Hon. Bardish Chagger On success, fulfillment, mentoring and more
Corporita Quarterly —March 8th, 2016
Contents Cover Story Hon. Bardish Chagger… ON SUCCESS, MENTORING, FULFILMENT AND MORE
Features REWRITE YOUR STORY PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD IT TAKES A VILLAGE GIVE YOUR START-UP ALL IT NEEDS JUSTNCASE
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CANADIAN WINTER GETAWAYS
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NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
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GENDER DIVERSITY—IT’S TIME
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ARE THEY READY?
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WHAT’S IN A NAME?
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WOMEN AND BOXING
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RECLAIM YOUR POWER
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WOMAN PHYSICIST OF COLOUR
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ARE YOU A RULER OR A LEADER?
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JUST BREATHE: YOU’RE DOING IT ANYWAY!
This is a good place to briefly,
Contact Us Corporita Magazine published by Corporita Consulting Inc. 112 Benton St. , Suit # 602 Kitchener ON N2G 3H6 Tel.: 1-519-208-7244
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In my quest to success I learned that you can rewrite your story at any time; you can even start a totally brand-new story. I learned that branding yourself is as brutal as the origin of the word and life is like a bell-curve, if you believe that you have reached the top, you will slide down. That’s why the only way to success is to ‘Keep Moving Forward!’ Growing up in a male-dominated culture is not easy, especially when you are a tough girl who wanted to experience life to its fullest. Being confined with traditions, religious and societal chains was my daily struggle for years. Between people that want to clip your wings and a society that may label you with all the ugly words in the dictionary, I found myself in a continuous quest to be me. But I loved to talk to grownups and listen to their stories and imagine how life was decades ago. I loved to engage in their discussions on politics, economy, relationships, business, health and wealth. I always found grownups’ talks interesting. Despite my happiness engaging in grownups talks, my mother found it truly alarming. She always wanted me to do what girls do: clean , try new recipes and remain quiet . But I had other dreams. I wanted to read every book in the library ; to travel the world; to invent something ; to write books ; to host a TV show; to design fashion; to fly aeroplanes; to join the army ; to … the list was long … very long. One person listened to my dreams without interrupting me. Grandpa never lost a chess game to me despite the many requests of my grandma to lose a game for me. He said: “why to lose a game when you have the perfect opponent to beat … if she wants to win, she has to earn it”. And since then, I am in a quest to earn my place at the top. He always said to me that he does not see me as a girl … he sees me as a feisty person who can achieve anything in life if I have enough ‘FIRE’ in my heart. My grandpa was my mentor. Years went by and I went to university to study mechanical engineering. I was the only girl among a hundred boys. Some accepted me and many did not. Even professors, some of them did not understand why a girl like me chose to be ‘alone’. Only one professor believed in me and told me one day while I was crying thinking of transferring to another department: “I loved the A-type personality I met at the beginning of the semester, go bring her back”. My professor was my mentor. Later, I worked for a boss from hell. He once came to my office and shouted at me: “Unorganized desk is an unorganized mind … you are not leaving until you organize your desk and finish filing all papers.” He paused and continued “… and I do not care if you have a baby waiting at the daycare”. I remember myself moving fast like a mad woman finishing everything in just few minutes to run to my child with my leaking milk. My boss was my mentor. Ask any coach, motivational speaker, successful business man or woman, they will tell you mentorship is a corner stone in the
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REWRITE YOUR STORY BY Hanan Awaad Founder and President of Corporita Inc.
palace of greatness. I add to this that mentors come in many shapes and sizes. They come in the form of a book: when you read, you learn the wisdom of great men and women. They come in the size of a multimillionaire or a penniless man. A great man once told me: “Only fools will learn from your mistakes … but the wise will learn from great mentors”. He explained to me that when you are broke, you do not seek the advice of another broke; you seek the advice of a person who knows how not to be broke. Only those who really know will not give you affirmations or validate your actions, they will not give you solutions to your problems. They will show you the way to figure out the solution and they will shout at you to wake you up when you become stuck. They will help you turn your anger and frustration into passion and movement. They will create clarity in your life. They will make you cut out those who do not serve your greater purpose in life. They will teach you how to sow and grow what you desire to reap. But great mentors are great because they have great mentees. I learned to be that great mentee. I learned to ask questions, to respect greatness when I am in its presence, to adapt to my ever-changing circumstances and to rewrite my story when I have to.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH HON. BARDISH CHAGGER By Hanan Awaad When I relocated to Canada and decided to make Kitchener my new home, I did not know that I will meet amazing people almost every day. One day I met her, a vibrant young woman with dark long hair and a brilliant smile. Bardish Chagger, our Minister of Small Business and Tourism knows how to mobilize a community … how to engage everyone … and how to lift your spirit when you are in the deep despair. I knew her for years through her amazing work in our community and I was keen to talk to her after being appointed to her position to know how her success, commitments and insights can inspire us – working women to work harder to write our stories of success.
