Welcome back to the All Personal podcast, where we turn  the good old saying ‘nothing personal, just business’ upside down, and  prove how, in fact, it’s all personal, nothing is just business.

And this episode is THE proof that hey, it IS all personal, nothing is just business!!

Her  short bio says this: Candyce is a Digital Marketing and Social Media  Strategist and the founder of Digital Business Women, an e-Magazine for  promoting, inspiring and motivating digital and tech women around the  globe. Her 15 years’ experience in management, sales and marketing has  helped the likes of X-Box, Microsoft, Cisco, Xerox and more recently the  International Conference and Exhibition sector. She creates strategies  where Sales and Marketing would work together to become a very powerful  tools not only to generate new business opportunities and growth but  also to establish brands, create strong business relationships and  social media influence.’

And I’m telling you this: listen in to  discover an amazing story of an amazing ‘citizen of the World’, as  Candyce thinks about herself!

Snippets of our conversation:

Find Candyce here:

Today, right in this episode, we go to prove that learning is not an event, but a habit.

Because  I’m talking to Catalina Catana, a powerhouse professional and  entrepreneur, passionate about learning design, the future of work and  social entrepreneurship. Catalina wants to unlock people’s creative  potential, empower them to engage in a lifelong learning experience and  find their inner change-maker. 

She has recently started her journey  at Taikonauten, in Berlin, Germany, as a creative strategist, focusing  on human-centered design, conceptualisation, workshop design &  delivery, and validation of UX solutions. 

As a side project, she is  interviewing inspiring change makers around the world to share their  journeys, stories and learning along the way.

Tune-in to find out:

Find Catalina on a mission to inspire life long learning.

Today, we talk about change. I don’t think we will ever  be able to speak enough about this topic, mainly because it’s all around  us! So, when you’re in doubt, ask an expert! And I did: I’ve had the  pleasure of having Jessica Everitt as a guest, and she is a change  expert specializing in personal and organizational transformations.  Jessica is known for adapting formal change management techniques for  personal success. You can definitely learn more about her on her  website, www.jessicaeveritt.com or find her on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaeveritt

Instead of conclusion

Inspirational resources Jessica shared in this episode:

My guest today is Flo Zurkinden, who, for nearly a decade, has been a  health and wellness professional, endurance athlete, certified personal  trainer and nutrition specialist. During this time, not only has she  learned the importance of taking care of others around you, but more  importantly taking care of one's own self. 

She now wakes up each day  with a growing passion to teach, mentor and coach all those around her  the power of self care and emotional fitness. She specializes in showing  anyone who is ready for a real change, how easy it is to shift their  mindset and take the time to replenish their spirit so they can serve  others from the overflow and create the outcomes that they truly  deserve. 

It’s a story of becoming, from stay at home mom to a  professional athlete, of how running can mean freedom, of how you  decide, in the blink of an eye, who you want to become, and how you get  to serve the same purpose in life you imagined as a kid, only a little  bit differently. 

Find out about the definition of ‘emotional fitness’  and the top 3 emotional fitness skills that Flo discovered for herself  and which she believes in wholeheartedly.

I found the discussion  today inspirational from beginning to end. This is, after all, a god  example of why it’s all personal, and nothing is just business. What I’m  taking with me is that yes, it’s possible to sit on a porch and decide  what you want to do with your life; that the roads we imagine as  children intersect, at some point, with the roads we travel on as  adults; that if, as a little child, you imagine yourself helping others  as a grown up, you don’t have to become a doctor… necessarily. 

Life can offer alternatives, and it’s all about the choices that we make; that  failure is just a stepping stone to your success and yes, that sometimes  it does take an overwhelming breakdown to create a breakthrough.  Wishing you fantastic breakthroughs – All Personal, of course. Until next time.

Connect with Flo on her LinkedIn account: www.linkedin.com/in/flo-zurkinden/

This is a very special episode. It’s the first time this podcast has had an award-winning author as a guest! I'm talking to none other than my fellow Romanian-born, Canadian-settled, Gabriela Casineanu. 

She is an international award-winning author and professional coach, and she considers life a self-discovery journey worth exploring. These are not just words, here me out and you’ll see what I mean. Her professional path started in the technical field (engineering, IT, quality assurance), and was followed by an MBA. 

You’d say, we’re pretty clear about the career path she’s chosen. Well, guess again. She had a slight career change to… coaching, after which the burnout she experienced a few years ago came as a strong wake-up call, revealing a new path to explore: an author journey! 

