My Story So Far...

Let’s backup a bit.

Let me tell you a bit about myself. Or a lot, maybe too much.

I was born in Atlanta, lived in Tucson for a bit, and then returned to Atlanta. Since then I’d gone to the same small school from second grade all the way through high school graduation.

I was always curious, I still am today. I ended up joining and being a part of almost every club in high school. Spanish, Art, Debate, Thespian, Technology, Sports, Academic Honors. Ironically, by being a part of everything, it was difficult for me to find an identity and feel like I was a part of something. It wasn’t like I was necessarily good at all of these things either:

• My Spanish is not fully functional, please slow down and talk to me like I’m five if it’s going to be in Spanish. Thank you in advance.

• I’m not an Artist. I can appreciate good Art, but at this point I can only paint colorful squares for you.

• At Thespian Honors night, I remember receiving the “Most Improved” award. That means I was bad, but somehow got less bad. How bad was I? Haha I don’t want to think about it anymore than I have to.

• In Debate, I went to the National Debate Tournaments - having been dragged a bit into doing impromptu pieces or speaking on political policy. I ended up being so concerned about my ability to perform, that I sat through most of these. I learned a lot of interesting points of view from some really smart kids though.

• Technology - I always liked computers. Ever since I was a kid, I’d play I SPY on our 1998 Hewett Packard for hours on end. I even played Typing Instructor games…for FUN! If you don’t know Typing Instructor - check it out - I’ll never find another game where you can ride bikes over volcanos by typing, and if you aren’t fast enough the rider will fly right into the lava and yell. So dark. So violent for a young boy. Regardless, it wasn’t like I had some kind of amazing proficiency with technology.

• Sports - I played a lot of sports growing up. Baseball, Basketball, Tennis for a spell, and my one true passion - Soccer. By the time High School rolled around, I had quit baseball with tears in my eyes and told my father (who had played semi-pro) that I didn’t want to play it anymore. I wanted to focus on soccer. The freedom in the sport and the pure athleticism are things that I will always admire. I was good at soccer, can’t say I am now - and sports in general are oftentimes things that are remembered after high school as a great past-time. We tend to enjoy them through our progeny or watching professionals on television. I still love going out and kicking a ball around, love it.

• Academically, I used to be academically sound. I had scored in a very high percentile in math for my PSATs, and performed very well up until my Sophomore year in High School…

That’s when things went south for a bit for me. When I say for a bit, I really do mean more like from that point onwards until I had finished college, and possibly later. Things started occurring to me that really changed my outlook on life and my own abilities.

1. My grades started to slide. A lot. What the hell? The one thing I was able to rely on - especially in math, took a nosedive .

2. I began to struggle to stay awake throughout most of the day. During lunch breaks or study periods, I’d fall asleep in a corner. I was punished on multiple occasions for not focusing in class.

3. I’d wake up in the morning and usually get sick, and then before any kind of exercise - P.E. or any Soccer game I had, I’d get sick before the exercise, and then go play.

4. Social anxiety / depression / irritability- Now, I understand that this can happen to anyone who is high-school aged. This was different for some reason. I used to be a very cheery, outgoing personality, but found myself eating lunch alone, wondering the halls alone, staying home, and fighting with myself. I spoke with Psychologists, but my parents and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

5. Loss of appetite. I stopped eating the large quantities of food that one would expect for a high-school aged teenager. I’d eat small bites of food and feel full.

   Time passed and I graduated from grade to grade, with the symptoms progressively getting worse. I continued to just push through.

    

   Something was wrong, but at the time - I had just assumed that this was me, and this was normal.

   After lots of testing, avoiding unnecessary gallbladder removal, an ultrasound, and endoscopy and blood tests - and the most thanks to my determined parents, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease was the diagnosis - right before I headed off to College.

From the beginning of my college career to the end and even through my early professional career - this was a life that I am continuing to try and figure out. I’m grateful to the friends that I had made during my time there, they were supportive to me in ways they probably didn’t realize. If you all ever do read this - thank you for being my friend.

I’ve come a long way from where I had started.

Every misstep in the past became a failed test, or a missed class, a lost friend, a conversation with a boss, or just a feeling of completely being lost and alone.

Today, a misstep is an alarm for me to take some probiotics, go exercise, start drinking excessive amounts of caffeine (to negate lethargy), and a couple other things. It took time and extreme scrutiny with my own diet, and a rigorous method to detect gluten, avoid gluten, and in any unfortunate circumstances - curb my personality and avoid things that can negatively impact my mood. (Look up “Glutened” in the urban dictionary for some fun definitions)

Fast forward to today - I graduated from a good school with an MBA, and I am working in a professional career as a consultant.

This takes us to today, and why I think when it comes to my own personal Breakthrough Blueprint - my credibility is my experience with Celiac Disease, and my business ideas oftentimes come from things I’d want to solve in my own life.

I hope this helps at some perspective on my own life, and I hope you continue to join me on this journey together.

This week - I’ll start providing my ideas and how I plan on approaching them from a Business Standpoint.

-Sean Zottnick