Imagine walking into a heavily armed Hells Angels compound as an informer, and you are wearing a wire. If discovered, these steps will be your last. If successful, your actions will be paramount in trying 'Nasty' Neil Smith, a dangerous and fully patched Hells Angel, for murder. How did you end up there? Paul Derry shares the story of his life as a career criminal and informant, what it is like to live as a ghost inside a witness protection program and why crime doesn't pay. Battling throat canc...
Jan 21, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 57
A magical story of turning impossibility into possibility. At 13, Mike Fata drops out of school to help his Mom, balloons to 300 pounds on a junk food diet and self-pity. At age 18, he says: 'I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.' On his journey to regaining his mental and physical health, Mike Fata discovers Hemp, an excellent source of essential fats. Still, it's a banned crop because of its association with cannabis. He sees this as an opportunity, and after many bureaucratic hurdles, h...
Jan 14, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 56
'A coming of age story about how impossibility can become a possibility through human spirit and will.' By the time Curtis Carmichael was 11, ten people he knew died. He grew up in a Block where parents worked several jobs to survive, everyone was profiled, and crime seemed to be the only path to prosperity. Schools were at best a parking lot where students were yelled at by teachers who said they have no value. As Curtis says: ' In real life, you're seven, but where I grew up, in Block years, y...
Jan 07, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 55
Candice Faktor is a game-changer, an attribute I admire as it involves vision, strategy, and resilience. In this episode, you will get inside the mind of someone who has positively impacted the status quo by bringing a higher level of passion and pursuit to every enterprise she has worked. You will learn how Candice creates value and, in turn, monetizes it. You will also learn about Candice's first start-up, Disco.co , and how she has set her sights on enriching and ensuring that every moment we...
Dec 28, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 54
Let your spirits soar through the spirit of Mohamad Fakih, who sees humanity as a race to be cherished, versus defined by tribes, and confined and contested by their ethnicity, religious beliefs, language, income or sexual preference. When I told Mohamad that I was airing the radio show on Christmas Eve, he smiled and said, 'I love Christmas.' Mohamed has spent the last two weeks working tirelessly to raise money to ensure families have a turkey dinner. That's who he is. The disadvantaged deserv...
Dec 21, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 53
This is a story of a woman's twenty-year battle with an eating disorder, and I even have her Mom join me on the show, as mental illness also impacts all who are close to the individual. Bring your tears, and then tears of joy. Riding a horse is where Laura Hearn found her peace and happiness from a world that denied her both. Bullied at school, alone more than with friends, and devasted by her parent's divorce. Laura desperately sought her Fathers' attention that waned after he remarried. What b...
Dec 16, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 52
You could argue that the internet matters to most, but to Avi Arya, it mattered most. As a teenager growing up in Delhi, India, Avi had two dreams. To race cars and to then go on to Oxford University. Both crashed when his Dad was in danger of losing their family business, a small hotel and Avi had to step in to help. An international tourist who stayed longer and paid more for the room was where Avi saw an opportunity; how could a small hotel market to potential tourists worldwide? In the inter...
Dec 08, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 51
Are the #GreatResignation and the #greatreset also the greatest opportunity ever for both the employee and employer? Jacob Morgan thinks so, and his thinking attracts over 75,000 people to follow him on LinkedIn and 300,000 people to subscribe to his daily newsletter. Jacob is world-renowned for his thinking on the Future of Work. Yes, your work. Jacob Morgan talks about why The Great Resignation and Reset is the Great Opportunity for both employees and employers and their changing relationship....
Dec 03, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 50
Bryan and Sarah Baeumler are parents to four children, international television stars and they own 14 businesses. One of these businesses is renovating Emerald Palms, a beachfront resort on Andros Island, the largest and least developed of the Bahamas Islands. They turned their life upside down, and financially are risking everything. What they never planned for was both a hurricane and pandemic slamming in the way of their dreams. So how do they manage to keep it all together? If you are a fan ...
Nov 25, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 49
The great reset or resignation, employee or life dissatisfaction, and general malaise. So many people want to make a change, try something different, but they feel it's too big of a stretch, or a dream they aren't capable of racing towards. Andre De Grasse's dream was to play professional basketball but in his final year, the program was cancelled at his high school. On a dare from a friend, and in borrowed shoes, he signed up for a track meet. From a standing start, as he didn't know how to use...
