About Me — John Nielson

I’m in a murderous mood: slaughter the old me to reveal the real one.

My Grade 13 English teacher, Mr. Hillen, was the first one to call me a writer to my face. I brushed him off. Then I spent the next 30 years of my life doing stuff I’m not sure I should’ve been doing. Every chance he gets, a friend needles me about that: “It’s amazing how good we can become doing things we don’t like doing.”

I’m on a humble hike to hack the last 30 years of life.

Hey, no complaints. Born in Montreal, grew up in Toronto, now living in St. Paul, MN. I’ve made a living as a writer, a marketing copywriter, that is. I’ve written for other companies, people, places, products, and services — telling their stories instead of my own. Decent run. I used to boast, “I’ve marketed everything from under-arm, pit spray to Turkish tourism.” Now I’m not sure it’s such a great accomplishment. I’ve also been a change leader for organizations of all shapes and sizes. I still like that work. But it’s getting harder to help others change when I feel like I’m not. “My Real Resume” is an eight-minute read. You’ll get the gist of my rangy career in a few seconds. Check it out.