In this episode, I talk to Alex Leon Flores. And I am going to tell you what he says about himself, so that you get an idea of just how fascinating this episode is going to be:
‘I am an ordinary human being, who considers himself perfectly imperfect. I want what any other individual wishes to have: I would like to fulfill the highest truest, expression of myself as a human being.
I’m a deeply curious person who likes to understand more about our own existence. I’d like to lead a compassionate and kind life.
My life mission is: “To live the best life I can. In Kindness & Acceptance. With Deep Understanding & Infinite Compassion”.
My title -and purpose- in my career involves looking for potential in other human beings, while doing my best to provide them a place - a platform if you will - where they could develop.
As a Professional Recruitment Specialist, I have always remained focused on the importance of building strong relationships with all stakeholders, clients and coworkers. Social Scientists have proven the correlation between relationships, success and our quality of life. As a Professional Administrator my goal is excellence. Attention to detail and perseverance are vastly needed to achieve excellence, if we're to meet any goals successfully, all while being compassionate to myself and those around me.’
Alex currently does his best work from within an incredible Marketing and Experience Design Agency. If you are looking for your next career move, please reach out to him! He will love to have a chat with you.
I will also say that we connected on LinkedIn due to one of Esther Perel’s posts. We cover so much in this conversation, and still we could have kept going.
Some snippets of our conversation:
OK, ready to take this a game-changing ride with us, from wherever you are? Buckle up, here we go.
Book: How Emotions Are Made, by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
Connect with Alex:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexleonflores/
Men’s Social Support Group: https://evryman.com/about/
Critical Mass Job Board: https://www.criticalmass.com/join
In this episode, I talk to Rachel Despres, a Career Coach for Rebels who, after successfully escaping her own cubicle, began helping others break free of their desk jobs and build unconventional careers that truly fit with who they are—from creative work, to side hustles, to starting a business.
That word, rebel, is one that I found to be the magic key in your conversation. Which you will love, as she takes us through her journey of becoming a coach for rebels and a rebel herself, from ‘rule follower extraordinare’ as she calls herself at some point.
Sharing some nuggets of our conversation here:
So, get ready to make room for some ‘big magic’ in your life as you join Rachel and I in this episode!
Book recommended by Rachel: 'Big Magic', by Elizabeth Gilbert
Where you can find Rachel:
To chat with me about emerging leaders, leading different and skills muscles, book a call here.
Enjoy!
Roxana @ All Personal
In this special Fourth of July episode, I’m talking to Tammy Gooler Loeb. In her 20 years as an executive career and executive coach, writer, facilitator and speaker, Tammy has inspired people to engage in work that is fulfilling, meaningful and satisfying. She provides a variety of services to individual clients and businesses in a range of sectors and industries, including executive and career coaching, group facilitation, training and speaking. This work focuses primarily on workplace communication, leadership strategies, and team development.
Tammy hosts a podcast, Work From The Inside Out, which showcases the inspiring stories and practical lessons of people who have transitioned to more satisfying and meaningful work. Her expertise has been showcased in many publications, such as HBR Ascend, Forbes, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, Monster.com, The Ladders.com, and recently in the book, Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica Turner.
Her upcoming book, 'Work From The Inside Out: Break Through 9 Common Obstacles and Design a Career That Fulfills You', will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and through independent bookstores in September 2021.
Tammy holds an M.B.A. from Boston University and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach by the Coaches Training Institute.
Snippets of our conversation:
Book Tammy recommends and quotes from: ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch
Where to find Tammy:
www.tammygoolerloeb.com/podcast
www.linkedin.com/in/tammygoolerloeb
https://www.facebook.com/TammyGoolerLoebCoaching
Twitter & Instagram: @tammygoolerloeb
My guest in this episode is Debra Joy Eklove. Debra is a consultant, an author, a musician, and a passionate teacher. For over 25 years she has worked with clients and students sharing the importance and the joy of better understanding and nurturing our mind-body and spirit. Prior to concentrating on teaching, she had a private practice in body-centered psychotherapy and shiatsu.
