I love to give. Whether it's a gift, an experience, advice, a coffee or a lunch, I like to be the person doing the giving. Being the receiver makes me a little uncomfortable and is something I have been working on over the last few years.

What has helped me is knowing what it feels like to be the giver and changing my belief. Now I know that giving is a gift for the other person but only when I receive gracefully.

This takes practice. It takes a conscious effort to receive gracefully. To accept what is being given to you with gratitude instead of gilt. To accept it fully without feeling the need to return the favour.

Remember, learning how to receive is just as important as learning how to give.


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Physically, we are in winter right now. It’s not a surprise. We’re coming towards the end of January and it’s Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. But people still complain and people still aren’t prepared for when it shows up.

But not everybody complains. There are many people who are prepared and who do make the most of the winter. They go skating on the canal. They go snowshoeing in the Gatineau Hills. They plan a ski trip with friends. They go tobogganing with their kids. They make the most out of a season that many run away from.

The economy and life are the same. There are seasons that come and go and they never stop. It’s a continuous cycle.

How would your life change if you planned for the seasons? If you made the most of the season no matter what?

Winter can be the greatest season of all if you plan for it to be.


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I remember being in a restaurant with my wife last year where we were marvelling at the decor. Hanging on the wall directly beside our table was a beautiful mirror with what looked to be a hand carved wood frame.

If that mirror was hand carved by a person today, the amount of time it would take would likely be dozens of hours. What the person would need to charge for this mirror to make even a modest income would price this mirror out of reach for the majority of the population.

That being said, the person would only need to find one buyer of the almost 8 billion people on earth.

I believe we all have an artist within us. There's something inside of us that the world needs (or perhaps just one person needs).

Whatever it is, If you keep your artist bottled up inside of you, you're doing the world a disservice.


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Last year, I started an adult gymnastics course and I’m still loving it. Alex MacInnis does a fantastic job teaching and explaining the purpose for everything.

One of the things that Alex talks about is the importance of strength. Yes, we want to be flexible but flexibility without strength can cause injuries. One without the other is also a lack of control.

This is true for life. The person who is most flexible is in control however that person also needs to be strong when it counts.

Life is unpredictable. We may think that we're in control but the truth is that the only thing we really have control over is how we act or react in any given situation (and most of us have trouble controlling ourselves).

We may think we have control over external things or people but that is an illusion...


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We often hear people talk about the importance of YES. "Say yes and figure it out later!" is something that comes up often in the world I'm in. Although I agree with this statement, I think we need to counter balance those yeses (is that a word?) with some nos.

For every yes you say, you’re saying no to something else. So make sure you want to do this thing you are saying yes to.

You need to protect your most important asset, your time, and keep it for what is most important to you.

Where can you bring more NO into your life in order to make more room for the big YES?


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This episode starts with SabriNa Lemay as she presents to a few hundred students at the Royal Ottawa Hospital for an event organized by Do It for Darren.  DIFD is an organization focused on support, education and research initiatives for Mental Health. They encourage young people to talk openly about mental health and to ask for help when needed, without fear or shame.

Sabrina shares her story from her first experience with mental health to where she is today and her aspirations to help teenagers in need. It is a story of what is possible when you are committed NO MATTER WHAT. SabriNa has turned her pain into empowerment and used it to propel her forward every single day. She is a force for good that is here to spread the love.

​You can reach out to Sabrina directly at: [email protected] or follow her on instagram at @Mindbodysoul.work.

Show Links:
Mental Health Fundraising Gala May 1st 2020
Life in Red Podcast Episode #34 with Ryan Forsyth 
Do It for Darren 

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How would your life change if you made the choice to be happy right now?

As somebody who puts a lot of focus on achievement and accomplishing goals, I have found that I delay myself the privilege of being happy. And when I say happy, I mean to really experience joy and laughter. I say to myself things like;

"I'll be happy when I get this project."

"I'll be happy when I pay off this debt."

"I'll be happy when we clear $3,000,000 in sales."

"I'll be happy when I get a Tesla."

This list goes on…

The truth is that none of that will bring me happiness. Happiness can only be experienced in the moment. Happiness is a choice and we get to choose how we want to feel right now.


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Work and fun are interesting words. What is considered work to one person could be fun to another. Work can also carry some negative feelings around it as a good portion of the population does not like what they do for "work".

I find myself "working" a lot but it's not work to me in the typical way you may think of work. I love what I do. It's all fun for me. Yes, there are times, especially as an entrepreneur, when I need to focus on things that are not fun however those times usually set me up for even more fun down the road. Those are the times that I grow the most.
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I love Mondays!

What comes to mind when you hear,  "Oh, looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays."

It's unfortunate that most of our society associates this with a negative feeling. If somebody is in a bad mood and it's Monday, it's okay. That's expected because it's Monday.

Why do we accept this?

More importantly, if this is true, why would that person continuously put themselves through the pain of feeling this way every Monday?

Mondays are the gauge for my life. If I ever start to dread waking up Monday or If I start living for the weekends, there's something wrong.


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Our environment has a huge impact on who we are and what we do. Our environments will force us to create habits whether we're aware of them or not. Habits can make us or break us. They're either serving us or hurting us.

One of the things I like to do is design my environment to win.

If I want to start flossing, I will put the floss beside my toothbrush or in a location where it catches my eye. If I want to eat healthy, I will purchase healthy food and keep all the junk food out of the house. If I want to stay consistent with my workout, I will join a club where people pull me to be better. If I want to stay off social media then I will install a program on my computer which prevents me from going on social media. If I want to stop watching TV, I will get rid of my TV. If I want to read more, I will put books in places I will see them or listen to audiobooks while I drive.

You get the point…

I believe a big part of habits is self awareness. If you know what triggers your bad habits, you can avoid those triggers. On the flip side, if you know what triggers your empowering habits, you can put yourself in those situations more often.

How can you improve your environment today?

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