Tony Albright
Episode 165

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience Podcast. I am delighted to be able to have this guest. Even though we are remote, it's still going to be an amazing experience. If you're brand new to the podcast, we have 100 questions, they progressively become more vulnerable and open the closer they get to 100 and they're about stories and experiences that shape this leader into the leader that they are today. So I'm going to begin with the very first one, and then I'm going to hand over to you once we hit about 10, and you'll choose between 11 and 100 where you want to go. And could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Tony Albright: No, no one ever mispronounces it. It's Tony Albright. Although there was a period of time I went by Anthony, I thought that they were two different names only to discover one was short for the other, so there we are.

Japhet De Oliveira: When did you discover that, Tony?

Tony Albright: That was elementary school, different forms, writing things down and it was the question to the parents of, "Why do you call me one and then the other?" I thought I was special only to discover maybe so, but not in the way I thought.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Well, Tony, what do you do for work?

Tony Albright: I am the Marketing and Communication Manager here at St. Helena and Vallejo.

Japhet De Oliveira: Brilliant.

Tony Albright: So that is my title, many things under that umbrella.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. And how long have you been in that role?

Tony Albright: I have been here just under four years. So January 2021 is when I began my stead here. So yeah, this January will be four.

Japhet De Oliveira: And have you been in communication all your career or is that something new or?

Tony Albright: So sequitous. So no, not my whole time, which is exciting. It was a moment to discover the fact that we can lean in on different past knowledge and experiences and reform. Prior to this I was in graphic design, art direction. And previous to that, and you'll probably get to this in a different question, college years was an art degree followed by graphic design, graphic design/communications. So that's where that seed was planted.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is planted, okay. Hey, that's good. You've enjoyed it though, the last four years?

Tony Albright: I have enjoyed it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Tony Albright: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Give us an example of something that's been kind of like, "Wow, that was amazing," for you?

Tony Albright: So the amazing, and I have one example which was recent, you were actually there to witness part of that experience is connecting with people. So I would say that overall problem solving and connecting is my favorite thing ever. And favorite thing recently was working with Mark in order to get a video done on a breast cancer survivor. It was a great patient story. I knew this person prior and so hearing them but then having that authentic story told through video and pushed out, that was a win. So having those moments where you can make something more than me knowing who this person was, but pushing it out there in the world, sharing.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, man. That's great. Tony, are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Tony Albright: I am definitely an early riser. There was a period of time where I tried to be both. I can no longer burn the candle at both ends that way. I love my sleep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, good.

Tony Albright: But I'm up wicked early. I'm normally up by 5:00/5:30 and ready to go. I have my personal time. It's a moment to just whether it's gym or getting clarity in my head ahead of the day, yeah, early.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that's good, that's good. And this morning when you woke up at crack of dawn, 5:00, what was the first thought that went through your mind?

Tony Albright: I got up actually at 4:00 because of the time change. My first thought was, "Oh my God, this is early." No, my first thought of the day is looking forward, how can I look forward? How can I lean in? I'm a planner, I like to have things planned. Having that box set to color in so that you can know what to color outside of. So putting the plan in place, Japhet, would be the easiest way to say it.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, that's great. Now you alluded to the exercise, but your drink of the first day, do you have water? Do you have coffee, tea, liquid green smoothie? Which one ?

Tony Albright: I should have water. My immediate is coffee. I'm definitely a coffee drinker and I drink it black. There was a period of time where I would throw the sugar and the creamer in there, but I gave that up about the same time that I gave up soft drinks.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow, good for you.

Tony Albright: Yeah, it was a hard one. I have to say that Diet Pepsi was a regular go-to for me, but my wife who is indirectly in healthcare had suggested not exactly the most healthy for you. So I did away, did away with it.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're feeling good for it?

Tony Albright: I'm happy, yeah. That's one of the changes that I've made in order to feel healthier and yes, absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, man. That's great. Now, Tony, where were you born?

Tony Albright: I was born in Arcata, California. So on the northern coast.

Japhet De Oliveira: Northern coast? Okay.

Tony Albright: If you look up Humboldt State, it's in the Redwoods. Arcata is a small little blip on the map and that's where my twin sister and I were born. My dad was-

Japhet De Oliveira: Twin sister? Okay.

Tony Albright: Yeah. Yeah, my dad was in college there. He came back from Vietnam, got the GI bill. So he and my mom were there. Did not expect to have kids, let alone twins, and there we were, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's fantastic. Now, did you grow up there a little bit?

Tony Albright: Two years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right.

Tony Albright: So I remember a hardwood floor and the heater grate, those were the real memories, because those little scooters that you used to be placed in the round ones with the wheels, I must have been going a mile and just blitzing as fast as I could with my little feet and hit the grate. And so I remember from my little viewpoint of being down there seeing the grate. So no, not much.