For over 15 years she is teaching with the Art of Living Foundation, a humanitarian, educational, international not for profit. [Research has shown the outstanding effectiveness of the SKY Breath, and Sri Sri yoga, and the Art of Meditation, helping people worldwide with stress reduction.]
Debra is Director of Product Development at Veda by Sonia and teaches Ayurveda at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. [She was the ayurveda consultant to Tetley Tea, Canada when they developed and marketed their successful Ayurveda Balance brand. In addition to studying with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and other leaders in the fields of energy, ayurveda, and vibrational medicine Debra has a B.Comm. from McGill University and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, England.]
Debra produced her CD of original music in 2003, and she continues to sing and create music, now exploring and sharing the beauty and impacts of vibrations and sound.
Some of the wisdom nuggets Debra shares with us - I guarantee you will love this episode:
The quote she shares at the end 'Make your smile cheap and make your anger expensive' from Ravi Shankar.
She also mentions the book 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Hardcover' by Yuval Noah Harari
Links to Debra's courses:
http://tiny.cc/SelfcareBreathJuly6 - July 6-8 10am - 1230 Pm EST. More info and on the program at https://www.artofliving.org/ca-en/happiness-program.
Meditation program for the public now planned for June 22-24, morning: http://tiny.cc/MeditationJune
Where to find Debra
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-joy-eklove-6814772/
https://www.instagram.com/debrajoyeklove/
https://www.facebook.com/debrajoy.eklove - messenger
In this episode, I talk to Britt Skrabanek, who is the self-published fiction author of four novels: 'Beneath the Satin Gloves', 'Everything’s Not Bigger', 'Nola Fran Evie', and 'Virasana'.
She is a content strategist and the co-founder of Superneat Marketing, a long-time blogger, and the host of Love Your Enthusiasm, a self-empowerment podcast that inspires women to pursue their greatest passion. She is also a yogi, ballet dancer, cat mom, and life enthusiast.
Britt is taking us on a story of becoming, and also of overcoming obstacles, time after time, and transforming them into opportunities! Find out:
A few golden nuggets that Britt shares in this amazing story she's taking us on:
Where to find Britt Skrabanek:
https://loveyourenthusiasm.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Britt-Skrabanek/e/B008P09DKA/
https://superneatmarketing.com/
Instagram – @loveyourenthusiasm/ @bskrabanek
Facebook – @loveyourenthusiasm/ @brittskrabanek
LinkedIn – @love-your-enthusiasm/ @brittskrabanek
Twitter – @ly_enthusiasm / @brittskrabanek
My guest on this episode is Emanuel Petrescu.
He is a digital marketing specialist from Toronto, helping business enhance their online footprint through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), email marketing, paid ads, and social media.
Emanuel is a Business Administration alumni and before coming to Canada in 2017, he has worked in different fields, from government administration, media research, accounting, and some entrepreneurial endeavors.
He spends his time mostly working on digital marketing stuff, watching (too many) movies and series, reads, and, sometimes, writes.
Recently, he authored a chapter in the "Grow Together" book anthology published by the Immigrant Writer's Association, where he is the marketing manager.
Snippets of our conversation:
Here are all the links to the videos and resources that Emanuel mentioned during our chat:
To connect with Emanuel you can visit his website, follow him on Twitter, and connect with him on LinkedIn.
You can also check his website at: www.emanuelp.com.
This is a super special episode, the first one of Season 3! Starting 2021 with a topic that's so close to my heart: we talk about professional development – the revolutionary kind!
My guest on this episode is Dennett Edwards, the Founder of the Corona Daze Professional Development (CDPD) Group.
After twenty years of working in local and international community development and education, she decided to use her skills and abilities to respond to record unemployment rates stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is passionate about increasing professional access and representation of people of color, people from the LGBTQIA community, and other marginalized groups in all industries and employment spaces.
Her passion and journey are absolutely inspiring! We talk about how she founded a professional development group due to the pandemic, how she nurtured and nourished it, and we also talk about her way of creating a development revolution.
