Episode 16 - Jonathan Heider - Motivational Speaker

This guest is one with drive, intelligence, and amazing accomplishments. He is also so much fun to talk with and has taught me a lot about myself in a very short time. I hope you tune in and enjoy the conversation as much as I did. 

Leighann Lovely  00:15

Let's Talk HR is a place for HR professionals, business owners and employees to come together and share experiences and talk about what's working and what's not. How we can improve best practices so that companies can better attract, train and retain all generations of workers. We all know that there has been a huge shift in what people want. generations are coming together more than ever, on what's important. Mental health has been brought to the forefront of everyone's mind. Let's humanize these conversations. Let's talk about how the economy has been impacted and what needs to happen to find a balance. I'm your host Leighann Lovely. So let's get this conversation started. And remember, if you enjoyed this episode, follow us like us and share us.

 

Leighann Lovely  01:04

Today I have the honor and privilege of speaking with Jonathan Heider, he is a professional motivational speaker, and inclusion workshop leader with Split Star Productions. With a lifetime of experience as a congenital quad amputee, seasoned paralympic swimmer. And accessibility designer Jonathan brings a worldly perspective unmatched, fueled by his desire to trailblaze for future generations and those whose voices aren't heard, he has set out to be the change, Jonathan thrives to find unique and out of the box solutions to overcome any form of obstacle that stands in his way. Alongside his mission statement of using what you've got, and components of you, Jonathan's unique outlook and determination serves as a model, we are more than any one of our characteristics. And like I said, I have the honor and privilege of talking with him today. Not only have I had the opportunity to speak with him prior to this conversation today. But I've I've had the opportunity to learn from him. And I'm excited to get this conversation started. Jonathan, I am so excited to have you here today. I mean, you and I have had the opportunity to talk you know, prior to this, and I just I think that you have an amazing background, some just amazing life experience. So thank you for taking the time to come on and talk with me today.

 

Jonathan Heider  02:39

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I love your background as well and what you're doing to help humanize HR and bring people closer together. That's fantastic.

 

Leighann Lovely  02:48

Well, thank you. So I'm, excited to hear a little bit more about your story, you know, especially as a professional athletes, architect, and then to motivational speaker and everything in between. So why don't we start? Well start wherever you want with all of that.

 

Jonathan Heider  03:09

Thank you. Yeah, I mean, I guess I am kind of a jack of all trades. I've been chopping around a little bit. So my story is I was actually born in Croatia in the city of Split. I was born a quad amputee so all four limbs were shorter due to birth. No one knows exactly why. And so I was given up at birth, and at 16 months old, I was adopted by a family out of Green Bay, Wisconsin and came to the United States. Growing up I was super high energy kid like super ADHD bouncing off the walls quite literally. And jumping off of furniture, you know, you name it. And so needing an outlet. I got involved into sports. That was a big thing, especially in our household in general. As a family, my older siblings all played sports, and so did my parents. So it just kind of came natural. So I did everything. I was involved in wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis, sitting volleyball, sled hockey, as well as swimming and swimming was the one that really stuck with me. And so that one is the one that you know, through my childhood took me not only to the national stage, but international stage as well as paralympic swimmer and so had the opportunity to live in train at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs Colorado for a few years. And then kind of went from there with my career and that's what launched the public speaking and then, following my life as a paralympic swimmer. I got into college and got into public speaking even more with an agency eventually went independent launching my own business and worked as in architecture for about three and a half years. So a little bit of everything along the way.

 

Leighann Lovely  04:44

Yeah, so you and when we spoke, you know, prior to this you left home to to actually train at a pretty young age. Tell me a little bit about the that.

