#WeAreArity Wednesday: Todd Meyer

What are your top three most used emojis?

It’s the sideways laugh – the tilted one, the face that’s blowing a kiss, and the thumbs up.

Who do you text the most?

Probably my wife.

What is an item on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?

That would be traveling to New Zealand. I got hooked on it when I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it just looks like an incredible place. I like outdoor activities, and it just seems like a place that would be optimal for that.

If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?

I would pick Aruba. It’s outside the hurricane belt, it has cool ocean breezes year-round because it’s in the trade winds, it’s very safe, and very welcoming to Americans. So, I don’t have to be a Spanish-speaker or Portuguese-speaker. And I’ve never seen water that clear and that calm anywhere else in the world.

The other thing that’s cool about it is for most Caribbean nations, they’re very consistent regardless of where you go on them. Aruba’s interesting because the island’s almost cut in half. If you go on the north half of the island, it’s almost like being on the Pacific coast with huge waves and carved out limestone cliffs. But then you get on the south end of the island, and it’s the most picturesque Caribbean vacation you could ever have. So, for a tiny island it has a lot of variety.

When did you go to Aruba?

I went the first time around 2001 or 2002. And most recently, my wife and I went for our 25^th wedding anniversary in early 2023.

Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?

I would be communing with nature, either hiking or bicycling. There’s a national historic river – called the Little Miami River – nearby, and my wife and I like to bike it on our weekends anywhere from five miles to 40 miles. It’s really cool because along the river there are small towns, and they all have restaurants and bars.

You get that awesome off the beaten path with nature, and you can stop, have a drink, and snack along the way.

There’s a national historic river – called the Little Miami River – nearby, and my wife and I like to bike it on our weekends anywhere from five miles to 40 miles.

What was your first job?

My first job was a paper boy. I was probably 11 or 12-years-old. My first memory of that job was black hands from the ink and not making a lot of money. But I liked having my own money that I could spend, and no one could tell me, “Don’t get those baseball cards,” “don’t buy that candy,” or “don’t buy that pop and drink it.”

Did you bike?

Yes! I was a bike paper boy. I had the little white satchel that hung over my shoulder, and it was filled with the papers that I rolled up.

It was an afternoon paper. I would come home from school and do my route a couple times a week. It was all in my neighborhood. I probably delivered to seven or eight streets.

I still love biking! It must have started a joy.

I actually lost biking for a while. I biked, and then I didn’t bike for about 20 years. I took it up again five to ten years ago. I rediscovered the fun.

What piece of advice would you share with your younger self?

If your office is your home – even if you have a dedicated space, you have to break from that work life and get outside, walk around.

I would say invest early in yourself. What I mean by that is the time value of money is an amazing thing. What I’m putting in my 401k now is relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things. If I put more in under the age of 25, I wouldn’t even have to be saving now.

So, my advice is to take advantage of the time value of money and invest early – at least the match if not 10 or 20% – in yourself.

What is a good way to give back to the community? Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?

A good way to give back is youth events – scouting, volunteering at schools, volunteering at church. I do it a lot, but the person who does it most and makes the most difference is my wife. That woman wears so many hats and is so integral to so many organizations.

What advice would you give someone balancing work and home life?

I’ve been lucky because even before the pandemic I was able to work from home. One of the things I try to do 90% of the time is take a lunch. You just have to get away. If your office is your home – even if you have a dedicated space, you have to break from that work life and get outside, walk around, go meet someone, or take a lunch as opposed to cramming it all in at your desk.

It’s so easy to say, “I’m just going to multi-task.” But then you don’t get up for the day, you look at the clock, and you’ve been sitting there for ten hours. Lunch is a good breaking point. It cuts the day in half, and it makes me remove myself from my situation.