Japhet De Oliveira: In your early childhood, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Tony Albright: I loved cars and the aesthetic of vehicles. I also loved photography. Those were some of my little inklings at that point. And art, I took so many art classes both in school and out of school. So I was focused, if you can be focused on art, of being creative in some form or fashion.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you still create pieces of art?

Tony Albright: I take photos here and there, so I haven't put pencil to paper, charcoal to canvas, paint to all of that. I haven't done that in a bit. Maybe later, but there are those chapters that you have that you appreciate And you can take and move them forward. So for instance, the creative bent and graphic design bent, for me it's about problem solving. How can you look at what you have at hand, whether it is a communication like you and I are having now or a patient in the hallway that they look like they're needing assistance and you give them that brief moment or that connection point, it's how can you connect and problem solve for others? So that creative side of things is a through line.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is another outlet for you?

Tony Albright: Yeah. So short answer, no, I don't really miss being creative from a painterly drawing aspect.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Hey, that's good, that's good, that's okay. Here's a question about personality. If people described you as an introvert or an extrovert, would you agree with their conclusion?

Tony Albright: It would depend on when you knew me from.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay, all right.

Tony Albright: So for instance, I've known you for a short time and I would be interested after I answer this question to hear what you might suggest from your perspective to label. For me, it depends on who I'm with. When I was younger, I labeled myself as an introvert. And I think it might've been a mis-labeling because I really enjoy engaging with people. I think it might've had to do more with not being comfortable in my own skin and have enough experiences to get out in the world and connect with people. It's a little bit of being open, it's a lot to do with not caring what you think others may think of you. So having the background and experience to be able to speak well and connect with people and then shrugging off the concern, setting that aside. So maybe because of labeling myself as an introvert and backing away from people when I was younger, I was probably seen that way too, right? So now for you, what might you say?

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, I would actually say that you were more of an extrovert than introvert.

Tony Albright: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I've seen you work at the hospital and I've seen the way you connect with people and kind of pull people together.

Tony Albright: Sort of a sheep in the wolf's clothing or vice-versa.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, I like it. Hey Tony, last question and then I'm going to hand over to you. A leadership question, are you a backseat driver?

Tony Albright: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good.

Tony Albright: And...

Japhet De Oliveira: And? Yeah, I saw your face as you said it.

Tony Albright: Yeah, it's not a no, but it's a 'No and'. I think it's important to be forward when needing to be forward. I think it's important to be appreciative yet direct. However, there are times, many times, especially when working with leaders and executives, which is a lot of the crew that I work with, to be mindful. So what is the problem that needs to be solved at hand? Am I the person who is leading the project or am I one of the people who are on the team of the project. So it really depends, Japhet. I will step up to the plate when that is my role. I will be supportive when that is the place.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good, I like it. All right, Tony, the floor is open. Where would you like to go between 11 and 100?

Tony Albright: 11 and 100?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Tony Albright: Let's start off, Japhet, let's start off with 11 please.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Tell us about the most adventurous food or meal you've ever eaten.

Tony Albright: Well, I started off meat and potatoes, so that's not adventurous. My mom was an okay cook. But adventurous? Oh, here's one. I would say that this was a memory that burns in food. So I've been to many different places and I enjoy the cuisine when I go, but one was when I was younger, I was in martial arts and we went with a group of guys to a sushi restaurant, one of my first experiences at sushi. And they had this big wad of this green something. I didn't know what the green something was, it was on the side with all the other food. And the guys, they were eating away and they jokingly said something like, "Hey, you should try that." So with my chopsticks, which I was okay with, I took a big grab of wasabi.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, yes.

Tony Albright: Popped the whole thing in my mouth, not knowing that that was not the thing. And it burned through my nostrils and it seared in that moment. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to taste the food after that, but it was definitely a learning moment. So adventure by proximity.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. And you were able to breathe through it, right?

Tony Albright: Yeah, it opened all my sinuses and then some.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that was 11. So where next?

Tony Albright: Okay, let's go mid, let's say 37.

Japhet De Oliveira: 37? All right. Ooh, what do you like most about your family?

Tony Albright: What I like and what I love most about my family is how honest and caring we are with each other. Honesty is huge for me and huge for them. And when I say that, it's similar to criticism, I don't see a critique as a bad thing. And I think that also goes back to the art and the graphic design. Honesty I see similarly that it's not just being honest to go, "Hey, I really appreciate you," that's an honest statement, but, "That really hurt my feelings. That really was something that I don't appreciate." Having the ability and the courage to do so is something that we have baked in, which I so appreciate.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's a good perspective on honesty and on critiques as well. Yeah, appreciate that. Okay, I'm glad that you enjoy your family so much as well. We've talked about his family and Tony loves his family, so it's great.

Tony Albright: Yeah, I'm lucky, I'm lucky.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next?

