Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Frank Hayes has worn many hats in his life: immigrant, digital security salesman, world traveller — and now, author.
Hayes has self-published an autobiography, “The Full Cycle,” which recounts his 66 years in 146 pages, or 111 pages in its Kindle format. The e-book was released Jan. 2. The title refers both to his lifelong love of cycling and to the arc of his life.
“It’s been a good ride, I would say,” he said of his life.
Storytelling has always been central to his career, Hayes said, noting that sales often relies on narrative. Now retired, he said he finally had the time to reflect on his life and career and write the book as a way of closing that chapter.
“It was a way of me severing the umbilical to that chapter of work,” he said.
Hayes is also battling prostate cancer, which he said was caught early and is treatable. He hopes to raise money for cancer causes through proceeds from the book.
Originally, Hayes intended the project as a work guide for his LinkedIn audience, but it evolved into something more personal.
“There’s a little bit of something in it for everyone,” he said.
Part memoir and part reflection, the book traces Hayes’ upbringing in Ireland, where his father worked as a police officer. His father once guarded former U.S. president John F. Kennedy during a visit to Ireland, and Hayes writes about meeting Jackie Kennedy on that trip when he was four years old.
Although his family encouraged him to become a police officer, Hayes chose a different path, entering digital security sales while still in Ireland. He later moved to Canada to continue his career, drawn by what he described as a modest, English-speaking country without the level of “petty crime” he experienced back home.
He arrived in Canada at age 28 with $5,000 and a high school education.
Hayes went on to work for several digital security companies based in Canada, Israel and Finland. He said he ended his career on a high note at the Finnish firm iLOQ, which he described as having a work culture that valued expertise and trust over authority.
Now retired, Hayes reflects in the book on lessons learned throughout his career, particularly around ethics in the workplace.
He said the values he grew up with led him to reject behaviours he later observed in positions of authority and tried not to repeat as a manager.
He recalls hearing a senior executive say, “I never make a mistake,” a comment Hayes said undermined that person’s credibility and respect within the company.
He also objected to being asked to lie, an experience that prompted him to “quiet quit.”
He hopes such stories serve as cautionary tales for people working in toxic environments.
Hayes also wrote the book as a way to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder following a workplace accident. He was riding on a golf cart when a colleague fell off and suffered a fatal head injury.
The experience left a lasting impact.
“What did it teach me? Life is fragile,” he said.
Hayes said it took two years to recover. As part of his therapy, he said a therapist recommended writing a book and then filing it away as a way to compartmentalize the trauma and prevent it from shaping the rest of his life.
Though not a professional writer, Hayes said the project allowed him to reflect, offer guidance to others and complete something many people consider but never finish.
“Everyone has one book in them,” he said. “Because it’s their life story.”
“The Full Cycle” is available in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon.
Hayes will also be doing a promotional event for the book at the Junction Coffee Bar in St. Davids on Feb. 3 from 7 to 9 p.m.
