Day Job

If yours is not fun, consider making a move.

My mantra: If your day job is not fun, perhaps you need to consider making a move. I enjoy swimming. One of my early jobs? Lifeguard. It seemed glamorous at first. It did help me become a letterman on the high school swim team. I built a hydroplane and raced it on the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Building things was fun for me. I earned my BSME at Penn State. I served as president of Lambda Chi Alpha at Penn State. We held epic parties with live bands. Our house GPA was also strong.

Goodrich Aerospace helped pay for my MBA. My amazing wife earned her master’s too. I served BFG for nearly a decade and moved on to the automotive sector. More racing fun there than BFG. Compensation was climbing and we were having fun. Hired an architect in Ann Arbor to build a unique home on the 3.3-acre wooded site. Enjoyed our early trips to Europe and the UK on business. Now, we have traveled to EU/UK over 57 times. Having fun building our brands, and our friends list, and finding gardens to study as we did all that.

Sue and I are dancers, gardeners, and walkers. FitBit claimed we walked over 2,900 miles last year. When you work races, you are on the move covering all the teams, not just parked in some airconditioned suite. My fav is the Le Mans 24 Hour in France. Because we both love to stay fit, we approach our endurance events as a physical and mental challenge. Per my mantra, have fun while you work.

Sue named our new business Rob Nelson Connections. We are co-founders. Now we have helped 14 different companies win business with our retailers. At AutoZone, we now have 14 different companies earned their Vendor Agreements. With 112,000 employees and 6,900 locations in the USA, the awards for new clients are not small! We are making people happy by accelerating their business with growth. Our short list of retail partners manages 32,000 locations in the USA and Canada.

In closing, I encourage you to be happy in your day job.