Bah, Humbug? Or...Something Better...

Uncategorized Dec 14, 2025

🎄 Bah, Humbug??? Or… Something Better?

Let me start with a confession.

👉 My current wife, Riesah, and I don’t celebrate Christmas.
But my ex-wife and I did. And for the most part, it was pretty good.

Except…for the annual trek across the mountains to spend Christmas with her family.
You know the one — icy roads, packed car, emotional expectations riding shotgun.

And that’s where today’s story begins...


🍽️ A Christmas Dinner… Without Turkey

The very first night I met her extended family was Christmas dinner.

Picture this:

  • A beautifully decorated table

  • About a dozen people squeezed in

  • All the classic holiday sides you can imagine

And right in the centre…

👉 A massive ham.

No turkey.

I leaned over and whispered something to my ex.

She did not whisper back.

“Ham?! Herky doesn’t eat ham — he’s Jewish!”

😳😳😳


😬 When Silence Is Louder Than Christmas Carols

The look on her aunt’s face?

Priceless.

Pure horror. Deep embarrassment. Full-on internal panic....

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Mumbling: How It's Hurting Your Business (More Than You Think)

Uncategorized Dec 07, 2025

🎤 Mumbling: How It’s Hurting Your Business (More Than You Think)

According to Voice Empowerment, mumbling is one of the top five most annoying vocal habits that humans exhibit.
Well, it’s not just annoying…
It’s costing your organization time, money, and maybe even your sanity.

Overly dramatic? Stay with me.


🤫 “Is It My Hearing… or Are People Actually Mumbling?”

For a while, I thought maybe I was the problem. Age. Hearing. Loud rock concerts from my youth. You know, the usual suspects.

But then I actually started paying attention…
And no—it's not me.
They. Are. MUMBLING.

And once you see it, you can’t unsee it—like the “pink Volkswagen” phenomenon. Suddenly you’re surrounded by mumblers. They’re in meetings, on your team, at the grocery store, probably talking to you right now.


🧠 Why People Mumble (Besides Actual Speech Impediments)

1️⃣ Lack of Confidence

Some people mumble because they don’t want to be heard.
Why?
Because they’re not confident in what they’re saying.
Wa

...
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Sale Today Only

Uncategorized Nov 30, 2025

🏷️ “Sale Today Only!”

And the crippling fallout from "the little white lie"

You’ve seen the signs.


“SALE—TODAY ONLY!”
Then you drive by tomorrow… and the next day… and apparently “today” has been happening since 2013.

There’s a place in small-town B.C. I pass all the time. Big sign: Garage Sale Today! They’ve been “today-only-ing” people for over a decade. At this point I’m convinced even the squirrels know it’s a scam.

And you know exactly why they do it.


👉 Make us believe the deal is now-or-never.
👉 Trigger our FOMO.
👉 Get us through the door.
👉 Cross their fingers and hope we buy a lamp shaped like a dragon...

🤥 Let’s Call It What It Is: A Lie

I wrote this piece a while back, from Mexico, where “Sale Today Señor!” is practically a national sport. Even when it’s obvious the sale has lasted longer than most Netflix series, we go in anyway… and occasionally buy something.

But here’s the kicker:
If we keep rewarding the behaviour, why would anyone stop?

More importantly…
Wha...

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How "The West Wing" Changed My LIfe!

Uncategorized Nov 23, 2025

🎬 How The West Wing Changed My Life

(And Possibly How It Can Change Yours Too…)


🤯 I Was Hooked…Seriously Hooked

I’m talking full-on addiction levels of hooked.

Seven years.
Every week.
Barely missed an episode.

If “The West Wing Anonymous” were a thing, I could have been the founding father.

The show had brilliant writing and acting, but the pull went deeper for me. It felt like I was sneaking into a world I had no business being in—the White House. A place so far from my lived reality, it may as well have been Oz…just with more suits and no Toto...


🏛️ The Drama. The Intrigue. The ‘Wait… people actually do this?’ Moments.

The show had everything:

  • high drama

  • heart-pounding tension

  • deep despair

  • joy that made you fist-pump the air

  • loyalty

  • betrayal

  • political chess moves

  • and more coffee than any human should consume

It was messy, complicated, inspiring, and chaotic.
Just like…life.
(But with better lighting.)


🧠 Then One Day, It Hit...

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Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Uncategorized Nov 16, 2025

🪞 Mirror, Mirror On The Wall…Why Aren’t Leaders Better?

We’ve got speakers, books, courses, TED Talks, LinkedIn gurus, and probably a squirrel somewhere teaching leadership on TikTok.
So WHY, with all this brilliance floating around, aren’t leaders better?

Let’s break it down. And just so you know…it might sting a little.