- With your diversified background and your work in multiculturalism and diversity and with professionals, how can we move towards true gender equality in the workplace, whether in terms of pay gap or as equal representations in high positions?
- As a very successful working woman: what was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it? First of all, success is relative. You need to pursue your interests for yourself, not for recognition from others. Often in immigrant communities there is a lot of pressure to live up to certain expectations or to pursue certain roles. If you are happy and feel fulfilled in what you’re doing, then you are successful.
I really believe one of the best ways to provide opportunities for women, for young people, newCanadians – any under-represented group – is through growing our entrepreneurial sector. By opening a business, by taking a risk on your own, or with a small The greatest barrier for a lot of people is to stop worrying team –people can shape their own future and, at the about what other people think and to accept that any same time, help grow the Canadian economy and create success you have is yours. jobs in our communities.
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- What in your life has brought or given you the greatest satisfaction or fulfillment? - What is your advice to working women to find the right work-life balance? I think the more we see women, not just in the work-force, but as owners of companies, as entrepreneurs, as leaders – it will become more acceptable for everyone to push-back a little when the boss asks you to stay late and there is a family waiting around the dinner table at home.
Being chosen to represent the people of my home community of Waterloo as their Member of Parliament. I was born and raised in this community – it’s a part of me. Even though I have had a very strong interest in politics since an early age, it actually took quite bit of convincing to get me to run. I always preferred to work behind the scenes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he wants to make his Government and Parliament more family-friendly in all kinds of different contexts. My cabinet colleague, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change is doing a great deal of that already by blocking-off specific time with her young family. And guess what? Her department is still doing more on this file than we’ve seen in more than a decade! So it can be done. It’s also not just about families. The interests each of us have, our friends, time to ourselves – it makes us who we are. To keep doing the best you can means making time for those things. - What role did mentoring play in your success and how can working women benefit from seeking mentors and mentoring other women? My Aunt really inspired me. She was the first woman in my family to graduate from university. She showed me that you need to make your own success. Everyone can learn from the mistakes and successes of others. I think it’s so important to engage in your community - whether it’s those immediately around you, or those in similar situations, or those of similar background, or – preferably – all of the above. Talk through your ideas, see what how they can be changed. On the other side, I would also strongly encourage those who have been successful to mentor others. Not just because it helps to grow our industries and economy – but because they might learn something as well. We need to be on the leading edge of innovation, and young people have a wealth of ideas. So let’s all work together to see how to make them succeed. - Who was the greatest influence in your career life? My father. He showed me from an early age the importance of being an active, engaged participant in your community. He is a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to some things. While he was very happy to have me along banging in campaign signs during elections, or going to meetings – he seemed a little surprised at how much of it rubbed-off on me. He used to say “don’t debate me at my kitchen table!” But we did debate and discuss – and I think it honed my skills for the House of Commons more than anything else!
But with all of the support I received– and continue to receive now that I am elected – I know I made the right choice and I’m determined to be a strong voice for our community. - As Small Business and Tourism Minister, what is the number one obstacle keeping many women from taking the risk of starting their own business? Lack of support and encouragement. We need to do more to support women entrepreneurs and to support their access to financing and to mentorship. When people hear a friend or family member is thinking about starting a new business they are often quick to say things like, “Woah, do you know how many new businesses fail in their first year?” Instead, let’s all recognize the amazing number of success stories! We have a strong, healthy and confident entrepreneurial spirit in this country. Government’s job, my job, is to make sure those start-ups and small businesses have the tools and support they need to grow and lead the country in economic growth and innovation.
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“When it rains and pours it opens doors that flood the floors we thought would always keep us warm and dry.” (Train) That song played on my IPod as I crossed the finish line of the Toronto Lakeshore ½ Marathon in September 2013. Eleven months before that I was diagnosed with colon cancer, seven months later I left a 26 –year career at a daily newspaper and exactly three months after that I lost the love of my life to a massive heart attack. Indeed – when it rains it pours. My roller coaster ride of 2013 had amazingly hopeful climbs and heartwrenching descents. What I discovered through all this was grief has many different faces. Some people grieve for a death, some from a breakup, some for a job loss. This lifeinterrupted experience can’t always be fixed…. but it can be carried through. So carry through. Live with what you have at the moment because although it’s painful to have something taken away, it’s what you have left that counts.
PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
Everyone will have their own way (or Community ways) to carry him or her through. The key is to find the one that suits you best. In the beginning, I had three: wine, retail and running – not necessarily in that order. When I drank wine I cried – but I cried all the time anyway. The indulgence of shopping numbed the pain. But it was running that became the secret tonic to my sanity. Every day I would lace up and head out for a run. And the best part through all this? I couldn’t cry and run at the same time and it didn’t cost me a dime ….so I continued to run. My sister called me Forest. I would challenge myself to run further every day. And I became stronger – emotionally and physically. When that life-interrupted moment happens, it’s your strength that will get you over those emotional hurdles that will hit you head on. And they will hit you. Hurdles of fear, self-doubt, agony and despair….. all will challenge your strength. I developed the best foot forward plan that included the things I needed in my life to carry me through. I am sharing them with the hope that you will add more and share them with someone: Get moving: “Get busy living or get busy dying.” (Shawshank Redemption) Even in your darkest moment, choose to put your best foot forward
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BY Chridtine Michaud Relations Manager—Downtown Kitchener BIA
Find your joy: She’s out there. In small or large packages joy will heal your wounds and inspire you to carry through and brighten the shadows that hover over you. And if you don’t already have one….get a dog. Little Miss Georgia-Peach has been such a shining light in my life. Be kind to yourself: There is a reason why they instruct us that in an emergency when flying to put your oxygen mask on first. You are no good to anyone – including yourself – if you don’t take care of you first. Gratitude: As you get stronger you will start to look forward to the future but will always be grateful for your past. Trust in yourself: Rediscovering yourself can be scary, but on the other side of that hurdle is a person who is sure to shine.
Opportunities for collaboration surround us. You will attract the right partnerships into your life by focusing on your vision, driving with your passion and achieving the level of fitness required to execute. Execution is the result of careful planning, strategic persistence and infinite energy. Five years ago I decided to invite a group of women executives to a luncheon for International Women’s Day to celebrate this historic event. The result was truly inspirational. In addition to the networking and wonderful lunch, the media showed up to interview all of the women. Word got out about the success of this event and I was approached by the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre to partner with them the next year.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE By Diane Matyas Author and Entrepreneur
This African proverb is widely quoted when examining the partnerships required during the maturation of our youth, however it also holds true for each of us. It is our responsibility to be strategic when selecting our partners in order for us to foster our own creativity and prosperity. Collaboration occurs when people move in the same direction, at the same speed, with the same vision, the same passion and the same energy. When you meet this person you will know and you will want to partner with them. You will experience a deep synergistic intensity compelling you to move forward knowing that you will become a stronger, more creative and prosperous individual.
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We have worked with many partners over the years to attract speakers, sponsors and a sold out luncheon of 250 women executives and entrepreneurs. On March 8, 2016 we will be hosting our 5th Annual International Women’s Day Event featuring 4 inspirational women who have been impacted by mentorship. At last year’s International Women’s Day Event, one woman stood out in the crowd, literally. She stood up at the end of the event and made a pledge for parity in Canada. She is an engineer with an attitude. When we finally connected, we decided to collaborate to bring you Corporita Magazine. We are launching the Corporita Magazine on International Women’s Day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, to bring awareness to the need for immediate action is order to accelerate gender parity and to offer collaborative opportunities because “it takes a village”.
It probably doesn’t take much to imagine your teenager standing in front of the fridge with the door wide open to a variety of produce and leftovers, shouting, “Mom! There’s nothing to eat!” For some of us, this is a daily occurrence. Irene Divaris understands the challenges of running a home kitchen, creating fast meals that are both healthy and delicious on a budget, and the value of your time. Irene’s business, Meal in a Jar, is an affordable solution for parents and people who spend their days on the go. When she needed to make a quick lunch for her daughter, Irene grabbed a mason jar and layered fresh ingredients and leftovers to make her very first ‘meal in a jar’. The result was so appealing to look at that she shared a photo of her creation on Facebook, where requests from friends for jars of their own started rolling in.
GIVE YOUR START-UP EVERYTHING IT NEEDS By Irene Divaris Founder and President of Meal In A Jar Inc.
Since 2013, Irene’s business, Meal In A Jar, has taken off. Having caught the attention of young professionals, health-conscious families and local companies. Meal In A Jar has become one of the most recognizable brands in Waterloo Region. The concept holds fast to Irene’s personal values of using whole foods with no preservatives without compromising the taste experience. Every jar is a fully balanced and colourful meal, redefining fast food with two servings of vegetables, no gluten or dairy, and a source of protein and fiber. Irene describes her entrepreneurial experience as “exciting.” The experience has brought many once-in-alifetime opportunities and achievements. “Meal In A Jar was featured on Dragon’s Den with a deal offer from Arlene Dickinson and Michael Wekerle. Awards have been won like Entrepreneur of the Year, Business of the Year, and nomination for Oktoberfest Woman of the Year.” Her advice to new entrepreneurs and dilemma:
If you want to spend a lot of time with your friends and see all the Oscar-nominated movies, get good sleep at night and exercise, then it's going to be hard to give a start-up everything it needs. If you care about your startup more than you care about all those things, then go for it. But it comes with sacrifice. In order to kick ass and do big things, I
think you have to be imbalanced and not balanced.
