The Fallacy of Fearless

This was a piece I wrote 4 years ago when I had committed to writing 1000 words per day to finish my book. This obviously never made the book but it is interesting to go back and explore the mindset. As I sit here in front of my computer at the office trying to ‘will’ […]

Balance Is Bull$h%t

This is a repost of an article I wrote in 2017 Balance Is Bullshit OK, so I feel like I need to put in a little disclaimer here. It is important to note that this article is written by a man who’s staff gave him the book “Workoholics: The Respectable Addicts” for Christmas some 5 […]

David Goggins Challenge to raise awareness for domestic violence during COVID-19

I was honored to have the opportunity to speak to Ryan Jesperson on Friday about the Goggins Challenge I undertook to raise awareness about domestic violence during this pandemic. You can see the Global article here. Last week I ran 4 miles every four hours for 48 hours straight. I had the privilege of being […]

Learning to SOAR in times of uncertainty

Adjust and Adapt

3 weeks out from Tarawera 100 miler and today I’ve got a 3 hour run. With wind chills in the minus 34 range, I will have to do my workout on the track and practice some of that mental toughness. One of the things I love about ultra marathons is that we never know what […]

Promise and Deliver

Promise and Deliver Under promise. Over deliver. I think we’ve all heard the adage. I’m much more a fan of the simple version. Promise and deliver. I remember when I was in the mortgage business some 20 odd years ago, I asked the number one producer in the company if I could shadow him to […]

Don’t Compare Your Mile 1 To Someone Else’s Mile 99

Don’t Compare Your Mile 1 To Someone else’s Mile 99 Have you ever gone back and looked at the early work of somebody who you admire? I remember when I first started podcasting. I was listening to a fellow by the name of Mitch Joel and I think he was on something like episode 468. […]

How To Solve Problems Before They Happen

How to stop problems before they happen You know, with over 20 years experience in business as a founder, a business leader, I’ve had to deal with my fair share of problems and challenges. And I’ve got to tell you that the vast majority of those problems and challenges all stem back to the same […]

Building Resiliency

One of the most valuable characteristics a person can hold, in my opinion, is resiliency. re·sil·ience /rəˈzilyəns/ noun noun: resiliency the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. “the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions” It is one of the personal characteristics that I hold dear. I have been hit with my share of […]

Raising Boys: Let’s Get Physical

Raising Boys: Let’s Get Physical! When it comes to raising boys and helping them better connect with their emotions, there is a lot of value in getting physical. Boys sometimes have a hard time identifying what they are feeling emotionally.  Somatic markers are physical manifestations of emotions and are sometimes easier for boys to identify. […]

Raising Boys: Model The Way

Raising Boys: Model The Way When it comes to raising boys into fine young men, there is no better guide than how we behave ourselves. If we want to raise compassionate, empathetic young men then we need to make sure we are practicing compassion and empathy when we are dealing with them. This can be […]

The Key to Creating Lasting, Meaningful Change

How to create meaningful change Far too often when we want to make lasting change we focus on the wrong things. We tend to focus on the behaviours rather than the underlying emotions that drive the decisions that cause the behaviors. In order to create any kind of lasting, meaningful change we need to get […]

5 Ways to Ensure Humility Isn’t Hurting You

Is humility one of your core values?  Is being humble something you strive to be recognized for? What if I told you that humility may actually be preventing you from living your purpose and creating the impact that you would like to create in this world? You see, for me, humility has always been a […]

Expectations of Self

Are you present or are you present?

Are you really here? In a podcast interview I did recently I talked a bit about parenting. I talked about how I was always physically present with my kids.  I did all the things a ‘good dad’ is supposed to do. I coached soccer, I attended recitals, school performances and all the parent teacher interviews. […]

Creating Joy!

Creating Joy Last night at our men’s group we talked about finding joy. We talked about the importance of taking a moment to find the joy in our lives. Maybe more importantly we talked about where we can create joy in our lives. We talked about how simple it is to create joy in our […]

Success Comes When…

Success Comes When… It is so easy in this world that seems to value material things to get caught up in the race. Working hard to acquire all the ‘things’ that make us successful. For years I chased all of the trappings of success. The fancy car, the house and even what I thought the […]

You Can Do More Than You Know

You Are Stronger Than You Know Last night I watched the conclusion of Big’s Back Yard Ultra. This is an incredible event where runners run a 4 mile loop over and over. They are required to be on the start line every hour and keep going until there is only one runner left. This year […]

Read Something That Challenges Your Beliefs

Consume Something That Challenges Your Beliefs In a world full of algorithms that feed us content that constantly caters to our online behaviours it is easy to live in an echo chamber. We are continually served up data that reinforces what we think, believe and how we act. It is important to find ways to […]

Sometimes We Have To Do The Things We Least Desire….

