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Tom LeNoble interviewed by Rob Lawless for “The 10K Friends Project”

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Tom LeNoble interviewed by Rob Lawless for “The 10 K Friends Project”

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Thanks to Rob Lawless for including Tom LeNoble in his visionary “10 K Friends” Project. Read the interview highlights below and follow Rob on Instagram @robs10kfriends and Tom @lenoble.tom

“We had no hot water and no refrigerator. My father brought home a block of ice every day to put in the icebox. He used to heat our bath water on a kerosene stove, which I can smell right now. And there was a pecking order because there was only so much water, and I was the baby so you can imagine where I was, except on my birthday I got to be first.”

Tom LeNoble had an incredible career that spanned leading customer service at MCI and Walmart.com to being employee #57 at @facebook to being VP of HR of a dating site acquired by @match (amongst many other accomplishments). However, evidenced by his book, “My Life in Business Suits, Hospital Gowns, and High Heels,” he’s much more than his titles.

From humble beginnings in Jacksonville Beach, Tom found authenticity in performing at the gay bars in college. Yet, wanting more for his life, he managed the lab of a psychiatric hospital and worked at MCI part-time, setting him down his corporate path.

Throughout his career, though, he navigated the loss of his older brother to AIDS (Tom was 29, his brother was 35) and battled his own serious illnesses. “I’ve been given 6 months to live 3 times…First time was from AIDS, the second time was from AIDS, the third time was from cancer.”

With an unfaltering sense of resilience, though, Tom’s always pressed on – falling in love, traveling the world, hosting his Open Pathways podcast, running @acecoachtraining and giving back to causes like youth in the arts, first-gen students and women in need.

As Tom puts it, “I retired being retired to be inspired.” And now, not only is he feeling uplifted by his endeavors; by sharing his story Tom’s teaching others an important lesson!

“Who we are today is the sum parts of who we’ve been in our life. And some of those parts we may feel shame, they were outrageous, they’re private or just people wouldn’t understand, right? But you would not be who you are today without all those parts.” Great hanging with you, @lenoble.tom!