Keith Bergeron, a Telecom, Cloud, & Program Management Expert, has been on a rocket ride since meeting Nathan 10 years ago. His latest adventure is just beginning …

Here is Keith Bergeron’s True Calling™ Success Story:

I first met Nathan in 2002 when I was leaving a job as a Vice President at American Management Systems in their telecommunications group. As part of the severance package I received, I was offered six months of placement services with an agency. Nathan was one of the coaches with this company at the time, and I was assigned to him.

I went into my experience with the placement agency with an open mind, honestly not knowing what to expect. I had heard mixed comments from my colleagues about this particular agency. I was very impressed though at the services I received through Nathan,  He was fantastic in helping me re-assess my career ambitions and in my transition.  He did so through a combination of “personal touch” and assessments.  He quickly realized I needed to keep busy.  As such, he ensured I was set up with office space at the agency where I could expand my career options. It felt like going to work every day.  His professionalism and caring approach made my transition incredibly fluid and rewarding.

For a bit of background, I started working at the age of eight and have had a job ever since. I attended one year of college before I was offered a job at AMS as a “hand” to an IT programmer who had broken both of her arms in a car accident. I simply typed up what she spoke. Within two weeks, I was correcting the programming, and AMS offered me a position as if I had a master’s degree within a year.  From that point on, my career has been one of 100-hour weeks, constant travel and moving up through the ranks.

After my time with AMS, I dabbled in some different things, including setting up “hassle-free PC” where I did wireless and IT set-ups with a partner. Nathan really got me started by providing me with connections with his other clients who needed home & office systems. This was a great experience, in that the work we did provided instant gratification, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for financially.  I also liked what Nathan did so much I acted as his CTO for over a year.

Then, through a friend of Nathan’s, I was offered a position with HP as a consultant. This was a four-year gig that allowed me to travel all over the world. During this time Nathan would always joke, “Where in the world is Keith today?”.  Nathan was there for me throughout this entire process, bouncing ideas off of me, and helping me decide what to charge for each project. In 2007, I was offered a position with HP as the Director of their Operation Support Systems group. Since then, I’ve moved around within the company in different positions. It’s been an incredible journey, but it’s time for it to come to an end.

One of the key things that spurred a change in the way I think were the questions Nathan asked of me: “What do you really want to do? What is most important?”.  I constantly re-ask myself these questions and they have had a profound effect on me. My wife had a transplant two years ago. Since transplants aren’t forever, my wife and I have decided to retire this year even though I am only forty-eight. We just bought a 35-foot Class-A motorhome and will travel around the U.S. and Canada for twelve to eighteen months before we settle down in Reno. Maybe I’ll be a craps dealer and volunteer to do IT stuff for non-profits. Hard-to-say. What I do know is my first priority and desire in life is not to work 100-hour+ weeks forever, but to enjoy life with my wife.

Check back soon and you can follow along with Keith as he chronicles his adventure in a blog called “The Bergeron Adventures”!