Our discussion today centres on mentorship, storytelling, and what it actually means to lead. I had the distinct privilege of conversing with Sam Thiara, Adjunct Professor at SFU's Beedie School of Business and founder of Ignite the Dream Coaching and Consulting, whose career began with 86 rejection letters and a job as a hospital janitor before spanning ICBC, the Vancouver Olympic Bid, and 22 years at Simon Fraser University.

Throughout our dialogue, we examined why leadership is determined not by title or position but by whether others choose to follow, and why Sam draws a firm distinction between transactional networking and genuine relationship building. We further explored the frameworks he has developed over roughly 5,500 one-on-one conversations, including his CARE model, the practice of intentional pausing, and the anchor points that guide his decisions.

Sam's insights offer a grounded counterpoint to conventional career advice, reminding us that the journey itself, rather than the destination, is where the meaningful work occurs.

Takeaways:

• Sam Thiara has mentored thousands of students and professionals over 26 years with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's Leaders of Tomorrow program.
• Leadership is a lifestyle rather than a position, and it is the people around you who determine whether you have earned the title.
• Being overlooked early in his career shaped a lasting commitment to giving anyone, from high school students to CEOs, his time and attention.
• Understanding who you are must precede deciding what you want to do, as the latter tends to materialize once the former is clear.
• Intentional pausing and non-negotiable anchor points provide direction when opportunities and setbacks arrive unexpectedly.
• Organizations frequently falter by treating people as secondary to process, overlooking the strengths individuals naturally bring.
• A single blank puzzle piece, given to more than 5,000 people worldwide, serves as a reminder that no one is meant to navigate the journey alone.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Sam's coaching: https://www.sam-thiara.com/coaching/

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade: https://www.boardoftrade.com/

Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sthiara/

Leadership is a lifestyle, and who you are as an individual, how you treat people, and how you show up.

The others around you determine are you worthy of that title.

And I'm sort of thankful, you know, with regards to having started as a janitor, because it really provided me the solid base and grounding that I could then move forward from.

Instead of trying to wait for someone to rescue you, you have to help yourself.

Today's guest is Sam Tiara Attend adjunct professor at the SFU Beedie School of Business and founder of Ignite the Dream coaching and consulting.

For 25 years, Sam has mentored students and young professionals through the Leaders of Tomorrow program, work that started not long after he collected 86 rejection letters and took a job as a hospital janitor.

Today we talk mentorship, storytelling, and what it actually means to lead.

Welcome to the A list.

All right, so Sam, like, you and I, we met back.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You were running the student engagement office at the time.

Yep, sfu.

And I was just a student figuring out my life as a captain of JDC west at the time, running around.

In a superhero costume.

I still remember Power Ranger.

Oh, yeah, for sure.

See, no, I always talk about how do you go from being visible to memorable?

You're memorable.

Out of the thousands that I've gotten to know, I still remember the.

The Power Ranger uniform.

So we were chatting a little bit about Sam's background, and he actually started as a janitor.

Now I'm curious, like, what did that teach you?

And how have those skills sort of kept up with you as you've grown in your.

Yeah.

Influence.

Well, I mean, think of it this way.

I mean, it was a traditional route.

You go to school, you graduate across the stage, get your degree, and then it's like, okay, I'm going to apply for jobs.

And I think my realization was the fact that nobody was there to support and guide us.

You had to figure things out on your own.

And, I mean, I went in with this attitude of, like, you know, who's lucky to get me?

Because I have a degree in business and political science, and what a great combination.

And, you know, I sat down, I sent out about 12 letters to companies and, okay, who's lucky to get me?

And actually, it became, actually, am I lucky to get a job?

But then after all of those rejections, I wound up getting a job as a janitor and mopping floors and emptying rubbish bins.

But three valuable lessons that I learned from being a janitor, which I think a lot of people overlook.

The first lesson was my father said, I don't care what you do, you do the best job possible.

So there was no floor cleaner then at the end of my shift and no rubbish been left full.

And I still carry that to this day.

That whole mindset of pouring myself in the quality of work.

The second valuable lesson is I would get on the elevator at times with nurses, doctors, administrators, and you were ignored because you're not a professional, you are a janitor, a blue collar.

What that really taught me was instead of, you know, looking at individuals based on titles or based on presence of what they're doing to me, it doesn't matter who they are.

I just know what it felt like to be ignored.

And this is the reason I've done approximately 5,500 conversations to date.

Because anybody, and it doesn't matter if you're a high school student to a CEO, you want to sit down and have a conversation.

I'm going to sit there and listen.

I'm going to be there to support the journey.

I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I will support you.

And that's a valuable lesson I learned that carried me into SFU where anybody could come to my office and I will have a conversation.

And the third valuable lesson was instead of focusing on I have a degree on my wall and at the same time being a janitor and poor me, like this isn't where it was, you know, supposed to happen, focused on, but what am I?