Sometimes we have to do the things we least desire… Some days we really do not feel like doing the things that we need to do. It is when we can get past that and act anyhow that growth truly comes. Sometimes in order to become the man we are most meant to be we […]

With Awareness Comes Choice

With Awareness Comes Choice I first heard this truism from Eckert Tolle. We can’t change what we can’t see. As men we tend to get so busy in our lives that it is easy to miss out on full awareness. This is why it is so important for us to simply slow down, take a […]

Focus on Becoming More

Focus on Becoming More… For many years I chased all of the ‘things’. I chased the material items. The fancy car (I bought a Porsche when I was 26), the oceanfront apartment, the 6 figure income and all the trappings. What I eventually came to realize was that these things were not what actually brought […]

Time to shine!

Time To Shine! Last night at our Connect’d Men’s group, we followed up with our conversation on Emotional Avoidance. One of the things that came up was the fact that a lot of us had areas where we not only suppressed feelings but we also suppressed parts of ourselves.  The discussion was around where we […]

Emotional Avoidance

Emotional Avoidance Sometimes as children when we are faced with difficult or even traumatic events we learn to suppress or avoid uncomfortable feelings. This is often because we lack the emotional maturity to deal with these feelings so we push them aside. While this may be a decent short term coping strategy when we are […]

Creating Connection

Creating Connection So many times when I am passionate about a message I have to share I can get caught up in making that message the priority. It’s easy to forget the old adage “No one cares what you know til they know that you care.” Before imparting our wisdom on an individual it is […]

Celebrate the small moments

Time Well Spent One of my favourite things is my morning coffees with my partner Michelle. We don’t live together so they do not happen every day. When those coffee moments do happen it is so important that they are enjoyed and not wished away. Too often we get so worried about productivity that we […]

Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

Strong Opinions, Loosely Held Last night we had a great discussion on different economic and political systems and their merits and shortcomings. We had 3 generations involved in the discussion and the opinions varied widely. The debate was lively and at times passionate. I practiced reminding myself to keep the framework of “Strong opinions, loosely […]

Community

Today I talk a little bit about the importance of community and specifically recognizing and appreciating your community.  Your challenge today is to find a way to show some love and appreciation to your community. Are you up for the challenge? Let me know what you come up with!

#57 Sean Tucker: Philosophy and Photography

Sean Tucker is one of my favorite photographer and YouTuber. I first stumbled across his channel while looking for photography/videography. Sean takes some amazing photos and some of his tutorial videos are amazing. What kept me coming back however was less Sean’s talents as a photographer and more his talents as a philosopher/presenter of ideas. […]

#56 Raphael Cushnir: The Power of Emotional Connection

Raphael Cushnir is a leading voice in the world of emotional connection and present moment awareness. He has shared his unique approach to personal and professional development with millions of readers in O, The Oprah Magazine, Beliefnet, Spirituality and Health, Psychology Today, and The Huffington Post. He is the author of six books, lectures worldwide, and is a faculty member of the Esalen […]

#55 Chris Norton: Resiliency in the face of adversity

Chris Norton is a former American football defensive back who played Division III football for the Luther College Norse. His football career ended in 2010 when he became paralyzed while making a tackle during a kick off in a game against Central College. He was given a 3% chance of ever regaining movement below the neck but has continued to recover some sensation and mobility throughout […]

#54 Levi Allen: Why Life is Better When You Make Stuff

 Levi Allen is an adventure filmmaker and a gem of a human being. He is best known for his work on the Slack life series and his feature-length film Untethered. I had a chance to sit with Levi face to face and discuss filmmaking, relationships and some of the productivity strategies he employs in […]

John Price: You’ve got the dream job, don’t fuck it up

John Price is a photographer and climber. He has spent the last six years traveling all over the world, while basing himself out of Canada. Over the last three years John has been actively climbing and photographing rock, ice and alpine ascents throughout North America, including the deserts of Nevada, the Ruth Gorge in Alaska, […]

A Fathers Day Reflection and Opportunity

As Fathers Day approaches I am left to reflect on the kind of father I am and the kind of father I want to be. I am privileged to be called “Dad” by two fine young adults, a 16 year old daughter and an 18 year old son. I think often of how I can […]

What Does It Feel Like To Run 100 Miles?

The Importance of “Holding Space”

I wanted to share with you an experience I had that is honestly one of the best moments of my life. This was an incredible example of a very important topic. ‘Holding Space’ for another human being. What does it mean to “Hold Space” for someone? This is a topic that has profound impact on […]

5 Ways Empathetic Listening Creates Stronger Leadership

As a business leader, one of the greatest challenges I’ve had is communicating my vision with my team and gaining buy-in. But what if I didn’t have to do that at all? What if I could turn the tables on communication as I knew it? I found I could actually attain a higher level of […]

Across the Years: Why I ran for 24 hours

It struck me odd to hear myself saying “I’m JUST running the 24 hour race”. At what point in my life did running for 24 hours become a “Just”??? 2019 is the year I turn 50 and I am committed to making this the best year yet. As a result of this commitment Michelle and […]

Have you ever had a crisis of confidence?

