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Excuses to Connect
Excuses to Connect episodes
- 26: The Struggle is Real - Building Connections in Your 20s with Justin Peters
Justin Peters is a fellow podcaster and runs a podcast called The Struggle is Real - I love the name by the way - on his podcast, he chats with a variety of experts on topics that are relevant to people in their 20s. In other words, the things we should've really learned more about in school, but didn't. Things like personal finances, networking, relationships, and your career. Now that he's 28, we explore the important lessons that he's learned throughout this decade and what's next for him. How do you make connections when you're out of school? How do you talk to people who are twice your age? If you're currently in your 20s or know someone who is in their 20s, this podcast will be very relatable.
Highlights & Takeaways- Justin wants to help 20-somethings thrive through such a defining decade and that every 20-something should leave this decade more excited about what's ahead of them versus the years that are behind them.
- Rethinking the 30s deadline that so many 20-somethings are up against. You don’t need to be a self-made millionaire by 30, or married with two kids by 30, or a vice-president at my dream company. Think about what success means to you and realize there’s life after you’re 30
- How your sense of identity can change rapidly after you leave college/university and start working full-time in a new environment, or with your friends moving away to different places
- Utilize the “What and Why” strategy to have deeper conversations. For example: “What’s (your podcast about)?” and follow-up by asking “Why (did you cover that topic)?”
- It’s normal that peoples’ social skills are lacking right now, but you don’t have to let it hold you back. Instead voice it out there when talking with people: “Hey, I’m Justin - nice to meet you. I’m kind of nervous about this because it’s been so long since I’ve met somebody new. Tell me a bit about yourself.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Justin: Website | Instagram
- The Struggle Is Real
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee42 min - 25: Personal Branding as a Tool for Connection with Isaac Mashman
Isaac Mashman is a businessman, podcast host, and public speaker. Over the span of several years, and nearly a dozen various business ideas, it was in 2020 that Isaac launched his company Mashman Ventures, a public relations firm that specializes in working with people who want to be followed, in-demand, and respected to build their personal brands. In this episode, we hone in on what personal branding means and also how it relates to making meaningful connections with others.
Highlights & Takeaways- An elevator pitch is how you would sum up what you have going on in a short amount of time - Isaac approaches it by building rapport and focusing on the other person, rather than immediately trying to sell
- Personal branding is something that you have already had since you were born - it’s who you are, your reputation, and your relationship with the general public
- How Isaac was able to facilitate a connection between his musician friend and a famous local artist whom he respected, but never met. Now the artist has been managing Isaac’s friend for a year now
- You don't have to grow every relationship, because you might be going in a different direction and have different values than each other
- Aggressive patience is understanding that things take time, but also recognizing that if you have a vision of where you want to get to, why not get there sooner if you can?
Resources Mentioned- Contact Isaac: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
- Mashman Ventures
- Chase the Vision Podcast
- “Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence” by Isaac Mashman
- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
- “Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork” by Dan Sullivan
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee36 min - 24: Fostering Community through Deaf and Disability Theatre with Col Cseke
Col Cseke is the Artistic & Executive Director at Inside Out Theatre, which is a Deaf and disability theatre company in Calgary invested in artistic excellence, community development, and deepening our cultures’ accessibility. He also runs a podcast called Mad Practice with his best buddy JD, where they talk about living with madness and generally just revel in their friendship. In this episode, we explore his journey with theatre and the connections he’s made within that industry, as well as the mental health effects of the pandemic and how it’s shifted our interactions with people. A candid and inspirational conversation, he shares a lesson he learned this past year: “Good people know good people.” In other words, connecting with one good person who is very involved in the community can lead to all these other relationships with awesome people.
Highlights & Takeaways- Col has always had an inclination towards storytelling and community building, and so a life in a theatre gave him a chance to do both of these things
- Inside Out Theatre emphasizes that work created by and centered around artists with disabilities or deaf artists is a really vital part of us. It’s not a charitable or “nice thing to do”, but that in itself is a rich and thriving culture.
- How during the pandemic he convinced himself that he was introvert and didn’t need to be around other people, which wasn’t true. But it was his coping mechanism as a way to not ask for help or be vulnerable with others.
