"Nothing Happens Unless First a Dream"  Carl Sandburg

There are no accidents, everything happens for a reason.

I admit that I didn't always agree with these two phrases, but after meeting many (and I mean many) incredible people in the last few years, I truly to believe that every experience we have happens for a reason.

Better said; "what you focus on, you will always find"

If you find yourself always complaining, I guarantee you will always find others to join in on the "Isn't it awful club".

If you focus in on what is possible, and choose to celebrate life, you will always find people to that are leading a life of passion and appreciation.

When I started on insulin pump therapy, I didn't know what to expect.  In short, the experience has been nothing short of life changing!  I have much more energy, my blood glucose readings have never been better, and the freedom the pumps gives me has made me almost forget that I am living with diabetes.

But something else happened when I went on the insulin pump and started attending insulin pump events, something totally unexpected.

I have met incredible "Pumpers" (as we like to call ourselves) that are making a HUGE positive impact on the lives of others.

One of those "Pumpers" is Chloe.

I met Chloe at an event after I had been on the pump for only two weeks.  She immediately welcomed me to the "club", and told me a little bit about her story.

Chloe was diagnosed as living with type 1 diabetes as a teenager, and like most of us, had her good days and not so good days.  After going through a period of being frustrated by her diabetes, and feeling like she was the only one in her age group with diabetes, she took the advice of a good friend and DID something about it!

She choose not to complain,but take action. 

What was her action?

She started her own foundation to help support young people living with diabetes, help then connect with each other, and promote an active healthy lifestyle.

No small feat.

Last weekend she planned her first ever outdoor weekend experience bringing together 28 young people living with diabetes.  The event was an overwhelming success filled with laughter, skiing, skating, hiking, sharing and friendship.

It was the first time for many of us to share a weekend with a group of people who "got it", and were all living with diabetes. Listed below are a few things that I have learned from Chloe:

1) Just do it!  - She decided to do something about her frustrations and took action!

2) Create a Vision - Chloe, Rob and Sarah created the vision of Slipstream, and Connected in Motion and worked hard to make it happen.

"Nothing Happens Unless First a Dream"  Carl Sandburg

3) Surround yourself with a solid team - Find people that share your passion, and enlist get them on your team.  Chloe's vision started with conversations with Rob, and her "team" has now expanded exponentially.

4) Have Fun and enjoy the journey - I like the saying "if it's fun, it gets done"

5) Share your vision - talk about your vision and passion with as many people as possible, you never know when "magic" can happen.

Congrats Chloe for making your dream vision a reality! 

Shawn Shepheard has worked extensively in the career development field, including recruitment, customer service, career management and leadership training. He is also a celebrated inspirational speaker and was named the 2008 Volunteer of the year from the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Tired of hearing a great speaker, reading an inspiring book and NOT knowing how to apply the lessons into your daily life?

We’ve all had those experiences where we have felt inspired either through something we have read or from a captivating speaker, only to reflect on the days that have followed and realize that nothing has changed. Why does this happen?

That's a question that I have trying to answer for a number of years.

What I have learned from the people that have attended one of my presentations, and turned their inspiration into REAL LASTING RESULTS is that they did the following things:

1) They had an emotional reaction to something I said.  Something got their heart racing, and they knew it was time to take action.

2) They took immediate action and made a commitment to change starting NOW.  Most people took action within 6 hours.

3) They surrounded themselves with a STRONG support team.  Changing habits also means changing the people we spend time with currently, if they are not supportive and growing with us.

4) They acknowledged the resistance phase and stayed committed to their new habits.  Whenever you start making changes, you WILL hit a phase of resistance (from your old friends, your beliefs, your old habits).

The best way to navigate this phase is by being part of a supportive community, that understands and knows how to overcome obstacles.

If you want to stop making excuses and start living the life of your dreams NOW, I would love to be on your team.

To find out more about the incredible team that I have put together please visit www.born2bealive.com

See you there!

Shawn

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We all want life to be filled only with joy and happiness but unfortunately life sometimes hits you harder than a Manny Pacquiao punch.

However, it's not what happens to us but how we respond that really counts.

Last weekend was a great reminder of that.

I was out with a group of friends at a local pub. The pub is a popular bar in the Ottawa Market area, the kind of place you totally fit in with a pair of your favorite jeans and a t-shirt. 

On this particular night there were three bands playing in three different rooms of the bar, and everyone was a having a grand old time.

As we looked around the bar, we noticed a bride (in her wedding dress), her groom, and her maid of honor.

To say they stood out is an understatement.

I thought, "maybe they got married at city hall and came to their favorite spot to celebrate....cool"

As the night rolled on, we thought it would make a great picture to get all of my friends in a shot with the weedding party.

So we approached the new bride and groom, offered our congrats. They were all too happy to pose with us.