 

Jonathan Heider  05:01

So yeah, since my kind of career in the Paralympic swimming world was very, I started off, you know, going to national competitions when I was 11 years old. And so it was something that took off rather quickly for me. And eventually, I had applied, or I had talked to initially the coach at the Olympic and Paralympic training center for the Paralympic swim team, by the name of Jimmy flowers. And he had met me at a competition in Texas and said, hey, you know, I see your potential, I absolutely love what you do, I want to coach you. And I said, Awesome. And so it was early in 2008, that I had initially applied for the position of a resident athlete at the training center, didn't get in that time. And then I tried again, for January of 2010. Didn't get accepted that time either. And then it was finally in September of 2010, is when I got accepted. And so at that point, you know, I was only, you know, 17 years old, or 16 years old at the time when I got accepted. And then going into age 17, when I got there. And so I was very young. I mean, my career was very early in my life. And so, I always had supportive parents, I mean, they have always supported all of us kids and our different adventures through whether we were sports, or whether we were theater, we all kind of had our own little avenues. And so my parents were super supportive, and loved, you know, they were all about, you know, staying active, that was the biggest thing that they always pushed growing up, was we want healthy, active kids, and we want them to be able to really do that. And they saw my success. And they saw my potential through being a paralympic swimmer that helped me grow as a person in so many ways, including, you know, understanding kind of mental discipline, mental health, physical health, and so many other aspects. And so, in a way, it was almost like a no brainer for them that they saw what I could do. And so at 16 years old, they agreed to let me go to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. And so, you know, there's a lot of precautions that went to place knowing that I was going to finish high school online through virtual Wisconsin education program, even though I was out in Colorado, making sure that there were certain people, not only the coaching staff, but other people kind of, I honestly, you know, kind of as a parental figure while I was out there, and so laid that groundwork first. And then once everything was kind of laid out, then it was kind of like, Yes, this is really the right thing for me to do, and that they felt comfortable having me do this. And so it was a huge, very quickly had to grow up, you know, it was, you know, how many people are set, you know, at 16 years old, are set are told, Hey, you have a swim competition up in Toronto, December 6, through December 12, you need to be there on the sex and you back in Colorado Springs, by the 12. You know, I was 16 years old, I had to figure out budgets, I had to figure out flights, I had to figure out, you know, transportation to and from the venues and all of that, you know, and that's something that like, I expect a 16 year old to know budgeting and how to handle flights and all of that. And so, and then also maturity of you know, being on the team USA, you had to represent yourself in a certain way, you couldn't be childish, you had to be respectful. And so it was a huge Grossberg in a very, very short time, and to kind of becoming this very professional adult at 16 years old.

 

Leighann Lovely  08:27

And having parents who, you know, saw that not only this was something that you clearly wanted, it sounds like it was a very uplifting for your, for your mental health for your it mean, it sounds like it was just and as a parent, it would be very difficult for me to say, Sure, honey, go across the, you know, halfway across the country and be that far away from me and study and I mean, grow up without me in your life, that would be very difficult. But the fact that they were willing to one put that trust in you to support you in the way that they did for you to have that growth and to be able to experience something that very, very, I mean, an extremely small percentage of people have the ability to do and, and again, you are also able to experience life with other individuals who I'm sure we're experiencing life a little bit differently as well being a quadriplegic or having other what, what would be the proper word for that?

 

Jonathan Heider  09:45

Well, you know, similar disabilities, I think, you know, our swim came out at the Olympic and Paralympic training center where I was not the only one who was underage. There were two other athletes who were underage who also went out there. And so there's that Team of the swim team itself was there about? Well, there's a team of 12. And so it was six boys, six girls. And so it was a good team. But it was Yeah, being able to be amongst peers, very driven very hard working disabled athletes who, you know, took it upon themselves to be the best that they could be and see that their potential and really said everything else in their life aside to live this life to really become this true world class athlete, and so very inspired by everybody that I was living and trained with. Because they also, like you had just mentioned, had come from that similar background of self determination and openness and been brought up, you know, you were talking a lot about my parents. You know, they also had parents that said, you know, dream big, and chase those dreams, one of the athletes who's over the age of 18, at the time, but one of the most incredible Paralympic swimmers of all times Jessica law, she went to her first Paralympic Games at age 11. And so for her to be able to tackle the world the way she did, and to have her, you know, she was my inspiration in the way that, you know, her parents allowed, she was also adopted at a very young age, and her parents, you know, gave her that foundation that she could trace her dream at such a young age and be successful. And so not only did I look up to her, but I got to train in the pool with her and be part of that community, because she opened the doors, so that I could do it at 16. Myself,

 

Leighann Lovely  11:30

right. And to be so young and representing your country representing I mean, to be amongst the best in the world. I mean, that's just, it's an amazing, it had to have been an amazing experience and the pride that you must have felt that you still that you still feel, from being able to do that. I mean, anybody who's able to do that, must feel is I can't even I can't even begin to understand. I mean, I get excited when I win. You know, a board game. I can't imagine. I won.

