In answering my question, “Why is it that so many immigrants to Canada turn out to be highly successful in business and in the professions?”, my friend Victor Ndihokubwayo got me thinking about one of the key ingredients of success. “Well,” he began, in his gentle Rwandan accent. (Victor prefaces nearly every explanation with “Well,”.)…
Vanessa Ford had it all. Equity partner in a major law firm, at the top of her game, adoring and adored mother of two wonderful boys, and with a soul-mate husband who thought she was the most amazing person in the world. ““The perfect person to be around”, he described her, going on to say,…
If you’re a Donald Trump fan, read no further. You won’t like this, not because it’s a direct attack on the Great Orange One, but because he’s such a wonderful example of the principle we’re about to consider. When I was in legal practice I knew many a counsel who wanted the world to know…
When I’m not writing or coaching or speaking, you’ll mostly find me out in our woods rehabilitating what had become something of a Canadian jungle. Before we bought our little corner of paradise, buckthorn, prickly ash, wild honeysuckle, and grapevines had been allowed to run riot for decades. Native trees – maples, oaks, cherries, ash,…
You know when you acquire a new LinkedIn or Facebook “friend” and the very next thing that happens is you get a message imploring you to buy from them or subscribe to their services? If you’re anything like me, you promptly “unfriend” them without so much as a good-bye. My friend Michael Hughes (https://networkingforresults.com/) teaches…
Don’t worry, I’m not about to get “religious” on you. This is about professional success, in fact, success in general. What got me thinking about “here after” was a random memory about a colleague of many years ago, now sadly departed. Back in the day he was handsome and charming and something of a lady’s…
We all love to be spoiled, to be treated with extravagant thoughtfulness and generosity. The ice cream cone you ordered with two scoops but got three piled so high you know it’s going to be a mess before you’re finished, but you don’t care. Your spouse or partner taking you out for a night on…
John Franklin Candy was a big boy, tall and strong. He dreamed of a career in professional football, but as luck would have it, he blew out his knee during high school and his football dreams turned to dust. So off he went to university, choosing journalism on a kind of “who knows?” basis, like…
Nothing is more satisfying and rewarding than living in the place of your Giftings, solving problems for a very particular clientele whose needs, it would seem, you were born to fulfill. When you have focused in on your unique art, something that gives you great pleasure and deep intrinsic fulfillment, you’re in your “zone”, a…
A while back I had the great pleasure of interviewing Rick Ammazzini, a celebrated (legal) safe-cracker, probably Canada’s best. Rick lives in Winnipeg and is in his forties. He has a day job, but he also has a calling “on the side”. A very unique one. About ten years ago somebody gave him a combination…