158. If It’s Meant For You, It Will Find You with Brian Fink

FINE is a 4-Letter Word

Living through the pandemic changed all of our lives, in one way or another.

For some, it was coming to a realization that you didn’t feel like your business or your career was your true calling, in which case it’s possible you may have encountered someone like today’s guest during your journey toward finding something more aligned with your life’s purpose.

For others, it’s finding out that although you had a bunch of superficial or virtual interactions every day, you essentially felt alone. And maybe the friend or mentor you needed was someone you had never met, like in the form of a content creator, an author, or a podcast host.

This is Brian Fink’s story.

Growing up, his family was in the shirt manufacturing business. Today, he’s a talent acquisition partner who finds top-tier hires. One day, at a recruiting event, a candidate approached him and asked if he was one of the Finks who had owned the local shirt factory. It turns out, Brian’s grandfather had given his father white dress shirts as a reward for making Dean’s List at an HBCU, Albany State University, and to encourage him to continue doing well in his studies.

This encounter led Brian to the realization that because of what his grandfather did for those students and during the civil rights movement, that Brian’s striving to make sure things are fair and indivisible for everybody comes through family legacy.

Brian has enjoyed a storied career. He’s owned recruiting businesses, exited them, and helped others grow and exit their recruiting businesses. He has worked for companies like Amazon and AWS, Twitter, and Vanguard on his way toward his current work at McAfee.

As an “intrapreneur”, as he calls himself, he lives out the values imprinted by his grandfather as well as one of his grandmothers, who taught him to value friendships and the communities you create and serve.

This all sounds fine.. but Fine is a 4-Letter Word.

About 20 years ago, Brian found out he suffers from anxiety and depression.

In his search for understanding, acceptance, strength, and growth, he found himself drawn toward not only mentors in the workplace who create space for him to learn from mistakes and explore his talents, but also remote mentors – those authors, speakers, and podcast hosts. He reads voraciously to the point that he’s not really up on “pop culture” because he prefers books to television and movies.

Like the day he discovered by chance that his grandfather had been someone else’s father’s hero, there was one particular video he found that gives him incredible inspiration to find what he is looking for on the other side of fear.

When you listen to Brian, you’ll discover how he has found companionship and mentorship at a distance.

Brian’s hype song is “Sweetness” by Jimmy Eat World.

Resources:

• Brian Fink’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfink/
• Will Smith’s video that we discuss during the interview, “What Skydiving Taught Me About Fear”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFIB05LGtMs

Invitation from Lori:

In my special guide, 5 Easy Ways to Start Living the Sabbatical Life, you can discover, step-by-step, how you can stop settling for “fine” and look at your life with a fresh set of eyes. Even if, like many people in today’s high-speed world, you’re not in a position to take a month or year-long sabbatical.

You know how you normally hear the disclaimer “Don’t try this at home!” In this case, you CAN try this at home. And not just “try,” DO.

Once you read it, you’ll

✅ Discover a counter-intuitive approach to making intentional changes in mindset and lifestyle.

✅ Learn how to own your feelings and your struggles so you can address them.

✅ Find out how to face fears, step out of your comfort zone, and rewire your beliefs.

It’s only 7 pages, so it won’t take you long to get through. When you’re ready to say F*ck Being Fine, this guide is the place to start and it will give you new perspectives that could change your life starting today!

Go to https://zenrabbit.com right now to download it for free.

Now let’s meet Brian. He seems to have his nose buried in a book while whistling to something he’s listening to through his headphones!