Career Crossroads

#60 – Greg Noack was not happy with his life in his early 20’s. He had moved to British Columbia with plans to start anew after being unhappy with the options his business diploma afforded him in Ontario. He was not in B.C for long before his life was profoundly impacted on a cold morning in November of 1996. As he was walking home from work in the early hours of the morning, Greg was assaulted from behind in a random act of violence. Greg fell into a coma and for fifteen days he teetered on the brink of life and death. On day fifteen, Greg suddenly woke up with no recollection of what happened but more concerningly, had almost no control over his own body. He had lost most of his motor function control including the ability to express emotions and was reliant on a feeding tube for nutrition. 

Despite his circumstances, Greg had an incredible group of people supporting him in his family and friends. All the while, there was another group supporting Greg; the doctors, nurses, and therapists who helped him on his road to recovery. This is the story of Greg’s recovery, and how these individuals led him to want to help others recovering from traumatic brain injuries.

Greg has written a book about his recovery process called My Invisible Disability which can be found at Chapters or Amazon in Canada or Amazon in the United States

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 #59 – Many people know Sydney as the ‘TikTok travel sales girl’ where she’s gained a significant following (160k+) by telling stories about the crazy phone calls she received while helping people book their dream vacations. Does Sydney’s TikTok fame figure into the future of her career? No, Sydney is a realist and sees social media for what it is: a way for people to share funny stories, trends, and ultimately take a break from the pressures of their lives. 

Given that, what does Sydney want to do with her life, and what has been the path that’s led her to where she is today? Listen to her interview to hear how softball, travel sales, and a job that just wasn’t the right fit have all played a part in getting Sydney into a career she loves. Along the way, we hear how intentional planning and research can both help you find the perfect fit, but still, sometimes lead you into a job where there isn’t a cultural fit. 

Follow Sydney on TikTok @poorandhungry or on Instagram @poorandhungry_

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 #58 – Ken Coleman is known as America’s Career Coach, and for good reason. As the host of The Ken Coleman show, a nationally broadcast radio show on SiriusXM radio, he spends an hour each day talking to people about their career struggles and how to overcome them.

The reason Ken is so effective at helping people navigate their career crossroads is that he’s been there himself. After years working in politics, Ken realized that was not the future he wanted for himself so he had some soul searching to do. In his 30’s with a wife and children he was starting from scratch and Ken knew he had a lot of work to do. When he decided that broadcasting was the path he wanted to pursue, Ken went after that goal with everything he had, including buying his own airtime on a local radio station to get experience. His hard work and talent were noticed and one job opportunity led to another until Ken landed a role working with Dave Ramsey at Ramsey Solutions. It was there that Ken was offered the chance to host his own show and reached the peak he had been working towards.

Standing on top of his Everest, Ken knew that he could do more to help people struggling with their careers the way he had. That thought led Ken to write his newest book, From Paycheck to Purpose, where he gives the reader a clear path to doing the work they love. Broken into seven stages that you will experience on your path to the dream job, Ken’s easy-to-follow advice will get you where you want to be, as long as you are willing to put in the work required.

Listen to his interview to hear more about the path that led Ken to where he is today and what inspired him to write From Paycheck to Purpose.

You can purchase From Paycheck to Purpose and Ken’s other guides and resources at kencoleman.com and follow Ken on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
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 #57 – From his beginnings in South Africa, to his education in the United States and Ireland, on to his careers in South Korea and Taiwan, Crain Padayachee has experienced more change in his 39 years than most of us will experience in a lifetime. So how does a man who purports to not like change end up living in five different countries? A combination of education opportunities, visa applications, and relationships have all played a part in his world travels and with each plane ride came the need to pivot his career. 

After his childhood dream of becoming a fighter pilot due to the TV show JAG, Crian has worked in accounting, teaching, and programming. Now, after 12 years of living in Taiwan, Crian could have settled into his teaching career for the rest of his life, but he’s shifted his career once again. As the community manager for Amun, a company in the crypto space, as well as working in public relations for a well-known Taiwanese architect, Crian’s career path continues to evolve.

Curious how he pivoted his career while moving across 5 countries? Listen in to Crian’s interview to find out more.

You can listen to Crian’s Inside Crypto podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts.

You can Follow Crian on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

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  #56 – Lena Xiang is the founder of Open Classroom Experience, a virtual global innovation program for Gen Z leaders that helps them have a valuable virtual intercultural experience that prepares them to thrive in an everchanging world. This venture is relatively new and is the culmination of Lena working to determine how she could create a positive social impact on the world around her. 

The journey that led Lena to Open Classroom Experience has taken her from Toronto to Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, and Hanoi, all before settling back in Toronto. In this time she’s explored the world of economics, engineering, and technology, and it’s the culmination of a lot of learning and discovery that’s gotten her to where she is today. 

The best part: in high school, Lena thought she might work in animation or graphic design! 

Read more about Open Classroom Experience on their website or follow them on Instagram.

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 #55 – Politics runs in Brooke Crewson’s blood. From the age of five, she was helping her dad go door-to-door in his political campaigns, and at 15 she made the conscious decision to start volunteering to support campaigns she believed in. Despite that, she wasn’t 100% convinced of her future and pursued the parallel path of history and politics while studying at Wilfrid Laurier University.

When she received job offers in both fields after graduating, Brooke had a tough decision to make. Should she pursue the potentially more stable job at a museum, or keep working towards a job she’d been dreaming about since she was 15? Brooke chose an internship at the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and immediately was hooked. Not long after, however, a change of government left Brooke without a job – an experience she’s had more than once in her career.