Tune in and check this out, it will definitely inspire you on so many levels! Some snippets of our conversation:
Here's where you can connect with Dennett and her amazing group:
This episode is part of the All Personal Podcast Limited Series ‘Home/Work Unlocked’ where we discuss what work (from home) will look like as we get out of lock-down.
In this episode, I talk to Sam Miller, a Registered Psychotherapist M.A. R.P. and President of Sam Miller Consulting, as he shares his view on building a healthy 'future of work'.
Sam is a resourceful Psychotherapist with extensive experience in Trauma Response and Treatment and Wellness Initiatives.
He has demonstrated strengths in leadership, coaching and communication. Sam has worked with many organizations and corporations in creating healthy, respectful, workplace environments as well as managing work-related traumatic events.
An experienced facilitator, Sam has worked with a variety of organizations and corporations developing and presenting seminars and workshops that cover a wide spectrum of Wellness topics.
In his psychotherapy practice, Sam has worked with a variety of clients both privately and within many different workplace settings. He has dealt with many different clinical issues ranging from anxiety and stress to workplace change, conflict resolution and management-employee relations.
Sam holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Masters of Arts in Educational Psychology from McGill University.
Connect with Sam here: https://workplacetraumawellness.com/about-sam-miller/
This episode is part of the All Personal Podcast Limited Series ‘Home/Work Unlocked’ where we discuss what work (from home) will look like as we get out of lock-down.
In this video interview, I talk to Diana Medrea-Mogensen, Growth Mindset and Life Management Coach, Founder of 'We Are Entrepreneurs DK'.
She lives in Denmark, one of the first countries to lock down and then unlock.Diana shares her experience, emotions and thoughts on getting down to work as things started to re-open, getting out of the house and sending her kids back to kindergarten.
You can find Diana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-medrea-mogensen/
This episode is part of the All Personal Podcast Limited Series ‘Home/Work Unlocked’ where we discuss what work (from home) will look like as we get out of lock-down.
In this first episode, I am talking to two virtual work visionaries: Brittany Bairos and Joncarlo Bairos at Forge Recruitment, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in the search and placement of legal and accounting professionals into firms and companies across British Columbia and Ontario.
I like to call them visionaries because they were already working virtually way before the crisis made us all remote workers.
They were already managing things like keeping the team productive, motivated, engaged and in constant communication.
A confession: we’ve worked together on forming and norming their team as they were scaling, and it’s a privilege for me to have clients like them: leaders who know that building a great team starts with building yourself as a great leader!
And yet, I am not subjective when I call them visionaries. Listen in and see why, sharing a few nuggets here:
You can find Brittany and Joncarlo at www.forgerecruitment.com and on LinkedIn.
If you have questions related to home / work after crisis, please send them my way at all@personalskillscoach.com, as I will keep interviewing people on this topic.
I’m also happy to have you as a guest, if you’d like to share your tips, ideas, experience on how workplace culture changes, what your teams are doing to stay motivated, how you are creating the future of work in your organization, what the home-work balance will look like, you get the picture!
This is an almost unedited episode of the All Personal podcast. It’s one of my absolute favourites so far, a ray of sunshine that brings pure genius, joy, enthusiasm, passion, unconditional love, power of connection and a super strong sense of community.
I'm talking to Catherine Chen, the founder of a tech startup called MyShoperon. She spent her 20s in Washington DC, where she worked on some high-profile international trade cases. Then she worked at one of the largest global law firm in Toronto, and eventually became the first non-lawyer leading a practice.
In 2018, Catherine decided to leave the corporate world to pursue her own dreams: being her own boss. She believes that 'everyone lives a hundred lives, but only one is a life to remember'.
Catherine is a hustler, and nothing can stop her from pursuing her dreams. Her favourite quote is from Michelle Obama, “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.“
Give yourself the gift (and uplift) of listening to Catherine as she speaks about:
- How she deals with assumptions and expectations about her being ‘a single woman in her late 30s’
- How she moved from Washington DC to Toronto, discovered her entrepreneurial muscles while working in the corporate world
- How she created a start-up AGAINST ‘online shopping package theft’ and FOR creating a healthy community of neighbors!!
