Helping children cope with back-to-school anxiety involves addressing their concerns, providing support, and creating a positive environment. It is important to encourage your child to express their feelings and concerns about going back to school. Listen actively without judgment and validate their emotions. Be approachable and create an open space for them to share their thoughts. Visit the school before the first day to familiarize your child with the environment. I recommend reintroducing a school-year routine a few weeks before school starts. Communicate the positive aspects of going back to school, such as reuniting with friends, learning new things, and engaging in fun activities. Involve your child in shopping for school supplies and picking out a backpack or lunchbox. This helps build excitement and a sense of readiness. Practice common school scenarios, such as introducing themselves, asking for help, or navigating the school building. This will help your child with back-to-school anxiety.

Valerie is a graduate of English and Japanese from U.C. Berkeley. Valerie has been in education for over 15 years. She has taught all age groups: pre-k, kinder, elementary, middle school, and high school. She has always wanted to be an educator from a young age and has taught English in Japan.

Valerie talks to me about her experience in Japan,  the U.S. educational system, and how it can be revitalized and back to school anxiety.

Walk me through what you learned in Japan and how that experience shaped you.

Flash forward to 2010, and I finally applied to an English language school in Japan – just before the Tohuku earthquake. I was accepted to teach at an English school in Nagoya, Japan. I worked there for a while and met great people. I learned a lot about how Japan teaches English to its students. It was a valuable experience, but I wanted to work at a school. That’s when I found the international school.

I spent about eight years in Japan. I served on the curriculum committee and taught children’s theatre, p.e., science, math, and English. It was a transformative experience for me. I became a teacher.

Our kindergarteners were reading at a third-grade reading level. They didn’t sit in chairs for extended periods either. They played. We danced. They wrote fun stories. I didn’t know children were capable of reading at such a young age, but they are.

Help me understand why you want to revitalize education and what part.

I returned to the United States in 2018. I was selected to open a school in Honolulu, so in 2018, I moved to Hawaii. I did everything from the ground up. I worked closely with licensing, hired the staff, and created the business paperwork. It was a challenging but rewarding experience. I met some great people. Unfortunately, in 2019, my mother fell ill, and I decided to move back to Los Angeles.

If you’re noticing the timeline, this happened just before Covid hit. In a way, I was lucky because I was in a unique position to earn my teaching credential during the lockdown. I appreciated all I learned in the credentialing program, but I think the education system in America is lacking.

I had some great mentors and met highly motivated colleagues in the program, many of whom are great teachers. There’s nothing wrong with the people who serve in education, but I think there is a problem with how we view education and the expectations for educators.

We (teachers) don’t ever stop working. That’s a generalization, but I am in many different teacher groups, and teachers are always asking about their students, ways to help them do this or that, ways to teach various ideas, and seeking support from parents. Teaching is a profession, a career.

I want to revitalize education, not just for teachers but for our society. In many ways, I don’t think we optimize learning for anything other than testing. We need to optimize learning (and teaching) for long-term retention.

At the same time, we change the way society views teachers. We have a unique skill set. We spend years training, and our training continues every year.

We need to reframe and energize education to revitalize it using what I’ve learned in Japan and in other countries I’ve studied.

How does reading help our children?

Reading enhances a child’s vocabulary, language skills, and comprehension abilities. According to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading to young children is critical for their language development and readiness for academic success. Additionally, reading fosters imagination and creativity. It opens up new worlds and perspectives, allowing children to explore different cultures, ideas, and emotions. Reading also improves concentration and discipline, as it requires focus and mental engagement. It is also a source of comfort and relaxation, offering a healthy escape and a way to manage stress.

You talk a lot about back-to-school anxiety. How can we help our children deal with anxiety?

Each school year brings a new set of challenges for children. Children experience separation anxiety and have anxiety over friendships and newness. If we recognize the signs early, we can get ahead of it, and help kids prepare for their new environment.

Establishing a routine before school starts and gradually adjusting bedtimes and meal times to match the school schedule will help children adjust.

Open communication is key. Encourage children to express their feelings and concerns. There are lots of books available for kids starting school. Reading them together can help alleviate stress and anxiety.

For example, parents and caretakers can take a tour of the school. Kids can see the school and maybe even meet their new teacher.

Parents can write a note for their kids and leave it in their lunchbox or prepare something special for snack time.

Additionally, maintaining a positive attitude about school and learning can be contagious; children often mirror the attitudes of adults around them.

Please tell me a little about the city you live in and the food scene.

I live in South Pasadena, CA. It’s retained the small-town feel, and I would say it’s pretty different from other areas.

You’ll find a range of cuisines, from traditional American to Asian, Mexican, and beyond. We have a great place that makes Japanese riceballs. We also have a family-owned Hawaiian restaurant. And pastries! We have excellent bakeries in South Pasadena!

The city hosts various farmers’ markets offering fresh, local produce. I go every Thursday. The food is delicious.

South Pasadena’s commitment to supporting local businesses means that many of these eateries are unique and offer a personal touch in their service and menu offerings. It’s a great place to visit.

In your own words, what does women’s empowerment mean to you?

Women’s empowerment means providing women with equal access to education, healthcare, employment, and political spaces. It’s not just about providing opportunities but also respecting and valuing women’s choices, whether in pursuing careers, raising families, or both.

Empowerment is also about giving women the tools and confidence to voice their opinions in all aspects of society. It’s a commitment to creating an environment where we recognize women’s rights as human rights.

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Volunteering is an act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. It is an act of giving yourself for the greater needs of the community.

I talk to Taras Kulish a lawyer in the charity sector about volunteering.

Taras brings over 20 years of experience to the Business Law Group at Mills & Mills LLP. Before joining the firm in 2020, Taras was for many years the chair of the Charity/Not-for-Profit and Intellectual Property groups at a well-known mid-sized firm in Toronto.