 

Jonathan Heider  12:15

I do, too. I'm not gonna lie, I'm right there with you. I wouldn't Candyland, I celebrate just as hard I get it, I get it.

 

Leighann Lovely  12:23

I am a wildly competitive person. But, you know, I can't I can't begin to, you know, compare that to, to the, one of the best in the world. And that's, that's, you know, we all watch. And we go how, how are these? How are these individuals able to do the things that they do? And and you're right, it discipline, determination, you know, following your dream and having the parents having the, the coaches be the ones who are saying, Yep, you can absolutely do this. So, absolutely. This brings me to what you decided to retire from swimming at 19. So, tell me about that.

 

Jonathan Heider  13:05

I think it was one of those things. So I started off very young. And so and it was kind of my entire life through especially through middle school into high school that it was, it was to have a swim practices. It was before school, after school, and then spending the weekends at competitions. And it was, that was my childhood, in a way like I had friends. But my my life was like priority number one is swim. And then if there's time after that, I could be with my friends. And so it kind of became very, I almost burnt out in that sense, because I never had like, a whole lot of like, just fun social interaction, like going to parties going to hang out with people because it was always like, Swimming was number one. And so at that point, after just missing the team for the 2012 games, became the point where it's like, alright, let's, you know, take a timeout, let's take time to understand like, what what do I need to do and like, I have the opportunity to continue, but at that point, I'm like, you know, I would like to step back for a little bit kind of go into a semi retirement and start college because I think now I want to like I want to be a college student. You know, I want to do the college thing and I want to do what other people are doing my age and hearing about, you know, friends go into college and having parties and going and hanging out being successful students like I wanted that same life. And so to kind of step back from that Paralympic world and just kind of become your average, you know, student in college was something that I then set my goals for.

 

Leighann Lovely  14:39

So not only were you are you gifted with athletic ability, you then went and didn't choose to just get a, oh get my bachelor's degree and you know, business you went and got your degree in architectural.

 

Jonathan Heider  14:57

Yeah, that I agree. No. And that's and that's in and of itself is an entirely different world. And so like, it is an insanely different program than any other program in college. You know, most people, you know, when you're in college, you take a bunch of, you know, exams and tests and write a lot of papers. In architecture college, it is you are creating projects, it is to three projects per class per semester, in which, you know, like, I remember, like, it's a lot of money to like, I remember my final model for my senior year, when I got all the receipts together, it costed me about $2,200 To make the whole entire project. And so you know, so it's like, yeah, I don't have to study for a test, but like, you know, pay for $100 textbook or pay for a $2,200 model, you know, and so it was late nights, very late nights and early mornings, putting together laser cut models and documents and drawings for every single project. And so it was, it was definitely a unique program. It definitely, you know, and unique situation, I remember when I started college in the architecture program, they accepted 400 people into the program. And when I graduated in, in my senior year, we had a graduating class of 87. And so it's, I would say, not for the faint of heart. But you know, I, there was a lot of a lot of dropouts. And a lot of you know, I so many times and you felt for them the heartbreak that they went through, you know, especially, there were times where I've seen people put together models that were, you know, four or $500, and then accidentally fall off the edge of their table, and completely go into just like a just a pile of pieces everywhere. And just like the heartache of the breakdown and the emotions of like, why am I even still here, admittedly, there was a time where I broke one of my models. Luckily, it wasn't like a full on shatter across the floor. But it is it is definitely not for the faint of heart. And I think going through my life as the Paralympic swimmer and challenging those obstacles head on. And it has prepared me to be able to be successful in the architecture program, I was the only person with a physical disability going through this program. And so to be able to kind of trailblaze the path that way and show like, hey, you know, I can do this, too. It was an absolutely amazing and incredible opportunity to make it through the program. And so, fortunately, not only was I in that top 97 to graduate, but out of the 97, who graduated, there was only about 25 people who had job offers from architecture schools, or architecture firms in the Milwaukee area. And I was one of the 25, who had a job opportunity waiting upon graduation, that I had proven myself time and time again, that I was worth it. And so it's that taking that discipline and that challenge to show like, this is my value, and I can I can do it.

