13
answers
Dear RentMen visitors, CNJTopShelf chose to answer 13 interview questions that were last updated on 19 Jan 2020

Interview

  • What do you do for fun?
    Broadway. If I'm not seeing a show, I might be in a show or directing one - at the local community theatre.
  • Tell us what you consider to be your greatest life experience.
    My first trip to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. OMG, everyone in Rio is gorgeous, and it's so affordable. Im saving the stories for my memoir, but rest assured, I had a great time.
  • What makes you stand out from the crowd?
    I have a sarcastic edge to my humor that may strike some people as a negative attitude, but it's just a symptom of being an old soul.
  • What are your greatest personal traits?
    My personal intuition - or my gut instinct - it's never wrong, and I trust it implicitly.
  • What is your ‘niche’?
    I can help just about anyone figure out a business development plan that will help them generate revenue and feel more successful. I do it for lawyers every day, I've done it for consultants, accountants, engineers, it's kind of my thing and I've built a well-known reputation as a thought leader and subject matter expert in this field.
  • How often do you travel? Do you prefer to travel or you are more of a homebody?
    As I've gotten more comfortable and financially stable in adulthood, I try to do one big vacation per year - usually to either a favorite destination (like Rio de Janeiro, Vegas, or San Francisco) or I try to visit new venues (recent trips to Boston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta were fun). I also do roadtrips for the end of year holidays, with me and my 3 dogs piled up in the car to visit the family. Other than that, I may do a long weekend trip or two per year to visit friends in Ohio or out west, or to extend a work conference trip for personal time.
  • What kind of diet and fitness regiment do you follow?
    A few years ago, I started High Intensity Interval Training classes with a private group fitness program, and I love it. It's kind of like Bootcamp without all the barfing and people yelling at you. It's been highly effective for me because I tend to be a creature of habit and with HIIT, it's never predictable and never the same class twice. In addition to the fitness regimen, I also did the Whole 30 diet a few times, with some sensible modifications because doing it as published is just not practical. My diet has transformed over the last couple years from being high in processed foods, sugars, sodium, and lots of carbohydrates, to now being a pretty steady and consistent diet of protein, vegetables, dairy, and bread every once in a while. The biggest thing for me was dramatically scaling back my alcohol consumption. I went from a bloated 265 lbs to a lean but comfortable 175 lbs over the course of two years, and I've maintained that for the past year. I feel healthier, I'm not sick nearly as often, and more importantly, I have been able to avoid maintenance medications for blood pressure and cholesterol (both of which my family has a long history of dealing with).
  • What’s your lifestyle? What makes you who you are?
    My undergraduate studies were in Musical Theatre, so I love going to the Theatre. And now that I live less than an hour from Broadway, I'm pretty much in pig heaven. I would rather catch a matinee of Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen than go shopping or watch movies or watch a sports event.
  • What would you like your followers to know about you that is unique and even a bit personal?
    I am often painfully shy. I think I have insecurities about making a bad first impression, which I can trace to my childhood fears that if I open up to strangers, they will judge and label me something that (at the time) I didn't want to be labeled. As children, it's remarkable how fine tuned our intuition can be about how we fit into society. As I've grown into adulthood and have this "day job" that has me strategizing business development opportunities and coaching other professionals, I've had to learn how to ignore my shyness. In personal settings, it is still very prevalent. I clam up, I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything...which leads people to believe I'm dull and uninteresting. Anyway, shyness in a social setting is still something I struggle with.
  • If you and I were on the beach having some wine and great food, what would you tell me about yourself.
    I would talk about how my humble beginnings as the son of a truck driver inspired me to achieve. I can remember being in second grade and telling people that I was going to get my diploma (high school) that I would do so well that I would receive a scholarship to college. I had no idea what college was, but it sounded good to me. I can also remember recognizing that I clearly had an advanced intellect and skillset that many of my classmates. In hindsight, I probably should have been in the Gifted program in school, but I turned out all right in spite of that. And the inspiration for achievement is still quite strong -- I've had a career rebuild (yes, I'm talking about my day job) and focused myself on advancement. The result has been very satisfying - not only have a increased my salary almost five-fold, but the position I hold in my current firm is largely considered the career pinnacle in my field. Combine that with a professional brand that I've shaped and nurtured through my professional networks, and it's easy to see why I really LOVE what I do.
  • What should others absolutely know about you?
    I do not suffer fools lightly, so tread carefully, and be considerate.
  • What do you enjoy most about yourself?
    I regularly crack myself up, so clearly I've got a good sense of humor and a flair for comedy. Also, as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate how lucky I've been that the hairy gene skipped me. I might be one of the least hairy dudes I've ever met, and I like it. I've never had to worry prohibitively about back hair, chest hair, or super bushy eye brows. There is something to be said for the mostly smooth body that rarely requires significant attention to manscape.
  • Name 5 things that you can’t live without.
    My phone (I know, I'm never disconnected), my three dogs (Colby - Golden/Chow mix, age 12; Howie - a Shihtzu, age 12; and Nicky - a Yorkie Poo, age 5), and my Paul Mitchell Reformer styling paste (because nobody should EVER have bad hair).