Personal Story Cycle by Kristopher Spector

Growing up I saw what it meant to be a successful business man from my grandfather and I knew that I wanted to make a lasting impact on this earth but the days of doing business of old are over therefore I have to adapt and understand the world of sustainability to become a successful sustainability change agent.
My grandfather owned the first dealership in Scottsdale, Arizona. Everyday after school I would go over to the dealership and that was when I knew I found my first love, automobiles. Cars and especially trucks was something I could not get enough of. Seeing these formidable machines produce such power while making you comfortable was something that always amazed me even at a young age.

At 18 I entered Southern Methodist University on a rugby scholarship and was studying business. Everything was going great until one day I tore my L4 and L5, immediately ruining my rugby career. This event brought me back to Arizona where I rehabbed for six months and decided to join ROTC at Arizona State University. I wanted to do something that had a purpose and the military was that calling. Unfortunately after nine months of trying to pass the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board I was deemed unfit for active military service due to my back.
So there I was 21 and two dreams of mine were crushed. I knew I had to get back up and find a passion, find something that I would make an impact in this world with. It was at this moment in my life I decided to enter the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Since that day I have spent my life bringing sustainability to the business community.

During the summer of 2014 I decided to go back to school to advance my education. I began looking at different MBA programs across the country. Then one day I was having lunch with an old sustainability professor who introduced me to the Executive Masters in Sustainable Leadership program at ASU. I investigated the program and decided EMSL was my calling, so I applied.
A month later I was sitting in the Phoenix airport when Jennifer Griffen at ASU, called me to let me know that I had been accepted in EMSL. At that moment I felt like a million dollars but then reality hit and a million pounds of pressure landed on my shoulders. The EMSL program was my calling over an MBA but how was I going to pay for it? How was I going to balance school, work and life? All of these questions began rushing through my head, but then I started to see the bigger picture and the doors that would open. Maybe my dream job would come from this and a company like Tesla would be in my future.

Working for Tesla is a goal I have had since the Model S was released in 2013. Here is a car that is perfect in every sense of the word; safe, reliable, fast, zero emissions and to top it off it is made in the United States. Helping change the automobile industry for good is something I know I can do.

At this same time I know I have to face my biggest villain and that is myself. If you ask anyone that is close to me they will tell you that I am too hard on myself. It was only recently after talking to a psychologist did I begin to realize my demand for perfection was taking over my life and ruining my sustainability dreams. The doctor helped remind me that no body is perfect, we all have our downfalls and it is how you overcome those downfalls that make up your true character.

This demand for perfection goes back to my mentor, my grandfather. He was a well-respected businessman that everyone knew for his integrity. Coming from a poverty childhood to earning the purple star in World War II to building a successful group of dealerships, I was always amazed by the man. But not everything was perfect; my grandfather also has a dark side. Everyone knew him as a functioning alcoholic. I learned at a very early age the dangers of alcoholism and how it can ruin your life. This negative side of my grandfather made him even more of a mentor because I saw both sides of life.

These demands for perfection have guided me in my professional career. At 23 I became the youngest project manager in the country with Waste Management and was assigned the ASU zero waste project. Here I was project managing a pilot project that everyone was looking at but after nine months the pieces started to fall apart. I left and started my own sustainability-consulting firm. The success of the business allowed me to buy a house, buy a nice car and even travel the world. But recently just when I felt I was doing great, it all came crashing down. My client let me go and I hit rock bottom mentally.

This temporary rough patch is where I currently find myself but I know that no rough patch will ever take away my desire to be a world-renowned sustainability leader.

Every part of life is just a stepping-stone for the next.

In the end I want people to remember who I was and leave a mark on this beautiful green earth. To achieve this goal I will continue to stand strong and become the sustainability change agent I am destined to be. Even though I would do anything to work for Tesla, I know that there are many other companies out there that could use my help. Maybe it will take three or four positions before I end up at a company like Tesla but I know I will gain knowledge and experience wherever I may go.

As I said before it is how you overcome your downfalls that define your true character.