What is Smoking Hedges Creations, and who is Tom?

I am Tom

I was born Norwegian, and I never expected to live anywhere else.

Until something miraculous happened, I found the love of my life in England. We married in Copenhagen in September 2022, and my UK visa was granted in January 2023. Now I’m living near Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

The Norwegian is transforming into a Northerner!

Physically, I’m 6’2″ and in good condition for my age.

If you want to use my services, you might like to know more about me.

The beginning

I was born on the Atlantic coast of rural Norway. In a different millennium, a different world.

The material standard of living was far from what most people in the Western world are used to now. The technology we depend on daily now wasn’t even imaginable in science fiction books back then.

Still, it’s good to have watched the world change this much because it shows that change is possible.

This has also enabled me to question the here and now. Is this the only way things can be? And what is essential, or even necessary, with how things are now?

Life in a nutshell

I lived in Trondheim, Norway, most of the time between 1984 and 2023.

My education was a combination of technology and business administration subjects.

I’ve worked for various organisations, from private and commercial companies, via non-profit welfare organisations, to public administration and state universities, from small family-owned businesses to giant international corporations.

It has all been connected to IT – in one way or another.

Teaching at an army college in 1987.

A career in IT

I held different IT Manager positions for 21 years (IT Project and Change Manager, IT Service Delivery Manager, IT Quality Manager).

For 16 years, I worked in more technically oriented positions (WinTel Engineer and Consultant, Microsoft Certified Trainer, technical teacher).

Please press the Timeline button below for a chronological overview of my work life and education.

IT user training video (in Norwegian) made in 2021 – creating pages in Microsoft SharePoint.

People more than machines

I’ve learned that technology is the easiest part of projects and change.

Managing people and culture requires much more effort and care and is more interesting.

Because I’ve also worked as a teacher in civilian and military colleges, course instructor, and e-learning developer, one of my top skills is adapting and conveying information to any audience.

Writing

I have always loved reading and writing.

I started writing poems in my early teenage years. In secret from the start. Where I grew up, boys should be interested in football, engines, fishing, and moose hunting. Anything else would be considered weird. 🙂

I even wrote a novel once. The publishers didn’t want it. I agree with them now. Creativity is one thing. I should have taken the time to learn the craft as well.

However, for years now, I’ve worked hard on building my writing skills.

Performing one of my songs at a work event in 2010.

Music

Music has been another essential element in my life. About 20 years ago, I started to combine my interest in music and writing, making songwriting my favourite hobby.

I’ve never been a great singer or instrumentalist, but I enjoy the creative process of writing songs and recording them. Perfectionism isn’t essential to me in this context.

You will find several examples of my songs in the blog posts on the Smoking Hedges website, for instance:

Growth through challenges

However, my life hasn’t always been a rose petal-sprinkled bed.

I’ve had my fair share of challenges in my personal life and at work.

I’m not ashamed of sharing this with you. I’m not ashamed because I always kept going.

I’m a tough weed. I’m a survivor.

Along the rough roads, I learned a lot. This is my most valuable education. The years in university were okay. However, overcoming thousands of obstacles and learning from my mistakes has made me who I am.

My vision

I’ve broken through the old fences. I’ve made an enormous leap. A new life must be shaped.

What an excellent time to start doing something completely different.

I possess a considerable knowledge base from dealing with my personal life, decades of work, and education.

I need to make this count. I want to make a real difference for real people. And I want to use the full range of my abilities and experience.

I’ve decided to offer affordable online mentoring services.

Mentoring will mean using my knowledge, experience, analytical and creative skills to give people help and advice on specific subjects.