The Passionate Voice

Speak. Lead. Make Change.

Summer Searching

by

I’ve been struggling with words lately. How to find the right ones – how to string words together to create a well-articulated thought. Words just aren’t flowing as easily as they typically do. I’m not sure if its because I’m ‘baby drunk’ (drunk on the baby, not alcohol), sleep deprived, stepping outside of my comfort zone or what. It could also be that wordsmithing, what I did in my ‘day job,’ has taken a back seat to motherhood as of late.

I start the day with such intention to write, only to be met with mid-day fatigue (or a hungry baby). This leads to another day gone by, resulting in me lying awake at night with what feels like hundreds of ideas being thrown around by my brain. To the point, I’ve put a notepad beside my bed to write everything down, afraid that it can’t wait until the morning to document (or in case I don’t remember).

I’m sure you’ve been there with me.

Blog posts unpublished; tweets sitting in draft form; instagram posts deleted because you didn’t think the photo was ‘good enough’ for its angle or lighting and you couldn’t put your own unique words/thoughts to the picture.

Writing is a lot like a muscle. To get stronger or in the case of writing, better at it, you need to work at it and eventually you’ll see results. My writing will never be perfect but doing more of it will help to get better at it.

So I’m going on that basis for my writing this summer – its better to put thoughts out there as they are, imperfect with errors, rather than have the ideas sitting in the draft folder. I’ll keep going with my #Blog452 commitment – blogging every week, for 52 weeks of the year.

I love that summer as a season allows us to do this – relax and be easier on ourselves. Summer is a time for welcomed self-reflection for our society – we are just too damn busy the rest of the year.

Summer is the only time of year (besides the two weeks at Christmas) where we as a society see it as ‘acceptable’ to unplug. We accept that people are away on holidays and relaxing during the summer months. It is almost a societal norm that everyone takes it easier on each other during the summer.

The summer also allows us time to rest our brains, self-reflect and take stock of what we love about our lives and also, what are the irritants/things we want to change, or wish we could change. Its probably because we have the time to finally think and self-reflect while we feel at peace and ease… or its the beer or wine that helps to stimulate our thoughts and relax 🙂 I think its why so many of us come back in September recharged with motivation to want to tackle our goals.

I’m doing so much self-reflection recently thanks to summer and of course, because of Blake. Even before May, I had made a commitment in 2017 to set goals, create a routine and adjust/adapt along the way to work towards accomplishing these goals.

I think summertime reflection is necessary to a healthy lifestyle, both professionally and personally. Self-awareness is the key to happiness. Its healthy to take stock of what we’re good at; what we could be better at; what we want more of; and what we could get rid of. This type of reflection allows us to enjoy more of what we love and (finally) take action on the things we want to change. This is something I’ve gotten a lot better at this year since becoming a mom, as I blogged about earlier – we should “Strive for progress, not perfection.’

I really love the liberating and ‘free’ feeling of summer. There is no better feeling than sitting on a dock at dusk, looking out at the calm waters and mentally taking stock of everything I love about life and what I want to change/do more of.

Summer searching fuels an incredible sensation to want to kick butt. I’ll be so ready for fall when summer decides to be over. Until then, lets take advantage of the warm, sunny summer weather as long as it lasts.

It All Begins With a Lemonade Stand

by

With a newborn, you can find me most days outdoors, gallivanting  around with the baby in the stroller, enjoying the summer sun. I always love seeing what adventures I’ll get up too or things I’ll encounter.

Last week, I was out for a walk in our neighbourhood when I came upon a young girl selling lemonade.

I looked like I was going to be her next customer as I was walking closer to her. It was then I realized I didn’t have $$$ on me so I quickly turned around to run back home and grab change. I can only imagine the look of sheer disappointment on this girls face thinking she was losing a customer as I ran away from her. I was happy to return a few minutes later to buy a cup of her homemade lemonade.

There was nothing better than watching the pride on this young girls’ face when I returned and asked her ‘How much?’ With the biggest smile on her face, she confidently said, “$1 please.” She had all the right things going for her – a well-written, visible sign with the $1 per cup cost; she had the cute little table and chair; she had manners and spoke well; and she genuinely looked like she loved what she was doing.

And to top it off, she was so pleasant when I approached her with the baby – she even asked questions about me and the baby, the customer. Who taught this girl proper marketing etiquette at such a young age?!

