We were lucky to catch up with Ramone Quides recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ramone, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
My work was both misunderstood and mischaracterized in an early professional career by some people around me because I didn’t come into the business in the traditional path, with the traditional education. They were classically trained engineers and scientists, while I had risen through the ranks. Worse yet, I had been an Economics major. How the hell could an Econ major design and develop sophisticated electronics equipment?
My strength to do this, and succeed, came from two sources. The first was from amazing mentors that recognized the math and science proficiency I had, and that the education and paths we choose in life can be dynamic and flexible. They gave me a chance to prove myself when others wouldn’t in a collaborative approach.
The second was that my business and analytical skills enabled me to execute and manage products and teams that met cost, schedule, and performance parameters, when some of my naysayers assumed producing “the next great thing” would overshadow delays and overruns.
The process of determining the skills needed, selecting those people based on talent and teaming ability, and managing progress and risks with foresight and hindsight led to a successful career. It also improved my separate activities in mentoring, tutoring and teaching.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a renaissance man, a creative mind who has adjusted to life’s opportunities and challenges, with a combination of adaptive skills, awareness, and analytical skills. Some of that stems from biological obstacles: mild ADHD, split personas, bouts of depression, and forgetfulness. Others are sociological. But I’ve succeeded with a combination of awareness when I recognized it, proactive coping mechanisms, and lifelong learning.
I’m a first generation American from displaced citizen parents. They were blue-collar workers, very talented but caught up in getting by. My father would create things I told him should be patented, but he either didn’t have the mindset or inclination to see that. Later, I would see a version of his design at a store and tell him, “See! You could make money from that!”
I took a similar path. I’ve worked for income since I was ten, and full time since eighteen. But a life change redirected me, and I began working around amazing scientists and engineers who reshaped both who I thought I could be and what I could achieve. I rode that energy through a thirty-five year career, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and into managerial positions, but it took a long time before I developed from “fake it ‘till you make it” to knowing that I was the talent being sought after.
I left that career in my fifties with enough financial security to take my life in new directions that I felt would be more fulfilling on a personal level. Mentoring, tutoring and teaching are carry-over interests I’ve sustained. I work with students from middle school through adulthood, but my favorite age range is 6th through 10th grade. So much going on, and so many challenges, but career growth skills help me find common ground from which to help them succeed.
I hike and do trail repair, tickling my love of the outdoors. I’m certified as a golf rules official, which broadens my involvement beyond just playing, while photography and cooking / recipe creation are just pure joy. And global travel, to connect with people and cultures in their realms, and bring back perspectives and inspiration.
Three years ago, I quietly took on one of my biggest challenges to date: creative writing. To make it tougher, I specifically chose nonfiction literary erotica, intending to craft three short stories in different genres. If I failed, then it was fun and no one would ever know. But I succeeded, and all three stories did extremely well. I now write regularly, sustain my blogs, and edit as asked. Like most of my adventures in life, it’s been a combination of “learning as I go” and humble confidence. Of finding the resources and mentors that resonate with me, and following my personal motto: “Live the adventure, love the experience”.
So yes, I’m a renaissance man, ready to create what’s next.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The goals motivating my creative journeys through my adult life have varied over my lifetime, but there’s always been a recognition that some balance of professional and personal growth was needed to keep me from going bonkers! Not that personal growth could not be professional as well. I’m highly analytical, and can remember the thrill of writing tight software in assembly code, or a database routine that radically simplified my efforts. This mindset was critical early, when my life was dominated by survival and my abnormal education and career path. Many of my coworkers had progressed along the classic route of college first, then career. I didn’t have that luxury, and struggled into my thirties with imposter syndrome. I eventually overcame that in my late thirties, when I felt that I really was worthy of the awards and recognitions I’d received, and on equal footing with my peers.
In retrospective, maintaining some balance of professional and personal creativity was foundational to my happiness and peace of mind.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn my nerdisms if I was to succeed at creative writing. My tech career was dominated by technical writing, entrenched in the scientific method. Tech providers and customers don’t want to hear feelings and fluff. They want facts, analyses, and validation. I found that those went over better when the grammar and flow were proper, something I inherently was good at. When I took on the challenge of creative writing at age sixty-two, I had to unlearn and restructure how I write. My content would have to touch on emotions. Break away from the how and dive into the why. I had to unlearn functionality and learn about adjectives and adverbs. Step away from black and white, and embrace the wondrous variety of life in a cohesive, appealing, and energizing manner.
I did this in three ways. I read and listened to the writings of successful authors, to discover how to impart and extract emotion into the stories. I took short classes that would provide instructor feedback to guide me along. And lastly, I found editors who would challenge me with guidance, and let me figure out if I could get there or not.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ramonequides.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ramonequides
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ramonequides
- Other: Medium: ramonequides.medium.com
Image Credits
Ramone Quides