This is the starting point, not the end.

What can I learn from being a janitor?

And if I can go in with a mindset of what can I learn for anybody, whether you're in school, whether you're a recent grad, a young professional, mid level manager, CEO, what are you learning every day that's going to help you in your journey as you accumulate it.

So that's the journey and those are the things I learned.

Well, it is the journey, not the destination.

Absolutely.

And you certainly have shone a light on others successes and helped people grow throughout the SFU community and the broader business community over the years.

And it's been fun to build alongside you through social work at the Alumni Association.

I think why we've always gone on so well is we're very much focused on how do we help the community grow.

Absolutely.

And it's less about like the personal ambition.

Like those things I think can come if you do good work.

But, but you always need to lead with what are you gonna get out of this experience, how are you gonna learn regardless of whether you're mopping the floors or whether you're speaking in front of a room, it's like, how do you provide the best value and create the most impact?

Oh, no, for sure.

And I think equally the idea is that there's a need for people to focus on the journey, as you mentioned.

Cause I think the journey is really where the essence that we miss a lot because we're so focused on how do I get to the next point moving forward.

And, and I'm sort of thankful and you know, with regards to having started as a janitor, because it really provided me the solid base of grounding that I could then move forward from.

Yeah, and let's talk a bit about that transition.

So, you know, you, you've been involved with SFU for over 20 years and you worked in student engagement.

You've, you've taught which experiences impacted you the most and how has the, your contribution to the institution evolved over time?

Yeah, I think when I applied, and this is a part about, you know, I always tell people you're visible, but how do you get to being memorable?

I applied eight times to sfu.

No interviews, but I knew I had to be there.

But I kept showing up, volunteering, like speaking in the classroom, mentorship, or, you know, being a part of bridging online, but I kept showing up.

And then I remember on the, around the ninth time I was going to apply for a job and somebody said, look, has anyone ever talked to this guy?

And they were like, no.

And then they said, well, let's bring him in.

And I had a 45 minute interview.

30 Minutes later they called me and said, no, no, you're hired.

And that's where the journey started in student engagement.

Because they said, look, our students are coming to school and going home, but nobody is really creating a community here.

And I really appreciated what the Beatty School of Business provided me, which was, here's a budget, engage them.

And I got to do whatever I needed to do to engage.

And at that point it was being, you know, an intrapreneur where people said, no, you can't do this.

It was more like, no, here's what we're going to do.

And we actually got to see a transition from when I first started where it's disengagement to where students are now coming to our school going like, I have to be involved.

And funny enough, on Tuesday, I had a conversation with one of our alums who was there when I got there 22 years ago.

And we've somewhat kept in touch.

But what I appreciated, he said, look, you know, I remember what it was like before the work we started doing in student engagement.

I look at it now, and it's a totally different environment where there's so much thriving and so much going on.

So those who are coming in now, or those who have been there last 10, 15 years, I don't think they really understand what it was like back in the day.

And then once the student engagement piece, then they said, look, you know, I know you're probably thinking of leaving sfu, which I started thinking about, time to move on.

A lot of the work's been done here.

And they said, but what about the alumni piece?

Because how about we create the undergrad alumni piece?

You've engaged them.

And I was like, okay.

So I did that for about a year and a half, and again, it was more like, okay, I've pushed things along, and things are now perpetually moving along.

Maybe it is time to move on.

They said, no, no, no.

Okay, how about we get you to start teaching?

So they've always kept me, and now even this latest time where they ran out of classes for me, so.

We'll make you into an adjunct professor.

So you're still connected to the school.

And I greatly appreciated the fact that I'm still part of that community.

And really, for me, it's also been the fact that it was always about the students and now the alumni as well.

And I don't want them to go through what I went through.

I think people still have to have their bumps and bruises along the way with regards to setbacks, because if you don't have a setback, how are you going to know success?

What would you say are, like, the three most common takeaways that students took from that class?

Because I was in air cadets as a kid, I participated in many leadership programs.

I didn't have the pleasure of taking your class, but I'm curious what people from business, young undergrads, and perhaps non business people would take away from an OB class, especially as it relates to leadership and organizations.

It's always interesting because people aspire to this thing called leadership.

My take is a total shift in that area because I get people coming to me saying, look, I want to be a leader.

What are some of the things I need to do?

And as a coach, my background is asking questions.

So I said, why'd you come to me?

And they Asked these beautiful questions.

Sorry, these beautiful words of, you know, you're this, you're this, you're that.

And I said, no, thank you.

But none of those things make me a leader.

There's only one thing, and I like how they start leaning forward because you're just about to give them that piece that is missing for them.

It's followers.

So leadership is not a place, position, or title.

It's not what's on your door that gives you a title.

That's a title.

Leadership is a lifestyle, and who you are as an individual, how you treat people and how you show up, the others around you determine are you worthy of that title.

To me, that's leadership.