It was one of those moments, as a random stranger, that you take so much pride in doing what you did to help encourage this person.

It also brought back so many memories for me as a kid… because I did the exact same thing! I held many a rummage sale and (tried) to sell lemonade to no avail.

The difference for me was that growing up in the country, trying to sell things on a random weekday in the summer, half way down a long driveway was not that financially viable or successful. There aren’t that many customers who probably think stopping in a car and walking up to a young child in the country looks OK to those driving by. I get it now, but it was hard to swallow at the time.

Clearly my entrepreneurial spirit was evident already at a young age.

The acts of this little random stranger last week was an amazing reminder of what we’re all capable of and how it all begins at a young age:

  • The ideas we have that spark within us;
  • How unafraid we are of big, hairy, audacious goals (and we don’t even know what ‘goals’ are yet);
  • How we take a pretty basic product and only because of how we sell it, the product becomes a hit;
  • The complete, random strangers we are OK with meeting in order to make a sale (and a buck);
  • When we realize we can make money doing something we love or at least enjoy doing;
  • And ultimately, we have the guts to do something we have never did before (and don’t know the outcome of as to whether we’ll be successful or not) and we still go ahead with the idea and sell the lemonade!

It takes some serious guts as a young kid to have the motivation, confidence and persistence to want to do something like sell lemonade, while other kids are out playing with their friends.

At what age or stage in our lives do you think we lose that self-confidence and belief in our abilities that so many of us clearly have as young kids? When do we lose that entrepreneurial mindset of fending for ourselves and running with our own ideas, only to worry what others think of us and our skillset to land a job that may not be for us?

As a quote I found perfectly says, “When life gives you lemons, you build a lemonade stand and profit.”

“When life gives you lemons, you build a lemonade stand and profit.”

Click To Tweet

As the young girl packed up after selling me her last cup of lemonade, I encouraged her to make sure she sets up shop more this summer because I’d be sure to be back. She said she would.

I better start saving my loonies now because she has a repeat customer that will guarantee her sales for her young start-up venture (or college education) 😉

[Photo Source]

Things I Love About Our Country #Canada150

by

Happy belated Canada day, friends!

Now that I am (somewhat) caught up on sleep from what was an epic Canada day long weekend, which included celebrating my little brother’s wedding, I wanted to share 6 of the things I love about our country to commemorate #Canada150. Hope you got to celebrate what was uniquely yours on Canada day!

[1. Food and wine]  – strawberry picking, pumpkin patches, cherries, maple syrup, lentils, there are so many amazing things I’ve been surprised to learn we grow, produce and harvest within our very own country. We truly have one of the safest, most sustainable food systems in the world with the abundance and variety of yummy foods we produce. We should also be proud of our emerging wine industry – we may be a few hundred years behind Europe in our wine production but our wines from BC and Ontario are still incredibly tasty too! The photo of the cherries above is actually our neighbour’s cherry tree. Talk about eating and enjoying local?! #HowCoolIsThat

[2. The views and our 4 seasons] – I think it is fair to say we may have some of the most diverse, vast landscapes of any country in the world in part because of the 4 seasons we get to experience. From the mountain views, to the prairie flats, our waterways to the red dirt on the east coast, you can experience so much in just one country (even though it takes a far distance to get from one end to the other and 4 changes of clothing for each season!). I feel fortunate to have visited almost all Canadian provinces – the only two provinces I have yet to visit are Newfoundland and Saskatchewan which I have added to my travel bucket list! Some of my favourite views (of so many in our country) that I’ve been able to personally savour include mountains views from Sidney, BC and Banff/Lake Louise, AB; rocky shores in Lake-of-the-Woods/Kenora, ON; watching the northern lights in the prairie, Manitoba skies; harbour ocean-front views in North Rustico, PEI and one of my absolute favorite views, the calming, scenic views from my family’s cottage on the Trent River in ON. Oh and fall is still my favourite season of them all 🙂

[3. Innovations and creations] – I didn’t realize how many incredible innovations our country and Canadians are responsible. Some of them are life changing and some are the simple pleasures we and so many millions enjoy – things like insulin, peanut butter (one of my absolute favs!), the life vest, the electric wheelchair, backup lights on modern cars, garbage bags and the paint roller. You can read more awesome inventions here. Who knew how truly awesome we are?!

