. As our team made the playoffs my Junior and Senior year, a feat not achieved in more than a decade.

Even the boy’s soccer team was known in town as a team destined to choke and never win when it counts. The girls teams had won state championships my freshman and sophomore year. My senior year with a far less talented team than either of previous two seasons, the boys team capped off a fairy tale season by winning the Group 2 State Championship. Even in the middle of all of this glory, I missed an opportunity to score a goal in the first half of the game. But we ended up winning the game and life goes on.

In college, did I get the best grades? Did I party too much at times? Could I have studied harder? I graduated with a 2.47 GPA while working 2 jobs at all times to even afford to stay in school. What? Yes, which is a statistic that would later shape my adult life. My dream job out of college was to work in pharmaceutical sales, which took me 3 jobs after graduation to achieve. During the interviews, a few companies wouldn’t take me because of my low GPA. Another, refused to hire me because I said the word, “Dude,” on the interview. They didn’t think I could handle talking in a sophisticated manner to doctors. What was it? Motivation. Say I can’t do something and that motivates me for life.

Schering-Plough hired me full time in 2004, finishing every year in the top 10% of the company five years in a row. Not to mention, during two of those years I completed my MBA at Wagner College. So not only could I handle speaking with doctors, I did so while completing my MBA full time and a full time work schedule. Starting graduate school was an obstacle in itself. One professor, who will remain nameless, took one glance at my undergraduate GPA and determined I could not handle education at a higher level.

To this day, I have not spoken to the professor, I used it rather as motivation. Even at graduation with an MBA grade point average of 3.48 or 1 point HIGHER than my under gradate, I chose the high road and did not confront this professor. My diploma that hangs in my bedroom is pay back enough for doubting me and what I could or could not handle.

During graduate school, I started in the comedy business, both performing and producing shows. Something I wouldn’t have started as soon as I did, if at all, if it wasn’t for my peers in grad school. Not to mention, I finished 5 half marathons, 2 marathons, and 2 triathlons. Something VERY few people even reading this blog have ever completed one of those events, let alone several.

My last boss at Schering Plough was passionate about corporate America, her career, and the pharmaceutical industry. So much so, that she did not like the fact that I was pursuing comedy in my free time. I do not have a wife or kids, why can’t I have a hobby outside of work? My last year at Schering, I finished in the top 1% out of 1600 reps. I was given a below expectations for the year based on paper work, ruling me ineligible for a raise or bonus. How did that even seem fair or possible? I was working on a sales team and a results driven company. The writing was on the wall, it was time to make the leap and pursue my dreams.

I cashed out my 401K in May of 2009 and lived on it for a year. As I lay here awake at 2:30 AM on a Sunday night, Monday morning. I am thankful for every person who has ever doubted me. It’s freedom of speech and it’s what makes America the great country that it is today. If I hadn’t left when I did, I wouldn’t have started my radio show The Comedy Point or the media department at Lifestyles For The Disabled. A deal that was discussed, a year ago today on the golf course at the annual Delta Nu fraternity golf outing. The same fraternity that believed in me being able to complete my master’s degree.

There are other things that have recently been brought to my attention that were done or said about me and my business that have caused me to write this blog. But I am not giving ANY of the individuals satisfaction for mentioning their name. I just thank them for keeping that inner flame and passion burning and giving me a new reason to prove people wrong.