The “Lucky Duck” Promotions from Mounties. If I got that job, would I be there today designing these promotoins? Food for thought always and strange the twists in life! (Thank you Mounties, Love the stuff on your website!)
As I sit here, 8:46Pm on a Sunday Night writing this article to go out Monday I am really happy! Family life is rocking, business is good, health is on track and I got plenty of work coming in. I am also earning way more than I ever did as a Corporate, lots of hard work (especially building automated marketing processes), but it’s one awesome rewarding life that I am very grateful for.
However, if you know me outside of the Internet – my life use to really suck a few years ago. No money, no friends and I am now reflecting quite positively about my past negative times. As I was spending time relaxing / working a bit over the weekend I was reflecting on a very strange experience I had and a great man who is quite influential in the Sydney Business Scene – an awesome fellow by the name of Greg Pickering that is the CEO of the Mounties Group. They are a massive group of various clubs and he is the fine man that one interviewed me to be one of his high up Marketing Managers about 7 years ago. I bumped into him recently and reflected on my great experience with him ever since.
Going back to when I was about 28 (I am 35 now) I came from Hobart to Sydney to start a new life and look for work. This was not the best time to do this as it was the height of the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) and way before I became a Small Business Marketing Mentor & Speaker – I used to be a Corporate Marketing Manager. I worked at Wrest Point Casino in a very high up Senior Marketing Role and I thought “Yes!”, I can so get a job easily.
Mounties is a group of Entertainment Clubs across NSW which have an Australian Wide reputation and they had the role for Marketing Manager. I went for it and met with the amazing Greg Pickering and his staff. They loved me and gave me the rubber stamp and from what I understood – one of the board members felt I was too young for the role and vetoed me.
Greg Pickering was this amazing man, even though I didn’t get the job – we kept in regular contact and I was a nobody from Hobart at the time. He even offered to go testimonial for me in other jobs I was applying for! What I cool man and he is a highly success mover and shaker in business scene – a man I greatly admire and look up too.
Think about this for a second. He is a high end successful business leader and I AM A NOBODY (well then at least) and he was supporting me and helping me. He would make amazing amounts of money and he is so down to earth and awesome. A great role model for us all as I know people on $50K / Year that think they are great and love putting people down. Greg is one of those guys you can’t help but looking up too. He has got the money and results and he uses it for good!
Anyway back the the story – at the time it was an interesting experience for me and this feeling I had (which came very true) was I knew it was my last ditch effort to get back into a decent Corporate Job. There wasn’t much going and it was an amazing role. When I didn’t get it and just lost out to another party, I KNEW it was the end of my career!
Following that was a lot of pain, unemployment, relationship breakdowns and very long term suffering for me. But that is another story for another time. That pain and desperation made me the entrepreneur I am today and it was this “Fork in the Road” moment. I sometimes think, if I got that Mounties Marketing Manager job who would I be today? What would have happened? What would have been the alternate future to the people I have helped and worked with?
Some interesting soul searching and the whole Star Trek style “Alternate Timelines” for me to dream about. What I can say however is that even though they were some of the toughest years of my life, I was amazed by the kindness from awesome people like Greg. I can also hope to be as awesome as him and continue helping others! As for my rejection, as my life rocks now – I LOVE IT! Would I suffer it all again, yes of course – it’s so worth it.
Thank you from Edward Zia – Small Business Marketing Mentor, that almost still would be a Corporate Marketing Manager! x x
And thank you Greg Pickering from Mounties! You are one amazing man and you are a big role model for me!
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