Brooke isn’t a quitter, and she’s bounced back each time. As she’s advanced her career, gaining new experiences in new offices, Brooke has developed a passion for creating and influencing positive public policies. With the instability of working for a government that can be voted out of office, Brooke has learned to take her extensive skill set and apply it to other areas, which has led her to work with Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute, and more recently as a Government Relations Consultant at Crestview Strategy.

What can we learn from Brooke’s career journey? Listen to her interview to find out.

You can connect with Brooke through LinkedIn

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#54 – Growing up in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, Keith Honda had a world of options when he finished university. With his deep voice and talent for singing, Keith chose to come to Wilfrid Laurier University for their renowned music program where, as my roommate, he proceeded to wake me up every morning when he sang in the shower. Despite all the fun we had, the transition to university was not so smooth and after his first year, Keith headed back to Michigan where his parents resided at the time.

Now, more than a decade later, Keith is the General Manager of Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters in Rochester, Michigan, and creates the rotating coffee-infused cocktail menu for the whole café chain. So how did he end up there? Keith’s story involves a six-and-a-half-year college degree, an American Idol audition, an attempt at working in real estate, and a part-time job where he found his true passion in coffee. Listen in to hear his entire fascinating story, and to hear what lessons I think we can learn from Keith’s journey.

Find Dessert Oasis on Instagram - @dessertoasiscoffeeroasters

Find Keith on Instagram - @khonda66

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#53 – Growing up in Mozambique, Jabez Ivan Joshiraj was always interested in building things when he was younger. Both cars and airplanes were fascinating and he decided that one day, he wanted to be the person behind their design. As a means to that end, when he graduated high school he headed to India, where he was born, to study mechanical engineering.

As he progressed through university, he worked on an engineering project that required him to source supplies. With this, he discovered the world of supply chain management, and that prodded him to continue to look deeper into how businesses function once they have a product to sell. Supply chain led to marketing, marketing led to sales, and suddenly Jabez was hooked. When it came time to do his placement at the end of his education, he was committed – understanding the processes of business was his new passion and he was going to pursue it, despite graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering. 

Now, years later, Jabez is a business consultant working with a multitude of clients, while also running a support group for African start-ups as a way to give back to the place that he grew up. 

You can email Jabez at [email protected] or find him on Instagram at @jabezivanj

You can find Jabez's Startup Africa - Support Group here

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#52 – The first thing Lauren Vandervecht ever thought she wanted to do for a career was be an interior designer. At the time it was the only job she knew of where she could be creative and while that career never came to pass, the thought process gives us a good indication of the direction she would head in.

With stops in retail, music, and e-commerce both in Canada and the United States, Lauren’s story is full of twists and turns. She left opportunities that didn’t feel right and went after new opportunities without fear of failure. This, tied with her ability as a quick learner, led Lauren to be given increasing levels of responsibility and in early 2020 she was working as the E-commerce Coordinator for a Toronto-based jeweler. While she learned a lot in that role, the company placed outlandish expectations on her. When she was asked to add weekends to her already busy work schedule, it was an easy decision to move on to the next thing.

This clean break provided Lauren with the time to work more fully on a concept she had been thinking about: mobile flower shops. There are plenty in Europe, but why aren’t there any in Canada? A week of research was all she needed to commit to the idea and her business, Sunday Love Mobile Flower Shop was born. 

Listen to Lauren tell me about how she started her business and how every decision on her career path has led her to this point in time. A time where she gets to do a job that she loves every single day.

Follow Lauren's business @sundayloveflovers on Instagram

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#51 – Cayla Schafer has had to pivot her career more than once due to her health. Misdiagnosed celiac disease wreaked havoc on her life while she made her way through university and her illness ultimately forced her to leave her thoughts of pursuing a career in acting behind. 

As she began to recover, she picked up a job serving at a restaurant in Toronto and was immediately hooked. Serving ticked all the right boxes: she could talk to people, problem solve, and each day was different. She began to see a future in hospitality and thought about how to climb the ladder and what her future would look like. At the same time, she valued the flexibility of being a server as it allowed her to work in other cities if she needed a change of scenery. Cayla found the right balance of serving while picking up opportunities as a shift leader and trainer, and everything was great - until it wasn’t. After a 5 week trip to Calgary where she trained the staff of a new restaurant while working 16+ hour days, her adrenal glands were shot. After a few days off in Toronto where she just couldn’t sleep, she was headed back to her first shift at her serving job but collapsed on the sidewalk. While the change wasn’t immediate, it was at this moment she knew that she needed to leave hospitality behind and once again pivot to another career for her health.

By this point in time, fitness had become an important part of Cayla’s life outside of her job. She had trained as a trauma-sensitive yoga instructor and had an experience at a Soul Cycle in New York City that showed her how valuable that could be to her life. As Soul Cycle had expanded to Toronto, she was able to get a job as an instructor and suddenly her path became more clear: work as an instructor there while teaching trauma-sensitive yoga on the side.

While all this was happening, Cayla had also started a blog, The Move to Heal Project. As the blog grew, so did Cayla’s ambition and she began to plan a future as an entrepreneur. She has all these skills to help others heal – why not do that while working for herself?

In February 2020 she left Soul Cycle and has been working on The Move to Heal Project full time ever since. Listen to her interview to hear the full story.

Find Cayla and The Move to Heal Project at the following links:

• movetohealproject.com 
• @themovetohealproject on Insta, TikTok, YouTube, Podcasts
• Instagram: @caylameredith
• Email: [email protected] 

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Food Truck Faceoff Episode – The Distillery District Duel
• David Emmerson - Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga
• Bessel van der Kolk - The Body Keeps the Score

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Instagram:

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:

Instagram: @career_crossroads

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TikTok: @jonathancollaton