Today I went back in to work on final edits of a book I finished the first draft of over a year ago. At the very top of the document, I found what amounts to a journal entry the last time I looked at it. I share this today so that you, my readers, friends, […]

#52 Dave Proctor: Running a Marathon is Hard, But Running a 100 Miles is Easy

This episode is a special one. It was a bit of an experiment in the fact that I strapped on a couple of wireless Lav mics and ran with Dave to conduct this interview. I also believe this is the beginning of a long term friendship with Dave. Dave lives in Okotoks, Alberta ,Canada, a small city […]

#51 Jane Atkinson: The Speaker Launcher – Business processes, relationships and life advice

Jane Atkinson is a speakers coach with over 3 decades of expertise in her craft. She has worked with some of the best in the business to ignite their career. She is the author of a 3 books The Wealthy Speaker, The Wealthy Speaker 2.0  and The Epic Keynote. In this episode we discuss the […]

Beware The Charlatans Selling False Dreams

Beware the charlatans selling false dreams They’ll trick you, deceive you it’s not what it seems Fulfillment and purpose we all seek in life We clammer for meaning to end all the strife   It is out there, it is out there this thing that I know Just be authentic don’t put on a show. […]

#50 Dr. John Izzo: The Purpose Revolution

Click on the link above to listen to the full audio podcast! Dr John Izzo is the bestselling author of seven books including the international bestsellers Awakening Corporate Soul, Values Shift, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, The Five Thieves of Happiness and Stepping Up. John’s passion in helping organizations activate purpose […]

International Women’s Day: Thoughts from one of Canada’s most influential women

Yesterday for International Women’s Day I did an impromptu ‘Coffee with Strangers‘ and managed to get two of the most influential women in the mortgage industry to join me for a chat. Kathy Gregory was one of them and through our conversation, she agreed to share with me her internal memo to staff. I thought […]

Note to Self: Experiment Daily

The 2018 Experiment!

Alright, it is March 1st and that means it is time for another experiment. While I have always liked to experiment with things in my life I made a decision at the beginning of the year to get a little more formal about the process. I decided to take a couple of experiments every month […]

#49 Janice Porter: Stay Connected, Be Remembered. LinkedIn Expert/Relationship Marketer

Janice Porter is a LinkedIn expert and Relationship Marketing expert who believes that LinkedIn will change everything!  She prides herself in being a consummate networker and successfully connecting people for mutual benefit. She has been involved with various organizations and has built up a vast network that enables her to connect like-minded people. She has met many […]

#48 Selina Gray: Creating a Money Mindset

Selina Gray (CPA, CA, B.Comm) is a money relationship expert with over 14 years of experience reinventing finance for individuals, small business & corporations. Selina has successfully managed and integrated various corporate acquisitions and served as controller for two internationally publicly traded companies. She has led an international team of over 30 finance ninjas and […]

5 Practices for a more productive life

Productive people manage their time well. As a guy who thrives on variety I do a number of different activities in both my personal and professional life. I am also a chronic over sharer so most of you are likely familiar with the myriad of things that I do. If we have not met, here […]

#47 Yahya Bakkar: How to live your authentic life

Yahya is a speaker and confidence coach. His mission is to remind people of their value. We talk about entrepreneurship and about creating a lifestyle that works for you. Yahya shares how he discovered how he found his path to utilize his unique value to build the life that he wanted. How do you know […]

#46 Diane Ross: Simple Strategies for Difficult Conversations

Diane Ross is an expert in difficult conversations and shares her strategies with us. As a ‘recovering lawyer’ she moved into the realm of communications and having the difficult conversations. She realized that what worked in the courtroom was not working in her personal relationships. We talk about why people avoid having difficult conversations and […]

My Favourite TED talks of all time

During the winter of 2012/2013 I spent a ridiculous amount of time in my basement either on the treadmill or on the bike trainer as I trained for triathlon that year. In preparation for the winter hours of indoor running and cycling I set up a 50″ SmartTV with a TED app on it directly […]

9 Keys to Fostering Trust in any Relationship

The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships. This is a fact. This being the case, are you making your relationships a priority? How do you focus on, and build the quality of the relationships in your life? There are many factors that go into building strong relationships but there is one […]

#45 Bob Molle: Grey Cup ring and Olympic Medal Bob gets comfortable being uncomfortable

Bob is the only individual who has both a CFL Grey Cup ring and an Olympic medal. This is a man that is no stranger to hard work. Bob has found a way to harness his stellar successes, Eastern philosophies and life experiences into programs that inspire everyone to enjoy his level of exceptional triumph. […]

#44 Tania Spilchen: Making a difference in poverty relief

Tania Spilchen is a computer scientist turned philanthropist. She is the founder of One International. One! International Poverty Relief (One! International) is a registered Canadian charity; a non-government, non-profit, non-sectarian organization working in India. One International strives to assist children, youth and families to achieve their potential and become responsible members of society. Basic education for […]

Why Goal Setting Still Sucks!

