Ray Barry, Boston Bruins (Center), Accountant

I always have a great time chatting with my neighbour Ray. Like most people of his generation he's seen it all. Even though he is in his 80's, what struck me about the things he has done is that they sound like lessons for any tech company, namely, persevere but know when to pivot when things aren't looking so good.

Ray was born in 1928 in Boston but moved to Edmonton shortly after that since his father was a tenographer and his skills were in demand all over the continent. Like most kids in the 1930's he played outside, even in the freezing cold. He was skating by four years old and playing ice hockey throughout his youth in empty lots flooded by friendly neighbours. In his bantam years (about 14 years old) he was coached by Anglican ministers since the war needed everyone else. I imagined men running around in robes praising children but Ray told me the ministers were great coaches and tough hockey players. When he left high school he signed with the Tulsa Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs farm team, for $100.

What followed was the quintessential ping-pong life of a professional hockey player moving to teams in Toronto, Boston, Sherbrooke, Edmonton, back to Boston, Hershey, Edmonton, Calgary,...[I was losing track of his moves at this point in our conversation]. But what really struck me about all of this so far was his persistence. He liked hockey and he stuck with it. Ray never claims to be overly talented (he was 150 pounds, which is small for a hockey player even 60 years ago), but certainly persistent. Through all this he had a chance to play with some great people, was a centre for the Boston Bruins, and travelled all over the US and Canada. So what does a young professional hockey player do in his prime? He becomes an accountant.

Ray pivoted 60 years before the term was in vogue. He saw that hockey wasn't going to sustain him for much longer. He was married with three kids, getting injured, moving around a lot, and not making a whole lot of money. He looked for a new challenge, talked to a lot of nice people, got good advice and followed it. It took six years to complete all his exams and receive his CA credentials. I find his perseverance staggering, considering most people complain about the most trivial matters at work.

Again, he had a new challenge in a new city and he persisted. Ray formed a great firm and that company is still around today. When I asked Ray how he knew when to keep pushing and when to make a change he said he didn't. He just said he understood he could make his own choices and when he did, he didn't look back. I appreciate his sharing these stories since they tells us what we all know deep down inside, we create our own reality by putting our attention on where we want to be.

You can see Ray's stats at http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/barryra01.html