Successful entrepreneur Kendal Netmaker can now add “book author” to his list of accomplishments.
Netmaker, who is from Sweetgrass First Nation, has a new book out called From Poverty to Podium, a First Nation success story.
It’s a story about how Netmaker rose from Sweetgrass First Nation to founding the clothing line Neechie Gear and becoming a sought-out speaker on the lecture circuit.
The story is bound to connect with Indigenous people who are looking for inspiration.
“Me, having the First Nations background, being a First Nations man myself, obviously it would have strong [impacts] with that because the story starts on the First Nations reserves,” said Netmaker, who spoke to the News-Optimistby phone Thursday.
But Netmaker says the message of the book will be applicable to everyone. He said he felt the story of how to overcome tremendous obstacles would strike a chord with people.
The book itself is one part personal life story and another part self-help for budding entrepreneurs and others looking for success.
Netmaker recounted growing up in poverty with his mom and sisters.
“The first half of the book is my story basically of living on my reserve, Sweetgrass First Nation,” said Netmaker, “and growing up there, going through many obstacles as a youth as many First Nations kids go through.
“And then many acts of kindness later, being able to have access to sport, and then from sport, being able to go to school and to university, and being in university is where I started my first company.”
The second part of the book is where Netmaker shares his five steps to succeed, which include: Making a Simple Choice; Plan, Prepare and Expect to Win; Using the Power of Your Story; Turning Your Pain into Gain; and Elevating Your Circle of Influence.
Netmaker calls it a “five-step system for anyone who’s stuck right now, feeling like they are in a rut and need to get out of it. So there’s a system in the back, if you follow those five steps, they’ll get you where you want to be.”
He described the first step: helping someone with a decision on what to do with the rest of their life.
“Most people, they find themselves sooner or later, in a moment when they’re stuck,” said Netmaker.
“They’re kind of just going through the motions of life and they’re bouncing from one opportunity to the next and they’re wondering why they’re not happy.”
That first chapter helps people make that important decision. “We all have things within us that can allow us to advance ourselves quickly. We call those gifts.”
Netmaker speaks of matching that gift with the field that you’re in or whatever job that you have, to the point where it becomes an obsessive feeling.
“It’s kind of like if you’re working on a project and it really feels good. That’s the obsessive feeling we’re talking about and that’s the decision that you should make, the decision on what to go into for the rest of your life.”
For Netmaker, he said he didn’t find that out until after trying a variety of pursuits. He had initially thought he was going to be a physical education teacher, then ended up going into business, and that led to opportunities on the speaking circuit.
Now, he’s reached the point where he has “found what I’m meant to do,” said Netmaker.
He also urges people to trust their own feelings.
“If you have that same feeling about something you feel you’re meant to do, don’t ignore that because that is kind of like your calling, something that’s warning you through those feelings and emotions that this is probably what you’re meant to do.”
The message Netmaker delivers is one he could have delivered in any number of ways. But he chose to write a book, because he “wrote it down years ago that I was going to write a book by the time I turned 30.
“When I turned 30 I went ‘oh my goodness, I have to finish this goal.’ And here’s the secret. Most people who are successful in any endeavour that they do, they write their goals down, and they commit to them. It’s like their accountability. So I held myself accountable to write this book, and the whole time I was writing the book I felt like I was going to help people.”
For Netmaker, the book was one more new challenge. “I always have to work on a new project,” he said.
“This book was really fun for me, and it was also a lot of healing because I had to go back and address a lot of issues that I’d gone through in the past.”
Right now Netmaker has been busy touring and speaking about the book. He has just been in Manitoba, not only speaking about the book but also “leaving a message of hope with people.”
A successful book launch was held at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon a couple of weeks ago. His book is now widely available at sites such as Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca, and if you see Netmaker at any of his speaking events there will be available as well.
As for whether Netmaker plans to do some book-related events in the Battlefords or surrounding area, he said “we’re working on a few things, but we haven’t finalized it yet, so stay tuned.”
