Connecting The Dots - When Something's Gotta Change Maybe It's You

Can a subtle shift in focus really make that big of a difference in your business and in your income? Our guest says, “Absolutely, yes!” Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences. He regularly addresses audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000. He has shared the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President. He is coauthor of the international bestseller, The Go-Giver and Go-Givers Sell More and author ofEndless Referrals and numerous other books (more than a million copies sold in total). The Go-Giver has been translated into 21 languages. Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic, and serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption & Clinic in

Meet Martin Perelmuter.  Martin is an unapologetic idealist. He’s passionate about people and ideas, and after 20 years in the speaking industry believes more than ever that a great speech can provide the impetus for action and be a catalyst for change. Prior to co-founding Speakers’ Spotlight, Martin was a corporate lawyer at a prestigious international law firm. While he realized early on in his career that he needed to do something more entrepreneurial, he learned some incredibly valuable best practices that have shaped his approach to client service and business management. Martin’s views on the speaking industry have been reported in various television and print media, and have been published in over 60 countries. He’s been a guest lecturer at several colleges and universities, and was a keynote speaker at the Public Words Speaker Forum at The Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Cambridge. Martin is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, and t

Richard Robbins is Co-founder and CEO of Richard Robbins International, a global sales and business coaching organization that amassed over $50 million dollars in revenue worldwide in its first ten years alone. The organization’s explosive 3000% growth is attributed largely to the transformational impact Richard Robbins’ unique methodologies have had, and continue to have, on the businesses and lives of thousands of sales professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders at all levels worldwide. “LEAD HIS SUCCESSFUL BROKERAGE OF ONLY 20 AGENTS TO ACHIEVE THE “HIGHEST PRODUCTION PER AGENT” OF ANY BROKERAGE WITHIN ITS TRADING AREA.” After a successful start as an agent Richard decided to open up his own real estate brokerage and soon found it to be a little more challenging than he thought.  On the recomendation of others and despite an affordabiliity issue Richard took a trip to a self help seminar hosted with legendary entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn, That trip changed his outlook on the concept

Peri Shawn is an award winning author who specializes in working with leaders who want to get better results.  She works on helping people think better so that they can do better.  She is known as a profitable conversation expert and I think you will find this conversation will be extremely profitable.  Sales is both a science and an art and we explore the art and support it with the science that backs it up.  As sales people we know that we have interactions that are better than others both as sales people and as consumers so why not have the positive interactions by design. Peri tells the story of what triggered her passion for learning and teaching and that it was in fact the learning dichotomy between her two brothers that lead her down the path that she took.  As a high school teacher she became fascinated and discontented with the fact that her students were learning at a consistent level and decided to look into how she could help them better.  She started exploring the neuroscience behind the learning

How many 20 year olds do you know that you can find on Wikipedia? Here is Shane's bio from Wikipedia: "Shane Feldman is a motivational speaker and critically acclaimed producer.[1] He is one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20.[2] Feldman is the founder and CEO of Count Me In,[3][4][5] the largest youth-led organization in North America. As CEO (Chief Executive Optimist) at Count Me In, Feldman is the creative strategist behind the organization's core programming,[6] which help young people find their passion through volunteerism. The unique initiative connects youth with community opportunities and causes matching their interests, inspiring local involvement, leadership, and social innovation.[7][8]"   Plugging into his community in Grade 9 literally changed his life.  “Getting involved was the key to all things awesome.”  What started in 2011 as what was supposed to be a 50 student assembly in his high school, turned into 400 students from 7 schools. The momentum quickly grew and in 2012 the gathering included 1000

Dan O'Neill is my triathlon coach.  Dan is an extremely inspirational man who has completed 3 Ironman races, written a book and been a part of raising several hundred thousand dollars for Kids with Cancer. In this interview we talk about the motivation behind competing in such an extreme endurance event.  We talk about the fact that these events are being completed by a larger variety of demographics and that age and body type is becoming much less of a barrier. We talk about work/life balance and how perhaps work/life integration is a better approach.  Dan tells us how he used his journey to Ironman as a healing process.  Dan went from childhood abuse to completing three Ironman.  He talks about how he had to make the concious decision to not be a victim.   Dan shares his story of writing and ultimately publishing his book and the mental discipline it took to actually do that. 

