Welcome to my website. I’m glad you are here and I hope you’ll enjoy learning a bit about me.
I created this website to share my thoughts, ideas, and lessons learned. When time allows, I enjoy writing blog posts on a variety of topics, specifically on technology and business.
A bit about me…
I was born and raised in Southern California. Soon after graduating from California State University, Fullerton, I decided to move to Japan for a new challenge and adventure. I was young, naive, and ambitious and had no idea where the road would lead. Since then, I have spent the past 20 years working in the US, Asia, and Europe, primarily with global US and Japanese companies.
I have had the honor and pleasure of working with some amazing people throughout my career. I have held roles at the following companies: SoftBank Robotics, Deloitte, Woven Planet (Toyota Motor Corporation), Fast Retailing (Uniqlo, Theory, J Brand), Abercrombie and Fitch, Apple, Wells Fargo Bank, and The Walt Disney Company, and most recently, Marshall Retail Group.
Early in my career, I was quite ambitious and I started several companies. I created an IT services business, which provided services in website design, SEO strategy, infrastructure management/implementations, web application development, and IT support for SMBs. I also built and managed a web hosting business. Some of these businesses were a success, while others were not.
I’ve always been hungry for knowledge and a challenge. Through these challenges and new ventures, I have gained invaluable experience by taking on various roles and stretch assignments across several industries over the past 20 years. I define myself as equal parts technologist and business strategist. But where did it all begin?
From a very young age, I’ve always had a love and passion for technology and solving problems. Since the age of 9, I have been fascinated by computers, technology, and how things work. It all started when my mother brought home an IBM 5150 from work. I spent my afternoons reading through the IBM BASIC user manual and teaching myself how to program in BASIC. It was this that sparked my love and appreciation for technology. I was fascinated by the amazing things one could do and create with technology. Those were the days of 5.25-inch floppy disks with a whopping 1.2MB of memory. It’s amazing to think about that now, given that home PCs have hard drives in the Terabytes of data and we carry mini-computers in our pockets with Gigabytes of data. Technology has become so ubiquitous, that I think people forget just how far we have come in the past decade.
My Hobbies
I enjoy the beaches and the mountains, perhaps that’s the Californian in me. I spend my summers at the beach (or lake) either fishing, enjoying tide pools with my children, snorkeling/spearfishing, or just enjoying the sun and watching the waves crash on the shoreline with my family. During the winter, I often spend time traveling to warm places or taking the occasional trip to the mountains (more fishing and some hiking) or deserts (more hiking and photography). I also tend to use winter as a time to stay indoors and learn new things.
My favorite pastime is traveling and eating! It’s something both my wife and I absolutely love. I have visited more than 40 countries; most of Western Europe, Asia, and North America, and a handful of countries in Central/South America and the Middle East. I’m always thinking about my next trip and where I’d like to go and what I’d like to do (mostly involving food). My passion for travel is very much tied to my desire to constantly learn and experience new things, especially other cultures and new foods!
When I can find time, I enjoy teaching subjects I have a passion for (and there are many). I maintain this website with the hope of sharing information with others. I’m a fan of TED Talks and Khan Academy (please check out Khan Academy if you haven’t heard of them, Sal has been doing amazing things). I think it’s extremely important to continually challenge oneself…learning and challenging oneself is to live life to the fullest! I live life with a continuous improvement mindset…how can I make myself better today?…and I ask that question daily. My personal motto is Always be learning, challenge yourself daily, achieve the unachievable, and always live a life of continuous improvement.
My Goals and Ambitions
I strive to be the best at whatever I set out to do. I’m an extremely passionate person and I have always been self-motivated, even at an early age. I am excited by challenges and complex environments, and I am always looking for something to improve or new skills to master. I try to start each year with a new goal. This is not only to feed my desire to constantly learn, but to reinforce the thinking that any goal can be achieved with dedication and time invested. If you’re interested to know what this year’s goal is, please feel free to drop me a message via my contact page.
I try to constantly challenge myself, and to share my experience and knowledge with others through this website, Linkedin, and offline human interactions. I never view a challenge as unachievable, and I feel anyone can achieve their goals, no matter how unobtainable they may seem, as long as time and effort is put in. Believe in yourself…continuously improve, be a lifelong learner…you got this!
– Joshua R. Bellendir
Links:
https://www.jbellendir.com/
https://www.twitter.com/joshuabellendir
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabellendir/
https://www.quora.com/profile/Joshua-Bellendir