August 2009                              
 



On June 25th, I took the role of social reporter to attend BC Business 20th Anniversary Top 100 Business Award! Click on Cassie Campbell's picture to watch the video live.

Peter Legge was the MC and opened the event with a witty joke about the meaning of life:
"God created the Dog first, told the Dog to be loyal, be man's best friend and guard the house, life span 20 years. Dog considered it and gave God back 10 years, and kept 10 years. Then God created the Monkey, and told the Monkey its job is to be mischievous and entertain humans, life span 20 years. Monkey did the same thing and gave God back 10 years and kept 10 years. God then created the Cow, told the Cow that it would have 60 years life span, and its job is to toil in the soil, be patient and help mankind create vegetation. Cow complained that 60 years is a long time, it kept 20 years, and gave God back 40 years. Lastly, God created Man, told the man that his job is to enjoy the earth and all its abundance, but he must look over all the other animals. God gave Man 20 years life span. Man said 20 years is too short, so he took the 40 years from the Cow, 10 years from the Monkey, and 10 years from the Dog.

Hence, for the first 20 years of man's life, he's happy and enjoying the fruits of the earth. Next 40 years, works like a cow to take care of his family; then the next 10 years, as grandparents, Man has to play jokes and entertain the grand kids; followed by the last 10 years where he sits at the door of the house and barks at anything that goes by."

A joke appreciated by the 600-700 business audience in BC Ballroom at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. This was followed by the happy and jolly Olympic Mascots coming onto the stage.

Mr. Legge then went on to introduce John Furlong, the CEO of VANOC 2010 Olympic Committee.  John shared with the audience that everyone was asking him how Vanoc was doing in this economic downturn, with 8 months to go. He says there are two things keeping them going.
 1) Vision.
 2) Values. People at Vanoc have great character. John trusts them no matter what. The spirit of excellence is alive and well − they're creative, innovative, and maintaining sustainability.
He also noted that he's very fortunate to know that great athletes have amazing focus. With it, they can achieve anything. They're able to rally people around them because they're full of spirit and desire. It is that desire and courage, and spirit of family that has allowed Cassie Campbell and the Canadian Woman's National Hockey team to bring back Gold Medals in the 2006 Games in Torino. That's what sports is all about. It changes lives and fill people with desire.

Cassie Campbell then came onto the stage.  A pretty blonde, petite and professional, and very down-to-earth. I really enjoyed her sense of humour and obvious personal strength to pull through adversity.  She opened her speech by showing us a CBC video of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics with moments of the win.  She then told us that 19 out of 24 medals from Torino awarded to Canada, were won by women. Her speech consisted of 7 keys of consistent leadership.

1) Learn from challenges: The women’s hockey team in the 1998 Olympics won a Silver medal. That experience pushed everyone on the team to become better hockey players, better leaders, and better people. Cassie remembered distinctly how crappy the whole team had felt, as they would have rather won bronze than silver, which meant that they won the last game instead of losing the top game. The next day, she was getting the team breakfast at McDonald’s, and ran into Susan Oak, a 5-time Olympic winner from Winnipeg, who was clearly happy to see Cassie and congratulated her. Cassie was sharing how crappy they all felt, and Susan asked her, "Do you know how many people don't get to compete in the Olympics, and how many people who do compete, don't get a medal?" This completely changed Cassie's perspective about winning Silver. She shared the story with her teammates who were more interested in the Egg McMuffin. Six months later, the team finally stopped pointing the finger at outside influences, and started to point the finger at themselves.

At the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, it was the toughest year they had ever experienced as a team. They had played against the US nine times − they lost 8 out of those 9 games, but they won the one that counted!  The team suffered 2 key injuries; the key defenseman was taken out 1 week prior due to a concussion; and the team had 2 veterans and 2 rookies vying for playing time. The Canadian media did not believe in the team at all. They suffered 16 penalties during the game playing against Sweden, but won 7 to 3.
Key message: embrace challenge. It keeps you from becoming complaisant.

2) All must be responsible: every team member must be accountable:  In 2002, a 10-year veteran was released three weeks before the Olympics due to her year of bad performance − the coach felt something needed to be done.  This decision split the team into two camps of thought until one member said, "We don't feel responsible, but we are all responsible to have caused someone to lose their Olympic dream."

3) Come out of the comfort zone: In one of the team’s training routines, their coach brought them out to a Quebec army base where 20 Canadian peacekeepers were ready to be shipped to Afghanistan. They wore100lbs of gear, and had run through an extremely challenging 20-event obstacle course. By the end of it, these soldiers were sweating, had blisters, and all dropped to their knees.  Then the coach said it's the team’s turn. The hockey team members had to face their fears of injury, and most of them did it. No one completed the course, but they tried. Three or four girls simply refused to participate... and they happen to be the girls who didn't make it to the team.

Cassie went on to tell us, after she retired in 2006, CBC hired her as hockey commentator. On her second day on the job, she had to be one of two hosts for Hockey Night in Canada as Harry Neale couldn't make it. She was ‘freaked out’, but decided to do it and begin her broadcasting career in front of 2.1 million viewers, which opened many doors for her.