In the Charity sector, Taras has extensive hands-on experience as a director, president, Country Director, and now International Relations Volunteer for the Canadian affiliate of an international NGO, which gives him insider knowledge about the challenges facing not-for-profit organizations in today’s complex world. Taras represents numerous churches, mosques, synagogues, and other faith-based groups as well as many other foundations and service organizations in the not-for-profit sector in Ontario.

Taras is co-chair of the organizing committee and spearheads the annual Churches, Charities, Not-for-profit Knowledge Hub for Ukrainian Canadian Social Services – Toronto, Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association, and the Ukrainian Canadian Professional Business Association

Taras, please tell my audience a little about you and your volunteer work?

Let me start Jerry by thanking you for the opportunity‎ to share with your audience how I practice my faith and make a difference. This year has been a milestone year. My wife, Sandra, and I have just celebrated our 20th anniversary; and since October, I now live in a household with two teenage girls. It’s a good thing we have a boy hamster named Jack Henry! As well, this is my 25th year practicing law and since Day 1, I have been involved in the charity sector helping organizations serve their community.

As a lawyer you do a lot of work for non-profits and charities tell us little about that as a volunteer?

I was lucky to start off as a first-year lawyer with a small Christian law firm in the GTA. I started working on foundations for evangelical Christian charities – the very first one was a children’s foundation. Over the years, as I grew in my career, I kept working with community-based charities and not-for-profit sports organizations. I really started to focus on this area as my involvement as a volunteer grew with HOPE worldwide Canada, first as a director in 2000, then as the President, and later Country Director. This experience gave me a great deal of hands-on, real-world experience to understand the challenges faced by a charity. Because of my legal training, I gravitated to all the legal work in the organization especially the international agreements required when an organization runs programs overseas or assists in disaster recovery. Now, I run an annual conference that attracts over 100 attendees and growing called Knowledge Hub for churches, charities, and not for profits. ‎My father always used to say, “The community is the most important thing.” I have been privileged to work with many organizations that do good work in their communities.

What drives you to help people in Ukraine as a volunteer?

Through HOPE worldwide Canada, I started out as a volunteer in international disaster recovery in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010; in the Philippines after Hurricane Haiyan; and in Ivory Coast after the Civil War. When the war in Eastern Ukraine first exploded on the international scene in 2014, I started to think about how we could help. My mentor at HOPE worldwide, Dr. Mark Ottenweller, would tell me frequently that after a disaster, whether man-made or natural, it is always the children who are left behind, not cared for, and who need the most help. Mark impressed upon me that the niche of HOPE worldwide was in helping children with their psycho-social needs post-disaster. So, when the conflict in Ukraine had not stopped by March 2015, I woke up one day with the following thought in my mind: “It is time”. Time to put to good use my skills as a lawyer, my experience as the International Relations Officer,  and my Ukrainian heritage and volunteer. So, I got in touch with my colleague at HOPE worldwide Ukraine, Vladimir Yermakov, and we brainstormed for a month, got input from some excellent people in our organization in Canada, the Philippines, and the USA, and created a Trauma Therapy program to help children in Ukraine who were suffering from war trauma. What drives me to help is knowing that when we help children, we help their future and ours.  ‎In June 2017, I visited Ukraine for HOPE worldwide Canada and went to a children’s recovery/therapy camp outside of Kyiv, the capital. We drove from Kyiv to Lviv to meet with the director of the Trauma Centre at the Ukrainian Catholic University since they trained our lead therapists and oversee the therapy program content. On our drive, we stopped at Dubno for a few hours and got to see the town where my father grew up and lived before, he was taken by the Nazis by train to Germany with all the able-bodied people from the town to work as slave labor during the War. That’s another reason why I am compelled to help the children of Ukraine as a volunteer – the people of my father’s generation did not have the chance to receive the kind of help we are able to provide.

Walk me down your own journey to faith and how has that changed you?

Well, I come from a mixed-faith background. My father is a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian and my mother is Jewish. She converted to my father’s religion when they were married so when I was young, I attended the Ukrainian church. The problem is that my parents got divorced when I was 5 years old, so I never really learned Ukrainian. Going to a Ukrainian language church was not cutting it for me. Also, because I came from a multi-generational divorce-affected family, I somehow knew that I needed God in my life if I was to have any chance of staying married. My mother also had a strong influence on me as her Christian faith grew over her life and she impressed on me the importance of being “equally yoked”, meaning it is important to be married to a Christian spouse. So, in my early thirties, at a time when I was looking to deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, I met Stuart Carmichael. He arranged for me to have a series of bible studies that led me to come to certain convictions about ‎God that changed my life around 180 degrees. Shortly after I placed membership with the Montreal Church of Christ, I was introduced to Sandra, and the rest is history! 

Has becoming a husband and father changed you as a person?

Sure! First, getting married was a dream come true – like heaven on earth! But of course, not without challenges over the years that we overcome through our faith and support from friends at church. I am lucky to have Sandra as my best friend and partner – she is such an accomplished person and she really keeps me and my girls on our toes! Becoming a father has also been a remarkable experience and journey. I guess these two events have changed me most as a person because you always have to think about other people, not just yourself, in particular, my wife and her thoughts and needs.  I still don’t have the winning formula for this! So, I’m fortunate that my girls and my wife are forgiving and put up with me!   

Give me some tips on how you handle your household finances?

I listen to my wife! Sandra is a very good manager of our resources and we live within our means. Sandra always looks for ways to optimize what we have. In the first few years of our marriage, we aggressively paid down debt (all mine from University and a private loan). Then we got rid of our mortgage in record time. This helped us get through some leaner years later on. My mother was also very frugal, having grown up in post-war England during food rationing. As a single mother in Canada, she used these skills and her entrepreneurial business acumen to keep our family clothed and fed. Growing up with this approach, it became easier to transition to marriage and family life and live within our means. Don’t get me wrong, it can still be a challenge to not give in to consumerism – my weakness would not be electronics or sports toys, but a nice new shirt and tie or some shoes! 

