...and I believe that small, consistent actions can create extraordinary change.
Why? Because I’ve seen it happen again and again, even when the odds seemed impossible.
At 17, I sat in my basement, staring at my black laptop screen, with the gut-level certainty that I needed to forge my own path. While my friends were planning their university courses, I was sketching out a very different future – a future that honestly scared me as much as it excited me.
At 13, I started chasing my dream of playing professional soccer.
(I even moved to Italy by myself.)
Life had different plans, though. Three knee injuries at 17 robbed me of a full-ride soccer scholarship and redirected my path, teaching me that sometimes our most significant setbacks can become our most meaningful comebacks.
I’m not going to lie. It was brutal knowing I wouldn’t play soccer professionally. But thanks to my grandfather, a man who had shaped my entire worldview, I was able to shift.
Nonno Sam arrived in Canada with nothing but his values and work ethic. He taught me that true success isn't measured by what you have but by how you serve others.
He'd wake up at 4 AM to shovel neighbors' driveways in the winter, spend weekends tending his garden just to give vegetables to everyone on the street, and show up whenever anyone needed help – no questions asked. Even during his final days battling cancer, his priority was making others smile.
And I say "stumbled" because it literally started with tripping over a piece of trash during my senior year.
An incredible teacher named Mr. Loudfoot had recently taught me that
small, consistent actions can create extraordinary change.
Inspired by his wisdom, I started picking up one bag of litter on my daily walks home. This one small decision grew into PickWaste – a community movement that brought together hundreds of volunteers who cleared over 3,000 bags of litter from our streets.
Before I knew it, our little idea was featured all over national news, and I realized I wanted to keep making a difference, this time through speaking and writing - which brings us back to my basement.
By 19, I was learning how to
command a stage...
(and trying not to pass
out from nervousness).
I'd practice in the shower, reciting stories to the tiles, and sometimes step out dripping wet to check my notes. But one performance at a time, something amazing started happening.
Those shaky first talks evolved into keynotes at significant education conferences, becoming the youngest keynote speaker to earn the Certified Speaking Professional™ designation, and somehow—still pinching myself about this—touring North America, Africa, and soon Australia to share my message of empowerment.
Fast forward through over 750 keynotes (wild, right?), two TEDx talks, and a bestselling book called Empty Your Backpack, and I'm still that same kid who gets excited about making a difference. I've been incredibly fortunate to work with amazing brands like Taco Bell on kindness initiatives, speak everywhere from American auditoriums to Kenyan classrooms, and even launch a nationwide mental health speaking tour.
Every day brings new opportunities to serve,
grow, and challenge what's possible.
And it just starts with one choice, one action, one person...
If this message sounds like one you or your audience needs, I hope we create an opportunity to connect and collaborate.
Wishing you all the best 🙂
What's Sam Working On?
Whether it’s collecting 3,000 bags of litter, driving a giant red backpack across the country, or organizing a twenty-school speaking tour across six cities in Kenya, Sam is always working on something exciting.
Most recently, he published a children's picture book that teaches kids about kindness and empathy.
FREE eBook
Empty Your
Backpack
Not your physical backpack but the negative thoughts you carry, the ones holding you back from a life of meaning.
Download Sam’s bestseller for free (yes, free), and discover how you can optimize your beliefs and actions to get you where you want to be
Plus, Sam’s neighbor said it helped him put his three-year-old to sleep... So, yeah. It’s good stuff.