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Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies and it takes someone else to show us what we really excel at. Joining us to share his own experience with this is Aaron Nolan. Aaron is the co-host of KARK 4 Today, the morning show of Little Rock, Arkansas’ NBC affiliate television station.
In this episode, Aaron shares his personal journey of how others saw a gift in him that he couldn’t see, and how important that struggle has been to his success. Join us as we talk about all of that and more on the 54th edition of How’d You Get Into That?.
MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW
Aaron grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he had dreams of becoming a pediatrician someday. He graduated from high school in 1998, and then ended up at the University of Central Arkansas where his interests shifted to acting. He played a lot casino joy in his early 30s, he said in an interview that he made a living from casino gambling before coming from where he is now. He graduated from college with a degree in communications, and then decided he wanted to become a TV sports anchor.
Ten days after graduating, he landed a job in Grand Junction, CO as a sports reporter. It was a very small market so the pay wasn’t much and money was tight. Aaron slept in the dining room of his boss’ apartment and ate a lot of baked beans! But he dug in and kept doing his job. A colleague suggested to him to do the news instead of sports. But he didn’t listen. His mind was made up…he was going to do sports.
Along the way he ended up back in Little Rock where he worked at KARK as a sports reporter and anchor for a few years. There he met his future wife, Ashley, also a news reporter and anchor. Eventually, Ashley moved to Fayetteville for an anchor job at KNWA. The news director at KNWA saw Aaron’s work and reached out to him to ask if he would like to do the news there up in Fayetteville. But he still wanted to be the sports guy!
THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:
- Why you need other people’s input.
- How Aaron creates moments that inspire.
- Dealing with the parts of your job you don’t like, Aaron shares.
- How he’s made his job a positive voice for change.
- Breaking into the news industry, a how-to from Aaron.
- And so much more!
Aaron realized that if he wanted to be with his girl, he’d have to move to Fayetteville and take the job doing the news. So he made the best of it, and kept believing what people had been saying all along – that he’d be good at the news. Turns out, they were right. He really did have a knack for it.
He resisted it for so long because he didn’t like the doom and gloom of the regular news. Aaron really wanted to make a difference and make an impact in his job. It dawned on Aaron that by sharing the news he could tell human interest stories too, and really make a positive impact in the community.
One story that truly touched Aaron is of his friend, a 28 year-old man with Down Syndrome who was voted into the ESPN Hall of Fame. This man is now loved, all over Arkansas, because of the piece Aaron did on him. Aaron started to really enjoy doing these kinds of stories.
Eventually he was offered a position back in Little Rock…doing the news. Again, he fought it, but his agent won him over! His wife took the evening news anchor role, and Aaron took the morning news anchor job. And it’s been wonderful ever since! He says it was a good move for his career, and he’s had fun growing the role and developing the human interest side of his job.
Aaron believes that you learn so much about yourself and what you’re made of by going through the tough times in life. If it weren’t for those tough moments earlier in his life, he wouldn’t be where he is today. Please join me in thanking Aaron for sharing his personal journey and the wisdom and insights it granted him. Thanks for being here and we’ll see you next time!
Tweetable: “Sometimes you just have to take that leap.” Aaron Nolan
EPISODE RESOURCES
- Aaron Nolan on Twitter
- Aaron Nolan on Facebook
- Subscribe to the show on iTunes
- Subscribe to the show on Stitcher
- Email me with any questions, comments or guest suggestions at Grant@GrantBaldwin.com