 

Leighann Lovely  18:04

That's amazing. Not only amazing, because you You graduated with your BS in architecture, a minor in minor in certification in real estate development. And, and you did that you you did that for a while. But why not stay in that in that fields.

 

Jonathan Heider  18:21

I think one of the things that I understood was my purpose in life. And so I've been reflecting upon that my whole entire life. And my whole life has been about trailblazing the path through other through advocacy, in accessibility in disabilities and several other components that help people have their voice heard. And so I still have a passion for architecture and design. And I still do a lot of design development things and help people out in that regard. But I needed to pick a different avenue to be successful with that. And so, you know, I want to continue to advocate for accessibility and make facilities and spaces within our world more readily available and open for people of different backgrounds and create a more inclusive environment but working within the architecture firms not exactly the location that I truly believe I belong to follow my purpose.

 

Leighann Lovely  19:17

Wow! Did you just read that could not be better stated. I mean, and there are so many people who I mean you you clearly you clearly wowed a company with your abilities. You're obviously there they were probably looking at your academic, what would it be academic accolades and accomplished yes, there we go academic accolades and accomplishments they offered you you know, the position and often you know, individuals, especially younger individuals will find themselves at an impasse and go, you know, I It's not that I don't like what I'm doing, but they have that either the angel or the devil on their shoulder. Saying one thing or another, you clearly had something on your shoulder saying, Hey, this is not, you're great at it, this is not the path for you. And I talked to a lot of individuals who decide to go another path for one reason or another, which is why I asked you to come on, and talk with me today. Because you and I are very much like minded in that it took me years to figure out that I could do something with my story, I could offer more with, with what I have lived through, you are still at such a young age where you have so much more to offer the world, which is what brings you to where you are today. And being able to be a keynote speaker, or teach other people so much more. And I would really love to hear about what drives you and how you how you do that for others, because your story is really one of inspiration. And and I don't want to downplay that, I often get the oh, this is you know, LeighAnn lovely, and she has bipolar and and that drives me crazy, because I am not that I am absolutely a million different things. And I want to be recognized as LeighAnn lovely. And she is XYZ and ABC and all of the other things. And and you and I had kind of talked about this a little bit in our pre conversation that, you know, you don't want to be recognized for just one thing. You you have, I mean a million things in your tool belt that you can offer. But have you come up against that?

 

Jonathan Heider  21:48

So absolutely. And so you, you touched on a lot of big things. And so one of my biggest things through my life, and through my business and why I started my business and why I continue to lead and my purpose is understanding the components of you, you talked about with you with you know, this is LeighAnn lovely with bipolar, you're so much more than that. And same with my disability. And you know, my disability is very obvious, if you see me, you see my limbs are missing. It's one of those things that's very obvious, like, oh, that's Jonathan, he's a quad amputee. But like there's so much more to a person. And so understanding the components that make up this person is truly what makes a person unique and humanizes them in that sense and understanding like there are so many layers and so many levels to understanding this person. And so one of the biggest things that I speak about is I take these components of you and I like to think of them as spices and a spice rack. And that who you are is this big pot of chili. And everything that makes up who you are is one of the spices on the stool, you know, spice rack, and so, you know, grab the spice that's, you know, my disability, put that in there, grab the spice, that's apparently silver and put that in there, grab the spice, you know about being an architectural designer. And so all of these different spices come together. And that makes up who you are. And so you're more than just that one spice. And so I think I definitely had dealt with that, especially having a disability that is so obvious that people saw that first and wondered like, how are we going to overcome this and so always trying to play one step forward. And so when I talked about the architecture firm that had an offer for me before graduating college, I'd actually gone and done an externship with them during my college years, and prove to them be one step ahead of the game, I did a couple externships. But this one in particular, was the one that hired me, but during this extra, all of these externships it was proving that like, hey, I can do this just fine. You know, this is all electronic. This is all done on the computer. Let me let me show you, I can get these drawings done just as easily, if not more efficiently than the next person. And so it's it's that always having to prove myself, but taking that one step ahead of them to say, Hey, let me show you. Like don't, you know, don't don't hold me back. You know, I'll be respectful of you and your boundaries. But like, just give me that chance. Let me let me just prove to you real quick that I can do this. And so that's definitely been something that I've had to overcome is with having such a obvious disability, that people you know, first question and then, you know, seeing that I take the reins, they sit back and watch for a second. They're like, Oh, okay, he's got this. And so understanding those components that make up who you are, and respecting, you know, all of these incredible things that make up a person and it not, like I said, humanizes them as you like to say, with your podcast here. And so it's important to understand, you know, I'm more than just my disability. I'm more than just an architectural designer. I'm more than just a keynote speaker. I'm more than just a workshop facilitator. I'm more than just, you know, a Croatian born American. There's so many different components that make up who I am. And I think humanizing that and respecting What's all on my spice rack, and what's all in this pot of chili is what makes I think all of us great. And once people start to understand and see these different components that are on the spice rack, it helps them, then have that humanized connection to the person and see, okay, you know, you may, you know, you may have a disability or something else or you know, you may have, you know, be bipolar, but like, let's, let's get to know the person first and understand this person on a human level, and see that they're pretty amazing, and they're pretty spectacular person to get to know.