As we turn the corner on 2017 I reflect on an article I wrote a few years ago around goal setting.I find it interesting that so many of us seem so eager to throw away the year that has elapsed. I have heard many people say something to the effect of “I can’t wait for […]

#43 John David Mann: Tips, Tricks and Tactics From a New York Times Best Seller

JOHN DAVID MANN is an award-winning author whose titles include the New York Times bestseller The Red Circle and the international bestseller The Go-Giver. “I have a passion for great writing. The exquisite beauty of a powerful idea expressed in words, whether through a single sentence or a seven-hundred-page novel, is something that has stirred […]

#42 Brandon Webb: Navy Seal – From Sailor to Sniper

Brandon Tyler Webb (born June 12,1974) is a former United States Navy SEAL and SEAL Sniper Head Instructor, with one combat deployment to Afghanistan and one to Iraq. He served as the Navy SEAL Sniper Course Manager, where he developed new curricula and trained snipers, including Chris Kyle. He is the editor in chief of SOFREP[1], Founder and CEO of Crate […]

I Called Her A Whore And I Was Shocked At What It Felt Like!

**NOTE: I wrote this immediately after completing this project but was not able to publish it until the exhibit was public.** Today I cat called a woman. I called her all manner of names. I called her a bitch. I called her a whore. I said vile, rude, disgusting things directed toward another human being. […]

#41 Steven Csorba: Fragile Resilience – The artist who has found himself is lost

This dude is one of my favorite human beings on the planet. You will be inspired by his passion, energy and creativity. Steven is an artistic genius, fitness freak, cancer survivor and philanthropist. A self professed “Strange beast” and “the worlds poorest philanthropist”. I am thrilled to call Steven a friend and love to run […]

The Most Epic Mortgage Conference Ever!

You know it has been a good conference when you get to wrap it up with a meet and greet with the former Prime Minister of Canada! This was destined to be an epic conference from the outset. I mean when you are working with a venue that some call the eighth wonder of the […]

#40 Graham Sherman: You can’t bullshit your why

Co-Owner, Tool Shed Brewing Company Graham Sherman is a self-professed “high level geek” who has used his love of technology to help him master the craft of brewing artisan beer. Together with his partner, Graham launched the Tool Shed Brewery four years ago, and has never looked back.  Prior to starting Tool Shed, Graham and […]

Would you have coffee with a stranger?

All of my best friends were strangers once. Today I received an email newsletter from my friend Drew Dudley. Drew is a leadership expert and always has great insights to share. He talked about the need to “Be gutsy” and encouraged his readers to ask the question “What did I try today that might not […]

11 Tech Tools That Don’t Suck!

When it comes to technology the question often becomes how much is too much? When does technology stop making you more efficient and start becoming a time suck? How do I find technology that works for me and doesn’t entirely suck the life out of me? If you are anything like me and easily distracted […]

Finding “The One”: 5 Things No One Tells You

Thanks to Karen for asking me this one on FaceBook. I feel that if I can nail this one I can likely retire. The answer to the question of how to find “The One” seems to be as elusive as the fountain of youth. Let’s start with a little bit of a disclaimer and background […]

6 Practices to Becoming a Better Listener

So we all know, or should know, that one of the keys to a successful relationship on any level is to be a good listener.  Whether we are talking about sales, family, spouse or friends our ability to truly hear what the other is saying is a critical component for a healthy relationship. For someone […]

The Perils of Positivity

Can a positive attitude be bad for you?    I spend a lot of time exploring what most would coin “Emotional Intelligence”.    “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.”    It is something that I believe is infinitely more important than intellect. […]

Incoherent ramblings… (Sometimes I write unfiltered)

This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote while waiting for a meeting that I was an hour early for.  I usually write on my laptop but this time I opted for pen and paper. I love sharing random musings in the hopes that I will provoke thought and conversation. Love to hear […]

Grief: How I Learned to Navigate Death and Loss

This is an anonymized letter I wrote to a friend who lost his girlfriend. I hope this may help you with whatever you are going through. Dear Friend, I can only begin to imagine the pain you are feeling right now.  While I have known monumental loss, loss of a proportion previously unfathomable, only you […]

6 Reasons To Stop Trying

A New Year is upon us, and with every New Year comes the inevitable … New Years’ Resolutions. Statistically speaking (although we all know 75% of statistics are made up) approximately 35% of resolutions are abandoned by mid-January. We make a resolution to go to the gym 4 times a week. We try it, we […]

Choose your ‘Hard’

Today I was speaking with a friend of mine from out of town who is struggling. Business development is not going as well as they would like and she is considering reverting to a ‘fall back’ plan. She recognizes that there is a finite amount of time for which the financial numbers of the business […]

Why are we afraid to live our Truth?

