A look back on 2020 — the year of Resilience
Below is the AI created transcript from the video at the bottom. The transcript is not perfect but it supplemented the video.
This is the time of year where I usually do my blog post to talk about the year in review. And everything that I pursued, went after, and what I learned from the year. As we all know, in 2020, none of us expected to really deal with COVID. And it really took a lot of things away from us, connections with loved ones, feeling connected as we were all isolated at home. I don’t want to focus this post on everything that we couldn’t do, because I’d rather look ahead and just look at what this year gave me, and what I was able to do because of COVID. Like the rest of us, I had to learn to work from home remotely. Which at first, was difficult, and it took a little bit of time to adjust. But what I really enjoyed about remote working, as I was able to service leaders and product teams in many areas of Toronto. Remote video calls allowed me to easily bounce from one group to another, no matter where they were on the GTA by the click of a button.
By really honing in and becoming better at remote work, it’s allowed me to overcome the physical limitations of trying to navigate the city, being in a power wheelchair with cerebral palsy. To connect with people, to really coach them through the things they need, and to really solve complex problems, and building complex products. I found remote work, even though I was isolated at home, really enabled me in ways that if COVID didn’t happen, that I would have never got a chance to experience. This was also the year of remote conferences, which allowed me to attend many different conferences that I physically can’t go to in normal times, because of travel and all the logistics.
I’ve been able to learn from so many amazing people around the world, that holding these things remotely allowed me to do. In addition, I got to speak at numerous conferences that the logistics to even go speak there wouldn’t have been possible without moving into virtual and online. Allowing me to share what I’ve learned with others, just like I’ve been learning from the experiences of others, which was really great.
With the newfound time of not commuting to work, I decided to reclaim my physical health. I wanted to really make the best use of my time, to be the best me that I could. So I started introducing exercise and eating cleanly. Luckily I’ve dropped 30 pounds so that I’m able to live my best life. To be able to live post-COVID, and really be able to embrace life in a new way that my better health gives me. Making it easier to get around, making it easier for me to help, and to be helped, and to do what I want to do. It is just so amazing to have this again.
I want to leverage this for is the Terry Fox Run I’m doing in 2021. A lot of my friends have asked me, “Why do you continue to do Terry Fox and not cerebral palsy?” To me, the question is easy, hope should be inclusive for all. And I’m going to do whatever I can to my physical ability to raise $300,000 for cancer and Terry Fox. Just like I’m hoping somebody will do what they can for cerebral palsy, because in society if we all focus on other people’s needs, we get better together. I couldn’t do the walk-in what my current physical situation was at the time, so I use that to drive me, to really be able to do this.
As a board member of Safehaven, I led their digital transformation to allow better service of families with complex needs. Also, I joined a new board of directors too, the KW Symphony. People were surprised I joined a board that focused on the arts as opposed to technology. I said, “It’s simple. Music has always been the thing, and especially during this year, that no matter what was going on around me, I could put music on. And even though I couldn’t go places physically, music would take me anywhere my mind would let me. It really made me see and feel things that I couldn’t do in my physical location.”
So being a board member for the KW Symphony, as we relook at how we handle different business models, was something exciting, and something that I wanted to contribute to. And to be able to spend a lot of time this year with my wife Kelly, as she worked from home, really helped us to connect more.
Now I know we could sit there and complain about everything that COVID has taken away from us. But just like when I’ve had to live with cerebral palsy all my life, and what it’s taken from me, I’d rather focus on the things I can do versus the things I can’t do.
I usually like to wish everyone a great 2021 and hope for the best, I’m going to say something different this year. We have no control over 2021, but as we’ve shown this year, we can walk together and help one another navigate through challenging times. As I get older, and I’m happy to say I’m turning 50 this year, I see my success by how I can help others, and how I can leave the world a better place. So if we can all work together on this, we can make it a little better for everyone. So let’s all pursue together in this unknown year.
It’s the time of year when I look back and share my highlights of the year. 2020 impacted us all. I decided to focus on what I could do vs. couldn’t do. Let’s all move forward, together. Enjoy. #resilience #2020