So there are people who may not see me as a leader, and then there are other people who would see me as a leader, but that applies to anybody.

With regards to, you know, those lessons that you learned, I mean, that was probably one of them.

Is that leadership.

You know, sometimes you're a leader, sometimes you're going to be a follower, and that's okay.

The other lessons that I think were really important were, you know, instead of trying to figure out what you want to do, and this course to, you know, is another tick box with regards to your curriculum that you have to do instead.

I want you to focus on.

On.

Throughout my class, actually throughout the entire semester, who are you as opposed to what you want to do?

I think people are so focused on what they want to do, they never really get a glimpse or an understanding of who they are.

So I used to open up that avenue by having them work on personal statements in week two, and then we revisit at week 12 with all of the work in between to really focus on who are you?

Because the.

What you want to do is going to materialize.

Mm.

And then the third thing that I think is really important, again, whether you're either in school or in industry, and it doesn't matter what level.

You know, I've done about 5,500 conversations approximately to date, and I can tell you categorically, there are two things that are missing, which I build into my class, but I also build into my coaching sessions.

The first thing is intentional pausing.

People are so focused on just moving forward.

Intentional pausing is, have you taken the time to slow down, not stop, but slow down, to reflect on, on the journey you're on?

What am I picking up?

What am I learning?

How does this matter to me?

And what.

Where is this going to take me?

And combined with that are anchor points.

Anchor points are those things that you're not willing to negotiate on that makes up your foundation of who you are.

I'll give you an example.

So for me, my five things that I'm not willing to negotiate on servant leadership, story sharing, activator, igniter, champion enabler, and a creative collaborator.

Now, you've known me for many years now.

Would you say that that's reflective of who this person is?

Spot on.

Okay, 100%.

I've got 29 projects I'm working on.

None of them feel like work.

All 29 projects hit five out of five and they actually blend in to my three categories of speaking, writing and coaching.

The idea is that I focused on not the final destination, it's the journey.

But the thing is, now opportunities come to me based on the confidence that you have in what you hold.

So those are the three things that I really try to emphasize in my class or in my coaching sessions.

And it doesn't matter all the way to CEOs.

Anyone's willing to listen.

Those are the three key elements about leadership.

It's about, you know, who you are, not what you want to do.

And about the intentional pausing and anchor points.

Big takeaway there for sure, because self reflection.

We talked about this on a previous pod with a legal friend of mine, and I think not enough people, particularly in the business world, do that.

Self reflection.

It's way easier to focus on KPIs and metrics and less on who am I and what value can I actually provide to this with being my authentic self?

And that I think is a.

A misstep among many businesses because they're not actually being intentional about where can people excel?

And like, even in my own company, I try to think, all right, where is everyone their best self and let's keep them in that area and if they want to grow, awesome.

Give them that flexibility to do that.

But where do you see there being challenges with sort of the large organizations and what are the missteps that they take on a regular basis?

You see?

And that lead to sort of tripping over opportunities in community building.

Right.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that, you know, they're operating a business.

And sadly, I think people come second.

You know, I mean, when there are budget cuts, the first thing cut is training is reduction of staff.

More emphasis and work are pushed onto other people now who are already strained.

I think the important part that I've noticed and the work I do with some of the companies is about the alignment of this of the people.

So there's a Test that I use an assessment tool.

And I really like this assessment tool.

And again, I've used it right with high school students, to CEOs and even the person I.

Another person I just had a conversation with prior to it, I said, okay, you did the high five test.

What did you think of the results?

And she goes, oh, my gosh, it was spot on.

The high five test, what I appreciated about it is it's strengths based.

In other words, it's based on what are you really good at and your possibilities.

It's not like doing an assessment tool that categorizes you.

These are your five key strengths.

It'll also tell you your five complimentary skills or strengths, your five tertiary strengths and your five weaknesses.

And I like to share that with people in the office, depending on how big the company is, so that they get an understanding of, you know, where this person is best suited, what are their strengths and what are they naturally talented at.

It's, it's about the possibilities and the strengths as opposed to what the deficits are.

And if you.

And the best part is the test is free now.

$40, Because High5 wanted to make it where it was accessible to anybody.

$40 Gives you a full detailed report.

But now if you walked away with that detailed report, you have a strong understanding of who you are.

How does the work align to you, what's missing or where do you see?

Yeah, my natural talents are this, I think with the words that I got.

Mine was catalyst, empathizer, coach, optimist.

And I always forget the fifth one.

But the, the five words that I got spot on.

But I have a very strong emphasis of, well, those are the things that has helped me.

But then when I share that with others or organizations, whether it's a one on one coaching or I do it as a workshop for a group of people, it starts opening their eyes because then they were like, okay, so this person's really great at this and this person's better at this.

How do we bring it together?

Yeah, well, it's one thing to take the test, but it's another thing to map skills with opportunities in business.

So I can see there being a ton of value there for some of the organizations you've worked with.