Nov 19, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 48
How do you feel? I find myself feeling anxious at times, thinking more about my state of mind and body, my immune system and my mortality. I guess it's part of growing older but it's been fuelled by this barrage of pandemic news, and after being trapped, I realize there is so much more I need and want to do. Shaun Francis joins me on Chatter that Matters to chat about his book Eat, Move, Think, the path to a Healthier, Stronger, Happier You. His vantage point is the CEO of Medcan, a world-renown...
Nov 11, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 47
John Stackhouse says there is a way but with a price tag of $2 trillion. I ask if there is a will? I begin my podcast by sharing my near-death experience as a child, and then my observations from interviewing others who have knocked at death's doorstep, but through some combination of intervention, science or will have fought their way back. In doing so they return with a stronger appreciation of their fragility and mortality. They treasure life and often dedicate theirs to making our planet a b...
Nov 02, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 46
When opportunity knocks, Erica Rocks. This episode has great insights for all who are facing a career path that will veer in many directions. Erica Ehm is a Host, Creator, Speaker, Innovator, and Disruptor who, for three decades, has captured and commanded all media, including radio, television, movies, music publishing, books, while being a pioneer in influencer and digital marketing. Erica is the co-founder of the Inside>Out Initiative to MePower teens worldwide to learn, live and work from...
Oct 26, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 45
'A love story through sickness and success' I begin the show by telling you that I am a romantic, and in the cinema, I am swept up in a great love story and in real life, I am mesmerized. Today's episode is a wonderful and true love story and one that includes a Lion Tamer, a Circus Acrobat, a near-death experience involving hepatitis and morphine, the horrific disease MS, a Naked Monk, and a love affair where two lost souls come together to not only help and heal each other but to extend their ...
Oct 22, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 44
While others run away from bricks and mortar retail, Doug Putman races in. What began as a single fruit stand in his teens, now bears billions of dollars in sales. Today Doug Putman owns HMV in Canada and the United Kingdom, Toys"R"Us and Babies R Us in Canada, FYE - For Your Entertainment in the USA, T. Kettle in Canada, Sunrise Records and he is only 37 years old. This is his incredible story and within, Doug offers so many lessons and my standing ovation for believing in retail and all `the e...
Oct 15, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 43
We all know Arlene Dickinson as the Matriarch of the Dragon's Den , a best-selling author, and an acclaimed entrepreneur and investor in Canada's new economy. But did you know at 31, Arlene was a single Mom, with only a high school education and no means of how to feed her family? Did you know that she was an immigrant, an introvert and that she grew up in a dysfunctional home and in her teens, Arlene escaped to books as she felt she never fit in? In this episode, Arlene openly shares her story ...
Oct 06, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 42
If you LOVE Music, Pop Culture, and you are interested in the creative process and what it takes to collaborate with some of the world's top musical artists, then turn up the volume on this episode that features some incredible music, and the stories behind the songs. Alice Cooper calls Bob Ezrin his 'George Martin', referencing the legendary Beatles producer. Some of the biggest hits from artists like Aerosmith , Kiss , Pink Floyd , Taylor Swift , Hanoi Rocks , Lou Reed , Peter Gabriel , Deep P...
Oct 01, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 41
We've all heard the expression being in the right place at the right time when opportunity knocks, but what about the wrong place, at the wrong time when tragedy hits and takes away all that you know. April 6, 2018, began as an ordinary day for Kaleb Dahlgren. He was on a bus with his Humboldt Broncos teammates heading to a must-win playoff game. A second later, and hockey outcomes no longer matters. On a clear and sunny day, a driver, commanding a semi-trailer truck at 100 km an hour, failed to...
Sep 24, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Bring some Scottie Tissues and clap like no one is watching for this real-life fairytale. Lesra Martin, a kid who at age six goes from a middle-class life to having to survive on the violent streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick. At ten he starts to work to put food on his troubled family's table. Despite his regular school attendance, he remained illiterate until he was 16 years old. So what does Lesra Martin have to do with three Canadians? And what do they all have to do with getting Rub...
Sep 16, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 39
The morning of 9/11 began as an ordinary day. I was first in the door at Capital C, the agency. I put a pot of coffee on and began to organize my schedule. My office was right by the front door and I enjoyed the morning banter with the amazing team that worked there, as they made their way in. And then my life and all who remember day changed, and forever. At 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, a...