What she enjoys the most is tapping into her broad background to combine concepts and techniques from different fields with a touch of creative spark. Whether she's coaching 1-on-1 or a team, leading an association, unfolding her entrepreneurial path, writing self-coaching books or letting her creativity thrive through artistic expressions ... she believes there's always a way when there’s a will! 

Ready to take this journey with us today? Hop-on and let’s get going. 

Book mentioned by Gabriela: 'Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking' by Susan Cain 

Find Gabriela on any and all of the links below: www.GabrielaCasineanu.com; Amazon.com/author/gabrielacasineanu 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielacasineanu/ 

Twitter: twitter.com/thoughtdesigner 

Instagram: instagram.com/thoughtsdesigner/ 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gabriela.casineanu 

How to reach your potential 

For me, this conversation reinforced the idea that yes, our skills and talents are there, inside each and everyone of us. And they find their way to the surface, one way or another, and then they take us places. And all that happens when we listen to ourselves, when we learn to see ourselves and work with who we are, rather than who others think we should be. 

And, as Gabriela said, ‘‘Life is a self discovery journey – would you like to enjoy it?” I’d say, hey, don’t mind if I do. So I’ll just go now and make my life discovery, how else but, All Personal. Wishing you the same, until next time.

My guest today is Jennifer Trask, who is an  entrepreneur, mindset coach, and who since 2012 has been helping driven  entrepreneurs build powerhouse mindsets that enable them to take massive  action built on incredible courage, confidence and clarity that gets  big results. 

After her first business failed, Jennifer overcame her own  limiting beliefs and was able to successfully create a full-time digital coaching and advising practice. 

With clients on 5 continents, Jennifer is passionate about helping entrepreneurs who are creating positive  change for our people and planet. As an international speaker, she has  spoken in Canada, The U.S. and Australia. Jennifer has a Bachelor of  Commerce in Marketing and an MBA in International Business. She has been  featured in the Huffington Post, the award-winning book, 'Living  College Life In The Front Row' by celebrated coach Jon Vroman, in the  ‘Inspired Coach Magazine’ and the ‘Upwork Digital Nomad’ series. When  she is not traveling the globe (she’s been to 27 countries and  counting), Jennifer calls Toronto, Canada home.

Resources Jennifer mentions:

To find Jennifer, check out her website: jennifer-trask.com/

This  conversation today reassured me that yes, when we have our mind set, we  can create that habit that we need to push us forward in our journey.  We can go beyond the usual excuses, ‘yes, but I’m just not good at that’  without even trying. 

Or without trying more than just once before  giving up. I’ve learned that entrepreneurship is a skill that can be  learned, same as any other, yes, even if you’re not born into a family  of entrepreneurs. 

That even intuition is a skill that we can work on.  That the results we’re getting are very much up to us. And that, well,  failure is not only human, but also relative and a powerful teacher. 

So I leave you with Jennifer’s inspirational quote: ‘A bad quarter doesn’t make a bad entrepreneur’. I’d add: A bad day doesn’t make a bad person,  for that matter. 

Until next time, good bye and, of course, please make it All Personal.

My guest today is Ronan Leonard and I have so many things to say about him, I’m not sure what to start with.

The  first thing I was impressed with is that he was just 23 when he helped  rescue passengers and fellow staff when the cruise ship he worked on  sank off the wild coast of South Africa. For 9 years he continued to  work on cruise ships, sailing the world as a casino manager. His 1st business (a casino party company) grew from just 2 casino tables to over 50 and the largest gaming events company in Australia. With his casino background, he understands risk and reward and where the true value lies  in what you put your time and money into (and to give you a hint: it’s  not gambling!).

Now, Ronan connects small business owners to  support groups through the innovative concept of virtual Masterminds. He  loves seeing the benefits that Mastermind groups have on each person  who participates and has helped 100’s of business owners increase  clarity, confidence and productivity by creating the support network for  them to achieve their true potential.

Ronan believes we’ve lost  our connection to a “tribe“ A community that will help us solve our  problems and accelerate our learning. He believes that there is more  value in making real peer-to-peer connections than paying external  contractors who have no vested interest in our success.

Passionate  about helping others, he is committed to giving away 1 in 6 spots on  the platform, to social enterprises and entrepreneurs from developing  countries, to create a truly global community.