As a lawyer how do you balance faith finance family, volunteer work and good food?

Hmmm – I’m not sure whether being a lawyer makes it easier or harder to balance these different baskets! The charity work I do as a volunteer and as a legal professional probably helps me to be grounded and connected. It’s easier to connect emotionally with people about this side of my life and practice as opposed to another of my areas of specialty like trademark law. As a family, we try to find balance by living within our means so that financial pressures do not overwhelm faith, food, and family. My Granny always used to say, “Debt collectors can wait; but you must never scrimp on food to eat.” I also try to be connected with several guys in the church and have to work that into my obligations as a lawyer. Sometimes I invite friends from church to networking events to have a “wingman”. I am also mentoring a fellow from a church who wants to enter the legal profession. In addition, by working together on some volunteer projects for HOPE worldwide in Canada, I also get connected with people from church and others in the community. Volunteering is an area where the boundary between being a lawyer and Joe Christian is harder to discern. However, when I am doing something like flipping burgers at a community BBQ or giving backpacks to the kids at a Youth Academy program, Mr. Lawyer is not even in the room‎ – and I like that!

I really believe in the adage that “To whom much is given, much is expected”. So that is one reason why I have given countless volunteer hours over the years to local programs and international disaster recovery. As a lawyer, I am the black sheep of my family! My mother and sister are artists and my father was a musician. So, I have some artistic tendencies and that gets expressed mostly when I cook. I am also learning to play guitar and just started a year ago – it’s a good way to relax! The hours I work are longer, so it takes faith to be able to cut off the day and not worry about the work still left to be done -it will be there in the morning, but my family needs me in the evening.

Tell me a little about Ukrainian food and some of the dishes I should try?

Ukrainian food is simple, hearty, East European food, meant to fill you up so you can go out and do a hard day’s work. There are lots of stews, cabbage, and potatoes. Everyone knows about perogies and sausage. Try Chicken Kyiv one day! Or come over to my house and I’ll make you a traditional cabbage stew with sausages! If you want, we can break out my traditional Ukrainian cookbook and cook an entire Ukrainian-themed dinner, including beet soup (borshch) and beet salad. When I was in Ukraine, I tried “salo”, which is 100% cured pig fat, an inch thick – eat it like that with a pickle, onion, and a whole clove of raw garlic! It’s not for everyone, but I liked it and my friend Vladimir said, “now you are really Ukrainian!”

You have so much on your plate, why decide to go into politics?

Politics is something I was drawn to, probably for the same reason, I became a lawyer. I ran for Toronto City Council in 2014 and 2018. Sure, I have a lot on my plate, but I felt I could contribute to the community and bring good community programs, the same type that we learned to create in HOPE worldwide Canada, as the Youth Academy. At the same time, I saw a lot of waste and duplication in government and believed I could make a difference – after all, I was raised by a single mother who had survived the War!

Tell me a good lawyer joke.

People who know me – well they know that I can take a short joke and turn it into a 45-minute story! So, if you want to hear my best lawyer joke, you’ll have to come to my house to make that cabbage stew!

What’s the difference between God and a lawyer? God doesn’t think He’s a lawyer.

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Kylie is a personal trainer, fitness nutritionist specialist, and mother. She is a firm believer in women empowering themselves and to practice intentional living. This intentional living is a blessing that gives you the power to nourish your body and soul and to thrive with self-love, self-worth, and confidence. It will make you radiant in every area of life.

Kylie, tell me something unique and different about you?

I love journaling! I once heard someone say, “Wisdom lies in the questions, not the answers.” It is through journaling that I truly understood how powerful questions are. The prompts in journals always set me off into deep thoughts and reflections, uncovering so many insights and clarity. Journaling has expanded my views and guided me to give thoughts on critical issues and aspects of life that I normally wouldn’t have given much attention to. So, I am constantly on a lookout for good journals!

I love the word empowering and intentional living. Talk to me about how you use it in your practice?

To bring health and nutrition effortlessly into your life, it’s crucial that we look at your life in its entirety rather than just solely nutrition. You are a real person with a career to excel in, family to raise, and passions to pursue. Your life doesn’t revolve just around nutrition. It’s not realistic to focus only on nutrition and neglect other aspects of your life. Merging intentional living with nutrition will allow these two components to sync and flow seamlessly; rather than trying to fit things in haphazardly. Intentional living is integrated through journaling components in the Nutrition Blueprint that my clients will be crafting.

Talking about empowerment, there are many ways to empower oneself. There are also many ways people give up their power unknowingly. In the case of nutrition, some of us change and compromise our lifestyle to adhere to meal plans or diets. We are giving up our rights to live life the way we desire and often end up feeling miserable. Education is one way of empowering yourself to take your power back but there’s a catch.

Knowledge is important but the ability to apply this knowledge safely, effectively and consistently is critical. True empowerment through education is achieved when you combine knowledge with skillsets to implement them. Information alone seldom leads to results. You can buy as many meal plans, fitness plans or courses as you like. If you don’t work on them consistently or if you don’t apply them appropriately, nothing will work.

It’s not my practice to give my clients a meal plan or diet and ask them to “Follow this and don’t deviate.” I equip my clients with essential nutrition knowledge, so they know the reason why they are doing something. They will know the purpose of every step and action plan. It will never be a case of “doing it for the sake of doing” without understanding. I also develop their skillsets to implement nutrition principles so that nutrition flow into their life and is sustainable. These skillsets will also work for other aspects of their life, be it picking up a new hobby or a new habit. Combining knowledge, skills, and clarity, my clients will truly be empowered. They can confidently make adjustments and be flexible about how they integrate nutrition principles into their life.

What kind of a coach are you? I like that you say if someone is looking for a quick fix then you are not the right fit.

