We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Zolezzi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anthony , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
My optimism comes from coming from an Italian fishing family in San Diego California..My father the tuna boat captain and boat owner would have to borrow money to buy the fuel and food for the boat and then head out to see to find schools of tuna off the coast of Mexico. I watched him maintain his optimism no matter rough weather, or worse not finding any fish for a week or two. No matter what challenges prevailed I would see my dad maintain his optimism keep the crew of 14 guys in as positive of a mood as he could. His optimism and confidence that he would find the fish and catch enough to pay for the food and fuel so he and the crew would make money. His optimism and confidence always paid off and I watched this numerous times during my summer training sessions on how to be a tuna boat captain. As a result of this my optimism has never wavered no matter how difficult the situation is or how dire the end result looks like. I believe this has been a critical strength for me especially doing turn around management of crisis situations in companies. I have grown to enjoy and continue doing a lot of crisis management never letting anyone know that I was anything but optimistic.
I would be remiss if I didn’t reflect on the home life without a father while he was fishing and the positive attitude my mother always had. No matter what would come up she was always positive about the outcome. Her quote she would always say when any of us four siblings had difficult situations is “God never gives you more than you can handle” I am ever optimistic about life and everything else because of my fisherman father John the Baptist and my mom Antoinette the Rock.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I really don’t like reflecting on the past or looking back in anyway. What I will tell you about myself is I love life. I love its beauty and challenges all at the same time. I wake up every day so thankful for what that day is going to bring and then as I go about my day no matter where or what I want to make sure I am spreading positivity and smiles to everyone I encounter. Smiles On
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My advice to anyone I mentor or talk with in an organization today my message is simple “be the positive energy in the room”. No matter what be the person that believes anything can be done. The impossible is doable. Never let negative energy enter you and when it try’s just say no negativity you are not getting to me. Keep your distance from negative people. When you lead as the positive encouraging uplifting individual putting people in front of you and making sure that every person from the janitor, the hotel maid, the barista, the receptionist are all equally just as important to the success of the organization as anyone in the C suite. Just do this and watch what happens you will be successful and if you are always giving versus taking you will be a happy person who’s successful and loving all life has to give you.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
By far the most helpful aspect of my life in overcoming challenges is my incredibly strong faith in God. When I realize that I am a servant and not in control it makes life easy breezy because I am always confident that there is a higher power taking care of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: anthonyzolezzi.com, Zolezzi.coach
- Facebook: Anthony Zolezzi
- Linkedin: AnthonyZolezzi.linkedin.com
- Twitter: @anthonyzolezzi
