Who I am: Someone who loves to learn.
I was born into a poor Midwestern family and moved often as a child. Only one person in my entire extended family had ever completed high school, so I didn’t have the faintest idea of how to get into or pay for college. So after high school I did what I thought would provide me with the best life in the future – I joined the military. This one choice was probably the greatest move I could have ever made for myself.
While I was in the Marine Corps, I had the opportunity to travel the world and encounter life beyond the United States. As I’m sure many of you are aware, military men and women often have secondary responsibilities and billets beyond their primary occupation. One of my additional duties while I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, was to act as the group training representative. That fit me perfectly, because I was responsible for researching and presenting classes to our department on a regular basis. Could life be any better? I was stationed on a tropical island and getting paid to learn and teach. Seriously, at 21 years old, you can’t really beat that!
After getting out of the Marine Corps, I found work at a Fortune 500 company. While working full time, I attended college at night to earn a degree in business. I loved going to school, and completed my bachelor degree after attending ‘part time’ for four years. Immediately after graduation, I was offered a new job within the company. Within a year, I was promoted again. My next step down the traditional learning path will be getting my MBA, which I should begin in 2008.
In general, I really enjoy challenging myself to learn new ideas, thoughts, and concepts. When I read, I’m typically reading books and articles that teach me something. When I watch television shows or movies, I typically watch the Military Channel or History Channel (or one of the multiple ESPN channels I have. I’m a huge sports fan!). Although I have a broad range of interests, I tend to gravitate toward topics involving business, economics and finance, technology, and/or the military.
What this site is: My place to record and share what I have learned.
As a life-long student, I need a place to record the interesting topics that I come across. That place is here, at ExceptionalGeneralist.com. This is where I will post my random thoughts and lessons learned. As I go through my day, I will record items that I come across (probably on a piece of scrap paper… you should really see my desk sometime!) and then post them here. This will become a tool for me to look back on and remember not only the words in the posts, but also the personal stories behind the posts.
What this site is not: An expert opinion on any subject.
As the title states, I am a (an exceptional) generalist. I do not promise anything from this site, other than a place for you to see what I’m thinking and learning about. By no means should you take what I say and try to pass it off in court as an official testimony, because you’ll probably end up in jail. Just read through this with an open mind, and remember that I might be wrong sometimes. If you encounter a post that is incorrect, please let me know. At the end of the day, we’re all here for some reason. My reason is to learn and share.