You've been known.

And I received a puzzle piece.

I felt so bad I was trying to find it, but I've moved so much from the time I was a student.

I don't actually still have it.

But why do you give a puzzle piece to the people that you meet?

Right.

And we can fix that, because I actually do have the puzzle pieces with me.

Fantastic.

No, so the idea behind that is it all came out of an event that I was hosting where it was like, how am I going to connect everybody together at this event?

There was about 100 people there, and they all came and, you know, when we.

When they were walking and I wanted to.

How do I connect them?

And I, you know, as they walked in, I gave them a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle, which now you have.

It's.

And I love the fact that it's plain, it's white.

It is.

Because what it allows you to do is it's blank, and it gives you a chance to build what you want.

I love it.

Okay, good.

But there's a little bit of blue there.

Okay, There you go.

But the idea behind it is, if I give somebody a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle, what can they do with one piece?

Not much.

Okay.

But that's what people feel like.

They feel like a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

They don't know where they fit in.

They don't know what the bigger picture is.

And it's ordinary, but magically, and I tell them, magically, I'm going to make that one piece extraordinary because we're always focused on that.

But instead, let's focus on where this puzzle piece came from, which is from me.

If you and I don't stay connected, my puzzle will never be finished.

There will always be one empty spot.

So it's an important and a reminder that, you know, you are part of something bigger.

I've given over 5,000 pieces in the world to remind people how much they matter.

And it's interesting.

I've had people say they've taped it to their mirror.

Every morning I wake up, it reminds me, somebody said, I matter.

It's in backpacks traveling around the world.

It's in curio boxes and picture frames.

It's in wallets.

And 15 years later, people are saying, look, I still have that.

Even yesterday or two days ago, I met or no, yesterday, I met with somebody.

She said, it's actually in with all my prized possession jewelries.

Like the things that are sentimental to me.

Your puzzle pieces in there.

So I give it as a reminder of, you know, rather than focusing on that one piece.

And, you know, you're connected to over 5,000 people right now.

You may not know who they are, but it enables you to frame it in that piece of your area, your mind of.

But I'm supported, and I've had people who have gone through difficult, dark times in their life, and this didn't get them out of depression.

But what they've told me is when the world had caved in on me, I remember seeing the puzzle piece and holding it.

It didn't get them out of depression, but they said.

But it reminded me I'm supported.

And the fact that I've got this huge community of people who actually don't know me, but they care about me, you know, and it's so simple, yet so profound.

And for me, I think what I really appreciate is most times I just see a transformation on a person's face when they receive it because they're always looking at the single piece but not realizing the larger emphasis or the larger meaning and purpose behind it.

Yeah, it's a beautiful idea, Sam.

I haven't seen anyone else think in that way where there's the physical representation of us being all connected and then the community aspect.

I look forward to the puzzle party when we build our puzzle piece members together and we can finally see what this is going to look like.

No, there's multiple puzzles.

The first puzzle was only 500 pieces.

In a month, it was finished.

I had to get more puzzles.

And everywhere I go, I have no idea which puzzles these are coming from now, but.

But we could do multiple puzzles.

And, you know.

Yeah.

Somebody with a tech background said, wouldn't it been great if we just GPS encoded all of them?

Oh, for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Then it would be much easier to bring everyone together.

Yeah.

Or you could use NFTs or something like that.

Yes.

Quick pause here.

If you're enjoying this conversation, go check out the other episodes of the A list.

We've got founders, CEOs, and leaders from across Canada sharing the real stories behind how they got there.

All right, back to it.

So, yeah.

So, Sam, you've built a framework, the five A's.

Well, I didn't bring.

Sorry.

I didn't necessarily create it, but I really embraced it.

And just for those who haven't heard of it, absent, aware, accepting, active, and advocate.

Can you walk me through how you landed on those five stages as being important?

Yeah.

And again, it relates to the leadership aspect because again, I think everybody is an individual.

And all the way from absent to advocate.

You know, if you go with absent, they're not even aware of what's going on, and they just go through their life all the way to advocate, which is, you know, you're there, you're going to be an advocate.

You're not just looking for the opportunities and, you know, acceptance.

You're actually going to be present, but you're also going to be looking for opportunities to work and help and support the community.

I would say that for myself, I'm at the advocate place most times and advocate wise, it even goes back to this care framework that I came up with.

And, and a lot of this stuff comes from reflection because I was thinking about this and I said, okay, but you know what can help in a lot of the work I'm doing?

And a word that popped in my mind was, there's a need for us to care.

But what CARE stands for is collaboration, adaptability, resilience, empathy.

Collaboration means I can't do everything by myself.

And I used to be afraid to ask people for help, but I realized if I want something to happen, I actually cannot be afraid to ask people for help.

I know what I'm good at.

I know what you might be good at or asking, what are you really good at?

And if we pool our resources together, I feel more supported and the fact that there's more strength than me trying to do something I'm not that great at.