I’m a firm believer that it’s not what you do that matters, it’s whether you can do it consistently. No matter how small the action is, if you can do it consistently, you will see results. Most importantly, it will last. Never undermine the power of small, consistent actions. Quick fixes may give you great results, but if it’s not a lifestyle that you can keep up in the long run, the results won’t last. You will go back to where you began and start over again and again. It becomes a vicious cycle that repeats indefinitely. You will be deflated and feel like a total failure even when it’s not exactly your fault. It’s just a fact that quick fixes are not meant to yield long-term sustainable results.

I know life is busy and can be messy, which may be the reason why quick fixes seem so attractive. No matter which stage you are in your health journey, I will meet you where you are. Together we will work with your lifestyle, your schedule, your level of ability, your resources, your environment, your preferences, etc. It’s about integrating things in a harmonious manner rather than forcing nutrition into their life.

Walk me through your struggles with motherhood, what changed and how are you a different person?

I have had several health issues that I needed to deal with postpartum. Juggling motherhood and health issues were tough. I constantly felt guilty when I needed to take some time off for myself. I also felt like a failure when I couldn’t manage the daily responsibilities of taking care of a newborn, housework, etc. I crumbled under the stress. I knew I had to work through those struggles but there was no clear solution.

On a random day when I was observing my child fumbling with her toys and trying to figure out how the toy works, I had a sudden realization. I felt so much joy seeing her explore. Even when she made a mistake, I would still cheer her on. We are so forgiving towards babies who are learning and yet we are so harsh on ourselves when falling short on our own expectations and mistakes. That moment, I knew how I can work things out. That is to act from a place of love.

I stopped picking on my shortcomings. I reminded myself that I am still learning as a first-time mother and patient. I focused on my strengths and what I can do best for my child and my health. I cheered myself on, just like how I cheered my child on. With this approach, my blind spots slowly surfaced. It’s like I’m learning about myself all over again. I’ve re-learned so many values and mind-sets together with my child.

Since then, I see myself as a student of life, always learning and growing. Challenges are lessons that life uses to nurture and teach us. It’s ok to stumble and fall, just like a baby falls while learning to walk. It’s also important to have some form of a self-care routine to help you rest and rejuvenate. It’s only when you are in a great space mentally and physically will you be able to give your 100%. It’s true to say, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

We are living fast lives and never slowing down at the expense of our health and nutrition. Give me a more realistic way as to how we can approach this?

In this hectic world, we are constantly multitasking and even operating on auto-pilot mode. It’s no wonder so many of us are burned-out and stopped noticing the little things in life. It may even sound daunting to allocate time for health and nutrition.

Truth is, we don’t need big and extreme actions to improve our health and nutrition.

Remember we discussed small consistent actions earlier on? Here’s how you can approach it:

1. Decide on an area you would like to improve on or a goal you would like to achieve.
2. List down actions that you think will help you in reaching that goal.
3. Pick one action you are confident in implementing successfully.
4. Ask yourself if the action is small enough to be acted on consistently on a daily basis.
   1. If yes, decide how exactly you are going to do it and then do it!
   2. If no, think about how you can break that action down into smaller steps that can be acted on consistently every day.
5. Once you feel comfortable and are able to act on this action consistently, you can repeat the process to select another action.

The key is to make that step small, easy and quick to do. It may be as simple as drinking one extra glass of water every day or doing a 5 minutes’ stretch every morning. As long as you can do it consistently, you are doing great! You can download the cheat sheet here for quick reference.

If I hire you as a coach, can I go to Mcdonalds, have a coke, and eat ice cream?

Yes, you can! In fact, McDonald’s’ is my favorite fast-food chain. I love their Fillet-O-Fish burger, French fries, and Hot Fudge Sundae! Adhering to any particular diet or cutting out any food category is not necessary unless it is due to a medical condition or required by your medical doctor. There’s no “bad” or “good” food. It’s how we eat and how much we eat that matters. In excessive quantity, even beneficial nutrients like Vitamin A can become toxic.

Talk to me about the city you live in. I want to know the food scene and the amazing restaurants and why should we visit?

I’m from the sunny island of Singapore! It’s summer all year round over here. If you love the sun and beach, our island is the perfect travel destination.

Food Centres are where the locals usually go for our daily meals. There’s a wide range of tasty food selection, all at affordable prices. The best part is you can enjoy Michelin Starred food at the Food Centres without breaking the bank! Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is possibly the most famous chicken rice in Singapore. Its flagship stall is at Maxwell Food Centre. American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once commented that the rice from Tian Tian is exceptionally fragrant, flavorsome, and is delicious on its own. There was an exciting “Hawker Heroes Challenge” in 2013 which Gordon Ramsay took part in and lost out to Tian Tian. So be sure to try Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice when you visit Singapore!

The post Practice Intentional Living appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Anu Bidani is the CEO of STEM MINDS (a BCorp certified Social Enterprise) and Inno-Hive, an Innovative Learning Community – Not-For-Profit), two companies that focus on shaping the future of education by transforming learning experiences for both children and adults. STEM Minds is on a mission to empower youth to become fearless leaders by developing agility and a love of learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). She believes in creating our future leaders, game changers, and problem-solvers to build a better, more agile society for future generations. With a dedicated teaching staff, a state-of-the-art learning environment, research, and development center, and a network of strategic partnerships, she has built both these businesses that are successfully expanding the reach and impact of education to all children!

Inno-Hive, an Innovative Learning Community, is a not-for-profit focused on supporting communities to innovate for skill-building regardless of age or geographic boundaries.

