Talking to People with Passion
A short conversation with Phil Gerbyshak (yeah, that's me)
Recently I got to spend a little time with Karen Putz of Ageless Passions, about what I am passionate about. Karen asked some great questions about how I define passion, what I’m most passionate about, and much much more.
Give it a watch below.
If you don’t see the video above, you can watch it directly on YouTube.
A little more about me that I shared with Karen and her people:
I am passionate about helping people monetize their gifts and skills while maintaining balance between work, home and self. I grew up a very poor kid in rural northeastern Wisconsin where my guidance counselor told me I should take easy math because I'd just end up working at the gas station. I went into the Navy out of high school to get out of my hometown and discovered the power of the Internet...at 2400 baud.
After 4 long years, I got out, went to college to be an elementary school teacher, and really discovered the power of the Internet while teaching classes in the computer lab. I built a very popular 80s website and dropped out of college to get a sales job at a local Internet Service Provider. I really learned about the power of the Internet and of helping people through sales. I moved from there to a job at a stock broker and built out the company's web services team to help our clients trade stocks and options online.
9/11 happened and I felt called to do more with technology, so I moved into an IT job. I got promoted a few times until I reached vice president. It was then Web 2.0 (blogs and social media came along). I started writing every day - sometimes 3 or 4 times a day - on my little blog and started speaking at conferences. It was then I met you Karen, and a bunch of other people that changed the trajectory of my life.
Writing, speaking and coaching people became my entire life and in 2008, I gave a 2 year notice to leave corporate America for the first time. 18 months later, my journey to full time entrepreneurship took flight. While I didn't get to do the management consulting I expected to do, the fact I could sell and teach others to sell online and offline became my new calling.
In 2015 I moved to Florida, and in July of 2021 I got married to a wonderful partner, my dear Stephanie, and immediately got 2 doggies and 2 kiddos. Life couldn't be better than it is now.
My most recent book Zero Dollar Consultancy was released in June of 2023 and it hit #1 in new releases for Consulting and Small Business books on Amazon. Currently I spend time with my wife, my kiddos, and my now 3 dogs in suburban Orlando, Florida where I get to work my passion - helping people monetize their skills and gifts while maintaining their balance between work, home and self. It's an amazing life, getting to write, and speak and coach full time, and a far cry from my hometown of 996 where I was predicted to work at the local gas station.