This is our 20th episode for No Ordinary Life. Hard to believe, but when you think about it we did start way back in Dec 2018 which seems like a world away now. We have had great guests over the past 8 months or so and if you haven’t listened to some of the earlier ones please go back in the catalog and take a listen. Keep in mind when listening to those early sessions I was still trying to figure this all out so have some grace with the level of quality from an audio perspective. Not that I hav...
Jul 02, 2019•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Hey everyone, welcome back! We’ve had a bit of time off since the last podcast with Natalie James – which by the way if you haven’t listened to yet, you should because it’s awesome. We’ve had some challenges the past couple weeks, which quite honestly all rest on me – totally my fault. I had some work travel come up so I was in Chicago for a bit which delayed things and then when trying to get an interview going with today’s guest we had a bunch of technical difficulties that never really got so...
Jun 16, 2019•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 19
When I first was trying to figure out who to have on the podcast Natalie James was always on the top of my list. I knew she had a story to tell but I didn't exactly know the details. Her sister-in-law, Dallas James was one my first podcast guests and when I asked Dallas what she thought about having Natalie on the show I received a very enthusiastic "Yes!" Now that I had the opportunity to sit down with Natalie and hear her story first hand. I feel like she blew away my pre-conceived notions of ...
May 26, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 18
This is the second part of a 2 part series with Tom Miller founder of Lifelight Fitness. So if you if you haven’t downloaded part 1, you need to stop what you’re doing and listen to the first half of my conversation with Tom. His story is incredible! Tom has a crazy and amazing story that is definitely filled with heartache and challenges, but it also is a story of overcoming. Overcoming addiction to drugs, overcoming addiction to alcohol and also overcoming a propensity to self-sabotage. I can’...
May 19, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 17
I was introduced to today’s podcast guest, Tom Miller, through a former No Ordinary Life guest, Rob Grupe – who incidentally you should check out it’s a great episode. After my podcast with Rob he said to me: "You have got to meet up with my friend Tom, he has an amazing story and one your listeners will really get a lot out of." Fast forward a month and I now have Tom on the show. And an amazing story it is! I think you’re going to love it. Here is his official bio: Coach Tom Miller has over 20...
May 12, 2019•51 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Leo and I met because the social media software company I worked for had acquired his company. I only confessed to him recently (actually on this podcast) that when he came in, I was immediately insecure about my job at the company. Only natural... Leo has a charismatic personality; people are drawn to him and, as you will hear on the podcast he’s got a ton of industry experience (that I didn’t have). That fact of the matter was I should never have feared for my job because as I discovered, he’s...
May 05, 2019•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 15
I first heard Rob Grupe’s story on Matt Del Negro’s podcast 10,000 No’s (which you all should be listening to as well) and was amazed by his story and what he has been able to overcome. Frankly, Rob’s story is a direct result of his own decisions as you will hear in the podcast. But through those mistakes Rob as taken ownership of them and has made a decision to learn from them and at the same time help others from what he’s learned. Rob and I get into his life documenting his drug addiction and...
Apr 21, 2019•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 14
I first met Cliff Prang about 7 years ago I think. My family and I were on a cross country adventure in our van from Toronto, Ontario to British Columbia. When we finally arrived at our first BC stop in Chilliwack we were introduced to Cliff and his wife. My impression is that Cliff and I hit off right away because of our mutual love of being silly and making people laugh. Not only does Cliff make me laugh he makes a lot of other people laugh too. Here is his official bio. Cliff Prang is a profe...
Apr 14, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Connect with me: IG : @no_ordinarylyfe FB : @NoOrdinaryLyfe Twitter : @NoOrdinaryLyfe Welcome everyone to the 12th anniversary of No Ordinary life. For those downloading for the first time you should know that this is not exactly the 12th anniversary but really the 12th episode. I have been interviewing people that are probably no different than you and me. They definitely all have their own situations or circumstances. Sometimes it’s occupations, but what I’m what I’m learning with talking to t...
Apr 07, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Dion was one of the first people I had ever met that worked with street people and the homeless and had a passion for it. That passion for the homeless and downtrodden led to a career of helping. Dion was the Mission Strategist for The Salvation Army’s 5 homeless shelters in Toronto, called Housing and Homeless Supports. He was also the founding director of the Salvation Army Gateway; a shelter for men experiencing homelessness. He has spent more than 25 years working among folks who are living ...
