Corporate Executive Turned TikToker on Taking a Career Break, Developing Curiosity and Responding with Empathy | E37 Tim Traill

Joining me today is Tim Traill. Tim is a husband and father of 5 children. Tim has spent three decades working his way up to a Corporate Executive in the financial services industry.

Last year, Tim decided he needed a career break. As you’ll hear in the episode, the beginning of his break was a challenging period. Tim was missing the sense of purpose and community he found through work.

That was until he stumbled into TikTok. It started as a joke with his kids. He created DIY videos showcasing home improvement, decor ideas, and handyman tips. But what started as a joke turned into viral content and now, only 5 months later, Tim has 148,000 followers and 1.6 million likes.

Of course we’ll talk about TikTok, but I hope you also pick up something about embracing change, developing curiosity and empathy too.

Show Notes:

[2:10] How did Tim find himself on TikTok?

[9:13] Why did Tim decide to take a career break after 30 years?

[21:26] Responding to criticism with respective and empathy

[25:55] How Tim became an Executive

[31:48] Parenting and what Tim has learned from his kids

Favorite Quotes:

[5:44] “What I find about TikTok is that it is bringing together the masses in real time but it is not sugar coated. It is not like FakeBook...or the Facebook.”

[12:45] “I realized that TikTok allowed me to be who I am...be myself.”

[18:59] “As a 49 year old, I can tell you, we continue to learn every single day.”

[33:42] “Just take an opportunity to learn something new. Introduce yourself to things, to people that you otherwise might not want to.”

[45:21] “I realized that I am so grateful as a human being to get the opportunity to be able to learn and be corrected every single day.”

More of Tim:

TikTok: @thediytraill

Instagram: @thediytraill

More of TSIR:

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