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Ummm… yeah, so that's a chunk of my real bio.
And yeah, there’s some good stuff too. I really fu**ing love my work. I co-created and co-own Farmers Restaurant Group, which includes seven Founding Farmers restaurants in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, along with our own distillery, Founding Spirits. Our company supports over 1,500 employees and continues to grow. The growth includes our catering company, Founding Farmers Co. Catering & Events, percolating on our new direct-to-consumer platform, and my ongoing commitment to the non-profit I founded, Our Last Straw. I’m certain that before (or, while) we save the planet, we need to save the people, which is why I spend so much time speaking publicly about mental health in the workplace. I am a teacher at The George Washington University, and I aim my mentoring and direct funding support to female and minority entrepreneurs. I created a time management & personal productivity curriculum for my students and my team. I have been nominated for and won a few awards, which is nice. I’m comfy on my snowboard or skis, although now I make sure I go slow enough that I (most likely) won’t hurt myself, but fast enough to keep my kids thinking I’m (kinda) cool. But if I keep going, this is just one more boring list of “wins."
My mission: A life with no regrets. For me and everyone around me.
I’m not talking solely talking about making improved decisions to avoid regret — I’m talking about re-framing the regrets we have into value, avoiding being sucked down into unproductive negativity, and instead, finding the lessons, celebrating the application, and yes of course, I’m also talking about applying lessons to help make better decisions as we go forward on our journey.
The failures, past and future, are where character is formed and seen, where convictions are solidified, and where we learn. In giving you my bio, and in all of the pages of my blog, I am much more interested in sharing the nitty-gritty parts than a long list of self-promotion no one really wants to read. Jump to the blogs and holler at me if there are things you like, don’t like, or want to share with me.
I am a lifelong learner. I’m always looking to be taught something new or schooled about something I've misunderstood. When someone with logic and wisdom can show me a new way, I'm thrilled.
Most bios and resumes are wicked (yes, I'm from Boston) boring. I get the point that people want to know what someone has accomplished, what they do now, and how they got to where they are. But here’s the truth: It’s usually just a highlight reel, which may have little to do with how they got to be who and where they are today. Most people aren’t including the seven months they were jobless, the time they filed for unemployment benefits, the three-year span they lived in their mother-in-law’s basement, or when they opened their first restaurant, failed and lost all of their money, felt lost, experienced self-doubt and depression, and teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.