Words are an interesting conundrum.  I sit here about to commemorate the anniversary of Colleen’s tragic death and I look for words to equal the beauty of the person and memories I hold.  It is estimated that there are just over a million words in the English language.   What if the people, objects or experiences that […]

Sometimes you have to be an energy vampire part II

Hopefully, you read Part I of my Summit experience which gives you a little bit of context on how I ended up here. In my last post, I wrapped up writing as we landed at Pearson airport. I was honestly a little surprised that I stayed awake on the flight since I had dragged my […]

November Project: Sometimes you have to be an energy vampire Part I

It’s Thursday morning, July 14, 2016. When I say morning, I mean EARLY morning. I mean 3:05am kinda morning. Usually for me this means that the night got a little out of hand. Not the case this time. Why you ask? Why the heck would you be up at 3:05am on a Thursday morning? It’s […]

Worried about your sales pipeline?

The other day someone asked the question in the Facebook group, I love Mortgage Brokering, “At what point do you start worrying about your pipeline. I happened to be the first reply. I talked about how unproductive it is to even fret about it at all. I don’t give any merit to paying attention to your […]

Expectations: The key to a stellar customer experience

This article will change your life.  No seriously, I mean it.  This article all by itself will in fact change your life. At this point in my career if I have to get involved in a file it’s likely because it has gone sideways.  I can’t tell you how many files I have had to […]

Creativity is a Bitch

Creativity is a bitch.  It really is.  Trust me I know.  I practice creating daily and it is damn hard.  Much harder than most of the physical feats I have ever accomplished.  Yes I know, doing an Iron Distance triathlon is nothing to sneeze at but the reality is that endurance triathlon is simply the […]

Through the Eyes of an Artist: The Practice of Presence

If you pay any attention to the personal development gurus or so called “Thought Leaders” you will have heard much discussion about “mindfulness” and “presence”.  I have always bought into the concept but have equally struggled with the practical reality of it for an adult, whom would surely be diagnosed with ADD if ever he […]

Feel the Fear and Shimmy-Twist-Skip

As I sit here in front of my computer at the office trying to ‘will’ myself to write I am awestruck by the immense force of this dastardly little four letter word.  I certainly do not believe in writers block.  I do however have to acknowledge writers reluctance.  Perhaps that is not the right choice of […]

#39 Paul Taylor – President/CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada

Here is your chance to get to know the President and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada. From insurance to mortgages we explore Paul’s journey to leading the largest professional mortgage association in Canada.  Paul went on to take an executive MBA program and talks about what he felt he needed to succeed.  Paul is a […]

Redefining Badass

When you think ‘Badass’ what do you think of? If you are like most, you conjure up images of Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pink, George St. Pierre or Rhonda Rousey.  There is a real attraction to ‘Badass’.  Let’s face it, we all want to be a little ‘Badass’. For me, I have always been more […]

Create more ‘Moments’

Have you ever wished you could live someone else’s life? Ever found yourself wanting to do, see or experience more out of life? Yeah, me too. So I made a decision. A few years ago I decided to do something about it. I realized that the things I truly enjoy most in life are the […]

“Something Needs to Change” maybe it’s you

Today marks five months since Colleen Lois Sillito had the tapestry of her life cut short in a cowardly act of domestic violence.  Imagine the unimaginable.  The life of someone you love extinguished in the blink of an eye in their very own driveway.  I tell you certainly six months ago this is not something I […]

Why I Hate Quotations

OK, maybe hate is too strong a word but with the continued growth of social media and the vast amount of content out there it seems like there is a quote designed to fit just about any occasion.  Historically I have loved quotes and have made many different ones my go to for a long […]

#38 Joe Calloway: Magnetic – The Art of Attracting Business

Joe Calloway helps business leaders, owners, and entrepreneurs make great companies even better. His interactive keynote presentations and workshops enable organizations to focus on what is truly important, inspire new thinking about challenges and opportunities, and motivate people to immediate action. Joe is a business author, consultant and speaker and his client list reads like […]

“I Love You” is Bullshit

For many years I have explored the phrase “I Love You”.  You see I am a fairly romantic man and have always had a belief in the blissful existence of “The One”.  You know, your soul mate, your perfect match, your true love, that one person that completes your heart’s desire.  That individual that will […]

Forgiveness: The Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done

There is an evil in this world. A darkness that threatens to choke out the light.  It lives among us and very few would even imagine that it exists.  It forces some to live in fear.  It is the schoolyard bully we thought we had outgrown. There is evil in this world and I have met […]

Embrace the Suck – Revisited

“The difference between a good race and a bad race is how you manage the (inevitable) pain” Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack on triathlon. Just a little over a year ago I wrote an article entitled “Embrace the Suck“.  The premise was based on the statement above.  Macca was then, one of my favorite triathletes. He emphasized no […]

Mortgage Forum 2015 Recap

Wow!! Where to start with Mortgage Forum 2015.  This year for me was certainly a different experience than ever before.  First off let, we have one of the most incredible industries on the planet.   On the heels of the greatest tragedy I have ever experienced in my life, I knew Mortgage Forum 2015 was […]

Of all the words of mice and men…

Colleen Lois Sillito was a mother, an artist, a photographer, a videographer, a yogi, a climber, a fitness enthusiast, and an inspiration to many.  She had an innate ability to make you feel like the only person on the planet.  She had a knack for allowing you to see yourself through her eyes.  Eyes of […]

Episode 37: Bob Burg – The Go-Giver; The 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success

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 […]

Episode 36: Martin Perelmuter – Entrepreneur Unleashed!