- The self discipline of working from home and the challenges of social isolation even before the crisis
- How she knew she was a natural problem solver and the role creativity plays in that!
Find out more about Catherine and her community-building start-up: myshoperon.com/
In this episode, I talk to Jason Cutter, CEO of Cutter Consulting Group, about selling with empathy.
Jason sees himself as a sales success architect. Anything from training, to scripting, to sales tech, he helps small businesses create scalable inside sales teams. His newest program is called Authentic Persuasion with the goal of helping sales people go from Order Taker to Quota Breaker.
Now, these are two words that we don’t hear next to each other too often. Jason’s approach to sales is so human-centered and so much needed from the perspective of building a future we’re proud of!
Some snippets of our conversation:
• When you work in sales, ‘your job is to be a consultant, almost like a doctor: ask questions, figure out what they need, figure out how you can help them and then present them with one or two solutions that have been customized for their situations’.
• ‘Everybody is always going through something in their life.’
• Hear what people say and not say
• Sales and relationships – they’re the same, you need to be able to listen and show empathy
• Diagnose, prescribe and move forward: I know I can help you and here’s how.
• Use persuasion, not manipulation!
• Empathy is huge, necessary and very much missing in sales and a lot in life, where people don’t care what other people are going through.
• If you don’t know what the right door is, test and check a lot of doors.
Jason's Inspirational Quote:
Zig Ziglar – ‘you can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.’
‘It’s all personal, it’s not just business’. This time, I wasn’t the one saying that, it was my guest!
Because that’s right, to a client, it is going to be personal, it’s their life and, as Jason said, we only get one of that! And what’s more personal than life?
Let’s use this as an exercise where we look at things from this perspective, thinking ‘Everybody is always going through something in their life’. How is that for an empathy boost?
I believe it’s simple exercises like that which, done regularly, build our All Personal muscles of communicating with care, understanding, empathy and kindness.
Let’s test this door more often. Until next time.
Jason’s Links:
CCG Website: www.cutterconsultinggroup.com/
Authentic Persuasion: authenticpersuasion.com/
The Sales Experience Podcast: wavve.link/tsep
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jascut/
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/authenticpersuasion/
In this episode of the All Personal podcast, my guest and I are taking you on a journey, in a land far-far away (both metaphorically and literally): the land of storytelling all the way from Melbourne, Australia!
Because I’m talking to Luke Buesnel, Content Director and Founder of Story League!
His story, in short, is that he started his media career as a commercial radio broadcaster before returning to study journalism (and politics). For more than 15 years Luke worked within journalism and media communications. This is where he learnt the power of telling a good story and the impact it can have.
In that time, he was a radio broadcaster throughout New South Wales, produced many 774 ABC radio programs, wrote feature stories for The Age and held media roles with corporates, the federal government and not-for-profits.
Luke saw firsthand how the ‘churn and burn’ approach applied to content creation has failed businesses and he is on a mission to create content with more impact and meaning.
Story League was created out of a passion for storytelling and a genuine desire to improve the way we communicate.
You can find Luke on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/luke-buesnel-46590250/ and at storyleague.com.au.
Resources on the hero's journey:
'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' book by Joseph Campbell
My guest in this episode is Daniel Tanase, the first fellow Romanian living in Romania I’m interviewing since this I started this podcast.
Having worked in the corporate world for 10 years, in banking & finance more specifically, Daniel was always interested in new challenges, in continuously learning and training his skills, and in helping others.
He left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur, had a number of business initiatives and is now a consultant, finance educator, writer, blogger and vlogger, podcaster and public speaker, with an incredible personal and professional transformation journey.
Listen in to hear Daniel talk about:
- The ‘aha’ moment in deciding there is something more that he wanted to do
- The practical side of building his skills muscles
- How he improved his self awareness
- The importance of mindset in everything he did
- How having wanted to become a military pilot when he was a child influenced his entrepreneurial journey as a grown-up
Find Daniel at danieltanase.com/ or
on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielvtanase/
In this episode, I’m speaking with Naphtali Hoff, President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting.
