“When I’m on stage, I get this feeling of purpose and pride that sharing my knowledge is helpful for people.” – Alexander Magnussen
At the age of 25 I started my employment journey. I had never had a “real” job before and I knew it was my time to start looking into a career.
In 2013, I was given the opportunity to speak at a conference in front of fifty people. This was my first time speaking in front of a group of people, and expressing my opinion on living with Autism. I loved the feeling of voicing my opinion in front of people and speaking to them about my life, but at that time I didn’t realize that this could be a career.
Through my support at Semiahmoo House Society, the customized employment program landed me a job at a vineyard in Langley. I enjoyed it but I knew it wasn’t my niche in the world because it was mostly an outside job, and I don’t like the rain.
After working an outside job, I decided to try a different job working at a bottle depot. I was counting and sorting bottles, but dealing with the smell and stickiness was hard because my senses are already heightened. This job lasted two days because I knew the general environment wasn’t for me.
After doing some exploration on finding the perfect job for me, I realized that I already had my perfect job right there. I knew public speaking was my niche in the world once I saw that people were booking me. One speech led to another, and as time passed I had no time to look for the “perfect job.” Then it clicked that public speaking is the “perfect job!” When I’m on stage, I get this feeling of purpose and pride that sharing my knowledge is helpful for people. The classification of my career is public speaking but I also consider it helping people.
Click here to watch a recent TEDx talk that Alexander gave called “Bridging the Gap”
To contact Alexander about his public speaking services, you can email: teamalexm@outlook.com.