So collaboration is actually really important.

When we collaborate, the environment will shift and change.

We fear being adaptable or change because it can be scary.

But when you're supported, you can face being adaptable because collaboration means we bring more strength together.

And I've got others to work with, so let you know we can be adaptable.

We're on a journey, so collaboration brought us together.

Adaptability says okay, now let's begin the journey because we are supported and we're going to respond to the environment.

But resilience is this whole piece of there's going to be setbacks.

How can I recover from this?

How can we recover from this?

And it's funny that all of that relates to collaboration.

Adaptability and resilience are all blended together.

And it's almost like empathy comes as a wave back to the beginning.

Empathy is this whole idea of how am I looking after myself, how am I looking after the people around me?

So it's all about, you know, this whole care concept that blends into helping me be an advocate.

And, you know, it's interesting to see where do people think they are, but where they really are on that stage with regards to, you know, even, are you even aware of what's going on?

Are you advocating, are you, you know, able to jump in and help when you're called upon?

Like, where are you in the whole spectrum?

But it also means that if you're at the bottom end.

Okay.

Maybe there's one or two things you could do to get into the awareness phase, you know, to help.

Yeah.

And I think it depends where someone's at in their journey.

Like, if you think you talked of, you know, international students coming to sfu, it's impossible to be an advocate when you're just sort of, like, figuring out who you are and where you are.

But I can speak with confidence to say that your advocacy helps others care.

Yeah.

For their communities because they become involved, they become committed, they be.

They recognize the value of those connections.

So, yeah, that's interesting framing.

And I think one that many of us could reflect on and remind ourselves of, like, why we're here, why we're doing what we're doing, and how interconnected we all are to each other's success.

Absolutely.

And I think the five A's that you talked about there, I think the other important part is not just realize where we are in that spectrum, but do you want to elevate to the next level?

And if you want to elevate, how can you elevate to the next level?

It almost becomes this piece that says, okay, maybe I need to reach out to a not for profit, or maybe I need to get a bit of training in this area so I could join the board of that not for profit and move a level up as opposed to just.

You know, funny enough, I just did my thought provoking Thursday on LinkedIn on the Leaf and the stick.

And what I meant by that was, you know, I was reflecting by a stream.

Not in an orange saffron robe with a beard and just sitting there doing a mantra.

But I just was sitting there and there was a leaf in the.

In the water.

And the leaf just sort of maneuvered its way through the, you know, between the rocks and everything, because it was nimble, it was agile, and, you know, didn't get stuck anywhere.

And while I was sitting there, I also noticed that there was a stick, but the stick was caught up because it's more rigid and it's almost like.

Well, on the one hand, you should be more like the leaf, more agile and nimble and able to maneuver.

Yeah.

Okay.

Then the stick.

But then the bigger piece came to me is actually.

But the stream is guiding that leaf and the stick.

But the stream is guiding it.

Actually, we need to be the stream, ideally.

Yeah.

For sure.

Where we're guiding whatever needs to happen.

Yeah.

Interesting.

But I think sometimes we're.

You know, many people I come across, they feel like the stick which is I'm stuck here sometimes that they're a leaf, and then they.

They're like, yeah, I'm going, but I'm not sure the direction.

Right.

And.

And sometimes you need to be the stream.

Well, you should be the stream, which is like, no, this is where I'm going to be guiding people.

Right.

And that's.

As a coach, I feel like I'm the stream.

But equally, the intentional pausing and the anchor points makes that stream.

Right.

Well, and at times in life, you probably want to be the leaf or the stick.

Right.

Depends on, like, you can't change the wind, but you can change your sails would be an analogy I might use.

And of course, we'd all like to be the stream, but at points in our life, perhaps we don't have the influence or life throws things at you that you don't expect.

And so you want to try to flow things in the right direction, but sometimes it just isn't working.

No.

And.

And to be fair, on the leaf at that point.

No.

And.

And to be fair as well, like, I'm a person.

I. I've done corporate, and my realization is I can't do corporate.

I.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't know about that.

Yeah, I can't do corporate.

So for me, it's more like you.

Instead of being on a highway, I just went and created my own pathway.

I mean, I handed in my resignation notice to a corporate job, and I left all the securities, and everyone said, you just made the biggest mistake of your life.

I needed to know what was on the other side of the fence.

But I didn't just jump off a cliff.

No, What I did was I was very mindful and thoughtful of the next.

Whatever I needed to do.

So I had the intentional pausing and the anchor points, which were really important to me.

And I truly do believe that there are people who.

They just want that structured life.

They want to be the stick in the water.

And that's totally fine if that's really what matters to you.

And some people, they're okay with being a leaf.

Just because I'm the stream doesn't mean that it's what everyone should aspire to, for sure.

It really is understanding.

And, you know, as a coach, it's more of not making them realize, yes, my life is what you need.

It's how do.