Mar 23, 2019•51 min•Season 1Ep. 11
With over 20 years in in the music business, Doug Romanow has got a healthy list of credits to his name. On top being a Record Producer, Mixer and Songwriter he’s also the Musical Director at the Canadian Country Music Awards. He’s worked with Justin Bieber, Johnny Reid, Chantal Kreviazuk, Divine Brown and Tyga just to name drop a few artists. You don’t survive being in the music business for 20 years by not being good at what you do. Doug is an in demand panelist at music conferences, including...
Mar 17, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 10
When I first started this podcast my goal wasn’t to be an advertisement for Muskoka Woods. My goal was to find people who were living interesting lives and making interesting decisions. Naturally the low hanging fruit for me was to reach out to my friends. As I made my list of people I wanted to interview, there was a large number of friends from Muskoka Woods over the years who just happened to be living really interesting lives. I figured I would start with them and like anything you have in c...
Mar 10, 2019•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Jeff Roach is a global brand consultant and strategic planner specializing in brand management, digital marketing, and marketing strategy. With over 20 years in advertising and marketing communications, Jeff has touched hundreds of brands. A veritable who’s who of big companies… with work for 3M, Alcatel, BlackBerry, Boost Mobile (Sprint), Blizzard Entertainment, Bubblicious (Cadbury), Coca-Cola, Coors, Coty, DC Comics, Durex, Energizer and the list goes on and on And while that’s all very impre...
Feb 24, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 8
I had the privilege of sitting down with Andrea Jacka at her kitchen table this week to talk about her life and the decisions she made to achieve no ordinary life. I discovered that she’s a genuine bad ass! I had no idea she had been in the military and then off course she hitch-hiked from BC to Alberta as a teenager! Seriously the things you learn about people! Andrea really is the energizer bunny. Honestly, I have never met anyone like her and her husband Rick. They are the most encouraging pe...
Feb 18, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Tad Munnings is an entrepreneur that has focused most of his life and career on filmmaking and telling stories through visual means. Living in Africa at young age was definitely fundamental in shaping his worldview and how he told stories to others. Starting off as a young filmmaker with dreams of making an impact on the world he quickly met the realities of what it means to be an artist and filmmaker but also a husband and father of 5 kids. Eventually he was able to not only combine his artisti...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Julie is a busy mother of 4, a doula, pre-natal educator, counsellor for young moms as well as a wife. If anyone I know has had ups and downs in their life it has been Julie. From overcoming drugs to surviving a suicide attempt along with watching her first born daughter endure 25 surgeries before 18 years old! She's an inspiring and charismatic woman who gives hope and encouragement to others and we hope this podcast will do the same for you!
Feb 04, 2019•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Mark Dowds is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Trov Inc, one of the world's fastest growing Insurtech companies and co-founder of tech hub, Ormeau Baths in Belfast Northern Ireland. Mark is as a serial entrepreneur as well as a super connector. I wanted to dig in to Mark’s mindset over the years after initially leaving Ireland to move to Canada for ministry, to San Francisco for business and most recently moving back home to Belfast. He’s made money, lost money, started companies and...
Jan 27, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Iain Lovatt is the newly elected mayor of Stouffville, a small town about 50 km’s north of Toronto, Ontario. He has also been a friend of mine for over 30 years. I’ve always known him to be not only an entrepreneur but also a creative. Ian is a charismatic leader with a great sense of humour and an energy to get things done! He and his wife Mary and their 3 children have lived in Stouffville, , since 2007. He has over 25-years of experience in youth work, charity and business management. While h...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 3
I speak with my good friend Dallas James from James Family Farms. Dallas has been a singer, traveler, mom, business woman a sailor and now entrepreneur. Join me for my interview with Dallas to see how she and her family are living @no_ordinarylyfe . Instagram: @jamesfamilyfarm Website: www.jamesfamilyfarm.ca...
Jan 13, 2019•50 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Welcome to the debut podcast of No Ordinary Life. NOL explores the success stories that we don’t actually get to hear about but should! Especially because it isn't a straight line between where you were, where you are and where you're going to be. Stories about ordinary people living extraordinary lives. People you may know but had no idea about the types of choices they’ve made in order to get to where they are. The risks that that they have taken and the decisions that they have made, so that ...
Dec 29, 2018•14 min•Season 1Ep. 1
