I love the fact that you come here to read my blog posts and listen to my podcast. There's something about it that gives me such a rush.

In a lot of ways, this blog (and podcast) allows you to get inside my head and find out more about me. However, there are certain things I don't talk about here that play HUGE parts in who I am.

Soooo, I just thought I'd help us take this relationship to the next level by telling you some things about me that you may not know. This post has NOTHING to do with internet marketing, so if that's what you're looking for, check out the archives.

I don't usually do this, so consider yourself special 😀

Ok, so here goes (and don't laugh) . . .

Thing #1 I LOVE playing the piano

At the age of 12, I started taking piano lessons and guess what – I HATED IT. After a year, I asked my parents to stop, and they allowed me to. There was just something about the structure of piano lessons that I really disliked. I wanted to play what I want, the way I wanted to play it. I didn't want some piece of paper telling me how I “should” play.

So I continued playing on my own and learned to play by ear. I've been playing now for 19 years and have been privileged to accompany choirs and various groups all over the U.S., Germany, and throughout the Caribbean – even on national television.

Music is more than just something I do. It's something I Love. My wife and I do concerts every so often where she sings and I play.

Thing #2: I was teased A LOT as a child

No seriously – A LOT. Let me give you some background. Some of this you might not believe. When I was born, I was 4.5 pounds (VERY small). So small (and forgive me for getting so graphic) that when my mom was in labor, she pushed and I flew out. The nurse literally caught me above her head. You think I'm joking but I'm serious.

At the age of 5, I could sit in the palm of my mother's hand. However, there was one part of my body that wasn't small AT ALL, and that was my head. Because of this, my classmates made fun of me constantly – calling me things like Herman monster, Baboon, Never ending Forehead, and a slew of other creative names.

You know how mean kids can be sometimes. Every day, I knew that there would be a period of time when all of the guys would get together just to make fun of me. Fortunately, I had a strong mother, who would constantly encourage me not to pay attention. Her statement was always – “Don't worry with them teasing you about the size of your head. Tell them it's that big because you have a big brain” (hey . . . stop laughing).

Even more fortunately, later on in high school, that all changed. It was as if the rest of my body caught up with my head and I started looking normal (relatively speaking, lol). Don't worry, if you laughed at all in this section, it's ok. I hold no negative feelings about it 😀

Thing #3: I was a TERRIBLE STUDENT

Yes, it's true. Growing up as a child in St. Maarten, I NEVER did ANY homework (literally). Why not? Because they didn't count for a grade. Your grade was only dependent on your Tests and Quizzes. Since that was the case, I didn't see a need for doing homework.

Having me in class was not necessarily the sunshine in my teachers' days. One of the things I enjoyed doing very much was talking – even when I wasn't supposed to be talking, lol.

Fortunately, I did well in High School. However, my homework habits soon caught up with me. As a college student, I had a very hard time turning in homework. Let me give you an example . . .

When I took General Chemistry as an undergraduate student, we were given 3 homework assignments on a weekly basis. I turned in 3 for the quarter. Yeah, I know – not too smart there. Fortunately, I did very well on the exams and quizzes and was able to pass (but barely). In my first semester of college, my GPA was 2.0. In the second, it went down to 1.2.

I skipped A LOT of classes, and spent too much time doing things I shouldn't be doing. My 4 year degree took me 6 years because of how many classes I had to take over.

Thing #4: I was a GREAT STUDENT

Yeah, I know what you're thinking – “Leslie, you said you were a terrible student. How in the world can you be both terrible and great”. Well, things changed. For me, that change happened while sitting in a physiology class. I started learning about the human body and was utterly amazed at how intricate we are.

The first section in that class was on the Nervous System. That fascinated me so much that I wanted to learn more, and more, and more. From that point on, I was VERY passionate about learning. It turns out that I was never passionate about learning because I was never really challenged. So, I decided to challenge myself and I've never gotten anyt

hing less than an A since that day. Wait, no. I lied. I did get a B+ when taking a teaching course that I didn't care too much for.

Since then, I went on to finish my Bachelor's degree in Biology with an emphasis in Zoology, and a Masters degree in Neurobiology. Change is Possible. My Master's GPA was 4.0 – much better than 1.2. In fact, my entire Master's degree was paid for by my biology department at the time, which was a tremendous blessing. They even sent me to Germany for 2 summers to do research. Good times.

So how do I know that transformation is possible? Because it happened to me!

Thing #5: I have the most beautiful, amazing, awesome, loving, caring wife in the world

She's the best wife I've ever had (yeah, I know – I've only had one), and I wouldn't change her for the world. Seriously, I love her.

She supports me in everything I do, and she's the exact person I needed. Marriage is very important to me. I can confidently say that we will be married till death do us part.

No, it's not always easy, but life's much better with her than without her. We are truly living the following words – “What God has brought together, let no man tear asunder.

So there you have it – now you know me a little better. From time to time, I'll be revealing more things about who I am. I think it'll add value to our relationship 🙂

Questions/Comments?

Are there other things you'd like to know about me? Go ahead and ask. I'm pretty much an open book – what you see is what you get. Also, I'd like to hear your feedback. Did you appreciate this post? Was it TMI?

p.s. You don't have to tweet this one, nor do you have to share it on Facebook, LOL.

About the Author Leslie Samuel


Leslie Samuel a business coach for high-performing entrepreneurs. As the host of the Leslie Samuel Show, he teaches how to build an online business. "Changing the world one post at a time” is the mission he strives towards. As a former university professor, he has a passion for education. He's the founder of Interactive Biology, a blog and YouTube channel dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers. As the head of training for the Social Media Marketing Society, he helps social media marketers get the training they need to stay on the leading edge of social media.

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