Now, words such as  tribe, community, learning and global spark my curiosity and enthusiasm  about the conversation we’re about to have.

What I’m taking with  me today is the fact that, yes, usually, a near-death experience will  make us fast-forward our learning journey. What I also realized talking  to Ronan, is that everyday is equally important. That we can decide to  make it important, to make it a day that counts for us and everyone  around us. A day when we decide to stop putting off our happiness until  sometime in the future. And this is, of course, All Personal.

Resources Ronan mentioned:

Where to find Ronan:

Emma Sue Prince is a qualified teacher AND a management development trainer, author and business consultant. 

Her  expertise lies in soft skills, trainer training, materials design,  qualification development and management development. 

She provides employability, soft skills and education consultancy in emerging  economies all over the world working on large-scale projects in India,  Malaysia, Tanzania and in Bangladesh in partnership with the Department  of International Development and the British Council. 

Emma Sue developed Unimenta, an organization that makes it easier for teachers and practitioners to deliver soft skills and personal development.

The Advantage redefines soft skills as  personal competences we can all develop and nurture: adaptability,  empathy, critical thinking, integrity, optimism, being proactive and  resilience.

For me, this conversation today re-iterated the idea that  soft skills are not soft at all, they are essential. Because when we  really start to work on our skills, we are, in fact, working on  ourselves, so we transform – and we bring self-awareness in our life.  And it’s self-awareness that leads to mindfulness, in any way we might  want to define it for ourselves.

Because, after all, our lives don’t run by general recipes. We run them in moments and quiet thoughts which  make for our reality. So I leave you with Emma-Sue’s inspirational  quote: ‘Never be afraid to let go of the good in order to go for the  great’. 

Until next time, good bye and, of course, please make it All  Personal.

Where to find Emma-Sue:

If you think you're not the creative type, listen in and  think again! 

In this episode, for the first time ever, we also have homework! Which, in good old creative fashion, is great, because homework just became a game! And one that helps us build our creativity skills muscles! 

Tune in to find out more from my conversation with Bob  Sager, who is the founder of SpearPoint Solutions, LLC. 

Bob’s  professional background includes experience in financial planning and residential real estate. 

He is a Consultant and Trainer on Personal Achievement and Practical Innovative Thinking. 

Among other accomplishments, Bob is the inventor of the innovative / creative ideas  game 'What's the BIG Idea?™', creator of the inspirational poster  'Impossible is an Opinion', author of the personal achievement book,  'Discovering Your Greatness: A Higher Level Thinking and Action Guide'  and curator of content for and contributing author to the book 'Living a  Wealthy Life: Stories of Gaining an Abundance in All Five Forms of  Wealth'.

The buzz word for me? Creativity. So, let’s get creative today!

Resources Bob recommended:

You can connect with Bob here:

YouTube Show 'What's the Big Idea?': https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbAAdYfyOMq7r3qVVdVn3JQ 

- www.LinkedIn.com/in/bobsager

Barbara Giamanco was CEO of Social Centered Selling. She was globally recognized as a leader in Sales. 

She was also the co-author of The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media, a keynote speaker, sales and social  media coach, corporate webcast host to top technology companies and the host of the popular Conversations with Women in Sales podcast. 

Barb was consistently a Top 25 Influential Leader in Sales, one of Top Sales World’s Top 50 Sales and Marketing Influencers, and recognized by Tenfold as one of the world's Top 65 Women Business Influencers alongside leaders like Arianna Huffington, Sheryl Sandberg, and Melinda Gates.  Visit www.scs-connect.com or follow Barb’s blog at www.barbaragiamanco.com.

Some of the resources Barb talked about in this episode:

I feel blessed to have interviewed Barb for the All Personal Podcast. Sadly, she passed in 2020, leaving us with her incredibly rich legacy! 

To  me, this talk was such a great lesson on what good selling is and also on what it isn’t anymore. 

And it also got me thinking that, well, we are  all natural born something, be it sellers, presenters, speakers,  marketers, singers, etc., which is what makes us great at it. 

And then,  even if we don’t have that natural born ability, we can still become good at it. Maybe not great, maybe not perfect (and hey, nobody’s  perfect), but still good. 

Because you don’t have to be a professional dancer to be able to dance at your own wedding, right? So, I leave you with a question: what is your natural born skill? My guess is, you will need to make it all personal to answer this. Till next time.