My New Bio

I was asked to write a bio for the web site for a new business venture I am part of called Innovision Global. When I finished I thought, you know this would be good to share on my blog. I feel it is another look into what for me has been a wonderful life as well as a way for everyone to get to know me even better.

So, here it goes:

Meet Harry
Author Father Speaker Husband Trainer Community Leader Coach

Hello everyone. My name is Harry Shade and these are some highlights from my 49 years of living on this rock we call Earth.

For someone from a small town in NE Ohio, I have led a very diverse and exciting life. My hometown has two claims to fame. First of all, Newton Falls was mentioned on The Tonight Show because the zip code is 44444 and secondly it has the oldest wooden covered bridge with a covered sidewalk in Ohio. Pretty cool, huh?

While Newton Falls is not the hotbed of diversity, it is a community in the strongest of words; its citizens are dedicated to supporting one another and the world around them. I feel it is very important that you know where I came from because Newton Falls and the people who live there provided the foundation for my life. There is where I learned to get along with others, to share with one another, to grow friendships and to feel the love and protection of community.

Through hard work and determination, I earned an academic scholarship upon graduation and attended The Ohio State University, one of the most prestigious research universities in the world and of course the home of the Buckeyes football team. Through four years of self discovery and personal growth, I was exposed to some of the greatest academic minds and the most diverse population (52,000 students from 81 countries and all 50 states) I had ever encountered. From Saturday afternoon football games, championships in intramural basketball and bowling and classes such as Philosophy, Forensic Science and Abnormal Psychology, Ohio State provided me with knowledge and experiences that continued to shape my body, mind and spirit. I became totally immersed in the Ohio State community and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. I am a Life Member of The Ohio State University Alumni Association, one of the largest alumni associations in the world.

I then enlisted in the U.S. Army and served eight years as a Military Police Officer and Criminal Investigator. I experienced living in Europe, traveling around the world, protecting U.S. Department of Defense & Foreign dignitaries and supervising undercover narcotics and general crimes teams. This is where I honed my leadership and management skills, while being a part of another fantastic community, the U.S. Army. The castles of Europe were especially intriguing to me and I visited many of them, including my favorite, Neu Schwanstein, five times. Once again I fully engaged in the culture and community.

Becoming a father was one of the most profound experiences of my life. My daughter, Melinda, was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1990 and this event would set the stage for continued personal and professional growth. I had always wanted to be a father and have thoroughly enjoyed raising my daughter and watching her grow into a beautiful young woman. She is now a student at The Ohio State University and I could not be any prouder.

Because I wanted to be the best father, person and role model for my new child, I became immersed in the study of self help and personal development. I am intrigued by the creative thought process, and voraciously study intellectuals, philosophers, teachers and leaders such as Gandhi, Buddha, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, Wayne Dyer, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Deepak Chopra and many others.

Working with kids is another passion of mine and so I have been a youth sports coach for the past 31 years. As a coach, I have had winning seasons, losing seasons and have won championships. My most memorable moments however, have been when one of my players would make their very first basket or get that very first hit. I tell my players that through sports I will teach them about life and that the sport they are playing is just a byproduct. My greatest joy is in watching my young players learn and grow as people. I have now coached over 400youth in the past 31 years and call them all my “kids”.

All these experiences led to writing my first book, Rare Sense; One Day It Will Be Common: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life. In a nutshell, the ideas in this book are what work for me in living what I consider a fulfilled and balanced life. And isn’t that the point? Your life is what you make of it and so what one person considers fulfilling and balanced, is not the definition another would choose. My goal in writing the book was simply to get others to think and determine for themselves what fulfilled and balanced means to them.

I have also had a highly successful Real Estate career, have held many leadership and management positions and have received numerous awards over the years. However, I am most proud of the people I have been able to help grow through my training, speaking writing and coaching.