 

Leighann Lovely  25:35

And it's, so awesome that you that you say that and and I love the analogy of you know, a pot of chili because so often we do as humans, we take, we take a glance at somebody and automatically make an assumption, very quickly, we make an assumption, whether it be because of the way they look, whether it be because of, you know, simply the the first interaction that we have with somebody, we quickly as humans have made assumptions. And that's something that we have to get away from doing, we have to be able to open our hearts and minds to a wide variety of different things. And I think that people are starting to understand that more and more as time has gone on, especially over the last, you know, two years have you know, we've all experienced this a lot more. I think that we've all opened up our minds a lot more, there has been so many different things that even myself that I have had to check my own brain and go wait a second, I'm making an assumption of somebody, and I've never even had a conversation with them. It's as simple as me assuming that I should go and open a door for somebody, because I think that they need help. Now. It's not me trying to be you. No, no, let me let me preface this by saying, you know, I'm not trying to be rude. But you know, you you see somebody and you go, Oh, well, they can open their own door. But that may be an insult to some people have no, I can do it myself. No, I'm not saying you know, don't open a door for an old lady if you know, but you know what I think?

 

Jonathan Heider  27:18

Yeah, I think with that statement, I think part of it is just also being respect, respectful of people, you know, in society, you know, opening a door for somebody has always been a sign of generosity and respect. And so that is one of the things that I've learned over my life is like, not to be openly offended by somebody doing something in such a kind gesture, because they're trying their best to accommodate you, and be respectful of you. And that's something that I always take in mind. And so, but although like I can perfectly open a door for myself, if someone goes ahead and does it, I'm not going to like chop their head off for doing so because I see the kind gesture, I see the kindness, and I see the respect and the generosity that they are offering. And I know that it's coming from a place of love and respect, and not as a place of, well, you can't do this, you know, there are certain situations where, you know, sometimes it is offensive, there are times when like, in my when I used to have a manual wheelchair, I have a power chair now, but when I've manual wheelchair and I pushed myself across the street, I did have handles on the back of the chair. And every now and then there would be somebody who like cuz I'm like crossing the street, somebody would just grab the handles and like start pushing me and it frightened me. I mean, like, you're basically I'm gonna say in control some somebody else is controlling you. And so in situations like that, you know, having a very kind respectful, like, Hey, I've got this, you know, that's a little disrespectful. It's like pretty much picking somebody up and carrying them across the street when they didn't ask to be it's like, give them a sense, but, you know, it's it's having that communication with them in a respectful manner to say, hey, you know, please respect my boundaries. I appreciate what you're trying to do. But that is overstepping. Thank you for your assistance, but this is something I'm able to do. And so having those open conversations is huge. Because it shows that like, again, humanization you want to have a human contact with that person to say, hey, you know, these are my limitations, and this is what I can and cannot do. And so I appreciate what your efforts are and your kindness, but this is something that I would feel more appropriate to handle myself. Right.