Maintaining friendships. Building a great company. Spending time with family. Staying fit. Getting sleep and keep your business going.
Every person I've seen riding on a rocket ship was imbalanced while that rocket ship was being built. You have to decide if you want it.
Always reaching for the seemingly impossible task of balance and always feeling like your failing because you just can't perfectly do it all. Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends I don't want to believe we have to choose, but- Ya, we kinda do.
Today, Meal In A Jar is thriving online and in Downtown Kitchener, centrally located to serve people and businesses throughout Waterloo Region and Guelph. Visit mealinajar.com.
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At a time when emotions are running high, where grief abounds, somebody has to make decisions! Nobody knows how long they will remain on this Earth. Nobody knows if they will be diagnosed with a terminal illness next week, or if they will be involved in a major car accident, or if they will have a fatal heart attack. It isn’t something that anyone can predict. But the fact remains that any of the above could happen to anyone at any time. Our mortality isn’t a usual dinner table conversation and may be a very touchy subject for many people. Some outright refuse to talk about it although there’s a good possibility that they think about it. Even they know they can’t avoid it forever. Sooner or later, our life will come to an end. There simply isn’t any way around it. And, when the inevitable arrives, somebody will have to take care of our affairs, whether we plan for it or not. At a time when emotions are running high, where grief abounds, somebody has to make decisions about your final resting place, what to do with your pet budgie, who should get your wedding band, etc. and make any number of other choices. The kindest gift you can give anyone is answers to all the myriad questions that accompany the end of someone’s life.
It will It includes provide It will inform forms to be you with you of the filled in with tips and documents your suggestions you will need Personal, that will to keep and Financial, and lessen the why. Medical stress. Information.
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It includes a FREE copy of the Canadian Will Kit.
JustNCase By Margaret High Author and Creator of JustNCase
“JustNCase” is a product of my own personal experience with my Mother and not being prepared in the event of a life threatening emergency.
It is simple and easy to do.
It will prepare you in the It keeps it event of a all in one medical or place. family emergency.
It is the best gift you can give your family… Peace of Mind.
ASK THE EXPERT: CANADIAN WINTER GETAWAYS Derek of the unchartedtraveller.com We are all travellers, but not all of us live life out of a suitcase. Most of Canadians know that travel opens us to the wonders of the world; it makes us appreciate the wonderful nature; it connects us with people and culture and encourages us to experience different tastes, smells, and textures.
He continues: “A Winter getaway in Canada is not only a less expensive idea but also an experience which allows you to appreciate the simple things in life and to do so in such a way that you could never learn on a sun bed in Mexico”.
For anyone who has never been; the stillness of a morning in Kananaskis Country is enough to remove every single thought of Puerta Vallarta from even the most cynical of minds. Snow covered peaks provide the backdrop in the Rocky mountains and as the icy lakes begin to crack at first light, the fresh cool air serves only to emphasize that beautiful feeling when you get lost in a Alberta is a one lucky province that enjoys “Chinook”, an moment. occasionally warm dry wind coming from the Rocky Mountains and gusts through and melts the snow. That is The towns of Banff and Canmore are two places to stay why we contacted one of the trusted Canadian travellers near Kananaskis where comfort, ruggedness and asking for his advice. adventure meets nature, where the embers of a fireside bring warmth after a day on the mountain. Derek, from the The Uncharted Traveller recommends escaping the routine and blues of winter in the city to a Other than enjoying stillness, hiking and horseback riding breathtaking getaway in Kananaskis country. Derek says are two awesome activities to do there, where hiking trails that he spent one of his best years in Alberta and stretching pass the horizon. Kananaskis is by far his favourite part of Canada. When you live in a country that is associated with cold and snow, it is hard to favour a winter getaway to a sunny beachy vacation. However, Canadian climate is so diverse from a region to region, and you might be missing a rich vital experience listening to misconceptions.
