We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Forrest Greenslade a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Forrest, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My lifepath started and evolved primarily through unexpected opportunities. I grew up in a somewhat poor family, and I was not a stellar high school student. Ass graduation grew close, the HS guidance counselor called me to his office, and said, “Greenslade, what are you going to do with yourself.” I just shrugged. He said, “You have to do something.” I just shrugged. He then told me that the community college just across the street from the high school had to accept a number of “townies, and I should go over and talk to them. I did. He local school was a branch of the New York State University system. They accepted me provisionally. I started college on pro!
This unexpected opportunity was a wakeup call for me. I suddenly could envision a way out of poverty, and i studied more intensely that i ever had in high school.
However, finances continued to be a challenge. My family and i struggled to come up with the tuition funds, and my sophomore year was in jeopardy. I mentioned my problem to the nice registration secretary, and she made an appointment for me with the financial director. He said, “you are the answer to a maiden’s prayer.” It turned out that the Soviet Union had developed and launched a little satellite called sputnik. the US government was literally panicked that we were losing “the science race”. The government established student loans to facilitate the building of American science superiority.
I was awarded one of the loans to cover my tuition and expenses. Another unexpected opportunity!
I worked hard, graduated, and was accepted (with a full ride fellowship) to Tulane University to study molecular biology, Thank you sputnik!
Because of the governmental emphasis on the “science race”, I was able to earn a master’s degree and PhD in less than three years. This was at the height of the Vietnam War, and I was informed by my draft board that I would likely be drafted when i graduated. I had applied for a post-doctoral fellowship at Argonne National laboratory, a part of the Atomic Energy Commission. I won that position. It came with a deferment from the military. Another unexpected opportunity!
I completed the post-doc, took positions in the pharmaceutical industry and progressed through promotions to a variety of scientific and management positions.
One day, a “headhunter” called me about a position in an international not for profit organization, The Population Council. I accepted that unexpected opportunity, and it afforded me challenging work all over the world. i also led to the position of president of an international women’s health organization, which I held for ten years.
After retirement from that position, my plan was to write books on leadership and do the speakers circuit talking about management and leadership. That plan was sidelined by a massive heart attack.
As I was recovering from my heart attack and feeling quite depressed, my wife talked me into going to a local tour of artist studios nearby. We visited several studios, and i was impressed with how enthusiastic and satisfied the artists appeared to be. We came home for lunch, and my wife tuned on the TV. Martha Stewart was making a garden pot from peat moss and cement. I didn’t even finish my sandwich. I went out to the potting shed and made a mask from that concrete mixture. I was amazed that a creature I had created was looking back at me. I sent a photo of my piece to a friend who was starting a little gallery nearby. She said, “Forrest, I like this. If you make more, I will sell them.” Another unexpected opportunity!
This opportunity launched an entirely new and exciting career for me. I set up a studio and began taking sculpture and painting classes at our community college, joined an artist’s guild, and now enjoy life as a practicing artist. I teach occasionally.
My point — A person’s purpose may not be evident or easily recognized. I may just be unfolding as a series of accidental opportunities. The important lesson is to be open to what opportunities your life reveals to you.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My art can be seen at a number of local shows and at the Chatham Studio Tour the first two weekend in December. My wife Carol-Ann and i have a sculpture garden add painting gallery at our Chatham County home. We also have an airbnb apartment, decorated with my art. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2231084?source_impression_id=p3_1692448599_tMh15%2B1uF9YR1%2FGS
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Be open to anything but skeptical of everything.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I am an old guy. Balencing “health drama” and creative drive is my big challenge now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.organicforrestry.com
- Instagram: organicforrestry
- Facebook: forrest Greenslade
- Youtube: Forrest Greenslade
Image Credits
Forrest Greenslade Beverly Crow Debrah Meyer
