Written by: James Lovas

Dale Carnegie in his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living wrote that one of the best ways to fight worry and find happiness is to "Find yourself and Be Yourself". He says "Never before, since the beginning of time, has there ever been anybody exactly like you; and never again throughout all the ages to come will there ever be anybody exactly like you again." (Carnegie 134). I found that a big part of being myself is embracing my love of learning and training. Through a few of my stories I hope to encourage you to embrace who you are.

Find Your Place of Peace

Back in 2019, I needed to find a new home. Finding the right place is stressful! My girlfriend Lindsey went with me on the apartment search and helped me understand that it's okay to be honest with myself about what I really liked. Snapping turtles!

The place I picked is right next to a park where I snapped that photo of a snapping turtle. The park is a wonderful place for long walks to exercise my mind, body, and soul. It was liberating to embrace my love of walking. Find the place where you find peace and you'll find rest for your soul.

Find your Happy Work

For me my Happy Work is learning. The summer before my high school senior year, I attended Georgia's Governors Honors Program, where along with several hundred of my peers I took summer classes for the pure joy of learning. I felt so free at not being graded on my work. I could be creative, I could stretch myself, and I could choose subjects just because they were interesting. I learned that learning could be a way of life, and that summer I decided to make it so! Find your Happy Work and a sense of accomplishment will be always be yours.

Find How You Love Serving Others

In the autumn of 2020, my colleagues presented on the importance of a growth mindset, the mentality that never complacently accepts the status quo but always seeks to improve. I said to myself, "That's me! That's what I've been doing since high school. I find learning and growth so viscerally satisfying that I want to help as many other people as I can grow into the best versions of themselves!" Thus I wrote my career mission statement, "to nurture others' strengths to equip them to solve fun and interesting problems." Find how you love serving others and you can make a true impact.

Grow Loving Relationships

In the summer of 2021 I read Keith Ferazzi's book Never Eat Alone. For Ferazzi, the best way to achieve your goals is to  grow respectful, loving relationships with as many relevant people as you can. His ideas were like rocket fuel for my efforts to pivot my career to learning and training. I've gotten to know my organization's leaders in the learning and training space, and through them have found some fun opportunities like:

• Mentoring and coaching junior employees
• Facilitating onboarding training
• Transferring to supporting our global learning strategy as my full-time role

I joined ATD Atlanta to meet as many people as I can in the learning and training space! Grow deep relationships with others and you too will grow.

Find How to Tell Your Story

Last year I completed the Dale Carnegie Course in leadership and public speaking. In each course session, the participants tell a two minute story from their own experience. The story must end with a call to action, a principle on how to live better. 

I love reading history books. Every two weeks I illustrate a principle on love and leadership with a story from history or popular culture on my blog, Whimsical Learning (jameslovas.com). I love reaching and inspiring people. That's why I wrote this post! Tell your authentic story to a wide audience, and you'll find your tribe. 

I'm looking forward to getting to know the ATD Atlanta community and hearing y'all's stories!