ABOUT
US

First and foremost, TaskMastery is driven by the fundamental concepts of Stoicism, followed closely by an overwhelming desire to see things get better. "Better" can be subjective, but that's the point. Every individual should be striving for their own ideal future and should be motivated to want more for themselves. This is why we focus on fostering a positive mindset, pushing people to boost their own productivity and sustaining the ambition to want more out of life.

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We aren't perfect, but neither are you, and that's how we can take this journey of self-improvement together. Most so-called self help gurus are multimillionaire business people who have already achieved remarkable success, and as their next business venture they see the profitability in selling their advice to the masses. And they're right, it works! They expand their fortunes by showing off their fortunes, all the while dangling the promise that this could all be yours someday. But I'm going to level with you: I work a 9-5 job (6-2 actually, but who's counting), live in a modest home and drive an 18-year old car (which I absolutely love, by the way). I've never flown on a private jet or bought a luxury sportscar, but I have achieved something that has made me unbelievably rich: I have dragged myself out of the depths of despair to create a relatively successful life for myself, defeating the odds.

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I was a troubled kid. Aside from constantly getting suspended from school, I was in over 30 fights before I graduated (barely) from high school. My only concerns in life were getting drunk and high, being the "coolest" guy around, and showing the world that I didn't give a shit about anything. I was the typical rebel without a cause, fighting against anyone and anything without ever really knowing why, or to what end. My teenage years of partying led me exactly where you would expect: working at a concrete plant, swinging a sledgehammer in the hot sun all day for a few dollars above minimum wage, with no plans, prospects or path to changing my own life. Then came the accident.

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At 19, I was out partying, getting excessively drunk with friends as I did every weekend. I jumped into the wrong truck as we all migrated from one booze-fueled party to the next, but this time I never made it. I was the passenger in a horrific accident that killed my friend Darren and ejected me through the windshield of Darren's truck at 140 km/h. I woke up over 500km away in our province's best ICU, clinging to life with tubes, hoses, monitors, staples and catheters covering my body. As the news of Darren's death sunk in, I was informed that I have shattered my pelvis and may never walk again, had broken off my tailbone, torn my bowel and torn my urethra out of my bladder. They predicted I'd likely urinate through a catheter for the rest of my life and would probably never have children.

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The next few years were filled with prescription opioids, countless surgeries, working through a very painful rehab process and having catheters inserted and removed over and over again. I was in the hospital for 2 months, in a wheelchair for 4 months, and then for over 2 years I peed through a tube, sometimes through a hole in my stomach and sometimes the "traditional" way. The entire experience was traumatic to say the least and brought me to low points in my life that I would put up against anyone's worst day, not that there is a prize handed out for misery. I only say to express exactly how miserable I was. From the age of 19 to 22 I was living in hell.

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Eventually I came to the conclusion that my life was going nowhere. I was in excruciating pain every day and was only qualified to work labour jobs. I spent my time limping around, pretending to be happy, just looking for whatever I could find to numb myself to my reality. I had back spasms that would leave me bed-ridden for days on end, and when I was well enough to move again I would be right back to stacking boxes in a warehouse, wincing in pain with every move, wondering if I even had a future at all. So I made the decision to leave my family and friends behind, move away and get the education that I never thought possible.

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None of my high school teachers or counsellors would believe you if you told them what happened next. I spent the next 4 years getting straight As in university, making it on the Dean's Honour List 4 years in a row and graduating with distinction with a 4.25 GPA. The dumbass slacker who caused nothing but trouble, nearly crippled himself with bad choices and was sinking into a life of abject misery ended up being pretty smart! And I realized that I always was, and so are you, and so is everyone. My potential was hidden deep below the surface but it was always there, and I started to see it in everyone. Every single homeless drug addict or ignorant drug causing havoc in their neighbourhood has a doctor or a scientist hiding deep inside them, and under different circumstances they could change the world.

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I chose to study Anthropology because I grew up a tiny village of 1200 people and knew absolutely nothing of the world, but I was curious and saw how incredible the world was around me. It's not a money-maker of a major but I decided that intellectual stimulation was more important. I wanted to learn and I'd figure out the money thing later. It got my foot in the door for a good administrative job in healthcare, and I managed to get married, buy a house, have a kid, and live an amazing middle-class existence that was never in the cards for me if I hadn't completely changed my own trajectory. There is another timeline out there where I'm still working menial jobs, partying with the same old friends, and never achieved anything.

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I tell my story to emphasize that success comes in all shapes and sizes, and I have gained some valuable perspective from being at my lowest, decided to turn it around and making the necessary changes to earn the life that I always knew that I deserved. I'm no self-help guru, but I have a desire to help others and I am a lifelong student who loves to share. Now my greatest desire is to have a positive impact on the world around me, and at this point in my life that means learning and sharing with people in a way that might help them move forward with their own challenges. This personal journey of self-improvement isn't going to stop any time soon, and I will continue seeking out knowledge and distilling it into something that a complete stranger could read and benefit from. It's perhaps a bit presumptuous to think that this small-town loser is going to enlighten anyone else with his wisdom, but I do know that I've surprised myself before with my hidden potential and I have achieved things that seemed highly unlikely. And if a few people read my blog or benefit from my products I will consider myself to be a major success.