I'm not an overly religious person but that title seemed to be best for what I wanted to discuss in this week's community post.

A comedian (whom I've since forgotten) once said, "There are two types of people in the world, those who like to sort things into two groups, and those that don't." With that in mind, I would like to say, there are two types of people in the world, those who like to read 'self-help' books and those that don't. I guess this week's post is directed…

Okay, it is not a 'best trip ever' or an amazing lifetime experience, only a great place to chill and have a lunch in Ottawa.

I was lucky enough to be traveling for work to our capital with a colleague who knows the Ottawa area fairly well.  He suggested we take our guests to the Dows Lake Pavilion which is at the base of Preston Street where it meets Queen Elizabeth…

I am a dog person. Not a cat person.  I never really could trust cats. Two events turned me off  of them early in life. First, when I was about 5 or 6 I was scratched by one that I tried to pet while it was perched on our fence. The second attitude shifting event was watching our neighbour's cat Snowball toy with a mouse until she killed and ate it. And there you have it...cats are cold blooded violent beasts. Later experiences of the needy mewling, leg rubbing and aloofness only tainted…

You know that feeling. You have just been on vacation for a week, and the Sunday night jitters start hitting you. Or maybe, as you are driving back from the cottage or vacation spot, you start thinking about all the things awaiting your return - like 1,500 emails, and half a dozen blow-ups that took place while you were away.

Having just taken a week's vacation with my…

I've been following Kamazooie for some time but haven't done more than comment. However, while relaxing on Canada Day, while my wife had to work ;-(, I came across this posting on "presence" that I thought I would share.

Whether you're a minister, a politician, a salesman or a customer service person, or even if you just want to be a likeable person, I think…

While its not an official long weekend in Canada leading up to the 147th Canada Day on Tuesday July 1, there are a lot of people I know taking Monday off for an extended long weekend.

Fittingly, I thought I would use Canadian heritage as the topic of this week's community post.

The Confederation Train:

I remember hearing from my dad about a Centennial Train that crossed the country in 1967 so I did a little research on that. It was called the…

Last week, Amanda asked "What are you doing after work?".  I commented that I wanted to come back to that topic when I finished my next post and this is that follow-up.

I had two separate conversations recently and a common theme came up; that of becoming so good at or…

Much of our time, energy and metal capacity is devoted to work but for many reasons, we also have to think about what do I do after work. For some, after work means chilling with friends at a patio bar, to others it means cycling from 6:00-9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and to others it means what you plan do after you retire.

Work is an important part of our…

A good friend sent me this and I absolutely had to share. Enjoy!

The Fermi Paradox

May 21, 2014

Everyone feels something when they’re in a really good starry place on a really good starry night and they look up…

I have unknowingly embarked on a journey to unravel the culture behind the practice of yoga. Unbeknownst to me because my initial motivation in engaging in yoga took an unanticipated turn as I delved deeper down the rabbit hole. Let me explain.

Two months ago I decided to take up another form of mindfulness training that incorporated a component of physical exercise as…

Meditation has had a reputation of being associated with mysticism, or eastern religions. For that reason, many people have avoided it in their own lives, thinking that it either was purely a form of spirituality, or might even conflict with their own religion. In fact, because of that link to spirituality - I have read at least three authors stating that in…

On the heels of Amanda's great discussion about living a Balanced Life, and mapping out what that looks like, I just read "Your Life Plan" by Erica Sosna - which addresses a related topic. We all agree that we want to live a balanced life. Balance comes up repeatedly when you think about work and career. As a careerist, I completely understand how easy it is…

This week, I was doing some reading in a book by Eric Sinoway called Howard’s Gift. Eric's book is a project that he undertook to give people the benefit of Howard Stevenson's experience and wisdom. Howard is Eric's mentor but he is also an author, entrepreneur and professor…

Tomorrow night in Dubai, my youngest daughter Sierra...my peaches and plums...will graduate with an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Dubai International Academy. Like her elder sister Bianca (aka Bumble Bee) she has been entirely educated in an international school system. I remember her first day of school at the village 'kindergarten' in Schlossborn (near Frankfurt) Germany. Thirteen years and three schools later (Frankfurt International School, La Châtaigneraie Geneva…

This spring 25,000 people worldwide (including myself!) took the challenge to eat and drink on $1.75 a day for 5 days! We are lived Below the Line so others can rise above it. The initiative was set to raise $4.4 million for the world’s leading anti-poverty organizations.



Keeping in mind that living on $1.75 a day is a daily reality for millions of people around the world, poverty isn’t just about food, It’s about freedom! Mother Teresa once said, “Poverty doesn’t only consist of…

Last week was an amazing week for us as far as being…

Hello fellow Kamazooie members!

I have been practicing yoga for several years; I find it to be very rewarding physically but at the studio I attend, they don’t focus on the more spiritual or metaphysical aspects so I decided to do some research and use the topic for this week’s community post.

Firstly, I found that Yoga is a Sanskrit or Hindu word for union…

As we discussed in the last few postings... I have been leading and organising my firm's Junior Achievement partnership and campaign. We had teams from 6 major cities in Canada. For Toronto - I also teamed up with a partner and delivered the "Economics for Success" program to the grade 7 & 8 split class of St. John Bosco Elementary school in Woodbridge, Ontario. 

This was an absolute blast! 

Naturally, it is so much fun to teach the children about the…