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 […]

Why I Stopped Setting Goals

I have officially quit!  That’s it, I’ve had enough.  I hereby decree that I will no longer set goals for myself. For as long as I can remember I have been taught that come January 1st,  I should sit down and write out a list of things that I want to accomplish for the year.   […]

Episode 35: Richard Robbins – Delivering the Unexpected

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 […]

Project Pay it Forward: The Next Level

I will contribute up to $20,000.00 at a rate of $1.00 for each member of the Project Pay it Forward Group or  Each subscriber to my mailing list.  Join the group or subscribe now to make your impact! Together we can change the world When we first launched Project Pay it Forward my hope was that we […]

What I Learned From A Conversation With A Billionaire

First off, it wasn’t me who had the conversation with the Billionaire.  Sorry.  It was James Altucher on his podcast as he interviewed Ted Leonsis.  If you have never listened to James you need to know that he is quite the character.  He opens the conversation with an ever so smooth “I’m gonna straight out […]

Episode 34: Peri Shawn – Profitable Conversations

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 […]

Episode 33: Shane Feldman – Inspiring Youth Across The Planet

How many 20 year olds do you know that have their own Wikipedia page? 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 […]

What if you were born with super powers but nobody showed you how to use them?

** Note: This article had the potential to go off on a number of different tangents.  Rather than try and explore every concept in detail I have highlighted my takeaways and provided links to further information where appropriate.  Listen to the podcast in it’s entirety ** Do you believe strongly in life long learning? Do […]

Episode 32: Coach Dan – Author, Ironman and all round great guy

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 […]

Episode 31: Christopher Novais – The Art of Letting Go

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 […]

The Power of Teamwork

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the 2015 MS Tour.  The tour is a 180KM round trip bike ride from Leduc to Camrose.  I was honored to be part of a fantastic team made up of members of my cycle family from Exist Cycle studios where I instruct from time […]

Episode 30: Nicole Almond – Making a Difference Through Entrepreneurship

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 […]

Episode 29: Carmen Alpaerts Making a Difference

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 […]

Episode 28: Making a Difference – MacKenzie Lucas Pedal Towards the Cure

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 […]

Episode 27: Erik Giasson; The Yogi Who Sold His Ferrari

At 36, Erik Giasson became the 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 largest “hedge fund”. He lived in abundance and wealth, when in 2008, at 43 years old, following the financial crisis he loses his job […]

#26 Fred Sarkari: Adventures of a Pyscotherapist

In this episode I talk to Fred Sarkari who is a licensed Psychotherapist.  We talk a lot about human behavior and how to shape the behaviors that we want.  Fred takes a scientific approach to behavior patterns and looks at how we can understand why we do what we do. Whether we are talking about […]

Episode 25: Tom Stoyan Canada’s Sales Coach

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 […]

2015 Vancouver Marathon

Eighteen weeks of training all comes down to one day.  For the last two years I have run the Vancouver half  marathon with a variety of friends and family.  It has always been a fantastic experience.  This year however was a little different.  Somehow I let a young woman in my tri club, Heather Cole, inspire […]

Episode 24: Mitra Castano – Unleashing Your Inner Warrior

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 a picture of inner strength learning to overcome abuse at the hands of her […]

Episode 23: Gloria Roheim McRae – Playing with the possibilities

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 […]

Episode 22: Warren Macdonald – Helping you change the way you look at the world

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: […]

Episode 21: Greg Williamson – Sales and innovation

Greg Williamson is a long time mortgage broker.  He started brokering shortly out of University and has been a recipient of the Canadian Mortgage Awards Broker of the Year award.  He has worked in the bank selling mortgages and has been a pioneer in the brokerage industry for over two decades.  Greg has always been […]

Project Pay It Forward

Well, I am excited to write this post. My hope is that this will inspire you to do what you can to make a difference in the life of another. It can be so easy and you never know the impact that you might have. For me, it is something that I have always tried […]

Episode 20: Jason Smith – Finding Your Organizational Rhythm

Jason Smith was inducted into the Canadian Mortgage Hall of Fame in 2014 by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.  Jason has a long history in the mortgage business and is a pioneer in mortgage origination technology.  Jason Smith is a highly regarded technology entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience building and leading […]

Episode 19: Heather Cole: Diabetes, Ultra Marathons and Ironman Oh My!

