Hope you all have a wonderful first weekend of Fall!

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

Do you ever feel disorganized or unclear about achieving your life goals? 

I started thinking about this issue while helping some friends organize their house recently. There was a problem with the moving company that day.   As a result, the movers just unloaded all the possessions in one place and left my friends to put away everything. 

When I first saw the place, a couple days after the movers had been there, the house was overwhelmingly cramped and disorganized.   My friends felt frustrated as they didn’t know where to start on the project to get their place looking like home.  They had an idea of how they wanted the place to look, but had no clue how to implement it.  They didn’t mention anything to me about wanting help, but I volunteered as I have been in that position before and could relate to what they were going through.  We worked together and got the place organized! Success.

As it is the start of the school year, I thought it would be appropriate to ask the former principal of Wycliffe College, Dr. Reginald Stackhouse, to share his life lessons with us.  Reg is a prominent educator, a Canadian politician, and a friend of my family. I thought it would be fitting to ask him to be part of my “Profiles of Perseverance” series as he has persevered through trying times and has left a huge impact on so many lives. He is a mentor, and I am honoured to share his advice.  Reg knows the importance of nurturing the next generation and exemplifies this in how he lives his life. Thank you, Reg, for taking part in the series!

This quote has been my mantra as I’ve been navigating the journey of my twenties.  I threw off my bowlines, sailed away from the harbour, caught the tradewinds, but got stuck.   I stopped my journey for awhile, as I was unsure of the direction to sail my ship. The wind (i.e., the passion) was there; I was just unsure in which direction to steer.  Do I choose mainstream (i.e., the common path) or set my own course? 

During my pitstop, I reflected on my life journey thus far and where I could go from there.  I wanted to manifest my calling of empowering others to persist despite any setbacks they encountered.  As I was stuck momentarily, I decided to use my personal journey as a tool to start discussion and implement change.  Therefore, I developed my blog as a way to coach others to navigate their personal journeys. I went against the wind and began creating empowering media; I was turning my dream of helping others thrive into a reality.

Life is all about the journey, not the destination.  Every obstacle teaches you a lesson which shapes you into the person you are today. I want to create a ripple effect through sharing what I have learned.  I have learned many lessons along my path and I want to help others (especially Generation Y) overcome the obstacles in their path.  I will share more about this in an upcoming post. 

One of the best mantras that I have incorporated into my life over the past several years is what I call “Coffee, Talk, and a Walk.” (c)

If you are stressed, need to sort out an issue, or just want to feel even better overall, I suggest you take part in this mantra as well.

Some of my happiest and most favourite times involve these three things. You can do this process alone or with others. 

Let me break the mantra down for you, “Coffee, talk, and a walk.”

September has always seemed like the start of a new year! With its new beginnings, we should start afresh with our attitudes; we should open our hearts to new ideas.

Individuals today are transient; they are constantly moving for school, for their work, for their families, or just for a change. I have moved various times since leaving high school.  I have had many new beginnings and endings with cities, schools, and work. I have embraced each move, though, as I love meeting new people and learning their unique stories. Each of my moves has  been an exciting experience and has taught me new lessons. However, moving and changing are by no means easy tasks.

The song "I Was Here" by Beyonce was performed for the United Nations World Humanitarian Day on August 19th.  The song is a call to action for people to go out and help others. I don't think I need to say anything more about the performance. Just have a listen. The song will give you shivers. I love it!

Today, I am taking that step through writing out my thoughts on an issue that is sensitive and personal to me: body-image bullying. In the past, I was ashamed to discuss this subject but I soon realized that this is an important topic to share.  I have come to learn that if I don’t speak up, who will?    

Years ago, my second-year social psychology professor shared a case with our class that taught me to never rely on someone else to take action.  My professor was talking about the famous Kitty Genovese case that occurred during the early 1960’s. In a populous U.S. neighbourhood one morning, Kitty was attacked on a street and left to die over a 45-minute period. Kitty’s death was heart-breaking for its needlessness: 38 people witnessed her attack, but none did anything to help her! Kitty’s story is not the only documented case of the Bystander Effect; there are many more where people didn’t do anything to help someone in extreme need; they thought another person was taking care of it. 

A couple of summers ago when I was doing recreational rowing, I was scared to tip the single as I didn’t want to fall into the lake and get wet.  I also thought tipping meant that I was a bad rower, so I tried hard not to tip.  Little did I know: tipping happens to everyone, regardless of their abilities. I used the pontoons way longer than I should have, because I wanted to be safe.  It took awhile, but I finally took the pontoons off – my coach insisted.  You know what? I didn’t tip that night!  It took another couple of weeks before I finally did tip.  Tipping wasn’t so bad.  Yes, I was drenched; but it was a hot summer night, so I felt refreshed.  Now, I’m not afraid to tip. So, I go out on the water with no fear. I should have just tipped at the beginning so that I wouldn’t have wasted time and energy being unrealistically fearful. 

I'm so excited that one of my friends, Ruvini Godakandae, who I have known for almost 15 years is sharing her thoughts on perseverance with us today. We have seen each other through many important times in our lives.  She is such a sweet and kindhearted person.  I had to ask her to be involved in this series and I'm so glad she agreed to participate.  Thanks Ru! 

Ruvini is an Employment Educator & Communications Enthusiast who loves taking in an interesting arts event or chatting online or in person with like-minded individuals. When she’s not busy working, she’s checking out festivals and events around the city, following her social media networks, and staying active with recreational activities, sports and dance.

They say you don’t miss something until it is gone. 

Well, I didn’t realize how much I use my voice, until I lost it last week after getting a cold on vacation. 

It happened a few days after kissing the Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland.  Kissing the Stone is supposed to give the person the “gift of gab.” I don’t need this gift because I like to talk. But, I kissed the Stone anyway, just for the experience.