He is an accomplished executive coach, organizational consultant, and sought after trainer and lecturer.
He earned his doctorate in human and organizational psychology, which analyzes successful individual or organizational change and development.
Naphtali’s personal experience in the leadership field allows him to understand leaders’ needs and craft solutions to help them optimize their performance and success.
He is the author of Becoming the New Boss, a leadership book that helps new leaders hit the ground running and enjoy sustained success.
Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”: www.amazon.com/Becoming-New-Boss…ned/dp/1941870945
More about Naphtali at: www.impactfulcoaching.com/
Listen in and find out:
- How leaders are both born and self-taught
- The kind of leadership that today’s world needs: not just hands-on top-down, but also an integrated collaborative approach that allows people to grow
- Why leadership means understanding culture and creating a value system that we all operate in
- Why managing change means you have to be an emotionally intelligent leader
- What makes feedback the ‘breakfast of champions’
- How creating healthy relationships at work helps leaders be connected rather than ‘lonely at the top’
- How important delegation is for the trial and error process
- Life, leadership and learning as non-linear chapters
Glain Roberts-McCabe is the founder and President of The Roundtable, a company where leaders cultivate their leadership, together.
The Roundtable is best known for their group and team-based coaching and mentoring systems that help organizations break down silos, increase collaboration and accelerate business all while building leadership capability.
In 2014, The Roundtable was awarded a Gold Award by the Canadian Awards for Training Excellence in partnership with PepsiCo Foods Canada for their Roundtable for Leaders peer coaching and mentoring program and in 2016 they were named Best External Consulting Advisory in Canada at the Canadian HR Awards. In 2018, Glain was named one of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurs of the Year. All experiences were kind of like winning an Oscar but without having to wear sequins.
Glain is the author of the Amazon best-selling book ‘Did I REALLY Sign Up for This?!’, while her new book, 'The Grassroots Leadership Revolution', will launch in April this year.
Glain's personal mission is to inspire ambitious leaders to connect to their bigger purpose and passion so that work can be more fun and life can be more fulfilling.
I know I’ve said this so many times, and I’m happy Glain also liked the analogy: our skills are just like muscles! So, know them, know what muscles you’re counting on (maybe a bit too much?) and what muscles are painful for you to use. And then, train them all, regularly, just like at a skills gym. And just notice how you start to ‘think you are able’.
Books Glain mentioned:
Daniel Kahneman - 'Thinking Fast and Slow'
Liane Davey - 'The Good Fight'
More information about Glain and The Roundtable on their website, www.goroundtable.com.
Today I’m talking to Tim Alison about how his own skills muscles took him where he is today, on his journey of defying conventional wisdom. What do I mean by that? Well, Tim is a lifelong entrepreneur who advises and mentors experienced leaders on how to create a Thought Leadership business.
Tim is also a public speaker, author, and host of the Screw the Naysayers Podcast where he has interviewed thought leaders such as Seth Godin, Heather Monahan, and Corey Poirier.
At the age of 31, Tim walked away from a six-figure job and moved, with his family, to a tiny fishing village in Nova Scotia Canada. The naysayers laughed when he started an educational software company. They stopped laughing when his sales topped $10M. Thirty-one years later Tim still lives in that same fishing village. His favorite saying is “Know the life you want and have the courage to live it.”
Links
screwthenaysayers.com/
Tim's book: Screw the Naysayers!
Today we’re talking about a lot of skills muscles with Oscar Cecena.
Born and raised in Mexico City as the great-grandson of a Japanese immigrant, Oscar followed his ancestor’s example and migrated to Toronto with his wife in 2013, pursuing their dream of living in Canada.
With an Engineering degree and over two decades of international experience in software, he works as a Senior Director of Client Onboarding for a Fintech company and hosts the Immigrants of Toronto podcast every week.
