It’s Not A Straight Line

On this episode, I sat down with Chris Reynolds - the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Investment Planning Counsel (IPC). When Chris co-founded IPC in 1996, he set out on a mission to help entrepreneurial financial advisors build better businesses. Since then, he has remained committed to this mission, which continues to be the focus at IPC, which was acquired by Canada Life in 2023.

Chris has spent over 25 years in the Finance and Investment industry, and he believes at the heart of any great business is a remarkable client experience. Chris is a life-long learner who is always learning from the best of the best, from within his industry, as well as outside/new perspectives.

Chris Reynolds is the Host of the "Turning The Page" Podcast, a big fan of live music and rock n' roll, and his former radio show on a popular Toronto radio station was syndicated across ten other stations. When asked what gets him "out of bed in the morning", he stated "it is the people that get me most excited!"

You'll hear why Chris is a huge advocate for entrepreneurship and why to him, there is no safer way to go.

Enjoy the episode!

Turning The Page Podcast - Spotify Link

Investment Planning Counsel - Website

Join me for an insightful and energizing conversation with Olympic Figure Skating champion and On-Air Broadcast Commentator, Kaetlyn Osmond.

In this episode, Kaetlyn shares the highs and lows of her incredible journey, from winning a silver in the Figure Skating Team Competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to winning bronze in the Women’s Singles event and gold in the team competition at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang. Soon after her successful 2018 year, she retired in May of 2019 at the age of 25, which is something unique to high-performing athletes. You'll hear how Kaetlyn is exploring what’s next, taking Media Studies at the University of Alberta, coaching Figure Skating and working as a Broadcast Commentator with Skate Canada (Patinage Canada).

Born in Marystown, Newfoundland, she made history as the first Canadian to win the Women’s Singles Figure Skating Competition in 45 years.



Kaetlyn's story is one of determination, talent, and being intentional about her expectations and focusing on her performance, while blocking out the “noise”. This episode is a must-listen for all fans of sports, figure skating, media and career transitions.

Kaetlyn's Instagram @kaetkiss

On this episode, I had a captivating conversation with Igor Lukač, an inspiring entrepreneur who navigated life's challenges with resilience and determination. Igor shares his journey from fleeing the former Yugoslavia with his family during the tumultuous Yugoslav Wars to building a successful career in Canada.

After earning degrees in Engineering and Business from the prestigious Ivey Business School at Western University, Igor embarked on a path of entrepreneurship. From selling printers door-to-door in Niagara, Ontario, to owning a Marble Slab Creamery and founding Kingswood Engineers, Igor's entrepreneurial spirit has always burned bright.

What sets Igor apart is his unwavering composure and his embrace of failure as a stepping stone to success. His story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of a positive mindset.

If you're in Burlington, Oakville, or Hamilton and need structural engineering expertise for your renovation project, visit https://www.kingswoodengineers.com/ and follow Kingswood Engineers on Instagram @kingswoodengineers for more insights and updates.

I sat down with Eduek Brooks, a Financial Educator & Coach and the Founder of Two Sides of a Dime. As an immigrant to Canada from Nigeria, Eduek completed her Master's degree in Chemical Engineering and has a certificate in Business Technology from the University of Waterloo.

From working in Engineering to Lifestyle Creep and finding herself in $47,000 of debt, Eduek takes us behind the scenes as to how she made a goal to pay off her debt in 3 years. As reported in the Toronto Star and other media outlets, Eduek paid off her debt in an incredible 20 months and she built a social media following as she showed others how she "hacked" savings and debt payments. From there, Eduek started educating and coaching people on how to pay down debt, money-saving tips, investing and more. Now it's her full-time business! Listen in as she explains why she never considered leaving an engineering career as a sunk cost, what being from Nigeria instilled in her, and her thoughts on budgeting.

