An Exclusive Interview With Effective Leadership Developer Zachary Hoffman
Zac is an Italian/American dual citizen, effective leadership developer, award winning author, and former professional American football player. Originally from a small, rural town in Western Pennsylvania (USA), he has spent his twenties living in 6 different countries while playing and coaching American football. During his time abroad, he developed the SWALeadership concept based on his many thrilling and eye-opening experiences within various leadership roles across cultures
Who is Zachary?
I am a proud uncle, a well-traveled, blessed, caring and adversity-shaped individual. I am a former professional American football quarterback in Europe and I currently live in Salzburg, Austria where I work as a fitness trainer, youth football coach, business owner, and published author. So I wear many hats I guess you could say. I am originally from Cecil, Pennsylvania but the majority of my family now lives in San Diego, California.
What is it that you do for your clients?
I do my best to aid my clients both in their physical and intellectual development. I strive to combine the importance of fitness/living a healthy lifestyle combined with personal development based on my effective, modernized leadership development concept. On the intellectual side, I provide services such as online courses based on my book to enhance soft skills and the understanding and acceptance of cultural differences in the workplace. On the physical side, I offer fitness advice/personal training. So taking both the physical and intellectual in mind, my ultimate goal is to help people reach their full potential and put themselves on the right mindset to leave behind a lasting legacy and a life of true impact.
What is SWALeadership and how did you come up with it?
SWAL stands for Sensible, Worldwide, Adaptable, Leadership. That is what I strive to be and who I want to help develop. I believe that the SWAL concept is a solution for developing effective leaders of the future. Taking on the characteristics of a Swiss-Army knife, I believe those who can adapt will be the ones who thrive and break down barriers. The bottom line is that we can't take our physical success and accolades to our graves. All we can leave behind is our impact.
What are you excited about?
Well, my book being released in the next few months is huge for me. Like all authors, I put a lot of time and effort into its content in order to ensure that it properly portrayed my journey, the lessons I learned and the SWALeadership concept. Anyone who is interested in the book please reach out to me and I will let you know when it is released on Amazon. I'd appreciate the support.
Who should hire/work with you?
I believe that my experience and passion for sports put me in a great position to help young athletes realize that their potential and identity exceed far beyond their sport. Therefore, any sports organization could use my services both in the physical fitness and personal development realms. However, I believe that any international organization could find value in my content and its ability to educate those within their organization to become more effective leaders of both themselves and their diverse teams.
What would be your biggest piece of advice for those still searching for their life purpose?
Having the courage to search is the first step. I am willing to bet that there are a lot of people out there who have everything they want in terms of money and worldly successes. However, deep down they are neglecting their true purpose and trading it for comfort. Finding your purpose is a risk. But nothing worth finding will come easy. Living with purpose starts with living on purpose. Those who seek will find and reap the ultimate reward of satisfaction and peace with themselves. I truly believe that if you are searching you have already won because you can live with the peace of mind that you didn’t settle for the norm. The question is, are you willing to face the adversity, uncertainty, and potential failure that comes with the search for purpose? Not everyone is, and that’s why so few people truly reach their full potential in my opinion.
What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
My goal in the next 10 years is to be in a position where I can continue to foster the platforms I have created for myself in both Europe and the USA. I would love to be able to spend half the year in Europe and the other half in the US. I also see myself writing more books and building a speaking career talking about the various lessons I have learned throughout my life abroad. I also see myself working with international organizations and/sports clubs as a trainer, consultant, and leadership development coach. At the end of the day, I just want to have an impact that creates positive ripple effects in the lives of others. I believe that this is my ultimate purpose and it is how I want to be remembered.
Want to learn more from Zac? Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit his website.
