Meet William Swofford

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to William Swofford. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi William, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

Risk to me used to mean something you stay away from. A place or situation you didn’t want to be in. Now I have realized that’s where the lessons and success are. Taking risk is where you learn its worth it. Took a long time to learn this and wasn’t ever one thing. But I’ve found after being at my lowest point; that point in life wasn’t that bad. I’ll actually at times wish I was back there. At my lowest was the time I was fighting for my life everyday. I woke up with a purpose. Now, after coming from that I’ve found the worst I’ve done to myself already; so I have nothing to lose.

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?

By day, I work as a Software Engineer working in nice buzz words like DevSecOps, Cyber Security, Machine Learning and the Cloud. By night I go after my passions. Those include a Coffee Roasting company dedicated to giving back to Veteran Suicide Prevention, Two Crossfit Gyms in St. Louis, MO and Meadow Lake, Saskastchewan (Canada), a commercial property business, a cleaning company, and a few other various companies I’ve started. It sounds like a lot, but for me its all about the people. Each business was built for someone or came with an opportunity to keep a community going. I never thought I’d own a crossfit gym or grow that gym into a true place of wellness like we did with Ready 2 Live Wellness in St. Louis, MO. We focused on the people and community and from there it attracted the best of people and businesses until it became something we couldn’t have even dreamed of.

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?

I’ll go with one of each.

Quality: Persistence.
“Most always want to say discipline here, but discipline can only take you so far. You will most always fail at some point; but with persistence you can truly never fail. I’ve found that out in sports at an early age. I wasn’t the most talented but what I lacked in talent I brought more with persistence. The bull dog mentality goes a long way in fitness, sports, and business”

Skill: Problem Solving and Quick Thinking
” Its truly a skill. Something you must always train. As a kid I loved puzzles and games; in particularly video games. I stand by they attribute to my problem solving and quick thinking. As I got older I still play video games but also daily work puzzles and difficult problems. Most issues that come up in life and business are just a logical problem needing solved. Move the pieces around and make it work. If you can do that you make any situation a win”

Area of Knowledge: Computer Science
“I went to school for Computer Science and Mathematics and started my career in Software Engineering at a banking company soon after. This area of knowledge is ever expanding and is always now days at the central point of any business or company. Tech is now what propels us past the point of margin or reference. What could only reach a small subset of individuals, with technology or social media you can scale that to any number of individuals or markets with little to no effort; but only if you know what you are doing. Too often individuals are scared of the technology and don’t want to use it. Flipping that makes a difference in life and business”

Simple advice. Take a month and be persistent. Pick something you’ve never done or don’t feel you are good at and get better. Daily do a game or puzzle that tests your brain for that skill and do some research on where technology can help you understand that skill. You will be surprised what you will find.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Feeling overwhelmed. This will never go away and most often be a weekly or daily challenge you will face. Especially as we increase our persistence, gain more skills, or start more businesses. My advice or strategy; take a second and breathe. Literally block off a minute or two and focus solely on breathing. If you have the time take a session with Breath and Exposure STL; the group who taught me this tactic. Its about being in the moment you are in. You will realize you are most often getting overwhelmed by “unrealized problems”; meaning those problems haven’t occurred yet. A good example of what you will say is “What do I do IF……..?” That questioning is only hindering your ability to problem solve in the moment you are in. Wait until that problem comes then solve it; or take a breath and realize the solution for it easier. As long as you are breathing you are winning. 🙂

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