Today’s podcast guest is Robert Shelton. A recently retired executive from Microsoft. He is so much more than “the dude from the coffee shop”, despite initially meeting him this way.

He reveals a ton of life lessons and useful information on how to treat people while moving through corporate America. How to “do” what he didn’t “do”.

We discuss:

-Feeling safer in the hood sometimes than in his exclusive gated world now

-Learning how not to judge people by appearance

-Everyone has it within them the ability to succeed

-Obtaining whatever success looks like for you, regardless of what you look like

-Putting on the suit of an extrovert when going to work

-Fixing computers at a young age, excelling at programming classes at age 15

-Graduating college in his 40’s, when he didn’t need to get a degree, setting example for others and his son

-Being dedicated to education outside of the education system

-Reprogramming his mind to get out of the hood, while reprogramming computers

-Leaving bodies on the side of the road on the way up the corporate ladder, while now helping others and mentoring people to succeed

-Removing the shield of Darth Vader and exposing himself – leaving the dark side of focus and selfishness to give back and be kind

-No longer needing to carry the sword out of fear (of being exposed, of being fired, of being passed over)

-Having his wife protect him after removing his armor and being his vulnerable self at home, before retirement when he still “had to fight”

-Learning lessons from your success

Robert Shelton is a retired senior technology executive with over 20 years of experience at Microsoft. During his tenure, he served as the Senior Technical Director and Chief Technical Officer for the National Intelligence Business Unit. His expertise lies in IT Executive Management, cloud computing, enterprise software sales, and the applied uses of artificial intelligence.

However, this professional bio only scratches the surface of who Robert truly is. Growing up in an economically disadvantaged area, he faced challenges that shaped his journey. Through hard work and connections with incredible people, he managed to break free from those circumstances. Robert’s passion for technology ultimately led him to fulfill his childhood dream of working at Microsoft. The twists and turns along the way provided the necessary background for him to achieve his life goals. He learned that it’s the challenges and “negative experiences” that offer valuable training, but only if you learn from them. The greatest gifts often come from persevering through adversity.

Robert’s favorite quote, attributed to Zig Ziglar, encapsulates his philosophy: ‘You can get what you want out of life if you will just help enough other people get what they want.’

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