Oscar started the podcast to create a platform where immigrants could share their stories as he believes that every journey that takes a person from one country to another is worth telling. As you’ll hear him say in our interview: his goal ‘is to show people that immigrants are basically normal people that just were born miles away’.
When not working or speaking on a microphone, Oscar spends his time writing as it’s his preferred way to channel his creativity.
Tune in to see how creativity was a choice to Oscar, how his artistic skills blended with his math skills, and how developing public speaking skills helped him especially in client facing roles.
Listen to his journey from software developer to entrepreneur, and then a new immigrant to Canada who started a new life and discovered new skills.
‘I think every time that I'm missing a skill, or if my path is going to take me to do something, I just need to learn it.’
Links
1. Website: www.immigrantsoftoronto.com
2. Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/immi…08679?mt=2&ls=1
3. Instagram: www.instagram.com/immigrantsoftoronto/
4. Facebook: www.facebook.com/immigrantsoftoronto/
5. Twitter: twitter.com/immigrantsofto
For those of you looking for a job or making your next career move or returning to the workforce, this will be a super episode to listen to! Here’s why: Lisa Fenton is a Certified Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP), Supply Chain Manager and an advocate of championing women back to work with a focus on negotiating beyond salary.
Lisa enjoyed twelve years with her three boys at home in Bowmanville before going back to work.
Passionate about case studies, she took the challenge of getting back to work and used the problem-solving formula and gap analysis to map her own journey of getting back into the workforce.
When Lisa attended her first supply chain professional event upon deciding to return to work, she told herself, “You are just like them. The only difference is your pass doesn’t have a company listed under your name. Now let’s go get a job to add to your pass.” Did I mention her business is called ‘propelled by possibility’? Exactly right, let’s see how we can propel ourselves to possibility.
Lisa‘s website, www.propelledbypossibility.com, features published articles on her journey back to work,an interview on success strategies to return to work along with a link to a podcast “Creating an Effective Return to Work Plan” with Lisa Fenton, CSCMP.
How often do we ‘take life in our hands’ so pragmatically, logically and fearlessly? Sometimes maybe we do, but most of the times I think we could do better. Remember: ‘one day’ or ‘day 1’, you decide! So make your own plan, for your own life. If not you, who? And yes, please, do make it All Personal. Until next time!
Let me tell you right off the bat, you will love this episode!
Why? Because it’s about the power of your story! And I know what I’m saying, hear me out.
My guest for this episode is Steffi Black, who is a powerhouse storyteller and kindness teacher. Her story, in short, is this: she is a former television personality, and featured Author in ‘Ready, Aim, Thrive’ – an Amazon best seller on ‘Discovering How To Flourish and Prosper from Today’s top experts’.
Steffi is a life and career transitions coach and founder of women’s virtual networking group, ‘Connection Corner’. As founder of ‘Spread the Kindness’, she aims to share the importance and implement a plan for more kindness in today’s workplace.
Her Keynote Presentation, ‘Why Kindness Matters Today: How planning to incorporate kindness in the workplace creates powerful and positive change’, includes a monthly curriculum outline and concrete tools to create lasting change in the workplace. She aims to share #spreadthekindness workplaces in Canada and abroad, and currently organizes ‘spreadthekindness’ action plans during the International Random Acts of Kindness Week.
She is a prolific spokesperson and her kindness program has been featured on CanWest Global Systems and many radio and television outlets across the globe.
And you don’t have to take my word for it when I say you will love this episode, but please do. Steffi will take you on a journey of :
• How, as an introvert, she worked so many extrovert-related jobs in the media and marketing, and why she liked that
• How astrology is, in fact, science, and a few fun facts about who applied it thoroughly in history
• How she redefined failure as ‘outcomes that are necessary’ and why
• Why kindness matters in the workplace and how it can be taught!
• Why empathy is directly connected to non-judgment
• What ho’oponopono is as a philosophy and how that connects to kindness
• And how, most of the times, ‘when there’s a problem, we’re there’!
Are you?
Find Steffi here:
www.steffiblackcoaching.com/connection-corner.html
www.linkedin.com/in/steffiblackcoaching/