When talking with the bride we discovered the "real" story. The "bride" told us that the man she was to marry was not 100% honest with her. Long story short, he was currently involved in a few other relationships.

Needless to say....the wedding was off.

After the initial shock and disappointment, the bride's best friend (who played the role of the groom that night) suggested that she put on her already purchased wedding dress.  Her maid of honor put on her gown and they headed out on the town to celebrate her wedding night.

Wow, talk about picking yourself up and celebrating life to the fullest.

The wedding party had a great night, and so did we.

Thanks for the reminder to not sit back and complain, but get back in the game and celebrate. It  was a night that I will not soon forget.

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Shawn is an inspirational speaker on empowered living with diabetes.  Here's his website: www.sugarfreeshawn.com

One of the biggest challenges I have faced as a entrepreneur and speaker, is making it easy for the people that I serve, to find me. Sounds easy, but it is often something I have overlooked.

If you deliver a fantastic presentation to an empty ballroom, does anyone "hear" you?

Although we would never imagine speaking to an empty room often our blogs, podcasts, website, etc.....are not coming close to attracting the audience we want to serve.

The frustrating part for me, was speaking infront of many live audiences,  and making a real connection with them but failing to serve their needs after the presentation.

I would ask myself: "I received great feedback from the presentation, but how come them don't read my blogs, visit my website, etc?' Well a BIG part of the answer was: They had a hard time finding me after the presentation.

Picture this: You are attending a two day conference and it is filled with many great speakers, connecting with old friends, a great grab bag of goodies, etc. You get the picture. You are "lucky" enough to be the opening keynote speaker. You totally "knock it out of the park" and get a standing ovation for the packed ballroom crowd.

You head to the airport feeling great, only to get home and receive an odd email from one of the attendees. This happened to me far to many times.

So how do you make it easy to continue to serve your new followers?

1) Make it easy for them to remember you

Having a name like Shawn Shepheard is not easy.  Think about it. There are at least four different ways to spell my first name, and if people are lucky enough to guess that right, then good luck spelling my last name correctly. (I have an extra vowel in there).

Mathematically, I have a 1 in 10,000 chance that they will find me (ok, I made that up), but you get the point.

My solution?

A simple, catchy website. I call it, Sugar Free Shawn because I speak on living well with diabetes. Check it out at www.sugarfreeshawn.com

2) Give them something good to take home

Gone are the days of having people drop their business card in a bowl to build your list.

Either give them something, or better yet, sell them something that gives them a deeper experience with you and the service your provide. It doesn't take much to develop a unique postcard inviting them to receive a free download of your ebook, audio, or special report, all from your website (People love free stuff).

Get creative but don't leave the room without providing them an opportunity to continue the relationship with you.

Like a great first date, if they are interested, they WILL call you back........you just have to make sure they know where to find you.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting camp Camp Huronda, a phenomenal facility 2.5 hours north of Toronto, located on 110 acres. The camp is home for the summer for children, ages 6 to 17, living with Type 1 Diabetes who need to rely on an insulin pump or daily injections. They offer a variety of activities and a staff of absolutely incredibly special people that are truly there to make a difference in people's lives. I cannot say enough what a special place this camp is.

A few months ago, I received a call from the camp, asking me to speak at the opening address for a 3 day family camp. Family camp is exactly how it sounds - mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers come up and stay with the camper for three days. There were about 40 staff, campers and family present. As I spoke, the smiles on the faces of the kids at camp...kids that are all living with diabetes, really inspired me. I am also living with diabetes. These children still smiled through all of it: testing their blood, taking injections, being on the pump. It was a really special night for me.

Earlier in the day, when I first arrived, the kids and families were down at the lake swimming, so I went on a tour of the camp. I saw horseback riding, biking, canoeing, swimming and even a climbing tower. We walked over to it and as I stepped up to the wall, a sign caught my attention - Rules for Climbing. As I read through these four simple rules posted low enough for little eyes to read, I really took them to heart and felt that they could be applied to other areas of life as well.

1. Be safe - Every day we need to think about being safe, not only for our own personal safety but also for the safety of our friends and the people around us. We can be safe when we're driving, when we think about the food that we put into our bodies and even when we choose the thoughts that we put into our heads. For those of us, who live with diabetes, it's as simple as always having a snack or juice or glucose tablets with us. We all need to be conscious of the little things every day that are easy to forget yet so important to our quality of life.

2. Have fun - It sounds simple. The best advice we get in life usually is, and sometimes, as adults, we can forget that. One of the biggest lessons I've learned from working with children, is that children have fun. We all need to have fun every day. It's easy - just laugh or smile, just play. What do children look forward to most when going back to school? Recess! They laugh, they have fun, and they enjoy themselves. We adults may have forgotten how to play, but it's simple to remember. Just remember to have fun, every single day.