4) Have fun outside of work with your team: It develops trust, and gets you outside of your professional roles. It shows that you care about each other. Do fun stuff like curling, movies, dinner, etc.

5) Do your own contribution, but make sure others get recognized: Everyone has a different role in hockey. Everyone wants to be scoring, but someone needs to set up, and they should get recognized.  After a teammate brought it to her attention, Cassie installed a "Day of Defenseman" to recognize how important they are to the team. The team made custom T-shirts and all handed them to the defenseman girls. They always wore their T-shirt with pride.

6) Preparation: Hard work, calm the pressure by preparation. The hockey players played 46 games before the Olympic Games. Seven times a day, they followed strict nutrition, workouts everyday, had sessions with sports psychology and did everything to win that gold medal.

7) Importance of Communication: The best coaches that Cassie has had all had an open door policy, but they demanded that if you raise a problem, you better have a solution. With 28 girls together 24/7 for 8 months, there will be tension. Effective communication eliminates stress. Avoid the feeling of special entitlement. Spend less time finding blame, more time finding solutions.
I really enjoyed Cassie's speech, very moving and inspiring, makes you feel so proud to be a Canadian!  Great event organized by BC Business. Congrats to 20 years of continued success. 

Summer has to be my favourite time in Vancouver because there is Wreck Beach at UBC, people-watching at Kits Beach, tons of birthday parties and BBQs, and then there is the Alice In Wonderland Festival and Lantern Festival that happens at Trout Lake. Just the sun and cool breeze across my face brings a smile, as if mother earth is embracing me with her gentle rays. Although this summer we had some SERIOUS heat waves!  So much so, one day my brain stopped functioning by 3pm. 

Tell me what was your proudest moment this summer?  My proudest moment was the minute my two friends and I finished creating our very cute one-eyed alien with his UFO lantern. Unfortunately that particular night of the lantern festival, it was raining cats and dogs… so our alien will have to debut next summer with blue LED trimmings. 

On one of these great summer weekends, I went to see the Abbotsford Air Show upon the invitation of my friend Dean, whose company Four Willows catered for Lockheed as well as the City of Abbotsford. We saw a lot of aerobatic maneuvers, as well as a duo of F15 fighter jets hailing from Alaska, zip by at the speed of light. I was getting a stiff neck just from looking up. My friend, who is a major car and plane enthusiast, was like a sports announcer, explaining the features, cost and specialty of each plane… and its military capabilities. I was astounded at how expensive these planes are, and how much it cost to run and maintain them. There were tons of American soldiers there, and they did look like GI Joes!! I’m not sure if it’s the fit bodies in overalls, or the crew cut, but it was like looking at life size military dolls….made me want to laugh…but I didn’t in fear that it might upset them. 

I’ve been working with the Law of Attraction and manifestation for some time. About 6 weeks ago, I put it to work. Writing down all the things I wanted in my life, the type of work, type of lifestyle, how much I’d make, how much exercise and fun things I’ll do, the philanthropic work, and social contribution, etc…

But more than anything, I wanted to move to a nice place, own a vehicle, and be happy. In a little less than a month, I have manifested a free car, sharing with a great friend a spacious place in Kitsilano, and doing very fulfilling work, and networking my butt off.  I’m dancing 1-2 times a week, and exercising at least 3 times a week these days, mixing in meditation and yoga. 

I got a mini road trip to Lake Louis when I went to Calgary to pick up my new free car!  Canoeing while having a picnic lunch was the perfect thing to do at Lake Louis....a great drive if you ever consider doing it.

I’m still pretty active with Social Media 2.0  If you’d like to find me, I’m ismerelda@hotmail.com for MSN Messenger; Ismerelda on Skype; Alice Zhou on Facebook with email: alice@gracioushost.ca; and http://twitter.com/ismerelda on Twitter.  I just got a blackberry, so do email me your pin so I can add you to my list.
      
On July 25th, we had the Social Butterfly Mastermind Monthly Seminar with two fabulous speakers.  Unfortunately, I was doing registration and missed our first speaker, Dr. Nima Rahmany. She gave a very informative presentation about how illness is developed − the modern life and its impact on our health and wellness.  Dr. Nima Rahmany says that health and wellness is from all of our being, not just what we put into our mouth and how we exercise. It means mental health, emotional health, social health, health on every level.

I was able to sit through the 2 hour presentation Darren Jacklin did about Idea Party Event. This is only a small sample of his full day seminar.
Darren is an extremely passionate man, who shared his life’s ups and downs with us, his 2009 year’s intention, what drives him and the step by step method that he uses to achieve his manifestations. 

What I appreciated about his presentation were some of the things he does everyday.
1) Wake up with an attitude of gratitude. Find 5 people to say thank you to.
2) Read 10 pages of a personal development book.
3) Ask 5 people if there is anything that can be done to contribute to their life.

