Just about everyone has had ups and I am sure experienced downs. With each challenge I have faced throughout my career I have always tried to find the positive and learned from each and every opportunity. I remember when they eliminated my position less than three years after accepting the regional here in Florida. This was back in 2009 after the market tanked and companies were looking at what ever they could do to cut costs. Now this was a hard pill to swallow knowing my region was one of the top occupancy and producing regions in the company. Making over six figures with my bonus they called the layoff a "downsizing," while I called it an "up profiting." I could have easily put my tail between my legs and done what many others had done in my position by collecting unemployment and riding the coat tail of the government. Sorry, that just wasn't me. I started speaking and training again and took a job not paying much working for the mouse. While it didn't pay well, I was working and bringing in a weekly check and on top of it pretty much the coolest job at Disney. My job you ask, well here's a picture.
Yes, I was a scuba diver and the safety coordinator for Mickey Mouse when he would dive in the Living Seas at Epcot. I was responsible for the big eared one's safety (as we called him "the boss") and even wrote the operating guidelines for character diving at Disney. Even though my pay was poultry compared to what I was making before, I always gave it 100% and would volunteer for projects and always willing to take on additional responsibility. It was that initiative that led me to the next level as a manager at Disney. Safety has always been something I had a passion for in addition to leadership. In 2013 the aquarium was getting ready for their five year accreditation with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. This was a huge deal as the facility and our dive team were being evaluated by a team of professionals from all over the world. The AZA is the independent accrediting organization for the best zoos and
aquariums in America and the world, assuring the public that when they
visit an AZA accredited facility, it meets the highest standards. Less
than 10 percent of the 2,800 wildlife exhibitors licensed by the United
States Department of Agriculture meet the comprehensive standards of AZA accreditation. My supervisor and the aquarium curator came to me and asked if I would take responsibility for safety documentation and reporting for the upcoming inspection. During the inspection one of the AZA advisory members commented that the safety portion of the inspection was "the best and easiest inspection they had ever had for an aquarium ever."
With my head held high, I began applying for leadership positions within the organization. Then one day after telling my supervisor I had an interview later that week I was informed I did not need to go to the interview. For a second, I thought "oh crap what is wrong." The aquarium curator and the Dive Safety Officer called me to their office to inform me I had been nominated and accepted into Disney's Emerging Leader Program. They told me that out of 65,000 cast members only 35 are selected for this prestigious program. So a few weeks later I entered Disney University on my journey as a Disney leader. Disney is known throughout the world for developing exceptional leaders and providing extraordinary guest service. Fortune 500 companies send their employees to Disney for their leadership programs because of how the Disney brand is perceived. My next step was as a manager at a four diamond deluxe resort responsible for a team of cast members and later lead the concierge services for the Kilimanjaro Club at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
While I truly miss property management and hope to someday return, being in a leadership position and using the skills I have learned along my journey to help others exceed and excel have been so positive in my continued development. When we quit learning, we do ourselves and those working with us a disservice. Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." He also said, "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things,
because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
So when life give you lemons, don't' just make lemonade...open a lemonade stand and share it with the world. I hope I have been an inspiration for others and don't forget, "Inspiration comes along with perspiration to be successful." Now as I have said so many times in my postings...Go Lead!
