Scott Armstrong is a Senior Market Research analyst located in Columbus, Ohio. Scott completed his undergraduate in Computer Science at Northwestern before completing his MBA at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Upon graduation, Scott began work for a local Columbus business as a market analyst before moving on to a larger role at a national company.
Scott is a big proponent of charity and volunteer work. Beyond his involvement with the volunteer work the company he works for completes, Scott is heavily involved in charitable events in his free time having involvement with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ohio as well as Columbus relief. Scott is also very involved in an athletics having completed a triathlon in 2015 and continuing to be involved in personal exercise routines.
In the last few years, what lifestyle, habit, or behavior change has had the biggest positive impact on your life?
Being an active person, I have always tried to instill and maintain healthy habits in my everyday life, but over the past few years as my career has developed work has begun to take up more of my time and getting in regular workouts got tough. Re-establishing my previous workout and exercise routines and making sure that I make time for myself to stay healthy has been big for me. With the way things have been because of the current issues, establishing a line between work and personal time has been extremely important.
When you feel unfocused, what do you do?
When I feel unfocused I find that I need to take a step away from my work completely for 5-10 minutes in order to refocus on my current project. I found when I was studying in college that taking intermittent 5-10 minute breaks in studying more frequently rather than one big break helped me a lot and I have tried to recreate that in my work habits.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
Walk your path, no one else’s and gain experience wherever you can. You’ll find that people will have a lot of advice for you and judge you based off of where you are in your life. There is no set schedule on when you need to graduate, buy a car, or buy a house. Move at your own pace and continue to push forward.
What is one lifestyle trend that excites you?
I’m really big into technology and fitness so seeing the further integration of fitness technology into everyday life is really exciting. Also, seeing the gyms that are integrating tech further into group and individual workouts is awesome as well. Anything that helps motivate people to be their best self is great.
I am also really excited to see people moving to healthier eating as well and there being a bigger emphasis on that. As someone who has experienced both sides of poor and healthy eating habits I can say that there is nothing like eating well. A lot of the physical ailments I have dealt with in the past came from eating processed foods and having bad habits, but making that change to a healthier diet and habits, even if it was just minor in the beginning, made a world of difference.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
My mother, for sure. Growing up in a single parent family I have seen what it is like to struggle firsthand. My mom held the house together while raising my brother and I and did a phenomenal job. She motivates me everyday to be my best self and always continue to push forward. She is also one of the big reasons that I give back and volunteer, especially with children’s charities. Anything that I can do to help out a family who is struggling is such a rewarding experience and I know that it goes a long way. I always try to push people to donate whatever they can whether that be time, money, old belongings, anything. She has been the main reason why I am who I am today.
What’s one of the biggest life lessons you’ve learned?
To always continue pushing forward, no matter what. Life is going to throw a lot of obstacles at you throughout your life. It’s important to remember that no matter how bad you are down, you need to push forward. With anything like this, it is always easier said than done, but having a positive attitude and keeping yourself healthy can help give you the best opportunity to achieve your goals and overcome obstacles.
What do you think it is that makes you/someone successful?
Attitude and mindset. Finding a way to constantly keep a good attitude and positive mindset is a superpower in my opinion and something that is extremely difficult to achieve. All the talent in the world can only get you so far, but having that positive attitude and mindset will set you apart from the rest of the pack.
How do you stay motivated?
Keeping physically and mentally active helps keep me motivated. My family also helps keep me motivated as well. It is easy sometimes to lose perspective but having people around you that keep you grounded and motivated is big. That being said, no matter how good your support group is around you it always comes down to your own mindset and attitude. Being able to motivate yourself is big and something that you constantly need to be on top on. Finding ways to motivate yourself can save you a lot of time and help you avoid a lot of issues.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
I would one day like to start my own children’s/family charity that helps single parent families or orphans in scenarios that were similar to mine. I would like that charity to be my legacy. Beyond that, I would just want family, friends, and colleagues to see me as someone who cared, someone who was there for them no matter what, and someone who was always ready to give back. Being nice to people takes no effort and spreading positivity is something that is so important, especially now.