Sep 10, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Salah Bachir makes every moment matter. Salah is a philanthropist, a patron of the arts, a gifted entrepreneur and a Chancellor of OCAD, a renowned learning institution for Art and Design. Salah's life experiences are as lavish and eclectic as his art collection, a body of work that almost any museum would covet. He once wrapped Christmas gifts in Andy Warhol sketches, before Andy was 'Andy. Only one survived and that sketch is now worth over $100,000. I have known Salah for years, and I conside...
Aug 30, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Terry O'Reilly is the host of Under the Influence, one of the most popular radio shows and podcasts on the planet. Terry gives the public a rare backstage pass into the world of advertising, pop culture and human nature. Today I turn the tables to get a rare backstage pass into the life of Terry O'Reilly. The advice he offers you is a masterclass in getting the attention your career and ideas deserve. Here are Terry's opening thoughts. 'You see the study of human nature is the business of market...
Aug 26, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 36
The Walt Disney Company should turn Zahra Al-Hazari's story into an animated story to inspire children and a full feature film to inspire all of us. Zahra is one of our country's most successful entrepreneurs, but her path to finding purpose, happiness, and success is one few have travelled. A refugee, an immigrant, and a journey of resilience, reinvention and fortitude. Zahra is treating life not as a dress rehearsal but as one worth living. A speaker, philanthropist, UN Ambassador, Top 25 Immi...
Aug 19, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Future proof your career and business. Will your be able to march in step or even step ahead of disruption? When it comes to your questions about leadership, talent, culture and most importantly the future of your work, people turn to Steve Cadigan. Steve has been at the forefront of global talent strategy and company culture for the past 30 years. Most famous for scaling Linkedin from 400 to 4000 in 3.5 years, Steve also led the development of LI's legendary company culture and was at the helm ...
Aug 13, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 34
What often matters most to us and how we think, feel and behave, are the numbers. We look to weather reports to determine our activities, a scale to motivate a diet, a report card to seek a tutor and housing prices, walking scores, and crime rates to identify desirable neighbourhoods. Polls shape how we vote and policyholders, strategists, decision-makers and entrepreneurs seek the truth through strength in numbers. Numbers matter and John Dick and his company Civic Science are challenging the s...
Aug 05, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 33
Feel good Friday. Esie Mensah is my guest this week on Chatter that Matters. Her art, her attitude, her approach to life and her ability to tell stories are truly extraordinary. Esie's passion is dance, but she was often turned down because she was too black, even compared to other dancers of colour. She chose to become too good to turn down. This confidence and commitment to her capabilities led her to develop her own dance style - Afro-Fusion which caught the attention and then collaboration w...
Jul 29, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 32
Tragedy to Triumph and the inspirational lessons in between. Born to a teenage drug addict, abused as a child, and raped at fourteen would stop most in their tracks if not derail you for life but not Victoria Pelletier. Her story is one of being unstoppable, of seizing opportunity wherever and whenever it presented itself. Victoria's mantra is #noexcuses. Victoria became a retail store manager in her mid-teens and was offered her first Executive Leadership Position by her early twenties. Victori...
Jul 23, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 31
A true and moving story that will first bring tears to your eyes then joy to your heart while filling your knapsack with invaluable life lessons on impermanence, perspective, personal power, and turning your possibility into action. Robert Pardi shouldn't be grateful, but he is. Robert grew up with a father who physically abused him. Years later, Desiree, the love of his life, passed away after battling breast cancer for eleven years. At that point, Robert lost all concepts of purpose, direction...
Jul 16, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 30
Gil Moore is my guest, and I chose the word Triumph for two reasons. The first is how he approaches life as an entrepreneur and a renaissance man when it comes to education. It's also a play on words as Gil is the drummer and one of the vocalists in the band, Triumph, who broke into the USA market, but broke up at their peak when they were selling out stadiums, and their records played worldwide. We chat about Triumph's rise to fame and the reasons behind their breakup, and that alone is a great...
Jul 09, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 29
After chatting with Sandi Boucher, I realize how little I know about the Indigenous Culture and how much better I would be as a human being if I valued what they value. I suppose that is true across every culture. Imagine if we opened our minds and hearts to others and see people who are foreign to our way of life as an opportunity to enrich versus isolate ourselves. If we did we would be a better human race, with the resolve to reconcile our differences and solve the problems that even threaten...
Jul 02, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 28
