What used to be written here was more of what I thought people might expect to see. But it wasn’t written in a way that I might actually talk to someone.
When I realized that most “About Us” or “About Me” pages are like that, I changed mine.
If you’re looking for my resume, labels, titles or list of accomplishments (aka, “blah, blah, blah”), please go ahead and visit my Linkedin profile.
If you want to know who I really am, here’s a little of what’s real about me:
I have two sons, Eddie & Jaden. They are my heroes, most trusted advisors and first priority. Always.
I adore my family. I am a 100% Mama’s Boy and I still want to be like my Dad when (if) I grow up. I have two sisters who are each incredible, strong women. One lives in Newfoundland and the other in the Northwest Territories, which I think is very cool.
My creative heroes are Walt Disney & Jimmy Buffett. Nobody understood what those guys were doing. They still don’t.
I am passionate about the music that lights me up and my favourite band will forever be a group called Extreme. I am irrationally attached to them and their music. I sometimes wonder if I have a subconscious commitment to be as widely misunderstood as they are.
I don’t care about sports the way I used to, but I grew up listening to Ernie Harwell broadcasting Detroit Tiger games on 760 WJR, so I will always keep a loving eye on them. I also follow the scores of the Toronto Maple Leafs & Miami Heat. And for a season of my life I worked in motorsports so I still enjoy following the NASCAR races, although the guy I cheered for (Kevin Harvick) retired in 2023.
I love to read. I usually have a couple of books going at a time (one in the morning and one at night) and enjoy listening to audio books or podcasts if I’m making a meal or doing laundry or mowing the lawn. I actually do this to a fault.
If I had to choose a last meal, it’d probably be a cheeseburger of some sort.
I’m totally into all kinds of things I used to think were stupid. Some examples: cold plunges, meditation, yoga, affirmations, mindfulness, spirituality, goal-setting … and drinking ridiculous amounts of water every day.
I have two middle names: William and Stewart. They are grandfathers’ names and I’m proud to have them.
”I don’t really watch TV unless its a Miami Heat game or a NASCAR race. I'll sometimes turn on PGA Tour golf because my dad has a few players in a golf pool so, naturally, I keep an eye on them and cheer them on because I know he's doing the same.
Okay, perhaps I lied. I must have watched through The Imagineering Story docuseries on Disney+ a half-dozen times. I’ll probably do the same with Light & Magic.
Things I still have sentimental attachments to, since I was a little kid: Mr. T, Kermit the Frog (I used to call him “Kurt the Throg”), Han Solo, Bugs Bunny, Popeye and the Millennium Falcon.
Whenever I see a red cardinal, I feel it’s my Grandma Newkirk’s spirit.
I don’t have a favourite colour or number and I don’t think I’m superstitious.
The book “Conscious Living” by Gay Hendricks changed my life.
“Ask and It Is Given” by Abraham, Jerry & Esther Hicks changed it again.
“Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer changed it for a third time, along with Wim Hof, who has me breathing deeply, taking cold showers and jogging through the snow … and enjoying it.
Okay, I lied. I like black (does that count as a colour? Okay … blue is second).
”2024 update: Most of my hair suddenly "left the chat" in the fall of 2023. Like, my entire head of hair fell out within about 10 days. Crazy, huh? Not to worry. I'm healthy. But now you know why I may have hair in some photos on this site (particularly in older blog posts) but not others. I'm pretty much used to it now. Turns out most people really don't care how you look. They care about how you make them feel.
If you happen to be, we should connect.