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 […]

Episode 18: Cold calling is dead, Long live the cold call

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 […]

Episode 17: Mark Kerzner: Relationships, Outputs and Getting it Done

This week I have the pleasure of having a conversation with Mark Kerzner, the President and COO of TMG The Mortgage Group.  This was a really great interview for me as I have just recently gotten to know Mark a lot better working side by side on the CAAMP board of directors.  My respect for […]

Episode 16: Brendan Calder; Mentor, Leader, Manager extraordinaire

Brendan Calder is a man who many cite as a mentor.  He has probably helped produce more leaders in the mortgage industry then anyone.  It is my pleasure to spend an hour talking leadership and management with Brendan.  I certainly took some things away from this one that change the way I look at how […]

Episode 15: Conversation with Andy Charles, CEO Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance

Andy is the President and CEO of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance.  He has a vast array of experience in the mortgage business.  He helped introduce the concept of variable compensation mortgage origination to the big bank. We talk about the lessons he has learned over the years in a variety of executive roles with major […]

Why I felt CAAMP’s Mortgage Forum 2014 was one of the best ever

CAAMP’s annual Mortgage Forum truly is the country’s premiere event for mortgage professionals, always bringing new ideas, information and networking opportunities aplenty. This year was no exception.  I sometimes feel that we are quick with hollow praise in many areas whether it be work, personal associations (soccer, hockey, etc) or even our professional associations.  The […]

Episode 14: Conversation with Yousry Bissada: 25 Years of Leadership

Yousry is currently the President and CEO of Kanetix, the leading provider of online insurance marketplace.  He has served on numerous boards and been Chairman of several.  After holding senior executive roles with two of Canada’s Yousry decided to step up his game becoming President and CEO of Filogix, a technology provider to the Canadian […]

Episode 13: Setting Customer Expectations

Conventional marketing wisdom would suggest that you want to meet or exceed customer expectations if you want to have happy customers. This is fairly common sense. The problem that we sometimes run into is that many times our customers expectations are grossly misaligned with reality.  Imagine you have a client that has seen you present […]

Episode 12: Boris Bozic on Effective Leadership

Boris Bozic is a 25 year veteran of the mortgage business and has seen what it is like to be a feet on the street broker as well as holding senior positions at one of Canada’s largest financial institutions.  Boris went on to found Merix Financial and bring a very unique value proposition to the […]

Episode 11: Conversation with Dan Putnam

Dan Putnam is a true industry leader that has seen a variety of the different sides of the mortgage business.  Dan has advanced through a number of different leadership roles and has experience ranging from brokering, to running a small independent brokerage, to heading up one of the largest national broker franchises, to senior executive […]

Episode 10: Lessons from one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada

Very pleased to bring you this interview with Kathy.  She does a wonderful job of sharing her passions, practices and philosophies.  You will find links to some of the things we discuss under her bio below.  Please let me know if you find this valuable. Kathy Gregory has over 20 years of executive leadership experience […]

Episode 9: Embrace the Suck!

“The difference between a good race and a bad race is how you manage the (inevitable) pain” Chris “Macca” McCormack on triathlon. In 2013 I completed my first Iron Distance triathlon.  In the lead up, and training to complete that race I started paying a lot of attention to those that had been there before me. […]

Episode 8: Hali Strandlund – Born to lead

Hali Strandlund is the Senior Vice President Residential Mortgages and Broker Relations at Fisgard Capital Corporation.  Hali says she was born into the business and she is not kidding.  Hali is a leader at Fisgard, she has been the president of the Mortgage Brokers Association of BC (Twice), she is a past chair of the […]

Men, it’s time to “Woman up”

For most of our lives we men have constantly been told to “man up”.  To ‘grow a set’ or to suck it up. Often this means that we should be tough, we should stand up and be brave in the face of adversity.  The unfortunate consequences to these statement is that most of us men interpret this to […]

Episode 7: Everyday Leadership; Conversation with Drew Dudley

I am very excited to share this interview with you.  I first met Drew Dudley after we hired him to come and speak at the Axiom Leadership Summit in New Orleans.  After watching Drews Ted talk on Everyday Leadership I knew he would be a good fit for our organizational values and vision.  I was […]

Episode 6: It’s the simple things

This episode I wanted to introduce you to a friend and inspiration Drew Dudley.  Drew gave a Ted talk entitled the lollipop moment.  This episode is me telling the story of one of my lollipop moments.  Drew picked it up and published it on his site.  You can see Drew’s talk here http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership?language=en.  I will have […]

Episode 5: The power of the podcast

As I continue to share my podcast with the world I am realizing that I am in fact not the last person on the planet to discover them.  I thought I would take the time to talk a little about the value that I see in podcasts in general, talk a little about the technical […]

Episode 4: Two words to avoid in your professional life at all costs

It happened. I caught myself doing it today, September 2, 2014 . I swore I would never do it and there I was doing exactly that. As I started hanging up the phone I knew exactly what I had done. And it pissed me off.  But let’s back up. It’s 2006 and I’m travelling back […]

Episode 3: Take my money please!

