“I graduated from university, went straight into a corporate job at PWC and started consulting. I spent the early years of my twenties wearing a suit and tie and consulting, and quickly realized that I felt like I was missing something.” For Tom McQuillen, this realization spawned an exploration of the world, and his fundamental interests.
At one point, Tom found himself with colleagues celebrating a ‘big win’ for a new client, when he began questioning it all; “What’s going on here, is this really the pinnacle, is this how we celebrate?… It took me a little while to realize that I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t feeling fulfilled.”
Tom went to Central America. He volunteered as a teacher in Panama. While he loved surfing the reefs of Bocas del Toro and helping students, he felt limited as an un-trained educator.
What started as periodic Skype calls in Panama, ultimately led him to become the director of an be environmental education and hostel organization in Nicaragua, called Sonati. His time with Sonati was marked by learnings in team management, Spanish, and organizational development.
After a wealth of experience he moved again, this time back to Australia. He came across Yume, and became the first employee of the company. Yume is the business to business version of eBay for food that is normally wasted. Tom explains, “The hypothesis behind Yume is that lot of food goes to waste because no one really knows about it… food waste to me is like a little introduction to this huge, amazing… and in my opinion, urgent problem.”
Tom became obsessed. “A lot of people have causes that are dear to their heart and I think you can’t compare them to each other and rank them… I definitely think that I’ve been enriched by finding one that’s captured my interest and my imagination to try my best to do something about it.” This notion of incomparable focus in life is important. We each have the opportunity to put energy into something we care deeply about, regardless of what it is.
Beyond the empowerment he has felt in all food-related efforts, he has found another calling; the news. While traveling with his partner Hannah, Tom had an epiphany. He needed to do something to change the negativity bias in the news. He started ‘The Good News Email’. A self explanatory name, and a concept that has caught on. You can subscribe here for a weekly dose of inspiring stories: https://www.thegoodnewsemail.com
As Tom continues to explore his profound perspective, he acknowledges the challenge of self-reflection and individual understanding. He explores himself through his actions, creating opportunity and putting his energy into whatever he does. Visit tommcquillen.com to be in touch with him.
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Thank you to wistia for the music:
“Sidecar Sessions” Recorded at Wistia HQ in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Written and arranged by Dan Mills. Performed by Dan Mills. Engineered and mixed by Dan Mills. Mastered by Rob Murray.