[4. The Great Lakes] – Being raised on the water, I’ve always been attached to the water and love a good deep breathe of fresh, water air (it could also be the fact that I am the water sign Cancer). Being from Ontario, I love how close we are to the Great Lakes, all 5 of which are just a drive a way to enjoy. I’ll never forget learning in grade school how to remember the names of our 5 Great Lakes – remember the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior!) You are welcome 🙂 Side note, my girlfriends and I thought the Great Lakes are so awesome that we got the sweatshirt I’m pictured in above, made last summer when we were all in Grand Bend #BestIdeaEver

[5. The Canadian game of Hockey] – The photo above of the goalie is of my very own husband Andrew in his glory days as a goalie for the University of Guelph. He has since hung up his pads, but I love how much we enjoy the game of hockey together. I’ve always been a huge fan (of not only him) but the game of hockey itself. I have loved being a fan in the stands since a young age and understand the game enough to rock our family hockey pool which I won this year 😉

[6. Our ‘Canadianisms’] – There are so many awesome things that make us known as Canadians that I’m calling these our ‘Canadianism’s. Things like the iconic Hudsons Bay brand of colourful stripes (I have the paddle above!), maple syrup, poutine, Tim Hortons, the red maple leaf, our manners/politeness – these are just a few of the things that make us so uniquely known around the world as Canadians.

[Photo Source]
[Photo Source]

To The Journey We Begin

by

“A new is baby is like the beginning of all things – wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.”

– Edna J LaShan

I intentionally decided to step back from the Passionate Voice over the past month and take a break from my own personal #Blog452 goal for 2017 since experiencing the greatest life gift a month ago.

Only a few short hours after sharing my last blog post, on May 27, 2017, one month ago today, we were blessed by welcoming Blake Andrew Arklie into the world.

Taking the time to step back from blogging, use social media with more intention and purpose since then and relish in the arrival of our new baby has been a gift. Getting to know this new, tiny human being while at the same time, adjusting to the new roles of motherhood and parenthood, has been a gratifying and humbling tiring experience.

It has taken me several attempts to write this post as the words didn’t seem to embody all I’ve been thinking and feeling. Every time I began to write this post, I was overcome with emotion, of course positive ones. To try and find words to accurately reflect how life changed a month ago is next to impossible.

And then I realized, after trying to start this post many a time, this post is a reflection of what I am learning (in a short time of course) about motherhood, “Its progress, not perfection.” 

You’ll never find the perfect words to sum up something as magical as this so here it goes, my first blog post being wrote, while breastfeeding, balancing a baby and typing with one finger (I feel like I’m in grade 3 computer class all over again learning to type, but again, progress not perfection).

No book, manual or course can prepare you for what I am realizing is the single most unique experience that anyone can go through. Every person is different, every baby is different, therefore making every person’s version of parenthood so unique.

It has been an incredible (and daunting) feeling, knowing I am now not only responsible for myself, but another human being…. and that the values and perspectives I share will ultimately help to shape who he becomes.

I am proud to have been raised into who I am by my parents and my upbringing; proud of the choices I’ve made and the paths I’ve pursued in my personal life, my career and my hobbies… but being Blake’s mom is now the cherry on top.

Watching Andrew take on his new role of being a father has also been the most heart-bursting thing to watch. So many of the cliche things they say about parenthood ring so true now – you never truly feel a love like this until you watch your partner you love, love the baby you created together #HeartExplosion

Learning Blake’s small, subtle cues of what his different cries are for and what he needs; watching him grow each day (seriously can’t believe how much they change so quickly!); experiencing all of his ‘firsts’ with him; taking him out to do the most mundane tasks, only to be admired by men and women of all ages (people really do love babies!); and enjoying long walks with Blake in the stroller, Starbucks coffee in hand while the warm summer sun beats down, are just a few of the small day-to-day experiences I am continually in awe of and thankful for.

