For those who have helped me along the way back - Thank You

Motivation Monday

So... I'm going to get vulnerable to start the year. As some of you know, I am an emotional guy. However, when positive, these emotions have helped me to be a leader I aspire to be. My goal here is not brag or boast about my recent accomplishment of winning Manager of the Year. In fact, and it may seem corny to some, but my goal is inspire others to work, live and be the very best versions of themselves. It is ok to have struggled, fall down, and fail repeatedly - we all have done it. But what's most important is how we get up, react, response, and overcome these setbacks. I share this story to show you its possible.

If you met me 5 years ago, you wouldn't have recognized the man who stood before you. I could have cared less to talk to you, let alone look at you. My good attributes were nonexistent, and my problems endless. After a series of setbacks, failures, poor decisions, and bad behavior, I gave up. I didn't want to try anymore. I didn't want to try finding a fulfilling career, meaningful relationships with both friends or family, or improve my health. As my disappointment of repeated failures turned into resentment, my resentment turned into apathy. Live apathetic long enough and it turns into crushing depression. This led me down a lonely, dark road. I became very unhealthy, overweight, irritable, depressed, addicted and abusing drugs/alcohol, distant to loved ones, and worst of all, completely aimless in my life. A life without a goal or purpose is no life worth living.

But this isn't a sad story. Everyone loves a comeback...

There comes a point where you can't keep living the same way, expecting a meaningful change unless you take control of your life. So after years of constant negative thinking, always feeling sorry for myself, emotional abuse, and not believing I could make a change, I decided I had enough. I just couldn't do it anymore. I looked at myself and realized I was wasting my life. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of blaming everyone, everything and myself for my own unhappiness. I was tired of feeling like I was a victim of something I couldn't identify.

With the help of a few key people, I found the confidence and determination to get where I am today. Without these people guiding me, nudging me, criticizing me, inspiring me, taking chance on me, trusting me, pushing me, and holding me accountable,... I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity I needed. By managing me, these people helped me to realize I can manage myself to become a better person.

How this story relates to my award:

What I find most impactful and what I love the most in my career and life is this: I love being a people manager and inspiring others to be the best themselves. I wanted to share this award because it actually meant quite a lot to me - who I was and where I came from. This award is dedicated for those who helped me realize I could be more than just someone who aimlessly existed. They saw in me what I struggled to see for so long. I never thought years ago that I would be much of anything, let alone managing others. I am honored to be thought of and voted for this award, and I so thankful I have the best SDR team, boss and company that believes I help others as well. I still have A LOT to learn, but I am excited to continue this journey here at Omada Health. Luckily for me, I have the best manager of my own to teach, guide, support, critique, and mentor me. Thank you again Chris for this major opportunity and everything else you have given me over the last four years. Appreciate your generosity and friendship.

I will leave you with this: If you are struggling, don't hide it. You will be surprised how many people are willing to help out.

Be grateful.

And Never give up.

Let's have a great year.

Thank you,

Domenico

"Shelter in place has hit all of us hard. Staying engaged, excited and motivated requires extra planning, a tremendous amount of effort and outside of the box thinking. In uncertain times, we need consistency - consistent energy, consistent accountability, consistent fun. The 2020 Manager of the Year made it their mission to ensure we didn’t lose a beat during this transition. They created team spiffs and paid winners out of their own pocket. Scheduled daily morning meetings where morale was the only priority. They pushed teammates to block out every external distraction and maintain a singular focus on what was in front of them: hitting numbers. The result was managing a team to exceed quotas in every quarter while influencing other colleagues to do the same."