- Becoming comfortable with reaching out to friends just to talk and catch up, and not for any other particular reason or facade
- How it’s difficult for a lot of people to make friends as an adult, but recognize that that’s okay too
Resources Mentioned- Contact Col: Email
- Inside Out Theatre
- PechaKuchaYYC
- Mad Practice Podcast
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee44 min - 23: Task-Oriented and Relationship-Oriented People with September Plumer
September Plumer is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) currently working towards her MBA. She is also currently the President of the Dinosaur Toastmaster club. She sees Toastmasters as a great middle ground of having activities for both task-oriented and relationship-oriented people. What does she mean by this? Well, a few years ago, she read about people either lean towards being task-oriented which means you’re great that you’re getting stuff done, but struggle in relationships. Or you’re relationship-oriented which means you’re great at connecting with people, but you don’t get as much done. In this episode, we explore this dynamic as well as her project to write down 4500 things she was grateful for.
Highlights & Takeaways- John Gottman’s concept of bids (any attempt to connect with someone) and the 3 ways it can be responded to. This is what separates long-term happy couples from those who are less happy
- As an accountant, she can spend a lot of her career by herself, but how in her MBA right now, she’s been challenged to think more of how she can manage and motivate others effectively
- Gratitude journaling helped her to be more relationship-oriented by writing down people she was grateful for and then texting them to let them know
- When she hit 4,500 items of gratitude, she felt like she had strengthened that muscle to where it needed to be and that it had totally changed her life, even though her circumstances hadn’t changed
- At one point in her life, her house was bursting with all the things she had bought thinking that it would make her feel like she was enough and was doing okay, but she now realizes that decluttering is one way she could take control of her life
- If she could put any message on a billboard for the world to see, it would be: “Our lives affect and influence the people who are around us […] So remember you make a difference, no matter how big or how small your circle is.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact September: LinkedIn | Email
- “The Relationship Cure” by Joan Declaire & John M. Gottman
- “What Happened to You?” by Bruce D. Perry & Oprah Winfrey
- “Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions” by Johann Hari
- “BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company” by Jim Collins and William C. Lazier
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee36 min - 22: Connecting through Wine, Food, and Traveling with Mackenzie Putici
Mackenzie Putici is a man of diverse tastes, pun intended. He is a sommelier (that’s a fancy term for someone who is a wine expert) and runs companies that provide wine and food tour experiences. He is passionate about bringing people together through the love of food, story, spaces, and travel. As someone who has traveled to 43 countries, he has lots of interesting stories to share, including a story of how he got invited to eat at a stranger's house in Morocco.
Highlights & Takeaways- While working in the restaurant industry, he reminded himself of why people come back and that can be in your personal presence or at the restaurant or in your business - it comes down to hospitality
- How he was able to establish partnerships with wineries and restaurants to run his tours
- How a lot of us have memories and comforts around food and family, and how it can also connect strangers together
- Whether it’s in theater or other aspects of life, people genuinely want to see you succeed and be the best version of yourself
- Truly seek excitement in life and if you're not excited about what you're doing, find a way to shake things up
Resources Mentioned- Contact Mackenzie: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
- New World Wine Tours
- Eating Through TO
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee39 min - 21: Connecting Through Pluralistic Poetry with Alisha Ebrahim
Alisha Ebrahim is currently a Health Sciences student at the University of Calgary and a researcher at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. In addition to her love of science, Alisha has a strong passion for poetry. In her work, she incorporates English poetry with lines from the Qur’an and Ismaili Muslim devotional hymns to help foster a cosmopolitan ethic in the poetry community. In this episode, we explore her journey with poetry and the role it plays in her life now, including running a successful Instagram page called Paper Wings Poetry.
Highlights & Takeaways- Why Alisha is aiming to put words to the feelings that can't be described
- How the name “Paper Wings Poetry” came about and what it symbolizes
- What matters is being her authentic self rather than conforming to society’s version of who you should be
- Both science and art are trying to explain the world, being a scientist who writes poetry allows her to have a holistic view
- Integrating English poetry with lines from the Qur’an, Ismaili Muslim devotional hymns, and her Gujarati heritage to show that there is beauty in pluralism
- Her journey from being shy to taking on leadership positions with the University of Calgary Creative Writing Circle and Ismaili Students’ Association
Resources Mentioned
- Contact Alisha: Instagram
- Calgary Ismaili Students’ Association (CISA)
- University of Calgary Creative Writing Circle
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee33 min - 20: Everything is Possible: From Shyness to Moderating Panels with Priscilla Schelp
Priscilla is a moderator for panels with politicians, UN diplomats, and people working in the area of venture capital and business. She is also a prolific speaker, and is currently founding her own start-up where she aims to connect visionaries and changemakers with the best private member, business and management clubs in the world. In this episode, we explore her journey from how she was once shy to the person she is today. She emphasizes that everything is possible, and that “from this second on, you can work on going there wherever you want to be and whoever you want to be.”