She is a passionate innovator, leader, revenue generator and entrepreneur with solid experience as a corporate executive where she witnessed the evolution and impact of accelerated technology changes on business processes from a Corporate lens. Her passion for innovation served as the catalyst for repeated successes in optimizing emerging business models to deliver agile profitability and value. With vetted expertise in the areas of strategy, product development, solutions development, project delivery, information security, and audit, Anu has built a solid foundation for her two entrepreneurial ventures – STEM MINDS and Inno-Hive, an Innovative Learning Community. She is also an SHEEO activator and supports other women entrepreneurs in their journey of following their passion.

Anu welcome to my series on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Tell my audience a little about you.

I am a mom of 2 boys who inspired me to embrace my entrepreneurial venture Stem Minds after a 20+ Corporate career. I enjoy traveling, cooking, and challenging myself to new intellectual possibilities. I consider myself a fearless learner where the glass is always full. I believe in the power of positive thinking so miracles can happen. For me, integrity and authenticity are two ingredients that make me who I am and what I do.

You had a successful career as an executive in one of the banks. Why start a business?

After a successful career as a senior executive, I wanted more out of life. Everyone talks about their purpose and calling and I needed to find mine. When I left my job in 2015, I didn’t want to do the same. So, in search of my purpose and challenging myself I decided to solve a personal problem of inspiring my children to love STEM. In this journey, I have found the joy in inspiring children to love STEM. My business STEM Minds caters to this passion through a holistic STEM learning experience with hands-on activities. I have a state-of-the-art facility with 3D printers, laser cutters, robots, drones, virtual reality, and much more which makes learning fun, impactful, and sustainable.

Talk to me a little about STEM?

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math – STEM is a very important field to build skills in for the jobs of tomorrow. These fields enforce critical thinking, problem-solving, and many other 21st century skills that are innate to digital competencies that are required for success. These cannot be optional in a child’s learning portfolio but mandatory so they are prepared for what will be expected of them as they grow.

What are the future goals and expansion plans?

I am very excited about launching our Online platform – SMOA with gamification, virtual reality, and AI so children can enjoy formal learning at school and home through various toolsets. We are launching SMOA both nationally in Canada and in the USA. We are also working on some strategic partnerships to bring our programming into more school boards. We are working on academic research on our approach to blended learning through online tools in the classroom as well as accessibility in STEM for visually impaired youth. So, lots of exciting things happening at Stem Minds – stay tuned for the evolution!

Help me understand the good, bad, and ugly side of being an entrepreneur?

The good side is – I love the freedom and picking what I want to do when I want to do with no submissions of business cases! I enjoy the freedom to try things out without fear of failure.

The ugly side is that there is no segregation of work life and home life. Sometimes it interferes with the quality time I want to spend with my family but I also have to balance the responsibilities of running a business and supporting a team. So, time is always premium.

What are the skill sets required to be an entrepreneur?

In my mind three most important characteristics of being a successful entrepreneur are:

• fearless learner – you need to keep pushing yourself to learn new things whether it be about your product, customers or markets
• resilience – you need to know that you can get up and move forward every time you fall
• grit – courage to take risks without fear of consequences

My daughter is 14 and sometimes scared of math, science, and engineering. What advice would you give her?

I would tell her to be a fearless learner as we can learn anything if we put our minds to it. Even though math, science, engineering may seem scary, just remember that fear is only in your mind. Give yourself the opportunity to try building skills in these fields in your own way. If you enjoy fashion then wearable tech may be something to explore which combines fashion with coding. If you enjoy art then digital art, graphic designing are options to consider. There are lots of choices you just need to be open to learning.

Walk me through the steps of opening a business, like bootstrapping, business plans, market, competitive advantage, core competence, increasing footprint, and finding a niche?

For me opening a business requires planning and thought if you want it to be sustainable. Plan your finances – you may need a 3-year runway before you get a paycheque. Planning conservatively creates less chaos and panic.

New businesses generally have to be self-funded as there is not much financing available. So, plan to be lean and optimize your resources. Investing in automation to simplify processes is impactful.

You need to know the drivers behind your business, what pain points are you addressing and who is your real client. Understand the competitive landscape and find your unique value proposition.

I am a planned entrepreneur so I spend time building my business plan, financial models, key metrics for monitoring, documenting process flows, and procedures. I invested in these processes so I can grow without dependency on a few people, including myself. My staff can run my business without my presence. If you plan your business that way you have time to be a real CEO with vision, strategy, and forward-thinking.

It is important to find mentors, coaching, and other help to keep you on track. How did you achieve this?

I think mentoring and coaching are important. Having someone to talk to you about your ideas, being held accountable allow you to be better at execution and performance.

I did this by having a leadership coach when I really needed to push my performance. I joined network groups like SheEO and GroYourBiz to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. All of this gave me a safe place to grow and be my best.

Talk to me about your hiring process and what you look for and how you motivate your staff?

I hire based on potential. I have an awesome team, who is passionate about what they do. I motivate them through empowerment and trust. I know they will always do their best and if mistakes happen it is okay as this is part of growing and learning.

Give my viewers advice on balancing the family? 

Balance is all about deliberate choices. I don’t think there is anything like balance. It is setting your priorities and making choices.

The family should always come first so always make time. Time flies by fast so you want to make the best of it and cherish the moments.

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What is the meaning of life?

I have known Mayple Dorrington since I started my career at Scotia Bank. Mayple was Director, Communications and Change Management at Scotia Bank.  Mayple recently wrote a book called Finding: The Oasis in my Soul. It is a journal, an encouraging journey through the spectrum of real-life experiences of trials and triumphs. As you read her book, you can relate to it. You will see a reflection of your own experiences. The book asks some relevant questions about having an empty void within us, do we have doubts about our gifts, weaknesses,  our purpose, and our identity?

I am a big fan of gratitude, and this book challenges my thinking to transform my mind and to get a deeper conviction of love and purpose in my life. If you are struggling with insecurity, fear, uncertainty, or anxiety, get the book, become empowered, lead an authentic life, and transform yourself into what you are intended to be.  This is the first of a two-part interview.

Mayple, a true honor to have you talk to four columns. Tell my audience a little bit about you?

