Do you ever find yourself wondering ‘how did I get here’ when you take stock of your life and realize you have not lived your life the way you planned?

 Do any of these resonate for you?

• I’m struggling financially
• My family doesn’t communicate
• My spouse / partner and I don’t want the same things anymore
• My business isn’t growing the way I thought it would
• I’m so bored with my life
• I just don’t seem to get anywhere, no matter how much I try
• I could have done so much more with my life
• It's too late for me 

 If this sounds like you, you have fallen into the vortex of ‘living your life standing still’.

 When we were children, most of us, lived in a world of play and make-believe.  We didn’t worry about how we would play hopscotch when we didn’t have chalk to make the outline.  We used whatever we could to create it ourselves. We used skipping ropes, and rulers...

I think most of us can agree that the number 13 has often been associated with superstitious beliefs and bad luck. The illogical fear around the number 13 has been connected to historical events such as “The Last Supper” where Judas, the betrayer of Christ, the 13th apostle to sit at the table, has invoked a superstition that having 13 guests at a dinner party is unlucky. This ominous number has become synonymous with other superstitions as well - a black cat crossing your path, walking under ladders, Friday the 13th, believing bad things come in threes, a broken mirror brings you 7 years of back luck and the list goes on and on.

There is actually a phobia called triskaidekaphobia in which people suffer from having an extreme fear of the number 13.

This phobic phenomenon is so significant the business world has adopted its trepidation into their business planning and marketing strategies. Numerous...

Two days ago on social media, someone had posted a word puzzle asking you to note the first 3 words you saw. I thought it was kind of fun and noted the first words for me were: wellness, beginning, massive success. “I LIKE THIS,” I thought, and then went on with my day.

Yesterday was New Year’s Eve and it was a typical end of the year for me; enjoy some food and cocktails with family, watch the ball drop and then off to bed. Unfortunately, sleep is rarely restful for me. I am a “lucid” dreamer. I am fully aware of what I am dreaming and can control and manipulate the outcome. It’s like being up all night watching movies, so I typically wake up “tired”.

Have you ever experienced those moments before you are fully awake from sleep when images or thoughts start to emerge? Well, I have and in fact, often do. There is a name for this transitional state from sleep to wakefulness; Hypnopompia is a mental phenomenon that occurs during...

Everywhere you look in the entrepreneur and business professional’s world there is an event taking place somewhere. Anything and everything to do with business is presented for you to explore.

• Are you looking for ways to innovate your business and need to find the latest and greatest tech-tools available?
• Is it time to ramp up your marketing through social media and you need both an understanding of how to use and which platforms are the best for your specific business goals?
• Do you need to refine your pitch, develop a signature talk, learn how to connect with people and build up your networks?
• Are you starting from scratch and need to know where to start or have you been in business for a while and need to find new avenues and fresh ideas to take your business to the next level?

Whatever you need, I assure you there is an event, a workshop or a conference out there, ready to assist you to expand your business, advance your professional development and heighten your Brand....

I was reminded recently how much I love Intimate Networking.  I was invited to a potluck get together with a group of amazing women I have networked with over the past few years. It was an evening of good food and wine, fun music, big laughs and great conversation about anything and everything.

Spending time with people in a non-formal networking atmosphere allows everyone to let down their guard and just “be”.  There is no shuffling of business cards or flyers and no scripted pitches. It’s just people with people, being who they are in the real world and not a business persona. It’s a breath of fresh air not to be “on”.

Intimate networking is one of the most effective ways to deepen connections with the people you network with.  Whether its a potluck dinner at someone’s home, an evening of drinks at a local pub, an early morning coffee, or nine holes on the golf course - spending some quality time with the people you...

In the past several few months my schedule has been full with networking events, a family wedding, out of the country on business, facilitating workshops, conferences, speaking, coaching clients,…blah, blah, blah! I love going to these events and being surrounded by people, but these last few months of interacting with others felt different for me. Very Different. Is it perhaps, I myself am becoming more aware in my journey of entrepreneurship?

I’m usually the person who gets in there, connecting, mingling and introducing people to others. This time, I found myself standing back just watching and listening. For years I’ve observed behaviour, conversation styles and how people interact with each other. I had no idea why I wasn't engaging and it felt foreign to me - after all, that is the premise for my work as a networking specialist and coach - meeting people and having conversations. I kept asking myself why does it feel so different for me?

Then it hit me. I had...

Have you ever been in unfamiliar territory when you are networking? I'm sure most of you have been, at one time or another, in a crowd where you don't know anyone and you feel completely out of place.  I admit, in my career as a networking specialist, I no longer get blindsided with not knowing what to say or how to approach people. Well, I had that exact experience recently when I was at a digital media conference with my Mastermind Inner Circle Group The Mastermind City.

I was among 4,000+ people where the topics of technology weren't completely in my comfort zone. All kinds of uncomfortable fears and confidence issues began to bubble up and for the first time, in a very long time, I was able to re-identify and connect with the very issues that people hire me to help them with.

I am someone who thrives on networking, lives for connecting and building relationships, I found myself in an arena of highly intellectual individuals who were...

I love to network. I love meeting people, finding out about what they do, who they are, what interests they have. I love to know about their families, their business, who they can help, why they love what they do and why they chose to do what they do. What I don't love... is "the"  PITCH! That moment when you know someone really has no interest in getting to know you, but only there to sell you. What's interesting is the majority of people I network with or talk about networking to... don't love it either!  

According to the Webster dictionary, the term "sales pitch" means a speech that is given in order to "persuade" someone to buy something.  Since I could not find a definition in Webster for "elevator pitch", Wikipedia states it reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.  

In my opinion,...

Networking today is not the Networking of Yesterday. Networking decades ago consisted of a small group of entrepreneurs and their followers who understood the value of true relationship building.  Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, John Maxwell, Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, even Oprah, are just a few of the greats that focused on relationship building and have grown some of the biggest networks and businesses in the world.

They were and are the true greats…

OLD School Networking was smooshing for business. The old boys club-style networking was exclusive and had the philosophy of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”. Much of the time, those were the days of only doing business with someone who gave you their business first.

There are still some networking groups that have that philosophy of industry-exclusive networking. I believe they do still have their place. This type of networking, in my opinion, is great for brick and mortar businesses and business...