A thought leader, also known as an influencer, is a person who, in accordance with their viewpoint on a given field, provides unique advice, spurs innovation, and encourages others. Benjamin Brumm is a trailblazing thought leader from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, a town with a population of roughly 4,195 people. Despite coming from a middle-class background with little expertise in business or foreign affairs, Benjamin has risen to the top through networking and developing contacts with specialists via LinkedIn and Zoom meetings.
Growing up in a small suburban house, Benjamin got his creativity from always adventuring in the forest with his peers and building Lego towns. That’s how he learned the value of commerce and negotiation at a young age. He also began participating in sports in junior high and soon rose to the national level of elite football competition, which became his identity for a short time. After completing kinesiology courses in university and learning about the tremendous benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, Benjamin decided to pursue coaching.
After two years of varsity football at Acadia, he tore his ACL. After leaving the sport, he went through an identity crisis, recovered from a severe injury, and dealt with the pandemic, which made him mature far more quickly. After going through all that, he decided to concentrate on his job and began coaching. Within a few months, he excelled in his new position as a coach, eventually advancing to the position of head strength and conditioning coach for the Men’s Acadia Hockey team.
However, the pandemic resulted in a significant drop in educational quality. In the winter of 2021, he took a year off from school to serve on the front lines of the pandemic, where he could get medical experience – the online-only school was not working for him. Over five months, he put in a full day’s work every day, working in various medical areas, serving as a team leader at a local immunization clinic, and rose to the top of his profession as a respected authority. After witnessing how it worked from within, he discovered defects and issues in the medical system, and he is now motivated to remedy these.
After learning more about different cultures and institutional practices, he recognized that he was living a significantly different life, cut off from the world’s reality. He grew up in a culture that was completely removed from the troubles surrounding him. The devastation Benjamin felt due to the world’s suffering enabled him to progress on his quest for enlightenment.
Benjamin recognized the severity of the issue and realized he lacked the expertise and wisdom necessary to handle it. After 16 months of intense inner contemplation, he returned to school. He worked with two outstanding mentors who patiently and graciously taught him everything they knew about the business world. Benjamin’s mentors – well-known members of society – shaped him into a capable and observant leader at 22.
In the upcoming months, he hopes to broaden his network and attract sponsors who want to help him unite the world around issues like hunger, health, shattered communities, and poverty.
Follow Benjamin on his LinkedIn to keep up with his future endeavors.