Web Theologian

Many in my industry (localization) tell the story of how they ended up here by accident, and I think they are doing themselves a disservice. How we tell our stories matter, especially those as important to how we spend the majority of our time. I come from a line of people who generally told their professional story in a negative light.

While looking at it on the surface both my grandfather and father were regretful about where their careers led them. My grandfather was a successful cattle trader, the only part of the story I heard while growing up though was that he wanted to be a veterinarian, got married, went to war, came home to children, and had to go out and earn. Now as I understand it because my grandfather was a cattle trader even during the depression there was always meat on the table, this is important and not easy when you have nine children. In addition he suffered by being robbed by larger farms and the manner in which he conducted himself in spite of the injustice made him one of the most respected cattle traders on the East Coast of the United States. These stories alone demonstrate that William “Billy” Stevens was exactly where he was supposed to be.

When I was fourteen years old my father told me that I was to become an engineer, I didn’t understand the conversation but afterward I came to learn that he always wanted to be an engineer. When returning from the Vietnam war my father started his own company washing windows. When I asked him why he answered, “Well when I came back from the military all I could do was drink and kill people, neither of which I could get paid for on the outside.” He grew a substantial business that not only provided for our family of four but employed recovering members of Alcoholics Anonymous while they put their lives together working the program. Ultimately he sold the business, completed his MBA, and got a job with the National Security Administration as a logistic manager running buildings and construction projects, even getting our family a transfer that allowed us to live in Stuttgart Germany for two years. Again these don’t sound like the accomplishments of someone in the wrong position rather the story of a person exactly where they were meant to be.

My life is no different. When I think about what is before me each day, I am tickled with how everything in my life has set me up for this moment. Thankfully it has not been a straight line, nor will in be in the future. Each part of this remarkable story sets you up in order to do exactly what is needed for today, so enjoy!

You look at a herd of cattle and well, they all look the same… but they know. They all have an individual personality, and those personalities change from day to day. They can have their grumpy days and their happy days and their serene days. But it’s unpredictable. You can’t be off in outer space when you’re dealing with animals.

-Chris Cooper