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josh chandler community ethics

Biography

Hi there. My name is Josh Chandler. I am 21 years old and I live in Leeds, UK.

Firstly, I am not writing this page to list my professional achievements. That’s what my Linkedin Profile is designed for. (Thanks Beatriz Alemar for that valuable lesson!)

Instead I want to share my story with you.

Born and raised for the first 8 years of my life in the south of England, I grew up in a very simple environment where I wasn’t blessed with huge wealth or material possessions.

I truly believe that the lack of material goods and the appreciation of making do with what we had has helped shape my outlook on life.

From the age of 8 I lived in the Midlands, a central vicinity of the UK. We had moved up very slightly in the world, but as a family we never took this for granted. My parents still worked very hard. The added bonus was that my mum and dad worked in two very caring professions, nursing and teaching. (and still do to this day with the same energy and commitment!)

My parents were a positive influence on me in this respect. They taught me that to afford to buy nice things, you must work hard to earn that privilege.

I will admit that I wasn’t always the perfect child growing up. I would often act out and go against my parent’s wishes. Of course, as I grew up I learnt to appreciate the value of being honest and working hard.

But the one thing I have learnt to appreciate in life is that we all take a journey. So just because I wasn’t the perfect child who was a high achiever, it didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to work hard to improve.

As part of this journey in my early teenage years, I stumbled a lot. I took so many falls in academic and social development.  But you know what, every lesson I learnt from those mistakes actually made me a lot stronger and independent.

As a young adult, I now realise that I don’t care for the excessive lifestyle that others out of personal choice choose to live.

I believe that some of life’s greatest lessons and experiences are often found in the most unlikely (and often free!) places and in the conversations with friends and family.

For instance one of the most important lessons I learnt a few years back was that if you want something, you go and get it yourself. This moment of realization came after seeing many young people unwilling to take on a part-time job at a time when the economy was more stable.

This infuriated me. Of course these are the same people complaining about their life now the economy has gone downhill.

So from that moment on, I vowed, no matter what, I would always go for something if I really wanted it. I was already developing this habit, but seeing how friends would be so disengaged from the chances they had, it made me more focused and determined.

Again, this links back to the simple roots I came from and the influence of my parents on how I viewed wealth. For instance I would never seek material wealth at the cost of others.

I believe that in our society we have a right to share in the material wealth and prosperity of our economy.

In summary I believe that:

  • We can build a society where we are all equal.
  • There is more to life than money.
  • If I am not doing something about a cause I am passionate about, I am failing.
  • Life is what you make of it.
  • If you want something, you go and get it. No one is going to help you get there.

As you are reading this I am studying for my Business degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. I started in September 2011.
I hope that has given you some insight into who I am. Below are some further links and resources (social networks, email contact, link to the blog) for you.

Josh Chandler On The Web

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