Christopher Novais is a Toronto native who embodies the term entrepreneur.  Christopher graduated from York University with a degree in marketing and wasted no time putting it to use.  Christoper is the co-founder of The Art Of Productions Inc. which quickly became Canada's largest personal development seminar series.  The Art Of has grown from a single conference to a variety of different conferences spanning the Country. Christopher has worked with the likes of Martha Stewart, Chris Hadfield, Brene Brown and Rudy Giuliani to name a few.  In this episode we discuss his journey as an entrepreneur.  In 2008 Chris found a niche in the personal development conference space and moved to fill it. We talk about Christophers strategic planning process and the steps he takes to ensure that his team executes on those plans.  Christopher recomends keeping your plan to three major objectives.  Any more can become overwhelming and/or distracting amking it difficult to focus.  The three categories they use to set prioriti

Nicole Almond is the President of Enactus Canada. Nicole talks to us not only about her role as President and what Enactus does but shares some of her experience as a student in the Enactus program while she was in university.  Enactus is truly a unique organization finding unique ways of inspiring the next generation to make a difference in our world.  Enactus Canada is shaping generations of entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. They rally the energy, ideas and passion of Canada’s best and brightest students who see business as a way to address social issues. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, the student leaders of Enactus Canada create and implement community empowerment projects and business ventures in communities coast to coast. This experiential learning platform helps students unleash their entrepreneurial spirit and develop the talent and perspective essential to leadership in our ever changing world. Each y

Carmen Alpaerts has been active in the community for a very long time.  She is a firm believer in giving back to your community.  Her 'get it done' attitude that has proven successful in business has been applied to her philanthropic endeavors as well.   We talk about the use of creativity and marketing strategies to get the results she was looking for. Carmen is committed to raising the bar when it comes to helping out the homeless.  In this interview we talk about the importance of a team.  You can make a difference by cultivating the relationships in your network.  Carmen's 'team' includes her 84 year old mom who is a large part of why Carmen does what she does.  Mom is still actively involved and out there soliciting participation from the local business. Carmen gives some advice on how we, as parents, can ensure that we pass these values down to our children. Angels in the Night London Chapter: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angels-in-the-Night-London-Chapter/605275746175516 My takeaways from this interv

This is our first in our "Making a Difference" series.  The intent is to bring awareness to those individuals that are doing extraordinary things in our communities.  My hope is that we can inspire others and feed off of each others contributions to do more to help change our world for the better. Todays guest is a young man by the name of MacKenzie Lucas who is going to be cycling across Canada to raise money for Lung Cancer.  MacKenzie is no stranger to fund raising and has done fund raisers in the past, including shaving his head for Cancer.  His goal is to cycle from St. Johns, New Foundland all the way to Vancouver, British Columbia.  He is leaving July 16, 2015 and plans to finish on September 6, 2015 which just happens to be his 21st birthday.  His hope is to raise at least a dollar per kilometer, which would put him at about $7800.00. I love to see young people getting active and making a difference.  His campaign is called Pedal Towards the Cure.  You can find him on Facebook here at: https://www.fac

Erik Giasson has from a very young age a hyper-forming role, a role or success through the eyes of others, role, or to exist and be happy, you have to have a social status and to be nothing less than the best. At just 26, he became senior trader for a major Canadian bank. Then at age 28, he landed a Vice Presidency position with one of the largest brokerage firms in the world.  At 36, he is Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice President of a major investment firm. At 43, he achieved his ultimate dream, which is to work for the biggest Macro Hedge fund in the world. He lived in abundance and wealth, when in 2008, after the financial crisis has he lost his job and his role, everything collapses. The trials of life accumulate one after the other, which led him to follow a voice he could never have imagined. Through his suffering, he will undertake a life transition, he will discover yoga, which surely saves him from suicide. Yoga not only allowed him to survive, but to live with who he really is, free from a

In this episode I talk to Fred Sarkari who is a licensed Psycotherapist.  We talk a lot about human behaviour and how to shape the behaviours that we want.  Fred takes a scientific approach to behaviour patterns and looks at how we can understand why we do what we do. Whether we are talking about personal or corporate behaviours, we explore character traits of some of the most succesful leaders in the world.  Self awareness gives you control of your environment and allows you to avoid being reactive to circumstances. Fred is the author of three books, two of which are best sellers: “How the Top 5% Think! – Principles of Great Leaders” “Courage To Be Naked – Guide to Communicating and Presenting Your Message.” “101 Exercises To Change Your Life / Business”  