🧱 1. The Status Quo Machine

Most organizations pick future leaders the same way:
👉 “Hey, you think like me, act like me, and won’t rock the boat…perfect!”

This is how the same leadership style gets recycled for years.
If you keep choosing people who are “just like us,” you’ll keep getting…well…exactly the same results.

Leaders, take a risk: hire someone who disagrees with you.
Wild concept, I know.


🎯 2. No Purpose = No Power

If you don’t know your purpose as a leader, you’re basically running a marathon with your shoes tied together.

Your purpose should guide:

  • Your decisions

  • Your conversations

  • How you treat people

  • How you

    ...
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The Name Game. Why Words Matter More Than You Think

Uncategorized Nov 10, 2025

 


🧠 Do Names Mess With Our Minds?

Do you react differently to people based on their names? Be honest.
I think we all do.

Somehow, “Bradley” sounds like he should own a boat, while “Chad” might be teaching spin classes at 6 a.m. It’s not fair, but it’s human.

We label. We sort. We box. It’s how our brains make sense of the world.
(Although, personally, I’m not usually one of those boxy types. Chaos and I are sympatico. 😎)


💼 So Many Titles, So Little Clarity

In the career development world, we’re blessed — or maybe cursed — with a buffet of titles:

  • Career Practitioner

  • Career Coach

  • Career Counsellor

  • Career Facilitator

  • Career Mentor

  • Employment Counsellor

  • Job Skills Coach

  • Employment Specialist

…and the list keeps growing like a confused woodpecker in a virtual forest...

 

Each title sparks a different reaction.


👉 Does “Employment Specialist” sound different to you than “Job Skills Coach?"
👉 What about “Career Practitioner” versus “Ca...

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You're Kidding Right?

Uncategorized Nov 03, 2025

🤯 You’re Kidding, Right?

How Customer Service Gets Buried Under Policies & Procedures


Maybe this isn’t news to you.
Maybe it’s happened so often you’ve stopped caring — like political noise that just blends into the background.

But as someone who trains people on customer service, this kind of thing still blows my mind.

And yeah... it makes me MAD. 😤


📱 The Virgin Experience (Again)

My wife and I both had our cell accounts with Virgin.

I’ve had issues before — so bad that I once wrote Richard Branson a personal message on LinkedIn to tell him that his values didn’t seem to be playing out in real life.

He never responded.
(Shocker, right?)

Fast forward to now.

My wife’s phone cover broke, so we went to a Virgin kiosk to replace it. Simple fix... or so we thought.


🧱 The Wall of Policy

Apparently, Virgin has deleted all customer records to “protect our privacy.”

So, they know we’re customers — but that’s it. No receipts, no records, no help.

We explained that the cover ...

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Change Isn't The Enemy, Fear Is...

Uncategorized Oct 27, 2025

Change Isn’t the Enemy — Fear Is

Let’s get one thing straight — change isn’t out to get you. It’s not the villain in your story. Fear is.

Fear whispers that you’re not ready, that you’ll fail, that you’ll lose control.
But change? Change is neutral. It’s opportunity in disguise. It’s the invitation to grow, adapt, and lead differently.

The problem isn’t that change happens — it’s that we resist it.

I’ve been through my share of shifts — personal, professional, and global — and here’s what I’ve learned: when you stop fighting change, you start shaping it.


Here are 10 guiding principles that help me navigate uncertainty with purpose, clarity, and heart.


🌞 1. Stay Positive

No, it’s not cliché — it’s essential. Positivity doesn’t mean ignoring reality; it means choosing to respond with hope instead of fear.

Be the one who lifts the energy in the room, not the one who drains it.


💬 2. Use Positive Affirmations

Your inner dialogue sets your direction. When self-doubt shows up, ...

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A Skunky Situation!

Uncategorized Oct 20, 2025

🦨 A Skunky Situation: A Surprise Leadership Lesson

I’m sitting in my office, typing away, when suddenly...

💨 BAM! A smell hits me like a freight train.

It’s horrific. Like burnt rubber mixed with rotting onions.

“Riesah?? What’s that smell?!” I yell upstairs.

“I just got sprayed by a skunk!” she hollers back.

😳 Wait—what?!

I bolt upstairs to find her frantically stripping off her clothes, trying to contain the chaos. And then I see it...

Right there—on the back of our couch—a skunk-sprayed shirt, quietly seeping death into the fabric.

NOOOO! 🛋️💀

I grab it and race it outside, but it’s too late—the couch already smells like a crime scene.

🧴 The Great De-Stinking Mission

I sprint back downstairs, dive onto my computer, and frantically type:
“How to get skunk smell out of furniture.”

After a quick store run and a prayer to the Google gods, I apply the recommended product. Miraculously, it works! 🙌

Riesah’s clothes? Not so lucky.
It took three full washes before she smelled h...

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