Tony Albright: Let's go. 70.

Japhet De Oliveira: 70? All right, here we are. Tell us about one thing that you're determined to accomplish.

Tony Albright: I am determined to accomplish an understanding of why I am here, why am I here on this earth? We've spoken briefly about this, Japhet, and the brief thing we've spoken about is purpose. So I'm driven by purpose and that has gone in different phases. Most recently being here at Adventist Health, it's gone through phases of what is my purpose? Why am I here? I'm not an overly religious person, I'm a spiritual person, so that's something that I can lean in on, but it's much more, it's different than that. So I would suggest or say that it's the bigger, "Why am I here? What am I doing?" Moment. And I've had times where it's been about building bridges and learning, I've had moments where it's about making a difference and helping people and solving problems.

One that I'm looking at right now is about expectations. Expectations that I am putting on myself, expectations that others have for me, I wouldn't say put on me, but expectations that are there, whether it's from personal or work or otherwise, and those I put on others. I'm seeing it not as necessarily a positive thing, it's sort of for me like a should, like shoulds of, "You should do this." That mindset really limits and can be negative. And so I'm trying to reframe for me what an expectation might be. I know it's a roundabout way of getting to it, but for me, having purpose and the, "Why am I here? What am I doing?"

Japhet De Oliveira: Let me follow up with this other thought. Do you find it easier, Tony, to discover your own purpose, to discover someone else's purpose or a group's purpose?

Tony Albright: I would say others and groups, others and groups. I'm pretty hard on myself and I'm okay with that, I'm okay with that. And don't get me wrong, I give myself breathing room as well, but I've been often an in-my-head kind of person, which does sort of go to the perception of introvert. But I look to others to help me understand as well. For instance, when I asked you earlier what might your perspective be, because you're in your own skin all the time, all the time, and you have yourself-doubts, your perspective on yourself, perception.

But it's only through others' eyes that you can bounce off and get that glimpse of what others might see. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's true, but it's something that I take in and if there's a truth or if there's something that I can take and learn from and go, "Okay," whether it is something to make a change to or whether it's something to accept. And that acceptance part is something also recently that I'm becoming to be more okay with. To be able to go like, "Okay, someone's seeing me that way. It doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to change, but my interaction, I will have more of an understanding of how I speak with you or where you're coming from."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good. It takes a lot of confidence to be able to reach that space.

Tony Albright: It's been a few years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's great.

Tony Albright: It's been a few years.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. All right, where next then?

Tony Albright: Let's go to 13.

Japhet De Oliveira: 13? Okay, here we are. Oh, walk us through the ideal end of your day. Yeah, he exhaled as he said that.

Tony Albright: Well, it brings me joy to think about it because there's an ideal and then I'll give you my real.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right, I like it.

Tony Albright: And both are solid. Ideal end of the day would be finishing the projects that I had intended to do, have an idea of what's needing to hit the ground running the following day, but going on a bike ride, having my gear set up, having it be not crazy hot, a little bit cool-ish, and just going on a long ride and getting in that cadence and mind frame and just going, that would be an ideal way to end the day. And I do that sometimes, I don't do it as often as I'd like.

My real way of ending the day, which I also love, is picking my boys up from school often. My wife brings them in, so it's my turn to bring them home, and then making dinner. And it used to feel like a chore, it was one of those things of 'I have to do'. It's a trade-off, that's one of my things. And now I enjoy it, I can get into that same space that I do when I'm riding my bike. And once you change your mind frame from a 'have to', it's the expectations thing, "I have to do this," to, "I get to do this," and then the routine doesn't have to be mundane or sorrowful, you can put your joy into that too.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. I like that, man, I like that. Right, where next?

Tony Albright: Let's go to 38.

Japhet De Oliveira: 38? All right, here we go. If you needed encouragement, Tony, who would you call?

Tony Albright: I have a few people who I reach out to. I'm still developing my crew this way, and it's a rejiggering. But there are a few close friends who I've leaned on in the past who I would lean on and do lean on. So yeah, there's a group of guys, there's a men's circle who I speak with once in a while and it's a bi-weekly kind of thing. And so I'll bring things up in that group.

But I also have recently reached out occasionally, I gave someone a call when I was driving back from a trip this weekend, and it was good just to connect, right? And sometimes it's just to reach out, to hear somebody else's voice, to have that human moment. And other times it might be a heavy conversation. And it's not always from my side, oftentimes, again, men's group would be a person needing assistance and I am equally happy to provide my thoughts, to bounce things off, to listen, which is something that I'm trying to lean in more on as well, being that pause, not always having to be on, but having that pause to reflect and give back.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good, that's good. All right, where next?

Tony Albright: Let's go to 80.

Japhet De Oliveira: 80? Oh, how would you like to change in the future?

Tony Albright: I would like to be more spontaneous and happy. I would like to be more spontaneous and happy.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good.

