Hans Widener
I inspire and teach people how to grow through engaging stories, thoughtful quotes and personal anecdotes. Not only will the audience leave inspired, but they'll leave with a plan on how to improve not just their professional lives, but their personal lives as well.
Overweight. Asthmatic. Bullied. This was my childhood. From elementary school all the way up through high school, I was the kid people made fun of at school. Consequently, I turned to food for comfort, which in turn only compounded my problems. I yearned to change, but I didn’t know how, or where to start, nor did I know if it was really possible. Going into my senior year of high school, I knew nothing would change if I didn’t change anything, so one night I decided to go for a run, and then the next night, and the night after that and so on. Over the course of the next three months, I lost 30 pounds and that’s where my journey of personal growth really started—with the discipline to recapture my physical health. Over the last two decades, I’ve lost another 50 pounds since those high school days and have learned numerous invaluable lessons that can be applied to every area of life. My problem, other than needing to lose weight, was that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Not knowing what career to pursue, I fell back on the classes I enjoyed the most in school—history. Also inspired by my love of golf, I decided to become a high school history teacher and golf coach.
Really, there were two things that motivated me to choose this—I love learning and I love telling stories to teach a lesson. I always believed that if we learned the lessons history has to offer, we could apply the lessons to improve our current lives. Pretty quickly, I moved into teaching multiple Advanced Placement history courses where I excelled at asking questions and teaching students how to think critically. I also realized, however, that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career in a classroom. I had other aspirations, and as a result pursued an MBA. While finishing up my MBA, I made the move to private education where I helped develop a Leadership Academy program to train high school juniors and seniors on leadership and success principles in addition to helping connect them with community leaders and entrepreneurs from whom they could learn.
It was in this endeavor that I discovered my passion for teaching leadership. Before we can lead others, we have to lead ourselves and I had learned to do that through years of study and refinement that I had to go through in order to change from my past. In this Leadership program, I delivered various keynote speeches and workshops on topics such as emotional intelligence, character, and mindset, and students often told me they were the most helpful and practical workshops they attended. It was information that they weren’t learning in the classroom that could have a significant impact on their lives. I have long been a student of leadership and personal development believing that the information we consume regularly will determine our future and have seen the benefits manifested in my own life. I believe strongly in the mission of developing leaders and thus have joined the Maxwell Leadership Team to add value to you and others and help you realize your full potential and accomplish your greatest dreams and goals. I am on the journey with you as I, too, want to live a life of excellence and leave a lasting legacy.
Overweight. Asthmatic. Bullied. This was my childhood. From elementary school all the way up through high school, I was the kid people made fun of at school. Consequently, I turned to food for comfort, which in turn only compounded my problems. I yearned to change, but I didn’t know how, or where to start, nor did I know if it was really possible. Going into my senior year of high school, I knew nothing would change if I didn’t change anything, so one night I decided to go for a run, and then the next night, and the night after that and so on. Over the course of the next three months, I lost 30 pounds and that’s where my journey of personal growth really started—with the discipline to recapture my physical health. Over the last two decades, I’ve lost another 50 pounds since those high school days and have learned numerous invaluable lessons that can be applied to every area of life. My problem, other than needing to lose weight, was that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Not knowing what career to pursue, I fell back on the classes I enjoyed the most in school—history. Also inspired by my love of golf, I decided to become a high school history teacher and golf coach.
Really, there were two things that motivated me to choose this—I love learning and I love telling stories to teach a lesson. I always believed that if we learned the lessons history has to offer, we could apply the lessons to improve our current lives. Pretty quickly, I moved into teaching multiple Advanced Placement history courses where I excelled at asking questions and teaching students how to think critically. I also realized, however, that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career in a classroom. I had other aspirations, and as a result pursued an MBA. While finishing up my MBA, I made the move to private education where I helped develop a Leadership Academy program to train high school juniors and seniors on leadership and success principles in addition to helping connect them with community leaders and entrepreneurs from whom they could learn.
It was in this endeavor that I discovered my passion for teaching leadership. Before we can lead others, we have to lead ourselves and I had learned to do that through years of study and refinement that I had to go through in order to change from my past. In this Leadership program, I delivered various keynote speeches and workshops on topics such as emotional intelligence, character, and mindset, and students often told me they were the most helpful and practical workshops they attended. It was information that they weren’t learning in the classroom that could have a significant impact on their lives. I have long been a student of leadership and personal development believing that the information we consume regularly will determine our future and have seen the benefits manifested in my own life. I believe strongly in the mission of developing leaders and thus have joined the Maxwell Leadership Team to add value to you and others and help you realize your full potential and accomplish your greatest dreams and goals. I am on the journey with you as I, too, want to live a life of excellence and leave a lasting legacy.