You can follow Eduek on Instagram @twosidesofadime

This episode is an exploration of grief and resilience with Dina Bell-Laroche, a Partner at Sport Law and the Founder of Grief Unleashed. Dina shares her journey through grief, triggered by the untimely passing of her younger sister Tracy (when Dina was 31 years of age).

You'll hear how Dina initially navigated her sister's death by trying to be stoic, brave and courageous, but found hope, meaning and a way forward through a deeper understanding of grief and death (and her studies in Thanatology). Dina helps unpack the non-linear nature of grieving, and her insights offer a refreshing perspective on living a meaningful and rewarding life.

As the driving force behind Grief Unleashed, Dina guides individuals in re-imagining their relationship with loss. Dina shares valuable advice and thoughts on coping with loss, especially during the challenging holiday season, drawing upon her experiences and expertise.

Beyond her work in grief support, Dina dives into her extensive career in high-performance sports. With a remarkable background as a media attache and press chief at numerous national and international events, including five Olympic Games, Dina brings a unique perspective on what it takes to perform at the highest levels.

A published author of "Grief Unleashed" and a parent of three, Dina's multifaceted life unfolds in this episode.

Proceeds from Dina's book sales contribute to bringing a Wind Phone to Ottawa through the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. To learn more about the Wind Phone Project and contribute, visit this link.

Connect with Dina on Instagram (@grief.unleashed) and explore the transformative work of Grief Unleashed on their website.

In this episode, Kevin Craig shares his remarkable journey across continents, careers, and personal transformations. Kevin's life has been anything but a straight line. From growing up in the UK and Muscat to establishing a call centre in Delhi, India to venturing into a scuba diving business, to building a thriving coaching business in Bahrain, and much more in between.

Kevin is a Master Certified Coach and a Professionally Certified Kinesiopractic. His engaging personality, combined with his cheekiness and unwavering courage, enables him to challenge his clients with tough love and guide them toward their highest potential. He is an Executive Coach to esteemed clients ranging from Government Entities and Royal Family Members to Senior Business Leaders throughout the Gulf in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

In a candid moment, Kevin reveals two major challenges he faced, including being caught up in a fraudulent investment scheme, where a shadow trading scam left him in immense debt. He recalls calling on a group of people in his network each morning by 9 am for nine months to get him through this incredibly challenging time. He also recounts a near-death experience resulting from being in a car accident, which propelled him onto a profound spiritual path. These personal trials have shaped his purpose, driving him to focus on his two purposes.

His external purpose is to raise the consciousness of leadership and his internal purpose is to hand his soul back in its best possible condition.

Kevin's company has received multiple consecutive awards for "Best Executive Coaching Company - Middle East," while he himself was recently honoured as one of the "Best 100 Global Coaching Leaders" by CHRO Asia.

Tune in to this thought-provoking episode as Kevin Craig shares his extraordinary life experiences, profound wisdom, and invaluable lessons on conscious leadership.

On this episode of "It's Not A Straight Line," we are joined by Lauren Ammon, a former athlete turned mental performance coach. Lauren's journey in sports began at the young age of five when she was "thrown" into the pool with her older sisters and swam her first race. She went on to achieve remarkable successes, including winning a U.S. High School Championship, a top three finish in the Mid-American Conference, and swimming at the Division 1 NCAA Level while also serving as the Captain of the Swim Team at Eastern Michigan from 2003-2004.

As Lauren touched the wall for the final time in her last race in the NCAA, she realized that her 17-year athletic career had come to an abrupt end. She went on to complete a Master's degree at the University of Cincinnati and worked for over a decade in Human Resources, but she felt that something was missing. In 2019, Lauren received her professional coaching certification and founded her own practice called Performance Reimagined.

In this episode, Lauren shares with us how her coaching focus changed after a pivotal moment during the 2020 Olympics (which took place in 2021). She recalls watching as Simone Biles pulled out of competition, noticing the expression on Katie Ledecky's face during her gold medal win, and listening to Michael Phelps, the world's greatest swimmer of all time, speak about mental health and the need for athletes to have someone to listen to them. It was at that moment that Lauren knew she was being called to help athletes master the mental part of the game and perform at the highest level in all aspects of life's competition.