How do we work to make your life the best what it is, you know, and that could be a stick, it could be a leaf, or it could be the stream.

Now, Sam, you also have been quite involved with the Board of Trade and the Leadership Leaders of Tomorrow program.

I think you're one of the founding.

Members 26 years ago.

How has that program evolved over the years?

How has that impacted, well, the way you see leadership?

Well, the reason I'm still part of it is I'm still trying to be rookie mentor of the year.

After 26 years, it still hasn't happened, you know.

Oh, man.

Well, sometimes it's not based on who's best, but who knows who, right?

So.

But I think when I got involved 26 years ago, again, I think it reflects the fact that I never had a mentor and I had to figure things out and I started getting involved.

I really appreciated the fact that, you know, it was an area where you have these bright, enthusiastic people wanting to, you know, gain insights.

And, you know, I just have found that there's been so much value that has gone through the program, and it's, you know, had some shifts, some modifications to it over the years.

But ultimately, you know, they still are really focused on their four pillars, which is networking, which I have always said is relationship building, mentorship, volunteerism, and leadership.

And I find that for me, those are four pillars that, you know, helps an individual who's just starting out to go from being visible to memorable and their experience on their trajectory of integrating into, you know, events and meeting people.

And you're getting a mentor, it accelerates the growth.

But one thing I will always say over the 26 years is what you put in is what you're going to get out of the program.

Because there have been people who have, like, either disappeared or never really got much out of it, but they never really got involved or being a part of that program.

So what you put in is what you're going to get.

And I always use the analogy at Leaders of Tomorrow that, you know, think of, you know, a tube of toothpaste.

And, you know, when you're at the very end of that toothpaste, when you're about to chuck it in the bin, but you still squeeze it and a little bit comes out, you're like, okay, tomorrow I'm going to chuck it in the bin.

At nighttime, I think there's a vortex of toothpaste out there in the universe.

And for whatever reason, in the morning, you see it on the counter and you were gonna chuck it in the bin, but you're like, ah, let me squeeze it.

You squeeze it, and a little bit of enough comes out, and you're like, okay, maybe I'll chuck it out later tonight.

Mentorship is Very much like your tube of toothpaste, your mentor.

You can squeeze them and think that you've gotten as much as you need out of them, but they will always keep giving you more, just like a tube of toothpaste, but never call your mentor a tube of toothpaste.

Well, and I hope that as mentees, you do think, how can you thank your mentors over the years?

Right.

So, yeah, like you, you've provided so much guidance, even to myself and others in my community that I. I care about.

So anything I can do to kind of help elevate the work that you do.

For those that have not checked out any of Sam's writing or his ignite the dream consulting, I recommend taking a look.

I.

He truly cares about anyone he touches.

And I'm fortunate to have spent time with him over the years and grown to where I'm at.

Well, no, I appreciate that.

And equally, the life has been a journey.

Like, you start out on that corporate journey and you wind up in a totally unique, organic pathway.

And one thing I will say is like, you know, these are the 86 rejections I got when I graduated from university.

Okay.

And, you know, when I look at them, you know what I'm thankful for?

Two things.

Number one is the fact that these letters, if one of them would have materialized, I don't think I'd be sitting here with you today because my life would have gone in a different trajectory.

The other thing that I think is really important is the fact that many of these companies no longer exist, but I still do.

You're going to.

No.

If only they would have hired you.

Well, and the thing was that, that I think people are so focused on that aspect.

But no, you're going to outlast many of these companies.

So, you know, I'm glad that the letters actually in the beginning were hurtful or were, you know, taking a knock on my self confidence.

But now I look at it and I don't even know why I kept them.

They kept coming in.

And I guess anytime I get letters, I usually never toss them.

Like, do you know that in the 22 years at SFU, if somebody gave me a thank you card, it's in this giant box.

I can't throw away a thank you card.

Now, these were not thank you cards, but I have no idea why I kept them, but I'm thankful I did.

Let's make sure we send them a thank you card.

It'll be in the box.

It will be in the box.

Yeah.

I just can't get rid of a thank you card.

No, it's funny.

We.

We.

We've been doing these pods for about six or eight months now, and we got a give people something.

So we're actually going to start giving stuff soon.

I think we're going to mail stuff to those who we didn't so far, because you're sharing your time and expertise with us.

But that's.

That's very sweet, and I think it says a lot about your character that you not only look at an experience as an opportunity to learn, but also as a way to reminisce about why you made future decisions.

So the fact you've got these 86 letters packaged up and you can bring them as a physical reminder, I think that's.

That's really cool.

Now, of those rejections, were there any that you reconnected with those companies later, or was it sort of like the rejection that's done, move on?

I think it was more of the environment, dictated it.

In other words, you apply, didn't get it.

I got the letter.

Thank you.

But I got the letter.

You don't even get letters nowadays.

So I actually got physical letters.