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My story began when I met my husband a decade ago, and made the decision to leave my regular 9 to 5 job for the exciting and unpredictable world of self-employment. This glorious new world meant that I no longer had to tiptoe around upper management staff, didn't have to explain myself, and I could take a day off without feeling like I was letting everyone down. So what if I was 10 minutes late? I didn't have to answer to anyone. Unfortunately, that blissful peace only lasted a short time, for I soon realized that even though we had this great idea and working concept to run with, our services were needed but this did not translate into profit. For years, we worked long hours every day and even on the weekends, making personal sacrifices and giving up things like vacations or missing family excursions. My husband did all the marketing for our business, while I took charge of prospecting to find and attract new clients. We soon became the most popular website for Caribbean content in our community. As time went on, our hard work and dedication continued to payoff and our business evolved into the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, established in 2012. We began with a modest 12 page newspaper that we distributed out of the back of our car, and since then we have expanded to 48 pages with two delivery trucks on the road. We have increased our print copies by 500% to 25,000 copies biweekly, with the online version getting around 10,000 downloads on each edition. The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper is known as the feel-good paper within the Caribbean Community. Our coverage includes positive and uplifting events that are happening all over the GTA to spotlight all of the great things that are happening and empowering others to continue their work and encourage them to do more. We make ourselves readily available to cover mainly community news and events, and we focus on highlighting the amazing work that people are advocating to make the community and the world a better place.
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
The journey over the last four years has not gotten any easier since we began. After our second child was born, the operation of the Newspaper grew and we added the responsibility of the annual Toronto Caribbean Business Expo and Conference to
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By Trish Browning Toronto Caribbean Business Expo
our lengthy agenda. I find that being an entrepreneur and a mother is not a simple task and not one for the faint of heart. It has many challenges, but it also comes with great rewards. Over the years I have learned that I am strong, I am accomplished and nothing is impossible if you look at it with the right perspective. There are many challenges on the road of life, but everything has a way of working itself out in the end.
“You’ve come a long way baby”, was the very popular tagline for a brand of cigarettes designed for women in the 1970’s. Fast forward to 2016 ’where tobacco advertisements are prohibited and the female empowerment sentiment may be replaced with, “You’ve only come part way”. Recently the Harvard Business Review reports that while 74% of employees are aware that their companies are working to promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce, most also say that they don’t see much effect from these efforts. The Conference Board of Canada analyzed employment data from 1987 – 2009 and confirmed that the proportion of women in middle management rose by about 4 per cent. At that rate, it will take approximately 151 years before the proportion of men and women at the management level is equal. But will it? Could such a dismal speed continue; or are we at the perfect demographic storm where preparation meets opportunity? I believe gender diversity and inclusion can accelerate with new technology, continued mentorship with sponsorship and women continuing to communicate their strong and confident brand. It is logical that with this slow and steady work behind us, we should be able to maximize the vacated opportunities left open when the male cohort of senior management and executives soon retire. So below are three actions that can help accelerate our collective efforts to narrow this gender divide. First, it is about volume. We need to continue to identify capable women into talent pools and high potentials. Today’s technology goes far beyond simply replicating a flawed hierarchical, paternalistic, unconscious or openly biased process into an electronic format. Today, we can qualify talent regardless of gender, race and level the playing field of information exchange through social media rather than the golf course, and we need to get started. Yes, there will be resistance but without lessening the bondage of old systems and increasing our numbers in talent pools, how can we expect to significantly advance? Mentorship has been highly effective in raising women’s awareness of the limitations they impose on themselves and enabling them to manage their careers in a malecentric environment. But after all the mentoring is complete, mentorship without sponsorship is resulting in less success. We need to recommend women for progressive roles, we need to suggest that an executive meet your mentee to discuss their ideas to solve a business problem, we need to actively promote, and “sell” our sisters capability, because words without action are… mere words.
GENDER DIVERSITY—IT’S TIME By Cindy Tarasaw Founder and President of Pomegranate Canada Inc.
Lastly, as competent, capable and intelligent problem solvers we need to each continue articulating our brand with confidence. The vital importance of networking creates opportunities for broader professional exposure, and opportunity to build brand-confidence. People in the wider commonly misinterpret displays of confidence as signs of competence and are fooled into believing that men are better leaders than women. So to address this social fallacy, we must continue to apply the networking tools needed to uncover our authentic “charisma”. There is no better time than now to accelerate our success. Women are dominantly represented in Human Resources and can implement new technology that eliminates bias in talent selection. Women mentorship programs are well represented and can continue to grow in efficacy with sponsorships. And while winds of demographic change will favour our efforts, each of us can always improve our confidence in personal branding and value proposition for advantage and say, “we did it!”
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ARE THEY PREPARED? By Carol Simpson ED—Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin
I seem to have been asked a lot lately about how we can better prepare our students and jobseekers for the current opportunities in the labour market and also for jobs in the future, some of which don’t yet exist. If we look back to jobs only 10 years ago, there were no social media managers, 3D printing specialists or data journalists. Electrical technicians can now readily specialise to become solar or windmill technicians and the use of technology has driven the number of data analysts in Canada up by 64% in the five years prior to 2013. There are many current local opportunities in such sectors as Manufacturing, Finance and Agriculture where people do not consider themselves as potential workers for various reasons. E.g. they may perceive the work as heavy or dirty or requiring specialized degrees or certifications where, in reality, there are jobs available at all levels from entry level to highly specialized and everything in between. It is evident that many people pigeon hole themselves to a specific job, career path or industry when, in fact, they have transferable skills that could take them in many different directions. They don’t recognize this and often those supporting them don’t either.