 

Leighann Lovely  29:29

I you know, I've never heard anybody describe it that way. Because I'm assuming the the person who did that was like, Oh, I'm gonna help this person. But yeah, you basically they're kidnapping you I mean, I guess I've never heard to do it would be equivalent to you know, I Oh, Hi, Emily. And I have bipolar disorder and somebody basically opening my mouth and shoving pills down and go here. Let me get you your medication. What?

 

Jonathan Heider  29:52

Exactly, exactly. Pretty much like okay, well, um, didn't ask for that. But thank you.

 

Leighann Lovely  29:59

You're right. I mean, and, and, and having those conversations and letting people know that, hey, and you had mentioned it, yes, your disability is something that people can see. Mine is is not my, you know, my disorder is something that people cannot see. But having raised conversations and making people realize that just because it's it's visible, doesn't mean that you have to assume that I'm not. And you clearly are very capable of taking care of yourself. A Paralympic athlete, you went to college, on your I mean, these are all things that are very huge indicators of somebody who is very much 100% self sufficient in multiple ways. And that is the thing that people need to start getting past is that, you know, if I'm, if I am a blind individual, and I have been say, since I was born, you would have to make the assumption that I am 100% capable of living alone in my own home, but don't come into my home and move my couches around.

 

Jonathan Heider  31:07

Yeah, exactly. Well, that's funny, you say that, and I think one of the questions I get all the time with people is like, wow, how do you how do you manage to get around? How do you manage to do this? And so, as somebody who was born with my situation, it's like, well, this is all I've ever known, you know, it's like, you know, it's like, if I was born, you know, with four arms instead of two arms, you know, when I turned to you, and I said, Wow, Leanne, how do you function in life with only two arms like, that must be hard, that must be extremely difficult to live a life with? And you're like, Well, I'm I was, this is the way I know, like, I was only born with two arms. And so I kind of look at it in that same regard. And especially like you said, about the furniture situation. I mean, that's kind of my thing, too, is like, I am fully capable and independent in the house that I live in, because I have made it modified for myself, you know, so yeah, please, please don't like move my showerhead. Like is it's download so I can reach it. Um, you know, like, or the other day, or quite literally, like, one of the shirts I'm wearing now. I had housekeeping come and do my laundry, and she unbuttoned all my shirts and like, like, how much of a pain in the acid is for me to read, but my shirts, and it's just like, Please don't Don't buy my shirts, like, I'll just put them on like a, like a, like a T shirt. Like how it's like, just like, you know, like you said, you know, for wine person don't come in and move my couch. Like, just like, you understand, like, I'm self sufficient, because I have made things in such a way that work for me and to be able to, you know, get dressed and live, you know, take a shower in the way that I can, right.

 

Leighann Lovely  32:45

Right. You know, and that you mentioned budding your shirt. That's something that I never would have in a million years thought of. But again, yeah, you've modified and you this is something you've lived with your whole life, you've modified, these are the things that, you know, for me, I take 100% for granted for you. You same thing, somebody who was colorblind. I mean, don't go in their closet and move their clothes into different sections. I mean, because Exactly. I've talked to people who are colorblind, and they're like, oh, yeah, I have somebody line up, and then mark all of my clothes so that I know what color is. So I'm not walking into the house wearing, you know, purple and, and whatever color but if you move them around, yeah, I'm not gonna match. And it's like, oh, that that could be a funny joke to plan somebody who's colorblind. Well, not really funny. But, again, we we as humans modify our lives to fit the way that we live. Yes. It's just as simple as that, you know, and unless you're asking for help, and I say this, the same with advice, unless you're asking for help or advice. Don't be one of those people who go and just give it.

 

Jonathan Heider  34:02

Absolutely, I think, you know, unless it's one of those things that like unsolicited advice can be harmful. Especially even if it's someone close, you know that some people always have boundaries, even if it's, you know, a significant other and they give you unsolicited advice, you kind of want to, you know, throw them in the wall of it, but like, even people who are the most closest to you, you respect the boundaries, and you wait until they ask you like, hey, I need your help. You know, then at that point, you come to them with open arms and say, here's, here's how I can help. And so yeah, I think that's super important respecting those boundaries and the people that around you. Absolutely.