For 25 years the largest companies in Canada have been referring Canada's Sales Coach to each other.Air Canada, IBM, KPMG, Royal Bank, Direct Energy, RBC Insurance, TEC, MCAP, Canadian Tire Financial Services, Rogers, GE, have all hired and then referred Tom to his next client. Tom specializes in coaching professionals in acquiring and retaining more clients. How? He has them become better prepared by helping them learn much more quickly from their experience. His approach has led to one client claiming a $20 million increase in sales as a result of using his coaching and sales philosophy (Public Disclosure: most of his clients hire him for 10 days or more). So what. Tom specializes in coaching professionals in acquiring and retaining more clients, and in coaching sales managers to exceed their goals. He help sales managers show their sales teams how to both sell more effectively and learn more quickly from their sales experience.After years of working with major corporations to improve their sales and coac

Mitra Castano is an inspiring example of a resilient woman.  After fleeing from Iran as a child she went on to create the "Perfect" life in Canada only to have the rug yanked out from under her in 2009.  Mitra is the Owner/Operator of Triunity Martial Arts studio and teaches you8ng women to find their inner warrior and deal with lifes challenges. Mitra teaches women through martial arts and speaking events.  Her message is that we all have the choice to either become victom of our circumstances or to find our inner warrior and grow from our experiences.  We talk alot about finding your true self and being true to who that is. I hope you enjoy Mitra as much as I did. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Gloria and her husband Ricardo at the Starting Point Entrepreneurship Conference at Saint Mary's University in Halifax this February.  Gloria is a remarkable young woman who has done all of the things that you are "supposed to" do to notch success in this life.  Then finding that unfulfilling struck out to spread her message and carve her own path. Gloria earned her B.A. at McGill University and an M.A. in International Affairs from The University of Toronto. She speaks four languages fluently, is a regular Huffington Post columnist and a HuffPost LIVE commentator. You’ll see her in the media too, from Rogers TV to Chatelaine Magazine, Glow Magazine and CTV. Her first book BYOB: The Unapologetic Guide to Being Your Own Boss became an Amazon.ca best seller in entrepreneurship and self-esteem in October 2013, less than one month after publication. In this episode we talk about playing with the possibilities.  We talk about desire mapping vs. goal setting and growth through experime

One catastrophic moment redefined Warren’s life in April 1997 with a freak rock fall on a remote Australian island that left him pinned under a one-ton boulder. For two days he lay trapped and alone, surviving the ordeal only to lose both legs at mid thigh. Doctors told him he’d never walk again. Warren’s response: “I don’t recall them saying anything about cycling, kayaking, or climbing mountains…” Just ten months later he scaled Cradle Mountain, and in February 2003 Warren became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro. Born in Melbourne, Australia; Warren lives in Canmore, Alberta (an hour from Calgary, 20 minutes from Banff National Park) in the Canadian Rockies with his partner Margo.  Warren's message of resilience and changing your perception are truly inspiring.  Warren is a keynote speaker and coach.  In this interview we talk about resilience, shifting the way you see the world in order to change the world as well as getting by with what you'v

Jason Smith is a highly regarded technology entrepreneur with more than 20 years' experience building and leading companies in North America. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Real Matters. Jason was a founder, director and executive of Basis100, which he built from a handful of employees into one of the largest publicly traded technology providers within the mortgage banking industry worldwide. Basis100 was sold in 2004. A leader in his community, Jason is a director of several corporations and is the Chairman of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation.

This episode is a little bit different than the usual business interviews I do.  This week I have the privilege of interviewing an inspiring young woman who I recently met through my triathlon club.  Heather Cole is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 19 she certainly hasn't let this disease slow her down.  The athletic feats that she accomplishes would be considered a challenge by most let alone the added complication of having to constantly manage this disease while competing.  The amount of effort required to manage this disease is astounding.  Heather talks about what the diagnoses meant to her and how she keeps her motivation and her positive attitude. Heather writes much better than I do so I would encourage you to check out her blog here:  Heathers Blog. If you have the means and the motivation consider donating to her cause by clicking on the donation link on her blog.    

As we head into the new year and start thinking about the things that we want to accomplish in 2015, I thought I'd share an experience that presented it self to me all wrapped up with a pretty bow on it -yes, just like a Christmas present!  You'll have to stay tuned to my upcoming Connecting the Dots episode with Warren MacDonald for the entire discussion about how "When you change the way you see the world, you change the world".  In brief, the concept was at the forefront of my mind when I had a paradigm shift when it comes to 'Cold Calling'!  Here's my story. Cold calling is something I talk about often.  It is one of the most dreaded tasks of all sales people.  It was also something that I used to dread as well but over the years I have actually come to love it.  I know, I know, you're calling bullshit right now but it is true.  You see I have long believed that in sales if you want to sell more of your product, service or whatever it is you sell, then you need to talk to more people.  It is as simple as