As technology impacts the type of jobs being created, it is estimated that it will be necessary for 80% of workers to have skills sets across Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). A good example is retail sales. Most retail clerks can survive on good customer service skills however retail jobs are quickly morphing to also require technical and computer skills to run and maintain POS equipment, track inventory and perhaps even program in-store 3D printers soon. According to experts, only 20% of future jobs will require less than a post-secondary education and, as previously mentioned, 80% will require higher levels of STEM. In an attempt to provide the student with a more rounded education, Arts has also now become an additional focus in many educational jurisdictions (STEAM). Education and training needs to become less focussed on preparing people for specific jobs and more focussed on teaching a set of key hard and soft skill sets that can offer multiple employment options and/or choices of specialization. This would make people much more mobile across not just jobs but industries as well and we would more easily be able to meet the future changing demands of the labour market.
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In early 2007, I immigrated to Canada without much more than a suitcase and a smile. I suppose it would be fair to say that all I had to my name was... well, my name! As my command of the English language improved, so did my respect for the culture. I arrived knowing I’d have to adapt were I to survive, but that in itself just wouldn’t do. I’m a woman of passion, infused with divine inspiration and a hunger to thrive! Aside from a good name, I carried with me a treasured keepsake; my grandfather’s vintage Zenit S film camera. With modelling being an outlet to my natural expression, I’ve come to embrace photography as my calling in this beautiful country I now proudly call Home! Important to note is that my creative as an artist reflects my values as a woman, ever aspiring toward a deeper spiritual resonance. My earnest desire being to help empower my sisters, giving voice to those who struggle to speak for themselves. Due to bullying throughout school, I’ve struggled with self-worth issues for most of my adult life. Only after I challenged myself to a personal project in self-portraiture, did I manage to turn my insecurities into strengths. What ensued became a gallery of poetically justified imagery upon my road to self discovery.
By Nadezhda Lyra My name is Nadezhda, pronounced "Na-Dež-Da" ~ Russian for Hope.
Capturing my ‘flaws’ each week from every conceivable angle, gave me a deeper appreciation for true beauty, which can only emanate from within. A woman’s value isn’t found in the attractiveness of her features alone, rather in those unswept places of her heart.
It isn’t lost on me that most of my clients tend to become acquaintances, even friends. My As I emerged from behind the veil, so process as an artist is to delve into grew the woman from the child within. the subcutaneous, to capture the very essence of a divine soul... drawing 18 Corporita Magazine / March 2016 forth the magic within us all.
When my subjects let me in, allowing me to illuminate them in the mirror of my lens, I cannot express just how often cathartic tears of joy are shed on both sides. A common gushing reaction would be, “I never imagined I would see myself this beautiful!” My mission is simple: Helping empower women to embrace their inner beauty, becoming emboldened with the confidence to say, “World, Here I Am!”
I met my first female boxer when she was 12 years old. She was raised by a good family, but like many girls her age she had doubts about herself. She felt like she wasn't good enough and wouldn't amount to anything. We trained together for a year and then I took her to her first boxing match when she was 13 years old. She won the fight. She ended up losing the decision to the other fighter, since we fought in the other boxer’s home show. My boxer was in disbelief and really upset that she never got the decision. She looked at her second place trophy and wanted to throw it. I quickly took it out of her hands. She was very upset and cried and started yelling. She did not understand how she did not have her hand raised after she fought so well. She told me that she wasn't good enough and wasn't good at anything. Then the coach of the boxer we fought came into the dressing room with a first place trophy and told us he thought we had done enough to win the fight so he wanted my boxer to have the first place trophy. My fighter’s face lit up when it was given to her. I sat with her explaining how well she had fought and the fact that she never got the decision didn't mean she didn't win the fight or that she wasn’t the better boxer, it just meant the referees were watching another fight and not the one she was fighting. She wanted to quit and didn't want to return to the gym. She stated, "I’m not good at anything!" We sat and talked for a good 15-20 minutes until she was calm. She finally decided to get changed so we could go home. I let her know how proud I was of her, the fight she fought and that I felt that she shouldn't quit because she did not lose the fight. The next week I was hoping that she would show up to the gym. Monday she didn't show up. On Wednesday she walked through the door and I was pleased that she never gave up on herself. At 15 years of age she went on to fight for the Canadian Boxing Championships and won the Canadian title and best female boxer of the tournament .This title made her the youngest female Canadian boxing champion in the TriCities. She stopped boxing for a while, returning to the gym 5 years later at the age of 20 with her sights set on the Canadian championships. Leading up to the Nationals we had a fight where her opponent hit her on the nose so hard it was fractured. The fracture meant that it may not heal in time to fight at the Nationals. She really wanted to go to the Nationals and knew that a doctor probably wouldn't approve her to fight with her fractured nose.