Jerry, firstly I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in your blog. I’m deeply honored to be having this dialogue with you and your audience.

Born on the beautiful island of Jamaica I grew up in a happy, loving family cushioned in a viable business environment.   The business became a casualty following the aftermath of the 1970s economic downturn in my country and the outcome later triggered my family’s immigration to another beautiful country, Canada. With a business mindset, I later pursued that area of study and embarked on an amazing career in the financial industry that spanned 3 continents with direct access to over 27 countries.  Alongside my banking occupation of choice, I am an author and a motivational speaker.  My professional designations include an economist, chartered banker, high school teacher and a personal financial planner.

I am a devout Christian who anchored my beliefs, decisions, and hope in the power of the risen Jesus Christ.  With my teaching discipline, I constantly volunteer my skills for mentoring and coaching and by my mentees’ own admission, I have the knack to identify, develop and empower countless persons in reaching their personal goals.

Having said that, my passion is primarily centered around the relationships I forged working with people drawn from across the globe and living in the most multicultural city in the world. Through these experiences, I learned how to coexist with people, understand their behaviors, outlook, and preferences, and dispense greater tolerance, acceptance, and compassion in helping others. An area that keeps me growing is to intentionally embrace the power of mindfulness. This awareness constantly provokes and inspires me to challenge my mind, peel away layers of obscurity, to look deeper and wider for insights toward the path in finding truths.

Finding: The oasis in my soul. It is an intense name for a book. How did the book come about? What is the main message? Who is the audience? What is unique and different about the message?  

Jerry, there’s lots to unpack here… yes,  the name is indeed intense. You may notice I deliberately said “Finding” and not “Find” or “Found” because it’s a journey, not a destination. My book chronicles an inspiring journey through the lens of my real-life experiences of trials and triumphs and using what I have been through to come to a place of what I now know for sure.

Strangely the genesis of my book was drawn from my wanderlust nature.  Traveling to many countries, living amongst diverse nationalities, and conversing with numerous people from different walks of life, age, and outlook; hearing their stories, the many dreams realized, the hardships overcame, and bouncing back from mistakes, I realized how much we all have in common.

I wrote the book to expose our human commonality and to express how I cultivate the power to confront and stare down the debilitating state of uncertainty, worry, and fear.  How like myself, we can overcome our shortcomings and elevate our talents and self-worth to be the best.

During my speaking engagements, after sharing my story, which is often intertwined with slices from the lives of many others, seeing the visceral reaction of agreement from my diverse audience, I validated how we all want to feel valued, loved, and accepted. The main point is to have a positive self-image of not who I am, but who God intended me to be.  How I claim truth and confidence from the backdrop of biblical examples of trust, faith, and obedience.  Each chapter illustrates a meaningful life experience, which is brutally frank about what I learned, the impact of the practical application, and my spiritual transformation. Each reader will walk away with valuable nuggets to build their confidence and self-worth.

My core objective and the key message are to challenge the readers’ thinking and arouse a sense of gratitude, wonder, and introspection, allowing us to draw from an ever-renewing Oasis where we can replace worry, fear, and doubt with the joyful assurance of God’s promises and faithfulness.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive that this is exactly the response it evokes. I painted a graphic picture of my experiences, whether illness, a hero to zero career moves, friendship betrayal, family choices, to be transformed, to come to a place of rest, not a place of stop, but resting on the dependence and assurance of God’s love while seeking new adventures to spread my wings.  The overarching message may not be unique or different, but it’s worth reinforcing to keep us building self-awareness on how we can draw inspiration and hope from seemingly common encounters and events in our lives. It about seeing and acknowledging God’s love and handiwork in all aspects of our lives.

Explain to me what does women’s empowerment means to you?    

Empowerment is about acting on my own volition, having options, having the autonomy to make choices.  Really, Jerry, it’s to emancipate me from the sense of powerlessness, to become self-determined, being able to take charge of my life by owning my decisions, circumstances, hopes, and dreams, growing stronger, wiser, and more confident.

Having said that, for me, I do not believe women’s empowerment is independent of the influence of men. I strongly believe men and women were created with different, but complementary traits. When working in unity, we unleash the freedom to both look outward, naturally curious in opening ourselves to the universe, feeling supported to take risks, and to reimagine possibilities based on the imagery of how to think, rather than the limitation of what to think.

I have countless examples of gender neutrality during brainstorming, problem-solving, and trouble-shooting that delivered the optimum results, mainly because women are allowed the latitude, civility, and respect to explore and articulate their thoughts without judgment or fear. This type of liberation allows me to embrace and benefit from a diversity of thoughts; to see ideas from various points of view, despite differences reaching common ground, by filtering everything through what is pleasing to God. Why, because like all good things, true and authentic empowerment comes from honoring the will of God.

I am a big fan of being authentic and leading a transparent life. Help me understand what you mean by living an authentic life?    

Yes, Jerry, authentic and transparent are two buzz words presently tossed around a lot! Irrespective of the scholarly definition, at the core, this is about living one’s truth, what we know for sure, which can be shaped by our many experiences.

For me, it is when my values and beliefs are compatible with the integrity of my doctrine, actions, and words. It’s about self-awareness, knowing myself at a deep level, accepting my multi-faceted traits, my strengths, and imperfections; having the desire to continuously grow as I reconcile my good, bad and ugly qualities, which are common to all of us. I find that oftentimes, with increasing societal pressure, we lean into what the world prescribed as a success.  Whether to gain wealth, fame, alter our appearance or job aspiration, we can compromise who we are created to be which often leads to self-loathing, and unhappiness.

