I am a reject. I am a rebel. I am a non-conformist. I'm a rule breaker. Throughout my life I am one who’s continually been told no. I've been discarded, cut from the team, kept on the sidelines, and have been told I’m not good enough, I'm not worthy.

I am an underdog. And I have a chip on my shoulder. For better or worse, I have made my life’s work one of breaking the rules, getting back up, testing the boundaries, asking the uncomfortable questions, and pushing hard against the grain. I’ve learned to be brave in the face of uncertainty. I've learned to persevere through the storms of life. As a child, I was often scolded for “disrupting.” Now, I thrive in it, and I attribute much of my success in leadership and business to my disruptive, persevering, never say die nature. 

As I write these words, I realize my approach hasn’t always served me well. In fact, I’ve been fired from jobs, have most definitely lost friends and have harmed a few relationships with this approach. And if I'm being honest, I have some very real, heartfelt regrets and sorrow for some of my past rule breaking and disruptive behaviors.  

With that said, I do believe that as I’ve grown up, I’m growing older, wiser and I'm becoming better equipped to manage my own inherent behaviors and tendencies —  and I know I’m still a work in progress. Where my rule breaking and disruptive personality didn’t always serve me well in my youth, I’m learning how to be more responsible and aware of when it’s appropriate and not appropriate to wield such a double edged sword. I presume this can be much attributed as part of growing up and maturing. And I thank God for that part of his design. 

And so I'll take the good with the bad and will remain committed to keep learning, growing and getting better...and disrupting.