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WOMEN & BOXING By Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool World Boxing Champion
We continued to train with the intent of going. I was her sparring partner so I controlled my punches to miss her fractured nose so that it could heal. Until one sparring practise when she deflected one of my punches and the punch ended up hitting her on the nose. She backed away holding her nose and crying from the pain. I went over to her apologizing for accidentally having the punch hit her nose and she just unleashed a barrage of punches on me as I attempted to cover up. I was surprised at how hard her punches were coming at me and said “yes , that's what I want to see”. Her fractured nose healed well enough for the doctor to approve her to fight and so we travelled to the Nationals. She was punching so hard out of fear of being hit in the nose that she ended up boxing really well. She boxed so well she ended up winning the gold medal and for the second time became Canadian champion. From shy quiet girl who felt she was not good at anything and wanted to quit, to a two-time Canadian champion who also won best boxer of the tournament at the Nationals!! “With Hope It's Possible!”
While chasing after societal ‘success’, monetary wealth and insatiable goals, stress erodes out our health. Stress as a silent killer has contributing factors: lack of sleep, lack of exercise, poor diet, bad habits, and addictions and so on. These are real problems that we have become so accustomed to facing that we just brush them off like they are nothing and excuse them because well, 'it's part of life, what can we do?' and that is the attitude contributing to the problems.
believe in limitations. Those exist only in the mind. Although we may reach plateaus or obstacles from time to time, there are always exceptions to any rules, and they can be breached or broken. My mission in life is simple: to inspire conscious living, empower and inspire and create sustainable solutions for their health, happiness and promote respect for the planet in which we all share. We all need to reclaim our power.
A fundamental step towards a healthy lifestyle is becoming conscious of the world and the reality we are all creating, not only for ourselves and for others … now and for the future. We are without a doubt, stealing from our future and our children’s future. If we don't begin to make changes today with our own health and wellness; how we will teach them to be healthy? What kind of role models are we when we value only the material things, titles and accept stress and sickness before health and happiness? Fitness, Food and Fun are my passion and my profession. The three Fs are essential ingredients to my success and expertise in creating optimal lifestyle solutions through sustainable practices and healthy holistic living. Why do I call myself an expert? I am the healthiest, happiest person I know. Each year as I turn one year older, rather than get weaker, stiffer, and sicker or bent out of shape I actually become stronger, smarter, wiser and more spiritually grounded. In fact it's my spirituality that really inspires, guides and supports me. It is my source of strength and it applies to my life in many different ways. I am a Holistic and Spiritual Healer and Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, A Fitness and Bikini Model but those are just titles... I am so much more than this. Simply put, I AM ME and HERE I AM. Happy, holistic, healthy and free. It's no secret (or perhaps it is) I am not saying this to impress you, yet I inspire so many. I do compete but I'm not in competition with anybody because my motivation is only to reach my potential and to be my best. I don't
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RECLAIM YOUR POWER By Angela Nuhn Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Dr. Ghose , I do not know how to address you? Shall I call you Dr. Ghose or Shohini? Hahaha , address me with the title I proudly gave myself. Dr. Ghose started to recite a poem she has written inspired by the Doctor Who episode “The Doctor’s Wife” written by Neil Gaima That’s me. But it isn’t. There’s more. More than the sum of our words. More than atoms that make up female, physicist and colour “Bigger on the Inside” Dr. ‘Who’ By Hanan Awaad & Diane Matyas Wow, that was nice, let’s talk about mentoring. Before going to meet her, I read about the title she gave herself ‘Woman It is always useful to see people Physicist of Colour’. I reflected for a few days about how you can wear your approach challenges. When you are colour as a badge of honour, side by side to your professional title. It is an successful you might not need help, honour to tell your story with your colour , your features and your accent. because you know what you are doing; but when you are a little bit down and have some confidence issues, having somebody there who can guide you and support you is crucial. who doesn’t suffer from the imposter syndrome. It’s part For women in science, how important mentoring is? of the context of how science is done and for the fact that Very important. Having somebody who is there when you there are these external social pressures and for that I don’t really know what’s the next step, and they guide think mentoring is crucial, because if you feel isolated you and show you how they dealt with their challenges and don’t belong, when you talk to someone else who’s and tell you this is the next step. It’s great to have that done it and find out how did they do it, you will find your person who sees you for who you are when you cannot way as well. see yourself. In mentoring, when it comes to gender there are You had several mentors, formally and informally, who several possibilities: women mentoring women; were the most helpful mentors you had? men mentoring women and women mentoring The ones that I felt really helped me are