Join us as Lauren Ammon shares her inspiring story and insights on mental performance coaching for athletes of all ages and levels.

Learn more about Lauren Ammon and her coaching practice, Performance Reimagined, at https://www.performancereimagined.com/

Follow Lauren on Instagram: @mrslaurenammon and @performance_reimagined_

Lauren's LinkedIn profile

What stood out about Eric's story - aside from his tenures at entertainment powerhouses like Cirque du Soleil and Just For Laughs - was the lessons he learned from the record label (Grenadine Records) that he started in University and ran for six years. If he could go back in time, he said he wouldn't have been so strict with what the record label had to be. They were "after" two sounds, and it restricted their progress. In the early days, Sam Roberts Band's manager came to them, and even though they loved the songs that would eventually be on Sam Roberts' first EP, they decided to pass on it. It didn't fit what they were trying to create. How often do we try to make things fit with who we think we should be? And who we think we should be is many times influenced by others and not ourselves.

Another key part of the conversation was Eric leaving Quebec to move to Vancouver for family reasons. He knew three people in Vancouver, was leaving a dream job and didn't know how his skillset would fit into Vancouver. He was even told that Vancouver is a "production town", not a content sales and distribution "town", and there are no jobs for you here. But Eric persevered and has gone on to launch "And Now Global", the Global VID Podcast and helps his hometown BIA program and facilitate the White Rock 5 Corners Buskers & Comedy Festival.

Eric is the founder of Greater Vancouver's international TV/Digital distribution & development consulting company "And Now Global" and brings over 15 years of content sales experience with major brands Just For Laughs and Cirque du Soleil, where his primary focus has been on Foreign TV & VOD sales (over 4000 TV hours licensed in over 100 countries).

Eric's LinkedIn profile

AndNowGlobal.com

What amazed me about Andrew Case's story was how his entrepreneurial journey unfolded. After two years in Sales at Xerox, Andrew and his colleague from Xerox took the sales skills and training they learned and launched a sales consulting company.

They focused on going to small and medium-sized businesses and would offer sales training based on their Xerox sales training. Andrew and his partner would ask for a reasonable rate of pay (less than many of their competitors) and a percentage of the sales lift. When they would visit their clients six months later, they would find out that some of the businesses did not experience the increase in revenue that they initially expected.

They realized to be successful, they needed a way to assess the people on the sales team to make sure the right people were in the right roles. Even with excellent sales training, some people were not meant to be in those types of roles. This led Andrew to meet Dr. Herb Greenberg, learning about the Caliper profile and a long and successful career in talent assessment.

Andrew Case is the Country Manager of Talogy Canada, previously Caliper. The business has a Caliper Profile, which delivers critical insights to leaders and managers to put the right people in the right place at the right time. It is about assessing employees, leaders, athletes and personalities to find out how their strengths will fit into a new role, venture, spot on a professional sports team, etc.

Kevin Rempel made a major shift at the end of 2022. He sold his beloved business, the Sledge Hockey Experience, shifted his speaking business, started to build new training programs, and moved from Canada to the Dominican Republic.

What strikes me about Kevin is his mindset and his ability to say "yes" to things that will improve his life. When speaking with his sister about how good he felt on vacation in the Dominican Republic, he said - I wish I could live here all the time. Her response was -  well, why don't you? And that's when Kevin thought - well, what's stopping me?! 

Our discussion ranges from Kevin "letting go" of the Sledge Hockey Experience,  the challenges of moving to a new country, and his mindset as he faced setbacks.

Kevin is a 2014 Paralympic Bronze Medalist, a speaker, an expert on mental health, and an entrepreneur.  

Kevin Rempel on LinkedIn
KevinRempel.com