In 2020, Keith Baldwin started with a quest to do something for the first time in his life every day for a year. It was fun and games filled with bucket list-type items to start until a pandemic showed up and provided many unwanted firsts. Unwanted firsts included not paying himself for a year, working 24/7 for free, and laying off his entire staff of 45 on March 20th. It was the first time he had ever laid off an employee.

His firsts became more purposeful and meaningful as he worked on his newfound “WHY” of saving jobs and keeping people employed. Keith will share his journey of his Leap Year of Firsts. He realized that challenging oneself to do uncomfortable things for the first time is a mechanism of growth that anyone can apply to go from feeling stuck to thriving, even in challenging times. The quest for firsts got him through and it made him grow. It provided a positive mindset of learning and gave him hope that he would like to share.