Darren’s manifestation method is the same as the Law of Attraction. He asks us all to write down in exact terms the work we’d like to do, the type of family life we have, and our dream soul mate, etc.  He also asked us to list 50 people that we would like to meet.
Many of the audience were inspired by Darren’s speech, and high energy. You can get a sense of what he’s teach by attending Idea Party Event on Sept 12th, or by clicking on  www.eventbrite.com/event/415509801/IPEVANCOUVER120909/2042907949

Our event received great positive feedback, and we want to continue this on a monthly basis.  Currently looking for speakers for our next one, so if you have expertise in a business area or health/wellness/spirituality, we'd like to hear from you!


September for many is a time of leaving the lazy, hazy days of summer behind and re-focusing on life’s goals. Often our goals are picking up good habits or getting rid of bad habits in the name of health. Many people vow to stop eating junk food.
The problem with such lofty goals is that they are more often broken than kept... With guilt following closely behind. The goal was made in the name of health but carrying so much guilt certainly isn’t healthy.

So instead of vowing to rid yourself of junk foods, I say embrace them. Indeed, celebrate them!

Now, before my fellow nutrition colleagues come to capture and silence me, let me explain myself. Another common term for ‘junk food’ is ’treat’ and indeed, we often use junk foods to treat ourselves. This is because food is more than just fuel for our bodies. Food is meaningful to us in all aspects of well-being. Food expresses who we are. Anyone who has spent time traveling knows what it is like to crave a certain food when you’re homesick. Food can be an expression of love and of celebration. All cultures around the world mark life milestones with special foods & feasts – birthdays, weddings, and funerals all involve food. We humans are sensual creatures and food can please all of our senses – not just fuel the body.
Giving ourselves permission to enjoy ‘treats’ is taking care of our mental, emotional and spiritual selves. And we can’t be truly healthy without caring for these parts of ourselves.  Unfortunately, often people don’t take full advantage of these opportunities for self-care. This, I believe, leads to over-indulgence and overall unhealthy eating. My advice: stop, enjoy, move on. Let me explain using two stories.

Candice’s treat food is chocolate. At the end of a bad day she heads to the nearest convenience store, takes advantage of the “2 candy bars for $1.49” deal and scoffs them down while driving home through the rush-hour traffic. Instead of feeling better, Candice adds feelings of guilt from eating ‘junk food’ to her already bad mood from being rushed, stuck in rush hour traffic, and her bad day at work.

Corinne’s treat food is also chocolate. She too has had a bad day at work. She goes three blocks out of her way to stop into a chocolate store. She spends $2.00 on a single home-made chocolate truffle wrapped in a beautiful gold box and puts it in her purse. She continues home through the rush-hour traffic imagining the chocolate. Once home she tells her kids that she needs 10 minutes to herself. She goes into a quiet room and shuts the door. She opens her bag and sees the beautiful gold box and slowly opens it. Popping the truffle in her mouth, she closes her eyes. She feels the chocolate melting and spreading its silky bittersweet taste to her every taste bud. She inhales deeply and savours every minute that it takes to eat. When the chocolate is finally gone she opens her eyes, opens the door, and resumes her nightly tasks including cooking a healthy dinner for her family – minus the stress from her bad day at work and the rush-hour traffic.        

Now don’t throw the broccoli out with the bathwater. I am not giving permission to never eat a vegetable again. This is why I use the term ‘sometimes’ foods instead of ‘junk’ or ‘treat’ foods. It expresses a healthy balance. Enjoy these foods sometimes, not every day. Make the majority of your eating habits healthy foods. This way you are satisfying your needs – body, mind and spirit. Now, that’s my definition of health.                

This article is written by our Social Butterfly’s newest lovely Food-Loving Health Reporter Kristen Yarker-Edgar.  We're also looking for writers in many other categories such as Food & Beverage, Fashion, Exercise, etc..... just email us and we'll get you on the blog and into the newsletter!

Bio:

My vision is for all people to ENJOY healthy eating. Healthy eating is a celebration. It nourishes our bodies, tastes great, connects us to our friends, families, history, culture, and the earth. But, many smart, successful people today were not taught the skills we need to cook healthy, yummy food on a daily basis in our busy lives. Even I graduated without really knowing how to cook. We are inundated with nutrition information, watch amazing chefs whip up beautiful food, but are eating take-out or frozen dinners. My life’s goal is to change this. Known for my intuitive understanding of role that food and eating has in our lives, I get to the heart of the matter, help people understand their current habits, and come up with practical, do-able strategies to make enjoying healthy eating a day-to-day reality. I have been interested in nutrition since I was a teenager and have been a registered dietitian for 6 years. Having worked with non-profits and the provincial government in the past, this summer I did what I’ve always wanted to do – launched my own practice to work with individuals and Moms!

Kristen Yarker-Edgar, MSc, Registered Dietitian
Vitamin K Nutrition Consulting
kristen@vitaminKconsulting.com
604-506-0399
www.vitaminKconsulting.com
Twitter: vitKnutrition
E-Newsletter: signup at: http://www.vitaminkconsulting.com/services/
Are you a parent who is struggling with a picky eater? Take this Initial Assessment and receive FREE personalized feedback from Kristen: www.vitaminKconsulting.com