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Writer's pictureJohn Lim

MF 081 : Timothy Thomas on Clearing Out the “HeadTrash” and Taking Massive Determined Action

Updated: Jun 17, 2022



Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.


Timothy Thomas is a leadership consultant, founding partner of Makarios Consulting and co-author of three books: 1) Leading on Purpose: Sage Advice and Practical Tools for Becoming the Complete Leader, 2) HeadTrash: Cleaning out the Junk that Stands Between You and Success and his most recent, 3) HeadTrash 2: Dealing with and Overcoming Other People’s Junk. Today, you will learn how to clear out the “headtrash” from your work environment and take massive determined action so you can pivot and move forward.


Successes at a glance:

  1. Former Presbyterian Minister.

  2. Two Masters, including one in Organizational Development.

  3. Worked in many industries, including pharma and banking.

  4. Entrepreneur and Founder of Makarios Consulting:

    1. Launched in 2004 w/ no money and no clients.

  5. Has worked w/ leaders worldwide in the areas of:

    1. Business Strategy.

    2. Execution.

    3. Leadership Development.

    4. Executive Coaching.

  6. Co-author of three books:

    1. Leading on Purpose: Sage Advice and Practical Tools for Becoming the Complete Leader (Kindle | Hardcover)

    2. HeadTrash: Cleaning out the Junk that Stands Between You and Success (Kindle | Hardcover)

    3. HeadTrash 2: Dealing with and Overcoming Other People’s Junk (Kindle | Hardcover)

How Tim get inspired to conquer the day:

For Tim, it’s all about knowing his purpose and living it, each and every day.  Having gone thru several career pivots, Tim knows w/ full clarity and conviction that his purpose is to serve others and help them reach their highest potential.  Moving Forward listeners, Tim doesn’t just explain what his inspirational source his, he shares it with you.  He challenges you to find your purpose, whether thru meditation, prayer, journaling, mentoring or spiritual direction.  Just by pivoting his answer into a mandate for Moving Forward listeners, there is no doubt that Tim is true to his word about living his purpose everyday.


Setback or failure that led to pivot and shift:

This relates directly to Tim’s inspirational source and his mission in life.  Two months after the publication of the first HeadTrash book, Tim was diagnosed w/ a brain tumor.  As Tim muses, he literally had “headtrash.”  Tim underwent surgery in July 2013 and had a long, difficult but fully successful recovery.  This experience further amplified Tim’s mission to serve others.  Moving Forward listeners, we are not guaranteed another day.  As Tim so eloquently discusses, a job is not the same as a vocation or calling.  Are you living each day on autopilot, trading time for money until the clock hits 5 or are you living your purpose w/ an appreciation that each day is gift?  Take Tim’s story to heart, stop spending your energy on the “headtrash” that may be preventing you from pivoting or re-energizing your life’s purpose and start moving forward today.


Knowledge Bursts on dealing w/ other people’s “HeadTrash:”

  1. What are some telltale signs of “headtrash” you should look out for if you’re thinking about making a career change or pivot:

    1. Assess your environment and ask these questions:

      1. Is it a fear-based environment?

      2. Do you constantly feel like you’re walking on eggshells?

      3. Do you feel like you cannot be yourself or share your truth?

      4. Are you staying just for a paycheck and no other reason?

  2. A strategy for dealing w/ arrogance “headtrash” in a manager or boss:

    1. Find the right time to have the discussion (hint: it should not be while your boss or manager is in his or her arrogant zone):

    2. Take a step back and set up a time to meet w/ that person to talk specifically about his or her behavior.

    3. Do not make it an accusation in the heat of the moment.

    4. “Don’t take the bait, don’t debate!”

    5. Most arrogant leaders are extremely intelligent so engaging in a debate will likely further escalate the situation into a zero-sum game.

    6. Your goal is to keep it a dialogue on how to work productively together.

    7. If necessary, call a timeout:

      1. If the situation gets really bad, call for a timeout and remove yourself from the situation.

      2. Follow, the first two rules.

      3. If necessary, invite a neutral third-party to mediate the situation:

    8. When a conflict falls into a repeating pattern, you may not be able to deal w/ the other person’s “headtrash” alone.

    9. Sometimes you may have to go outside of the organization: Tim specializes in this area and can be your extra set of “eyes” w/ a step-by-step approach.

    10. How do you prevent other people’s “headtrash” from invading your head space:

      1. Set boundaries: emotional, physical, psychological w/ an escape / contingency plan/

      2. If you have a hard time setting boundaries, seek help on how to do that: Tim also specializes in coaching individuals in this area.

      3. Seek to understand where the other person is coming from, a movement towards compassion.

      4. Exception: if there is abuse in the situation, get out.

  3. Don’t add fuel to the fire: if you feel you’re being affected by someone else’s “headtrash” don’t exacerbate the problem.

  4. Accept the possibility that you may have to end the relationship and walk away.

  5. Learn more about dealing w/ “HeadTrash:”

    1. HeadTrash: Cleaning out the Junk that Stands Between You and Success (Kindle | Hardcover)

    2. HeadTrash 2: Dealing with and Overcoming Other People’s Junk (Kindle | Hardcover)

Support the Podcast:

  1. The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book: makes the perfect stocking stuffer or white elephant gift.

  2. Try out Audible (affiliate link).

  3. Try out Amazon Prime (affiliate link).

Tim’s Advice for you to Move Forward:

Carve out some time to sit down and really figure out what “turns you on.”  Tim explains, that it’s important to spend some quality time w/ yourself in quiet meditation to figure out your passion and what your drivers are.  One way you can do this is to look back at the times in your life when you felt: a) the happiest, b) the most joy, and c) the most fulfilled.  Then ask yourself, what were you doing that allowed you to experience all three?  That’s a good place to start.  Moving Forward listeners, Tim knows his purpose and lives it everyday.  Imagine waking up each morning, having a vocation that allows you to experience the a-b-c of joy and fulfillment?  Second, Tim adds the equally important part of the formula: take massive determined action.  Don’t just “navel gaze” and daydream.  Moving forward requires the first word, moving.  It’s not enough to know a purpose, you must then act upon it and live it.  Moving Forward listeners, if you’re reading this now, you may be in a place where you’re dealing w/ too much “headtrash,” whether your own or other people’s to have clarity.  Tim has provided some excellent knowledge bursts on clearing out that junk so you can have greater clarity on your life’s purpose.  And if you need help w/ this, you now know someone who has devoted his life to helping others clear out the obstacles that stand between you and you living up to your fullest potential.  Tim has overcome a lot to get to this point and he has devoted his life and career to help you so that you can always be moving forward.


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