But it wasn't a matter of, okay, I'm gonna reply or go back, because back then we didn't know you.

We.

You would even do that.

Yeah.

And then that's when the janitorial job came up.

And actually there was another job I had for half a day prior to being a janitor, a management training program.

Well, so, I mean, they listed it as a management training program.

So I got there and it was in Richmond.

And it's almost like a bit of a warehouse.

But, you know, the receptionist is there.

She said, oh, no, the manager will be here shortly.

And the door was closed, but you could hear the music in the background.

And he's pumping everybody up.

And afterwards he comes out and he said, no, it's welcome.

And, yeah, your management training program.

This and this and that.

And I was like, yeah, but I don't know much about this.

He goes, no, no, I've got somebody assigned to you.

The guy comes out, long hair, glasses.

He's got a van.

We go in a van and we go to offices to sell picture frames.

I'm going like, wait.

And he goes, yeah, no, and, you know, this is what we do.

And, you know, you could make it to the next level.

And I'm like, but what is the next level?

And, you know, I just said, you know what?

This isn't for me.

Can you drop me back at the office?

So half A day.

And then I got the janitorial job.

Yeah.

Wow, that's crazy.

No, but that's what I mean.

But, you know, you're scrambling to just try to find something and I get it.

I mean, I call it the had to do, have to do.

Want to do the first job out of university.

Like, I could give you the anchor points.

It might hit one out of five.

I tell people, don't quit the job totally.

But here's the thing.

It's the reverse engineering.

But now you know what's missing.

And can you bring in number two?

Like, in other words, maybe your company that you're at small operation, they have a community relations.

Sorry.

They do volunteer work and they have a community relations committee.

Well, I just joined, but could I join your committee?

Now you've hit two out of five.

So that's how you grow and as an individual.

So, you know, through the process, you know, the janitorial job, you know, working in retail for a year, realizing it, I could do it.

It's not me.

And then I got the corporate job where I went for the interview and the guy said, yeah, we have an immediate opening up in Smithers.

And I said, where's Smithers?

He goes, I don't know.

Let me check the map.

That was the HR guy.

So I went to Smithers for 18 months to take on the role in the corporate job, Government Crown corporation.

But after 18 months, I then moved back and I was doing that job for about six and a half years and then.

And then transitioned into road safety, community relations.

And oh my gosh, from this job doesn't fit to what I was doing to, oh my gosh, I love going to work on Mondays.

And it was so funny that I enjoyed going to work on Mondays, that my manager said, sam, you're going to have to curb your enthusiasm because people here don't like their jobs and you're having too much fun.

You know, I, and I told her.

I set the bar too high.

Well, and I said, oh, you know what?

It's community relations.

The less you see me in the office, probably the better job I'm doing.

So I was out in the out and about doing road safety work.

But it was just so funny the fact that, you know, you know, when you have those anchor points on the.

And the intentional pausing, you sort of know what's right and what's wrong for you.

But.

And what I highly recommend is you're not on the journey by yourself.

I will share that I'm a terrible entrepreneur because the 5,500 conversations I've had to date, never charged a penny.

I don't want that part of my life to feel like work.

And if I can say something or support someone and if they want to be connected to somebody that can help them get somewhere.

And just an hour ago I was meeting with somebody and I said, look, there's somebody.

I think I'm going to introduce you.

This person is going to do her cfa and I know somebody who's actually on the CFA society and the person in the CFA society, absolutely, I'll talk to them.

That's the stuff that you know.

And it doesn't matter who they are.

I don't want to charge for that.

Now if a company, and this has happened, has a coaching program, that part is paid like, I mean it's, it's within the, their budget and everything.

Okay, that part is fine.

But if it's a one off and it doesn't matter who they are.

Yeah, so I'll be a terrible entrepreneur and I'm okay with that.

Well, I think there's many ways to measure success, the impact you make in the community.

Certainly if we were to measure that, you're very high on the list.

Now, business models aside, I know that you also did some volunteering with the Olympics.

Yep.

Oh, no, no, I was actually working on the bid.

You worked on the bid?

Yeah, the bid committee to get the games to Vancouver.

I did all the.

I did in my part it was community consultation.

And how did your daily work tie into that?

I'm assuming volunteer position.

Well, so with regards to the.

I did the road safety, community relations job and then that transferred to.

So then I, yeah, took the buyout from the corporate job and took a jump off a cliff.

And two and a half months later I was working on the Olympic bid.

And you know, one of the most amazing, dynamic projects that I will ever work on.

There was no day off.

But you didn't feel like, oh man, I'm burnt out.

It was so exciting.

And then when the IOC visited, we were working 4am to midnight every day and they put us up in hotels.

And I still remember John Furlong and I driving to municipality, just the two of us in a car, and he was the CEO of the Olympic bid.

He said, sam, why do you want to be a part of this?

And I told John, I said, look, I want to be a part of something that unifies this country like nothing before.