 

Leighann Lovely  34:42

I know that there's been multiple times that my husband wants to throw me across the room because he's like, I was just telling you, I didn't ask for advice. And I'm like, Oh, crap. Like, Yep, sorry, honey, and he's like, now I just don't even feel like wanting to talk about this. anymore. And I'm like, right?

 

Jonathan Heider  35:01

Well, that's exactly it. And that's a situation as you go into shutdown mode, when there's unsolicited advice is then it kind of creates that barrier and creates that strain on, you know what you are trying to accomplish. So it kind of, then you get in your head a little bit more. Yeah, absolutely.

 

Leighann Lovely  35:17

Yeah, totally. So tell me a little bit more about your I mean, about split star. I mean, I'd love to hear about that.

 

Jonathan Heider  35:26

Yeah, so Split Stars, my own business that I opened up a couple of years ago, now, I left the agency when the pandemic first hit. And then that's when I decided to kind of go my own direction. And so I do keynote speaking, workshop facilitation. And then for larger business and medium to large businesses, nonprofits, as well as colleges and universities, I do open, open the opportunity for business coaching for them for not individuals, but for the businesses themselves. So my focus is a lot on diversity inclusion, I talked a lot about earlier about the components of view. And that is a big part that I talked about, and understanding what advocacy is, and one of the biggest things for me was split star is advocacy starts with you, you cannot create cultural change, you cannot create opportunities for a more inclusive environment without advocating for yourself first, you know, you talk about a lot with, you know, your situations, and it's all about, you know, advocating for you first, and then putting that out into the world, as opposed to looking externally towards trying to adapt the world before you you know, we were just talking about, you know, within the how own household, that's a perfect example there about how I showerhead at a certain height, I have my shirts all buttoned already, you know, advocating for yourself and making the world work for you, as opposed to forcing the world to change, you have to adapt to the world around you through using what you have available. And so that is the biggest thing that I speak about, and how you can take the components that who of who you are, and utilizing what you've got in your own pot of chili, and what's on your spice rack to make the best of your situation. And so I do that through the keynote speaking, the workshop facilitation and the business consulting.

 

Leighann Lovely  37:07

That's amazing. Got everything that you said, I want to I want to sign up, I want to see you speak. I mean, it just it's it's everything that I and we talked about, you know, being very much like minded. And it's just it's awesome. That's great.

 

Jonathan Heider  37:25

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I love like I said, your, your approach to life. And you know, I think humanization is such a thing. When it comes to improving society and creating a cultural change that is, the more we humanize people and see them for all the components that make up who they are, I think we're able to relate to people more and have a better understanding and respect people on a higher level, because we can see where they're coming from.

 

Leighann Lovely  37:50

Yes. And the more that businesses start to understand that each employee that work at their organization, are individuals, the more that they will retain their employees and that they will Yeah, that that the culture shift will happen. And that employees will find that true happiness within organizations. It's just, you know, and I preached that constantly about, you know, you, if you want to retain you want a happy work environment, you have to stop treating them like the masses and start treating them as individual people. And it's not that difficult. It's just a simple, you know, recognition that they're appreciated for who they are, you know, not just what they do.

 

Jonathan Heider  38:41

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's the individuality part of it. And I think we're in such a big age right now, where diversity is big thing. And diversity is important to, you know, to have a diverse background of people on staff, you know, whether you have, you know, somebody with a disability, someone who's, you know, black or Asian, or somebody who's you know, an older person, a younger person, you want to have that diversity, but it's also important to then take a moment and reflect on what's beyond just that person who might be disabled, and understanding what they also bring to the table. Besides, the fact that you can brag that you have a disabled person on staff is like, This person also has a lot of incredible skills, and, you know, creating like in the humanization, that individuality of the components that make up who they are.

