Meet Michael Zampi

We recently connected with Michael Zampi and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Michael with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion”

Georg Wilhelm Hegel – Philosopher of logic, nature, and spirit.
1770 – 1831

Life is not really fair or kind and I believe we are all the same in terms of survival and trying to get ahead in life. I also believe we need to create our own opportunities and persevere with direction and determination. We cannot choose the families we are brought up in, but we can choose how to grow from challenging childhoods and become the best version of ourselves.

So where do I get my work ethic from? I watched my disfunctional parents struggle with each business they started. They were always into “get rich quick scemes” and failed every time. They never had a foundation of knowledge to secure any form of success, including their personal relationships. They used family and friends at the demise of all of their relationships. There were a few times I pulled the IRS notices off my parents front door when I was a kid. I would hand them to my parents and ask if everything was ok? They would be dismissive and tell me to go away.

As I became a teenager I would take any job I could to help my parents with their money problems. I would cut several neighbors grass, shovel their snow, run a newspaper route, collect soda bottles for the deposit money, etc. Anything for a buck. And according to my father it was my responsibilty to help them whenever they required help.

I also acquired the nick-name of “dummy” from my father. I heard him call me that several times a day until the age of 29. The day I graduated college with my third degree in Computer Science he said to me, “The more educated you get the dumber you get!” I was so crushed. I put myself through college for three degrees with no support, guidance, or love from my parents. Who says and does things like this to their children? To this day I could never even think of treating my amazing children in this manner. I love them so much!

When I was about 12 years old, I saw a TV commercial for the United Negro College Fund in 1972 that changed my life and shaped me into the person I am. The commercial starts off showing this young boy in his parents hardware store using a little broom and dustpan sweeping the old wooden floor. The next scene shows him stocking shelves and he’s probably around 11 or 12 years old. After that scene he is at the cash register helping customers and building relationships within the community. His parents are very proud of putting together a successful business and he was proud of his parents. The next scene shows the young man graduating from high school and then going onto college. Upon graduating college he looks into the camera and says, “All I ever needed was a chance.“ I still get goosebumps when I recant this commercial in my mind.

I identified with this TV commercial so intensely and I have always felt that if I could get an opportunity I would be the best person to prove my worth. Every opportunity that I either created for myself, or opportunities that were presented to me, I would work incredibly hard to prove I was the best person for the job. Yet, there was this sinking feeling and the voice of my father in my head saying that I was “dumb.”

Looking back at my childhood it was difficult on many levels, but I would not change any of it. My upbringing taught me that I am the only one who can shape my life in a positive and productive way, be responsible for the person I have developed over my life time, and nurture my relationships that continue to bring me love, joy and support. I understood and learned the value of have a great work ethic. I have applied it to every part of my successful life. My relationships are the most important part of who I am and I have worked very hard to have success in this part of my life. My wife and I have five very bright, loving, thoughtful, and successful sons and they have wonderful life partners. We have three amazing granddaughters as well.

I’ve had an incredible journey and career in the corporate technology sector. Since relationship building was my primary mission it propelled me into numerous opportunities because executive management knew they could trust me and depend on me. There obviously were many times in my life when I had to work on vacations, nights, and weekends due to job responsibilities, but I often balanced my work life with my family life.

So all in all my work ethic came from watching my parents struggle and having no security at all. I felt that if I worked really hard at my goals I would become successful and brighter with each opportunity that I would conquer.

I have told my children numerous times during their lives that if there is a wall in front of you: go over the wall, through the wall, around the wall, or under the wall. You cannot let one person or any entity deny you from your goals and ultimate success.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After having a very successful career in the software/hardware industry I retired about four-and-a-half years ago. Spending time with family and friends is so rewarding. My wife and I also travel around the world learning about different cultures and countries. We camp, hike, kayak, golf, run, mountain climb.. really anything outdoors.

My wife is an amazing painter and I am a lifetime musician. One of the fun things we enjoy doing is something called “paint and play.” She brings her portable easle and I bring one of my guitars and she will sit and paint a beautiful outdoor scene for a few hours and I will serenade her with my original acoustic guitar songs.