Tony Albright: I get into routines. As much as I said I like to plan, which I do, I need to work on coloring outside the box, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Not planned?

Tony Albright: Yeah. Well it's sometimes planning, but it's also, here's an example, speaking about ideal days, here's a not ideal day, and this will dovetail into that desire for that shift or change would be coming home, long day, good day, long day and go in to do the chores, make the dinner and my boys needing and wanting to have some time, but the way that they are demonstrating that to me is not positive. And so my viewpoint and needing to check off the edge is summertime, right? Hot. They're outside playing with the hose, having a good time. It was a missed opportunity to go out at that time.

So I'm there making dinner and Caroline, my wife, says, "Hey, I need to have you go outside to get something." I should have known where this was headed. So I go out the front porch, my boy is waiting around the corner and just hoses me down from top to bottom. And instead of being in that moment of appreciation and just joy and just not caring, I was not happy. And that's a mild way of saying it, right? And so that's needing to take advantage of those moments, Japhet, to really not take myself so seriously. And by not taking myself seriously, being able to connect in a different way.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's pretty good. That's a great reminder for all parents, right?

Tony Albright: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, the pressure and joy. All right, next after 80?

Tony Albright: Let's go to the top.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Which one?

Tony Albright: 100.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, 100? Okay.

Tony Albright: Yeah, let's go.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well Tony, could you give us one question that you would rather not answer?

Tony Albright: Yeah. What are you afraid of?

Japhet De Oliveira: And therefore what are you afraid of?

Tony Albright: Failure.

Japhet De Oliveira: Huh? Where think that comes from?

Tony Albright: Falling short. Childhood for sure. It's a childhood thing for sure. Wasn't expecting that one, interesting. And I gave it to myself, thanks.

Japhet De Oliveira: I think you're welcome.

Tony Albright: Yeah, no, it comes from a place of feeling inferior, not enough, and perhaps not having, being a parent now, I don't fault my parents, but maybe not feeling respected or appreciated enough in what I was doing or fostering my interests when I was younger. Challenges at school maybe could have been addressed differently. I mean, we all get to where we are by the road. The circuitous path forward for me, for example, has made me proudly who I am today.

However, the concern or feel of failure is that it's a back of brain space. It doesn't come up often, but it does come up. And so that goes to how can I move forward? What is my purpose? How can I plan for but also be flexible enough to have opportunities come to work on my strengths, to develop my leadership, to look at what might be next and be okay that I am human and that I'm not perfect, and that it's okay to fail and it's okay to be broken at times and feel that it's okay. And reminding myself that it's okay is important and hearing that from others is equally so. But being able to pick yourself up and have the group of people who you can trust to go to for that, invaluable.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good words there. Because you're not alone, you're not alone. There's many of you that feel that way. So thank you for sharing that. We have time for one last one, Tony, where would you like to go with your last question? Yeah.

Tony Albright: We started with 11, we went to 100. Let's try 89.

Japhet De Oliveira: 89? All right. What's the most impactful no you've said recently?

Tony Albright: I'm not really good at saying no. It's normally either a yes or a, "Let me see how that might be possible," or, "Let's put that in the parking lot and we might come back to it," which is sort of I guess an indirect no.

Japhet De Oliveira: Depends how far away the parking lot is.

Tony Albright: Yeah, no, I know. I try to keep them closer to get back to. Nothing is coming to mind immediately, Japhet. I mean there was a no that I said to myself. And the one that comes to mind is I went to our cabin, my wife's family's cabin to winterize it recently. And I was just going to blitz up, went up after work on Friday and I was going to come back the next day on Saturday. And the no was, "No, I don't have to go back that early. I can take time." And I ended up coming back Sunday and I had a good Tony time to just press pause and reset and be comfortable and uncomfortable in just being by myself. So that was an impactful no, different than no to a project, no to a person, although it was myself. Yeah, that might be it.

Japhet De Oliveira: I love that. Tony, it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to talk. Thank you for sharing thank you for taking on question-

Tony Albright: I appreciate you giving me the time, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. Thanks for taking on question 100, which I think you shared and you inspired others. There's a lot.

Tony Albright: I appreciate that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no, it's true, it's true.

Tony Albright: We might as well, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: Well yeah, we might as well, we might as well. The new Tony, the new Tony. You know-

Tony Albright: There's no more 2.0. I'm not sure what the number might be, but we're past that.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's all good, it's all good. I really believe that having conversations like this is good for us, good for us as human beings. We learn about each other, but we get closer and we are transformed by it as well. So thank you for sharing.

Tony Albright: I appreciate you giving me the time to connect.

Japhet De Oliveira: No worries, God bless you man and God bless everybody who's listing and we'll connect again on another episode soon.

Tony Albright: Thank you, Japhet.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story and Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.