Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?

We have had the good fortunate of connecting with Nobel Laureates, titans of industry, rockstars and rising stars across dozens of industries and we have always found their stories about who they were early on to be most fascinating. Below, you’ll find members of the community sharing their responses to this key aspect of their stories.

Joanna DeGeneres

I was a really creative kid. I grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and my memories are a lot of imaginative days painting rocks in the garden, playing ‘witches’ (or whatever games we could create) with my neighbors. Learning and reciting poetry, putting on shows for parents (I put them through a lot awful of lip-sync concerts in our attic). Read more>>

Sean Szatkowski

Just me, the dreamer and ‘the gamer’ who swings like he’s Sammy Sosa at the plate. I was either going hit a home run or go down swinging. Always marching to the beat of my own drum, for better or worse with a smile on my face and a joke on the tip of my tongue. Read more>>

Danielo Mendes

You know, the reason I have this mantra—STAYBAD, which stands for Beyond Any Definitions—is because I’ve never really let the world tell me who I had to be. Even as a kid, I was always the one following what felt right to me—being the class clown, expressing myself through dance, and just doing things that made me feel alive. Read more>>