One of the things that I look for on a daily basis when I interact with other businesses is how they run their sales process and how it makes me feel as a customer .  I had an interesting experience this summer that really highlights the need for a “Connecting the Dots” approach to your sales […]

Episode 2: The Challenge/Support Balance

I believe that the path to growth is paved with the right balance of challenge and support.  Whether we are talking about an organization or an individual this holds true.  Challenge is the catalyst for change.  Finding the right balance between challenge and support is critical.  If there is too much challenge without enough support […]

Episode 1: Connecting the Dots

If you have followed me on social media at all you know that I love to share.  I love to share my experiences and more importantly I love to share my learning moments.  I find that sharing really helps me solidify the lesson in my own life and hopefully I can help make an impact […]

Four questions you should ask about your prospect

As sales professionals most of us are, or should be familiar with the term “qualify your prospect”.  The question though is what does that really mean in today’s environment?  There are a lot more things going on today then in the past when it comes to this concept and I thought we should talk about them. […]

Sell it with a story

Since most of us were small children we have been fascinated with stories.  From Dr. Suess to the brothers Grimm, we have all been captivated at one point or another by a great story.  We use stories on a daily basis.  Whether we are telling tall tales about our weekend to co-workers on Monday or […]

You have to suck before you succeed

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/162010475″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”100″ iframe=”true” /]Many of the business lessons I’ve learned of late have come from my experience as an amateur triathlete.  It is interesting having conversations with individuals who have watched my journey from the beginning up to my Ironman experience to date.  For many who have an interest in fitness I […]

Imagination: How it helped me persuade

Many of us are familiar with visualization techniques in achieving goals.  Many of these techniques were popularized by the book “The Secret” published in 2006.  Dr. Maxwell Maltz wrote about the power of imagination in his book PsychoCybernetics first published in 1960.  Dr. Maltz explores the science of self image and has set many of […]

Leadership lessons from an 11 year old

Last week I was visiting with my daughter at the end of the day and as usual asked her what she had spent the day doing.  She responded that she had been at a girlfriends with another friend.  She went on to tell me that they had spent a the better part of the afternoon writing a […]

Want better results? Ask better questions

In a world where we are constantly searching for answers, I was reminded last week at a conference I attended that often times the answer is to question.  Huh?!?  OK, I know It may sound like some goofy new age thought but often times you can get what you want by simply asking better questions. […]

Everybody do the hustle: new business today is easier than ever

If you want to be successful in any sales career there is simply no replacement for good old fashioned hard work.  The bottom line is you will need to get up off your comfy chair and hit the streets making connections.  It really isn’t rocket science but for some reason we tend to either forget that, […]

A Tale of Two Tailors: A lesson in sales

OK, well they’re not really tailors.  More high end men’s clothing retailers but the alliteration in the title sounded better this way ;0).  I really enjoy wearing a nice suit.  As a businessman there is nothing more satisfying then getting all decked out in a new suit.  This is a story contrasting two different shopping […]

Stay “New” Forever Renee Dadswell

Do you remember when you first started your job?  Or perhaps your new career? If you are anything like me you were excited.  You were fired up.  You were passionate about what you were doing.  You were likely the most productive you have ever been.  You likely had big ideas that you freely shared and […]

Open for Learning

If you are not where you want to be in life, professionally, then you may have to accept the fact that we still have some things to learn. Many of us would agree with this statement and generally speaking when you are starting out it is a concept that is easy to embrace.  “I know […]

Your most powerful sales tool

[display_podcast]It’s funny how we find that some of our most powerful learning moments don’t come from hearing something new, but usually from looking at something we already know from a new angle.  Last week we had Genworth come out and do a training session for our team on Effective Networking and Selling Skills.  The presentation […]

The pro’s do it, why don’t you?

One of the things that we often forget is the fact that in business we still need to train.  Stephen Covey called it “Sharpening the Saw”, Zig Ziglar was attributed the quote “If you want to earn more, learn more”.  Let’s have a look at a group of individuals that earn hundreds or even thousands […]

CMP Mortgage Summit

Last week I spent most of the week in Toronto connecting with some of our broker and lender partners.  I also had the opportunity to speak at the CMP Mortgage Summit.  I had an absolutely fabulous week and thought I would share some of the highlights, specifically around my presentation at the Summit. Last year […]

From the mouths of babes

I had a really interesting conversation with my 11 year old daughter and thought it worthy of a share. It was Monday evening and we were on our way to basketball. M asked if she could pick a song from my iPhone.  I said sure and handed it over.  She chose Nickelback’s Burn it to […]