And I love his words back to me, he says, you're in the right place.

But I've been with about 50 nonprofits over the years helping them navigate either as a board member, advisor, or, you know, an unpaid consultant, I guess you could say speaker, or even just as a volunteer.

And part of it is because what I've gained in experience, my realization is many of these non profits, most of them, I would say, don't have a sustainable model.

Everything is the traditional model.

I want them to become more entrepreneurial.

So it's like, if I can provide insights on or even gather some people together to help me resolve that, we'll do that.

I'm working on a project right now.

Well, multiple, but one in particular just randomly ran across a woman in Florida who's running her own little nonprofit, similar to the.

And I just said about the puzzle analogy, because she gives out random notes to people about encouragement and inspiration.

She quit her corporate job just to do this.

She wanted something more meaningful.

And it's interesting because we've connected and, you know, she's just starting out and I can see she's got more people she's following than followers on her Instagram account.

But I've seen slowly it's starting to elevate.

And I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to gather some individuals together to look at her social media, to look at her outreach.

How can we elevate her where she's now able to earn money because she's not earning revenue and a corporate job any longer?

I look at things like that and it's like, well, where can I step in?

And what can I either what can I do to help support it or help or, you know, who are the people I need to bring in that can actually help this individual to do more outreach?

Sam, you spent your whole career really helping inspire people to figure out what they want in their life and guiding them, making introductions where possible.

But what's next for you?

I think for me it's carrying on with, I guess, the intentional pausing and the anchor points for myself and opportunities as they emerge.

Like I said, There's 29 projects right now.

Some are small, some are massive.

There are personal projects.

Like I've got a short animated film that I'm working on on seniors isolation just because of personal experiences of going to care facilities.

I've also got my memoir, which is now a screenplay.

That's a huge production.

Like, that's a full feature film.

Wow.

I have no idea where that's going to go.

But, you know, even today I was speaking with somebody about potential.

Do you know any producers?

Sent a note to a producer who initially might have been interested.

I'm not sure if she still is, and working on international projects.

So for me, it's more of like, again, I've got the.

The boat and the sail.

Let's see what the wind is doing.

And that's where the intentional pausing, as well as the anchor points are going to be.

My North Star on the direction I want to go.

All it is is the fact that, you know, I'm much older in life, and it's more of making that impact and helping others realize that they can have this impact.

And at the end of my first TEDx speech, one of the things I reminded people is we really want to, you know, have an.

A permanent footprint.

And not just a footprint that disappears when the waves come in if you're working, walking on the sand.

At a younger age, I wanted to change the world.

I didn't know how, but I want to change the world.

But the older I got, the more frustrating it was because the world is complicated.

And instead of the dream disappearing, and again, without going into a very detailed story, there was an individual who I supported and helped, who, you know, he and his wife were not working their own welfare.

And I remember talking to him and he said, you know, our life has collapsed in the sense that, you know, we're reliant on welfare.

I can't provide for my daughter.

The world has collapsed.

So I helped with the resume, but equally, we had a good conversation that instead of trying to wait for someone to rescue you, you have to help yourself.

Anyways, five years later, never saw him again.

But I ran into the same guy, and he comes running and gave me this big hug.

And he said, look, I should have told you what happened.

I said, no, what happened?

He goes, after he left, we realized nobody's here to rescue us.

We have to figure this out.

But with the support and the resume and the help, he got a contract.

He said, no, you know what?

Things have improved.

My daughter's got her own room.

She's not sleeping on the floor.

We've moved.

Everything has come back together.

Our world is back together.

And it suddenly made me realize that instead of trying to change the world through my eyes, I. I want to change the world through the eyes of the people I help and not the way I think the world should be, but just by being present, asking them, helping them get where they need to go if they see the world differently because of who I am and what I've done for them.

I've changed the world because they see the world differently.

But the key element is I don't want to change the world based on how I think they should see it.

So I just show up, I'm present.

I just want to keep doing that and, and allowing people the opportunity of changing the world in the way that they think the world should be.

Well, Sam, you're certainly more patient than I, but I can say confidently that you have ignited many dreams and likely continue will continue to.

And one phrase that I'll always remember you whenever I hear is everyone's life is an autobiography.

Make yours worth reading.

Absolutely.

Thank you for inspiring us.

Thank you for being here today and for anyone that wants to follow along.

Sam T.R.

You can find him on LinkedIn or any other website.

Website, absolutely.

Just sam-theera.com I'm on Instagram as well as TikTok.

Funny enough, yeah, but I just do the walking or sitting there and inspiring words.

I think the it's stories with Sam that I'd like to share and it's about think the habits I now know.

But anyways, there's many platforms that you could find me on, but LinkedIn is usually simple and straightforward or my website.

Well, Sam, thank you so much for sharing more of your journey today and leadership lessons.

And that's Sam Tierra, everyone.

Thanks for joining for the A list.

Thank you.