Of course there are late nights, long days, cries and poopy diapers – the detailed stuff the books don’t (really) prepare you for, but I’m just thankful that my job and my upbringing on the dairy farm helped prepare me for late nights, early mornings and operating on only a few hours of sleep on any given day. As I keep joking to find the positive, you can sleep when your dead right?! #IWish #StillNeedSleep

Navigating this new phase of life and my new role as mom has been ‘interesting’ on some days but having the best husband and partner to share in this with makes this the greatest adventure we’ve embarked on together. If I thought it was liberating not knowing what was ahead as we prepared for Blake’s impending arrival, not knowing what is in store each day with a newborn baby and learning something new each day as a new mom is even more liberating.

I’ve relinquished full control to a small tiny being and for the first time in my life, it feels amazing to not have expectations because as I shared on instagram last week, when you don’t have expectations, you don’t have disappointments. Another new lesson for this mom.

I was passionate about everything I did in life before Blake arrived (hence why this is called ‘The Passionate Voice’) but now I wake up, yes a little more tired, but with an added sense of purpose. If I wanted to do things before Blake, I only want to do them THAT much bigger and better now. The purpose, passion and perspective I have for life and seeing it through the eyes of our newborn, has added a whole new vigour to which I want to do this thing called ‘life.’

If any time in life, I’m realizing this is the best time to let the dishes pile, the laundry heap and the dust collect, there will be enough time for all of that. For now, I’m trying to soak this all up.

I’m hoping to continue kicking butt with my 2017 goals and it looks like I can check off the biggest one of them all not only for 2017 but in life.. becoming a mom to a healthy baby! I do plan to share more and do more here on The Passionate Voice to make even more of a difference because if I wanted to leave the planet a better place before Blake, I only want that a million times more now.

Here’s to our journey ahead as a family of 3.. its going to be one hell of a beautiful, bumpy ride 🙂

Social Media as the New Receptionist

by

Ironically, I had written this post before a client meeting earlier this week but after the conversation we had, this post became even more relevant to share.

The client I was speaking with was amazed at how social media is now an expectation by many of their customers. So much so, they’ve finally decided it is time they hop aboard the social media train and embrace it to help their brand and be where their clients are and want them to be. I shared the following analogy with them that I had written weeks ago but hadn’t hit publish on quite yet:

If you walk into any company or building, chances are you are greeted by a friendly receptionist who welcome you.

He or she sets the tone for how you feel about that company/business as soon as you enter the building based on first impressions of this person alone.

The role of a receptionist in business is a staple for some, or an expectation for most. 

You would most likely think it was weird if you walked into a head office and wasn’t greeted by anyone, right?

Similar to our expectation of receptionists as the first front-facing person for companies and businesses, our expectations have now extended to a brand’s presence on social media. Social media is the new receptionist. 

A lot of people can relate to this receptionist idea and the expectation when it comes to social media.

You go on any given social media channel expecting that the company you are searching for will be online and they aren’t. Your surprised at how a company of say their size, specialty or consumer engagement base isn’t on social media.

Or how many times have you searched a CEO, General Manager or a thought leader on say Twitter and were surprised that they weren’t engaging on social media?!

Imagine the feedback and engagement they are missing out on and the opportunities missed in showcasing their product or service and simply, their brand, both as a company and as the spokesperson and figure head for the company.

The expectation of having social media channels can be a hard adjustment for many companies and businesses to come to terms with, especially because of the many unknowns around social media:

  • The platforms are ever-evolving and changing;
  • Its hard to keep up with the technology and lingo;
  • Many companies don’t know where to begin with social media; and
  • Many businesses struggle with how to budget for social media (hire an in-house person or outsource?) and what investment is required for the social media platforms they need to reach their intended audience of loyal customers.

With millennials now the largest generation in the Canadian workforce, companies, businesses and brands need to realize that like the receptionist that is expected as soon as you enter the front doors of your head office, having a presence on social media as a brand, company or business is the new expectation of doing business in the 21st century.

“Having a presence on social media as a brand, company or business is the new expectation of doing…

Click To Tweet

This is true not only for the millennial generation but for people from all generations who use social media to engage both personally and professionally. Most people who want to check out a product to potentially purchase; share a customer service experience; ask questions; get their news; or engage and network within their industry, go to social media now as their primary source of information.

Its something to seriously consider if you are on the fence as to whether your brand should embrace social media or not.. get with the times and hire your online receptionist because chances are, it is expected of your brand.

P.S. Thanks for those asking and inquiring, the baby still hasn’t arrived but we appreciate the kind words, thoughts and positive vibes 🙂 #Overdue

[Photo Source]