Feather Sharpens Iron

Raised in Dearborn, Michigan, by a single mother for several years, Jason Sullivan

saw his mother's admirable emotional intelligence and empathy daily, as well as

her insistence that he develop similar traits. Leaving home after high school, he

attended San Diego State University, having never seen the campus prior to

moving into his dormitory. Forced to interact and make friends or fail due to

homesickness, he chose to engage with others, putting to use the soft skills he

was raised seeing from his home life. After his sophomore year in college, he took

a one-year educational sabbatical and moved to a small rural island off the

mainland in Japan to teach English. Not knowing anything about the culture nor

able to speak the native language, he threw himself right into a challenging and

beautiful new adventure. While there he learned the power of empathy and had

the privilege of experiencing what it feels like to be an outsider in an intensely

traditional and proud culture.

His journey into sales began in an unconventional way. As a San Diego County

Probation Officer heading into the DEA, he suddenly found himself permanently

injured from playing full contact football in the National Public Safety Football

League. His career in law enforcement ended with his injury and he took a half-

hearted chance at becoming a salesperson after meeting two guys at a party one

evening. Little did he know his decision would change the course of his life and

lead him to a profound understanding of the power of soft skills in the sales

world.

Outside of his passion for sales (actively selling or training others in the art of

sales) you'll find him spending most of his time with his wife, Jeanette, and two

sons, Hudson, and Lochlan. An avid traveler with a sincere passion for meeting

and learning from new people, he rarely keeps his feet on the ground, living his

life in the fastest of lanes. Beyond his professional journey he's volunteered

across a variety of charitable organizations including Susan G. Komen, Injured

Marine Semper Fi Fund, and San Diego Co. Library Adult Literacy Tutor, to name a

few. At present he mentors a handful of younger entrepreneurs that he has met

over the past two years after moving from Southern California to the greater

Indianapolis area.