Highlights & Takeaways- Having remarkable moments during her moderation career where diplomats from different countries would meet afterwards for wine and conversations
- It is an exception if there’s no technical issues during a moderation event, but how she’s learned to prepare well
- How she observed, read, and practiced how to connect with others
- How to network with people on LinkedIn and make meaningful connections
- The launch of her start-up which is aiming to match young visionaries and changemakers with the best clubs around the world
- Why she sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and what she learned from the experience
Resources Mentioned- Contact Priscilla: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
- Pod Match
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee39 min - 19: Multiplying Impact through Coaching with Nathalie BlaisNathalie Blais is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and the Co-Founder of the Canada Coach Academy. She was the facilitator for the Personal and Business Performance Coaching program which I have recently completed. In this episode, we chat about what drew her towards the coaching profession, why she started the Canada Coach Academy, and how coaching helps make meaningful connections. Coaching has impacted people across the age range, including a pilot program she ran for Grade 5 and 6 students to executives in large corporations that are wanting to up their game.Highlights & Takeaways
- How coaching is different from other helping professions like therapy, consulting, or mentoring
- Why Nathalie and her co-founder Andrew are driven by the mission to multiply the impact of coaching in the world
- Making two millimeter shifts in the way you engage with others, such as an extra pause before you speak, or changing from an close-ended to open-ended question
- Adopting a coaching mindset by believing that others are doing their best, not putting them in a box, and utilizing the superpower of curiosity
- How a 10-minute conversation where you show curiosity and empathy to the other person can have more of an impact than you think
Resources Mentioned
- Contact Nathalie: Email | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
- Canada Coach Academy
- “Everyday Leadership” TED Talk
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee43 min - 18: Collaborating and Storytelling through Hip-Hop with KTheChosen
KTheChosen is a hip-hop artist originally from Zimbabwe, but currently residing in Calgary where he is fostering connections and collaborations through his work. The recent release of his album +Vice which acts as an audio time capsule of the pandemic space that we’ve been in, and explores themes such as grief, feminism, and colonialism. In this episode, we cover topics like why his stage name is KTheChosen, his journey as a hip-hop artist, and his answer to the question of “What do you want to be remembered for after you’ve passed away?”
Highlights & Takeaways- How his mom would write letters to him while he was still in her womb, and how that’s shaped who he is today
- Even when there’s only 1 voice in a song, there’s still multiple people involved in its creation, which means collaboration is inherent within music-making
- Why he believes in nurturing future artists so that they don’t have to start from ground zero
- Teaching kids how to write their own raps about science, and working with teenage artists on their marketing and branding
- Life is about planting seeds that can continue to grow without you
Resources Mentioned- Contact KTheChosen: Instagram | Spotify | YouTube
- The Urban Shave
- 10th Street Boxing
- Kaffeeklatsch
- Science Genius
- Antyx
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee39 min - 17: Connecting through Toastmasters and Travelling with Ron MacTavish
Ron MacTavish is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and the VP of Membership for Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters. With over 15,600 clubs in the world, Toastmasters is an international organization for people to develop their public speaking and leadership skills. In this episode, we talk about how he’s built connections around his interests of Toastmasters, travelling, and books. He says: Don't go through your life wishing “I wonder what would have happened if I had talked to her or talked to him? It's far better to step out and try and make that connection than to live in regret.”
Highlights & Takeaways- How Toastmasters helped him advance his career within sales and management, and why he returned back after a 16-year break from Toastmasters
- How Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters has actually thrived during the pandemic by now having members from all across the globe
- Ron’s “Lit Gang” and why he asks people about what they’re reading
- Why his favourite books are “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and the works of Leo Tolstoy
- Why he takes literary tours when he travels to a country
- The story of how Ron connected with someone in Burma because he chose to wear a Saskatchewan Roughriders shirt
Resources Mentioned- Contact Ron MacTavish: [email protected]
- Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee45 min
About Excuses to Connect
From the publisher's feed
Have you ever wanted to connect with someone, but you stopped yourself? Excuses to Connect is a podcast about actively creating the conditions that make meaningful connections easier. In other words, you can make excuses to connect. Join me, Richard Lee-Thai, as I have conversations with experts, friends, and strangers on their struggles and successes when it comes to human connections. As a listener, I hope that you can take these insights and find excuses to connect with people. You never know how any one connection can transform your life.
https://excusestoconnect.com/