To justify my point, let’s take a look at the billions in revenue generated from cosmetic industries, fake content, scamming, Ponzi schemes, and the like. You see, in our humanness, our hearts are deceitful, full of pride, and can easily trap us in a state of denial and falseness to elevate ourselves. I am not immune to this pretense, but growing in spiritual maturity and wisdom, I try to be deliberate in not allowing this malignant state to frighten or paralyze me, but to be powered by my dependence on the spirit God graciously places within us.  As I summon the courage to live from a place of acceptance, growth, humility, and inner peace, only then, I can be the best expression of myself, which will be evident to impact others as I attract, influence, and sustain meaningful relationships.

The post Mayple Dorrington: Finding the Meaning of Life appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Parenting is not easy.

Becoming a parent is one of the toughest things I have done in my life. It is also the most fulfilling thing I have done in my life. I am the father of a teenager. It does not come with a manual.  I have made many mistakes. I have also learned a lot of lessons.

Leanne Cabral, author of A Parent’s Best Gift, talks about parenting, parenting skills, parenting styles, and gives us unique parenting tips.

Leanne, please tell my audience a little about you?

I am a mother, author, speaker, and coach who loves to inspire and equip others to build a living legacy of faith by chasing after the things that matter most. I have a passion for equipping parents as they navigate the awesome task of passing faith on to their children. I encourage parents to make their invisible faith tangible so they can intentionally point their kids to Jesus and build a living legacy of enduring faith. I am married to James and a mom to four teens/emerging adults. I recently released my first book, A Parent’s Best Gift, which is available on Amazon.

Tell us about your book A Parent’s Best Gift?

The best gift we can give our kids is to live our lives in such a way that they know who Jesus is and understand His incredible love for them. While many understand this task, in theory, most of us struggle to practice applying this in everyday life. A Parent’s Best Gift reveals this process, equipping parents with tools and strategies that are simple, applicable, and absolutely doable. Discover freedom, direction, and intentionality as you begin to see this magnificent task broken down into manageable bitesize pieces. I truly believe we all want to be the parents God has called us to be and cultivate faith in our kids that takes root and grows.

Why did you write this book and tell me about your journey as a parent?

This book emerged out of my own quest to figure out a few things as a Mom. I knew that I would be held accountable for how I lived out my faith and pointed my kids to Jesus. I was desperate to find out how to do this in the chaos of everyday life. Questions like how do you make an invisible faith visible and tangible, or How do I teach my kids to pray and to hear God’s voice… drove me. This sent me on quite a journey out of which a 10-talk series emerged as well as a book. What I learned on the journey was that as parents, we are all hungry for the same information… whether you come from a legacy of faith or you are a first-generation believer, we desperately want to be the parents God has called us to be, we just don’t always know-how. This book is about the obstacles that entangled me as the Lord began to deal with my own warped views of Him and myself and then moves into how to get started to create the legacy of faith that you want to build. The last part of the book which is the largest is a practical guide on how to cultivate specific areas of spiritual development within your family, like prayer or hear God, in the chaos of everyday life. I wrote the book I desperately wanted but couldn’t find it.

You call parenting the toughest assignment why?

I call it a sacred assignment, our main thing. With all the good things calling our name we often get distracted and clouded by lesser things and we respond to the tyranny of the urgent instead of intentionally doing the things we actually value most.

Define intentional parenting?

Most of us in parenting are reactive. We respond to the things that come our way … the things that appear urgent but may not actually be. An intentional parent is proactive, knowing what they value and what they want to focus on and cultivate within their family. They have created a family mission statement so that they are very clear on what they stand for as a family and what they want to be known for. They weigh every opportunity against their mission statement so that they can weed out all the good things calling their name and focus on the great things for their family. They create a plan and carve out time to implement what they value.

Give me four practical tips to be a great parent?

Pray

Create a Family Mission Statement. Figure out what you really value as a family – what you want to be known for so you can make your best decisions

Be present … put the distractions down (phone, computer, TV)

Start date nights with your kids where you spend at least one hour of uninterrupted time alone with one child.

I have a 16-year-old. Should I be a father to her or a friend? What are the difference and the result?

Your primary role is to model Jesus to her in your own life and point her to Him. Love and prayer are our most valuable tools.

How is food, faith, finance, and family connected?

They are all ingredients needed for a healthy family and healthy relationships – they need to be stewarded well.

Food – What you put in your body matters, the healthier the food, the healthier the body.

Faith – It is the main thing… none of the others matter if this one isn’t a priority. All the rest will flow out of this.

Finances – We must start from the place of knowing that all we have comes from God, we are simply given the task of stewarding it well.

Family – This is where all the magic happens. It is where faith is lived out in the majesty and in the messiness of life. This is what matters most… how we steward the kids entrusted to us and how we point them to Jesus. It’s in the seemingly mundane and ordinary where faith and faithfulness are cultivated. It’s our primary mission field.

How do you find a balance with the above in this busy world?

We have chosen to intentionally live life at a slower pace for that exact reason… So, we have enough time and margin to focus on what really matters to us and our family. In a world that moves so quickly, we live a slowed-down life where there is room for our soul to breathe and respond to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit.

The post Secrets to Successful Parenting appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

I’m thrilled to welcome Chris Vacher to today’s conversation. With over 20 years of experience serving in leadership roles—including Executive Pastor and church consultant—Chris brings a unique blend of strategic insight and coaching expertise to the table.

He’s the founder of Chris Vacher Leadership Solutions, through which he empowers mission-driven teams to move from confusion to clarity and confidence using his proven “Team360” methodology—holistic leadership coaching, performance assessment, and transformative team workshops

Chris tell my global audience a little about you.

I know your blog audience is global so it’s probably important to say I’m Canadian! Sonya and I have been married 15 years, we have 4 kids and live just east of Toronto. Since 2005 I’ve worked full-time in churches involved in everything on the creative side and also leadership. I’m currently pursuing my Master’s in Leadership and I’m a huge fan of coffee! 

Explain what is a worship pastor and what is your role in that.