I have written over 600 songs and I have released 13 albums to date, and three more to be released in 2025. My music catalog is with BMI and BMG International. All of my albums can be found wherever music is sold or streamed. My music has been licensed for films, TV shows, commercials, etc. worldwide.

Over the last 35 years I have taught music lessons for guitar, drums, bass, steel drums, percussion, uke, mandolin, singing, songwriting, and have recorded over 100 regional musicians for their personal albums. Music is my biggest passion in life when it comes to things to do.

My second favorite hands on craft is creating one-of-a-kind wooden objects. The object could be wall art, charcutterie boards, guitars, cabinet making, etc. I have also either designed/built/remodeled five homes in my life. My woodworking site is on Etsy at: ExoticWoodTones.

Probably my third craft would be designing and building stained glass pieces, and mosaic art pieces.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Self discipline and determination, passion, belief in myself..

Self discipline is so critical in terms of a component to success. When I went to college for my first degree in Business I would become so frustrated because I didn’t know the meaning of new words and terms for the first time. I felt like I was sinking in this new world and I feared failure. I didn’t want to be like my parents and fail in life. So the first thing I did was I went to the college bookstore and bought this big red Websters Dictionary. Whenever I came across a new word I would highlight that word in my new dictionary with my yellow highlighter. That way if I ever needed to look up that word again in the future I would see I already knew that word, or term. Once I figured out a technique that worked with my learning style, I repeated the process. Self discipline made me focus and it fed my determination.

Passion is something we are born with, or develop just like any other skill. Passion is the fire in our hearts that propels us even when we think we cannot obtain our goals. Passion is that thing we must possess to stay in the game. Passion gets us through all the obtacles, negativity, critics, and nay sayers.

Having a strong belief in yourself, abilities, skills development, and knowledge are essential to our personal success. My first corporate job was at DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware as a software engineer. I thought everyone around me was so much smarter and brighter. I suffered from “imposture syndrome.” I knew I had to build my self-confidence so I devised a simple ritual. When I completed a task or project and recieved positive affirmations, complimentary emails, or awards, I would add them to a folder in my filing cabinet. When I started doubting myself and my abilities I would review the nice words in that folder. This action would fuel and restore my self esteem and self confidence. It got to the point that a few years later I felt just as worthy and bright as my peers.

My advice is to figure out your learning style. We all have different ways of learning. We can learn best visually, auditorially, hands-on, taking extensive notes, re-writing something over and over, or a combination thereof. It might even depend on what you are trying to learn. We all have some form of learning challenge. Start with the basics. Build a solid foundation first and foremost. Try to figure out your learning style by experimenting and simply don’t give up. When you have one little success that will take you to bigger successes. After a while the process will become a part of who you are and it will just become second nature. We can adopt this process at any age. We are never too young or old to learn new skills.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I’m not trying to be funny here although I have a pretty good sense of humor.

My parents could never be associated with the words “role model.” They were abusive verbally, physically, emotionally, financially, etc. They were manipulative, controlling, compulsive liars, and would take advanage of anyone who became acquantances. They would gain your trust and then exploit you. One of my fathers favorite sayings was, “I’m robbing Peter to pay Paul.” He called most people “con-artists” and I believe most of what he said was complete projection.. Even when he called me “dummy.”

I did not want to have children because I thought I would be a horrible dad. When I thought about my father I wanted ever so badly to be loved, cared for, and supported. Like I mattered. None of this ofcourse would ever be possible because when I was 29 my parents demanded that I payoff their debt once again, and when it became a threat, I had to choose between my wife or them. I chose my wife. From that point on my parents would not have anything to do with me. Even when my father was on his death bed 35 years later he told my bother that I wasn’t “allowed” to go to his funeral. That was my fathers last demand. My life got so much healthier and better when my parents disowned me when I was 29.

There were so many impactful and hurtful things they said and did to me over the years. But what all of these trials, heart breaks, and challenges did for me was make me a stronger, responsible, caring, loving, thoughtful, compassionate, grateful, thankful, and a sensitive man. My childen, wife, family and friends view me as a true partner in their lives and I feel their love every day.

Just because we come from a specific DNA and family doesn’t mean that is who we are. We have the opportunity in life to become who we want to be, and to develop ourselves into the kind of person we wish to be. Again, we are never too old to grow as human beings.

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