I currently reside in Columbus, Ohio, with my beautiful bride Tammy, my daughter, Melinda, our Chocolate Lab, Toby and two cats, Holly and Mickey.

Because of all my experiences, teachers, mentors, family, friends and the diverse communities I have had the privilege to be a member; I have evolved into a kind, caring, balanced, dedicated, passionate, responsible, hard working, ethical, honest, straight forward, fulfilled, caring, understanding, insightful, compassionate, spiritual and loving man.

This is what I and my partners bring to Innovision Global and to you as members of our community. These are the types of people you will be exposed to and what Innovision Global is all about….community. WELCOME HOME!

Education

BA, The Ohio State University, Criminal Justice

49 Years of Life!

25,000+ hours of training in leadership, management, goal setting, sales, marketing, investigations, crisis counseling, time management, body language, interviewing, psychology, and customer service through military and civilian channels.

35+ years studying all the major religions including American Indian Spirituality, as well as Spiritual Masters both past and present.

Experience

12 years of both civilian and military law enforcement
where I held numerous leadership positions.

13 years Real Estate Sales, where I received an award for Rookie of the Year as well as being a member of a team of Real Estate agents that averaged over $12 million dollars per year in sales.

Over three decades presenting lectures & seminars

on various topics to tens of thousands of people.

Appointed and then elected to the Plain City Village Council where I served on numerous boards and committees, including the Union County Chamber of Commerce

Well, I hope you enjoyed getting to know me better. I am honored that you would choose to take the time to read my blog. Please share your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry
Author - Rare Sense; One Day It Will Be Common: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life.
harry@raresenseunlimited.com
http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/

The "Negative" side of life has a purpose.

I was sitting around thinking about how we talk about balance and harmony in our lives and that perfection is not what we should be seeking but yet (and I have been guilty of this myself) we tell ourselves and others to not have any negative thoughts or avoid negative people. While I will acknowledge that keeping these experiences down to a minimum is desirable, if we are truly living they cannot and should not be avoided.

I have come to realize that those things we call "negative" actually have a place and a purpose in our lives. We live in a world full of dichotomies: up/down; left/right; happy/sad, and positive/negative. And if we are truly living in harmony and balance, both the positive and negative are part of the whole. What I have come to learn is really important, is to to embrace it all for it all is part of life. And of course this quote just happened to show up in my email today:
"Someone once asked Norman Vincent Peale, 'Don't you think life would be better if we had fewer problems?' Peale said, 'I'll be happy to take you to Woodlawn Cemetery, because the only people I know who don't have any problems are dead.' The point is we can't avoid problems, so we might as well expect them and embrace them as opportunities to learn and grow." ~ Mac Anderson, author, Charging the Human Battery http://www.macanderson.com/



So truly, we should not be seeking a life with no problems, challenges and/or negative experiences for they also help us on our path. We should not however dwell in that space but rather learn from all our experiences and move onward and upward.

In her book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Debbie Ford makes the truly valid point for acknowledging and embracing the "dark" side of ourselves because we all have it. Some call it our shadow side and while we do not want that dark side to be at the forefront of who we are, it does in fact serve a purpose, if for no other reason than to remind us of who we truly are and what we want to show the world. http://www.debbieford.com/



Negative things happen to us all but if we look at them as another way to learn and grow as Mac Anderson suggested, then are they truly "negative"? I say no, for anything that helps us with our growth must be positive.

So, allow yourself to experience those so called "negative" events. Just recognize what they are and how they can help us. Do not dwell in that space but do not ignore it either for it is part and parcel of who we are as humans. And especially we need not feel guilty or ashamed if we have negative thoughts about anything. We do however, want to acknowledge those thoughts and discover why we are having them. What do we need to work on? How can we learn and grow from them?

I am blessed to have you read my blog and I truly hope I have provided you with some food for thought. Please share your comments, thoughts and suggestions.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry


Author - Rare Sense, One Day It Will be Common: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life
harry@raresenseunlimited.com
http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/