 

Leighann Lovely  39:27

Yeah, and you know, it's interesting because I talk I spoke with and one of my episodes, his name is Le Rivera and Ruben Guyana, and I talked to them about a program called the way out, and they advocate for individuals who are previously incarcerated. And they work with companies on trying to help those companies hire in, you know, individuals who are really trying to get their life back on track, find opportunities, and that can key point that you just said is it's not about an individual or a company saying, Hey, we hire, you know, previously incarcerated individuals and just putting that tax credit on their, on their, their having that tax credit. It's about Yeah, truly, you know, wanting to help that individual and that individual truly wanting to change their life and then understanding that they are an individual and that they, you know, that they want to have a true career. Yeah, and that's that that should be this the standard, you know, the gold standard for every diverse individual that you hire, it shouldn't be about, Oh, yep, we are a diverse company, because we have, you know, all of these different backgrounds, it should, it should be about, hey, we, we have all these diverse individuals who can bring XYZ to the table, because they may see this different or they may bring this to the table. And I'm so tired of the companies or companies putting that stamp of approval, because, hey, we just hired this person with, you know, a disability or we, you know, have military. And we are going to, you know, showcase that we have a veteran on staff purely for the the PR move of that.

 

Jonathan Heider  41:18

Well, it's tokenizing is what you're doing, they truly what you're doing is tokenizing. And trying to remove the concept of tokenization is, I think key to move forward as a society.

 

Leighann Lovely  41:30

So this has been an awesome conversation, I can't believe that we are already coming to time. So I have one more question, which is the question of the season. If you could pinpoint a time period in your career that made a huge difference in your life or career path? When would that be? And why?

 

Jonathan Heider  41:52

Um, let's see. I mean, there have been so many pinpoints of career pivots in my life. Um, but I think one of the points I had mentioned, I think one of the biggest points right off the bat, you know, was back in 2008, when I met Jimmy flowers, and I just was just kind of this high energy kid that, you know, yes, I was involved in Paralympic swimming, but for him to say I see your potential, I see what you can do it introducing me to say, hey, I want you at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, I think was one of the biggest, I think, is the biggest pivot points in my life, because that helped teach me discipline and respect. And helped me kind of shape my purpose into advocating and trailblazing, because since he believed in me, that I could be at the caliber to live amongst the great at the train Center helped me shape the future, that I knew that through being a successful athlete at the Paralympic Training Center, that I was then going to be able to be a successful architect, architectural designer and complete architecture college, that I could then open up my own business at the discipline that he taught me. And being at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. I don't think any of us would have happened, if I didn't have a conversation with him back in 2008.

 

Leighann Lovely  43:15

That's awesome. People always come into our lives at the right time. Usually it is when we are, you know, much more seasoned in our career. But for you it was at a at a young impressionable age. And, you know, you really started your career path when you were a very young you know, kid. Yeah. And and that is is extremely unique. You know, you obviously, you grew up fast, but that it really paved the way for you to, you know, eventually have your own business and and that's amazing. Thank you. Yeah, your story is definitely unique, and I love it.

 

Jonathan Heider  44:02

Well, I appreciate it, and so is yours. And so I admire, like I said, what you're doing to bring a new perspective into HR and to people to create this. Like I said, I knew outlet that they may not have looked before. I think that's absolutely phenomenal with what you do as well.

 

Leighann Lovely  44:22

Thank you. And if people are looking to reach out to you for you know, your workshop, you're mean to bring you in as a speaker. How would they go about doing that?

 

Jonathan Heider  44:34

Absolutely. So my website is split-star.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn, as well as Instagram at split star. I also have my own LinkedIn pages Jonathan Heider, so you're more than welcome to find me any of those places. Again, the website is split-star.com.

 

Leighann Lovely  44:57

Awesome, Jonathan. Thank you. so much for taking the time to talk with me today. It's been an amazing conversation. Just like all the other cons are just like the other conversation that we had. So I really appreciate your time.

 

Jonathan Heider  45:10

Thank you as well.

 

Leighann Lovely  45:11

Thank you again for listening to Let's Talk HR. I appreciate your time and support without you the audience this would not be possible so don't forget that if you enjoyed this episode, to follow us, like us or share us have a wonderful day

E-mail - heider.d.jonathan@gmail.com

Website - https://www.split-star.com/ 

LinkedIN - linkedin.com/in/jonathan-d-heider

Instagram - Split.Star 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/family-time License code: 2330NZD3BLNDKPYI