So, anyone who is a pastor is responsible for shepherding people as part of a local church congregation. Worship pastors do that mostly through what happens in the worship services – the music, prayers, communion, readings, and the design of the service itself. I became a Christian in high school and because I was very musical, I got involved in leading worship right away, not knowing it would be a huge focus of my life for the next 20 years. 

How important is music in the service?

How important is food to a meal? Music is this amazing shared human experience that crosses cultures, generations, geography and every other thing that divides us. Every person is not necessarily musical but every person is impacted by music. And since the beginning of time music has been part of religious services. The Bible also reminds us that music is part of the eternal worship service happening in heaven!

The musical part of our worship service helps us focus on God, helps build our faith, helps encourage people around us, and reminds us that we’re part of a larger community than my own isolated experience. 

We have so many songs to choose from, why add new songs and songwriters?

Great question! Every song was once a new song that was written out of that time’s unique celebrations and challenges. So why not today? God is always at work in new and fresh ways so let’s write songs that help to tell that story. (By the way, God also works in faithful and consistent ways which is why we continue to sing songs from previous generations.

Another big reason is that we can’t help it! People are created in the image of a God who creates.. we carry with us this creative spirit as part of our identity. God created out of nothing but we get to take words, notes, rhythm, and patterns and create songs that have never existed before. The songwriters that I work with at Sanctus are some of the most creative people I’ve ever met who have decided to dedicate this creative work we’re doing to God.

Tell me about your own music, creativity, mindset, and your experience in creative leadership.

Both of my parents were music teachers so music has always been a significant part of my life. Piano lessons, a huge record collection, trips to the symphony with my mom and so many more examples I could tell you. When I was 12 or 13, we started to realize that there was some musical ability that could really become the focus of my life if I was passionate about it and dedicated to the craft. Music has opened so many doors in my life from friendships to education to travel and so much more.

Creativity for me is expressed in many ways. I think solving an organizational challenge requires just as much creativity as writing a song. Creativity is more a recognition of who I am (and who you are!) and less about a specific skill set or special superpowers. I believe that everyone is creative. There really is no such thing as “creative.” Look at 3-year-olds. Have you ever seen a 3-year-old who is not creative? Of course not. Over time that side of who we are transforms and we lose some of that understanding.

By the way, this doesn’t mean that every person is an artist. Creativity and artistry are not the same things. An artist is someone who has given decades of their life to mastering a particular craft that requires an incredible amount of creative skill. Everyone is creative but not everyone is an artist.

Leadership has been an interesting journey for me, mostly because for a long time I thought that artists couldn’t be leaders. Not true, of course. Over the last 10 years, I’ve learned how to take my creative experience and my leadership ability and combine those. Of course, I’m still growing with that but I think I’ve got an interesting and unique history that allows me to speak to different groups of people in different ways. Leading more creative-minded people and helping more leadership-minded people think creatively bring me so much joy!

Give me three practical pieces of advice on how to be a great husband, an amazing father, and manage finances.

Great husband – Go away with your wife without kids twice a year. It doesn’t need to be fancy, and it never has been for us! Put those dates on the calendar and commit to being together, just the two of you, for even 48 hours. It makes a huge difference.

Amazing father – My kids are 13, 11, 10, and 8 so I have zero advice to give to parents of teenagers! For those of you with younger kids, as often as possible, eat meals together at the table.

Managing finances – Other than marry an accountant?? (Love you, Sonya!) When we got married, we decided that any purchase over $50 needed permission from the other one. We’ve stuck to that rule for 15 years and it’s served us pretty well so far. 

I know you are a foodie, it is your French genes. Tell me a little bit more about this passion.

My dad was born in France and I’ve been able to visit family there several times. I’m so grateful for that! I love cooking for people but the truth is that I love the time around the table more than I love the time in the kitchen. The magic of what happens when people are sitting together with good food, good wine, and good stories is so special. I love finding great restaurants but we also love having people we love around our table enjoying a great meal together.

I’m also a huge fan of discovering restaurants that are focused on serving great food to customers they care about. I’m not huge on chain restaurants so I’ll often hunt for a great place to go with friends to enjoy a really special meal together. 

Name three restaurants to have a romantic date in Durham.

My top 3:

KB in Whitby

Marwan’s Global Bistro in Port Perry

Chuuk in Pickering 

How important are wine, French fries, and vegetables with a steak? 

I mean you can’t have steak frites without the frites! Throw some roasted Brussels sprouts or spring peas or a cucumber and tomato salad beside that steak.. heaven! Who would possibly enjoy a great steak without some great veggies on the side?

Chris, you run a farm, are a father to four kids, husband, songwriter, producer, and executive pastor. I am tired of just writing it. Give me practical advice on how do you balance this. 

It would be an insult to farmers to say that we have a farm! But, yes, we have chickens and we’re looking to have bees again this year. We love having a bit of space out of town where we can enjoy a great time together as a family.

How do you balance? I’m not sure I’ve always done that well and I’m not sure the way people think of balance is actually possible. Focus is maybe a better word. I’m pretty focused on how I want to spend my time, how I want my family to grow, what I want to learn, and what kind of home we want to have. And I’m passionate about all of those things, too! So, when I make mistakes, I hope that people recognize it’s out of passion and focus rather than not caring.

But.. practical advice. I really believe God was on to something when He asked people to rest. I believe people can be more productive in six days than they can in seven, in the long term. Since 2012 I have practiced the weekly rhythm of the sabbath where I take a full 24 hours (usually Friday evening to Saturday evening) and step away from what would work. On that day I get to do the things I don’t normally get to do in the other six days. I get to enjoy time with the people I love. I get to wander around the yard with my kids. I get to nap! And I get to enjoy the reminder that God is with me and the work that He is doing in my life and in the world is much more significant than any work I could ever do on my own.

Work from rest, don’t rest from work.

Tell me a good pastor joke. 

I don’t think its real but it always gets a good laugh!

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