About Darrin
W E L C O M E T O D A R R I N SCHENCK
I am here to fulfill a purpose, and that purpose is to help as many people as possible. I am sharing my stories and experiences to help you better understand yourself and what you are capable of. One of my favorite quotes sums it up…
“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”
— Nelson Mandela
Helping others pursue their own Self Optimization has become my personal crusade.
I believe the privilege of the adversities I have faced in my life have handed me opportunities to grow in ways I never dreamed. From a neck injury in high school which derailed my college scholarship aspirations to surviving a head-on collision with a wrong way drunk driver, adversity is nothing new to me. As the saying goes, “Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you deal with it” and I am living proof of this to be true.
I have also had some amazing experiences in my life as well, including pursuing my dream of being a Professional Racquetball Player, reaching a career-high ranking of number 18 in the world. After this chapter closed, I became the Head Coach of the ASU Racquetball team, spending 15 years in this role. In my time at ASU I helped produce over three dozen Collegiate All Americans, win a Women’s National Championship, and was a two time recipient of the Collegiate Coach of the Year award. Parallel to this, I am the Vice President of Sales for TriageNow, a telephonic nurse triage service, and have a long list of Fortune 500 clients who now use our service to assist their employees with workplace injuries.
As a Professional Speaker…
I am amassing a large client base of recognized trade associations, companies and universities to my credit. I share the stories of my life experiences, from the car crash or my time preparing to play on the Pro Racquetball Tour, in a customized format for each audience. My focus is to be a dynamic and captivating speaker and leave the audience with actionable takeaways to apply to their own lives. I pride myself on connecting with each audience on a deep and personal level to help ensure out time together has as much value as possible.
In my free time I enjoy fly fishing, golf and incessantly writing my blog and producing more content to share with others.
The Car Crash That Changed My Life
It happened so quickly, and I never saw it coming. I saw nothing but headlights coming out of the darkness right at me. A massive impact, screeching tires and twisting metal, and then complete silence in the dark. The only noise I could hear was someone screaming “Oh my God” over and over… until I realized it was me.
It took forty-five minutes for the paramedics to arrive. This head-on collision with a wrong way drunk driver occurred at the midway point between Phoenix and Payson. Thank God I wasn’t wedged in the car with a broken leg or worse. I doubt I would have made it if I was any less fortunate than I was. I walked away from this crash with barely a scratch physically. However, the emotional scars of this were a different story…
“I have taught nearly 70,000 undergraduates during my career. During this time, I have had a number of guest speakers. Darrin Schenck is one of the best guest speakers of them all. He knows how to engage students in classes from small to large. He connects with students in a manner that engages them and makes them want to learn. Darrin prepares in advance to know his audience and his preparation clearly shows during his guest presentations.
In short, Darrin had made my classes better with his presence.”
“I have taught nearly 70,000 undergraduates during my career. During this time, I have had a number of guest speakers. Darrin Schenck is one of the best guest speakers of them all. He knows how to engage students in classes from small to large. He connects with students in a manner that engages them and makes them want to learn. Darrin prepares in advance to know his audience and his preparation clearly shows during his guest presentations.
In short, Darrin had made my classes better with his presence.”
Christopher P. Neck
Associate Professor of Management
Arizona State University
W. P. Carey School of Business
Department of Management
Past Speaking Clients
Recent Articles
Blog #454 – Pursuit of Happiness vs Happiness of Pursuit
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Blog #453 – The Road to Paradise starts in Hell
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Blog #452 – The Future ain’t what it Used to be…
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Blog #451 – Optimizing for the RIGHT Things
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Blog #450 – A case for Arrogance…
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Blog #449 – Practice slows things down
I was listening to another Joe Rogan podcast the other day and he was discussing the progression that someone new to jiu jitsu experiences with practice. When you first hit the mats and start to