The hotter the flame,
the more tempered the steel.
From Logging to Boxing
By any definition Russ has had lots of tempering. Emigrating alone from Ireland at the age of 17 to a logging town on Vancouver Island, in Canada, was the start of a journey that lasted five years. The journey lead him to San Francisco, Hawaii, Fiji, and New Zealand, where he worked on the docks for 6 months, then onto Australia where he traveled with a boxing and wrestling troupe for three years, taking on all comers. He then took a short breather back in Ireland before returning to Canada and enlisting in the armed forces. The recruiting Sergeant loved his background and recommended the Military Police as his placement.
I wonder why!
From Military to Life Insurance
The next six years were spent in the military, three of them with the NATO brigade in Europe. He even had time to meet and captivate a young English lady who had also emigrated to Canada. Marriage resulted and six children followed in quick succession.
Then civvy street beckoned, and Russ found a home in the life insurance industry.
He was tough-minded enough to survive and thrive in this challenging industry.
His progress was impressive — a highly successful sales person; a kick-ass Sales Manager; Development Manager; Marketing Manager; Trainer and Business Coach; Managing Director of his own company, and later as the CEO of Empower International, a personal development company..
On the way, he won the Irish and British toastmasters titles, became qualified as a Master Practitioner and therapist in Neuro Linguistic Programming, was a frequent writer in UK and Irish personal development magazines, and appeared a number of times on Irish and Canadian television.
The Common Theme -
Personal development for self and others
Today Russ continues to push the envelopes of his own personal development while working professionally with clients. Russ's first novel, The Quiqley Alchemy is a personal goal achieved, and yet another venue to share and develop his passion for human development. The novel adds to previous audio and book publications that have helped many people with their own personal development.