the ones that were men. So where are you in these three? honest not just “Oh you’re the best! You can do it!” type. Well you often hear about women mentoring women, and This kind of support is not useful. They help you to this is very helpful and that’s how you build identify what are your strengths and what are your communities, especially in science where there are weaknesses. Then they guide to discover how you can few of us. I agree with that, however I don’t think that deal with your weaknesses. In academia, specifically in it has to be only women mentoring women. Men can research, the best research advisors say “Ok, this is the be very powerful mentors for women and the other next step in the research and here’s what you need to way around. I don’t think that your gender makes you think about.” They challenge your assumptions. a good mentor. As a mentee, what did you need your mentors for? Then what makes good mentoring relationship? Essentially it was to learn how to think critically. Mentoring is I cannot emphasize enough the importance of listening to not only helpful for academics, but also to build a career establish a successful mentoring relationship, for and have somebody who as I said have my back and mentors and mentees as well. help with those confidence issues, especially as women in these male-dominated careers. We also suffer from the imposter syndrome. I have never met a single woman
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. SHOHINI GHOSE
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Many of us in leadership positions have inherited the old-school approach of ruling with an iron fist – never showing our emotions, being firm and impersonal. For most women, this is contrary to our inner nature and to how we react and behave in our friend and family situations. Why do we have to put on a tough persona to lead at work when we are gentle and caring leaders in our personal lives? Fortunately there has been a shift in recent decades. The leaders of today see themselves as respectful mentors and facilitators. They are fostering stronger employee relationships by motivating, inspiring and empowering their teams. Even with open door policies across the board, no one falters on the need to be clear, direct, decisive and consistent. Today, people are leading with a combination of their minds and their hearts. Which one are you – a Ruler or a Leader?
ARE YOU A RULER OR A LEADER? By Carly Kuntz The Waters – An Urban Spa Retreat
The commanding autocratic leaders of past decades have given way to the more connection-based and nurturing approach of leadership today. That is not to say that today’s leaders lack decisiveness or authority, but
same care and respect we reserve for family and
these traits are combined with qualities that are more
friends. As leaders we are under pressure to make
geared to collaborating with and coaching team
decisions and to get the job done. During our busy
members. John Gerzema wrote, The Athena
times, it can be especially difficult to have patience
Doctrine – a book that argues that today’s effective
with team member complaints and concerns. This is
leaders (men and women) embody characteristics
a good time to take a few deep breaths and ask
that are traditionally considered feminine – traits like
yourself, “If my best friend came to me with this
empathy, vulnerability, humility, inclusivity,
complaint, how would I handle it?” You would most
generosity, balance and patience. This is great news
likely listen to her, try to see things from her
for women in leadership. As more and more business
perspective, assess if this is the right time to provide
leaders are female, society is embracing our natural
feedback, and then find ways to offer encouragement
characteristics in leadership settings.
while being direct and honest.
We can take this one step further and lead with the
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JUST BREATHE: YOU’RE DOING IT ANYWAY! By Jessica Cave A few big waves came crashing down over me last year. I lost my job, left an unhealthy relationship and moved out on my own for this first time in years. I decided it was time to invest in myself. For me, an investment means something that requires time and money. Neither of which I have much of these days.
I know I’m not alone in this, for many women, who juggle so many things in life; sacrifice and compromise usually ends up meaning that we neglect our own self-care and feel guilty when we do make the time. Self-care is priceless and should be celebrated not diminished by the guilt and shame.
Time and money for yoga classes or other interests isn’t always in the cards and sometimes it’s hard to even get I asked myself what is lacking in life right now, besides a out of bed in the morning or know what to make for job! For me it was reconnecting to my breath—as in dinner! Find 30 seconds in your day and just take some breathing, not bad breath! How often do we pay attention deep breaths. It can be while you’re in the car waiting at a to how we breathe? Breathing is fundamental to our wellstoplight, standing at the bus stop, taking a walk or a being and has so many benefits that we simply take for shower. Being present in the moment and taking some granted. deep breaths is the most valuable gift you can give I decided to take this breathing exercise and apply further yourself and it’s free! in my yoga practice. I joined a yoga challenge which was This was my personal journey of investing in myself and to complete 29 days of yoga in the month of February. hopefully it will speak to other women on some kind of The real challenge was to take that practice and apply it level. to the rest of my day without switching back into auto-pilot mode. What I noticed was that this also became an Namaste exercise of self-love and gratitude. Putting myself first was not as easy as I thought.
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