3. Help a Friend every day - Check in with someone you love - send an email, call or text. Make them smile, or make them laugh. When you help a friend out, it really makes you feel good, as well. Put a smile on their face, and you will have definitely earned one for yourself

4. Don't Put Someone Down - It is easy to sit back and criticize and put other people down, but it's more challenging not to say anything negative and to really build someone up. Sadly, it doesn't take a lot of courage to put someone down. This last rule makes me think back to Dale Carnegie's book from 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People. One of the things he says is "Do not Criticize, Condemn or Complain." It doesn't do you any good and it certainly doesn't help the other person. These simple rules found posted to a child's climbing wall at summer camp, are four easy tenets that can be carried with us every day. Be safe, have fun, help a friend and don't put someone down. Simple. Useful.

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Shawn Shepheard Motivational Speaker

Last Saturday my wife's side of the family decided to have a family picnic. This is the first time we've done this, and to make things easier we decided to meet at a local park. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the weather.  I mean, why not celebrate summer? Summers are way too short in Canada.

Everybody has a busy schedule these days, so it was good that we all were able to make time for each other and for family and friends. I think that sometimes we let life get away from us and forget what's really important. So when we found each other at the park, it was great to sit and connect. We had lunch, played games, and really just had time for each other. It was great to shut out the rest of the world, if only for an afternoon.

Not worrying about your blackberry or checking your messages, but really being present and connected, is a priceless gift. We spent the day really creating memories that we sometimes forget to be present for. The day was beautiful and warm, and we learned a few lessons, like next time we'll remember to bring a canopy rather than chasing the shade with our picnic table. 

I also took away a few simple, but important things to remember in our daily lives:

1. Make Time for What is Important in Your Life - Whatever that may be - family, friends, your health. Make the time and make what's important to you your number one priority. I have certainly been guilty of letting things get away from me from time to time, and it's easy to do. But, if you have a business meeting, you schedule it. Sometimes we don't schedule the most important people in our lives. Identify what's really important in your life and make the time.

2. Play - I slept so well after playing with my two nieces. They have so much energy, and they play and they laugh and they come up with new games. It is amazing how very creative they are. As adults, sometimes we forget to play, while kids, they play all the time. I think that we need to play a little bit more. We need to experience the creativity, the vision and the dreaming that come from simply playing. You don't have to follow any rules; you can be whoever you want to when you let go and enjoy the act of playing.

3. Try to Look at the World through Kids Eyes - One of the things I have learned from working with children is that kids are so curious. They are always asking questions, and are always asking "why." I've done a lot of presentations with both adults and kids and the kids groups are always a lot more challenging because they will question everything, whereas adults usually just go with the flow.

At the picnic my 3 year old niece, Sophia, discovered the digital camera. She was so thrilled to take her first pictures. Then she shared them with her 6 year old sister, Alysia. Shortly after, off they went together to take more pictures. Some of their pictures were quite avant-garde, but they had so much fun because it was new and was something wonderful to explore.

Alysia loves playing games and sometimes she may be a bit creative with the rules, but we could all take a few tips from her and children like her. We need to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. We need to look with kids eyes and see the world as full of possibility. We need to be curious instead of jaded and judgmental. In one afternoon of family, and laughter and happy children discovering their world, I remembered three very important habits, that like many, I have sometimes forgotten.

Make a habit to make the time for what's important to you. Make the habit to play and play regularly. Make the habit to look at your world through the eyes of a child and remember how much you love doing the things that you do.

Recently, I have been doing some work with an international group called, Right to Play. They’re a fantastic group that teaches life lessons and leadership in ‘third world’ nations through sports. I was part of a team that went to two remote “first nations” communities in Northern Ontario as a part of Right to Play. 

We trained high school and college youth leaders. They, in turn, would eventually lead our summer children’s program. So we spent a couple days in each community and did a variety of training exercises. What was really interesting during the visits was that I found myself becoming a student rather than a trainer!

One of my favorite games during the training, is something called “Beyond the Comfort Zone.” This is where we put the students in a gym and mark off three distinct areas. The first area was called the ‘comfort zone’, the second area was called the ‘stretch zone’, and the third area was called the ‘scared zone’. And so, with three distinct areas in place, Jules, a training guru,  would then ask a question and allow the participants to analyze their position and feelings. The participants would then move about the gym into their zone.

So, for example, a question would be, “If you had to give a speech in front of 500 people, where would you go?” Some people might go to the comfort zone, but probably not many because public speaking is something that always rates higher than death when it comes to the things that people fear most!

Some people would go the “scared zone.” They might say, “Oh my God, public speaking is the worst thing in the world!”  On the other hand, some people would go to the stretch zone and so forth.  I have to say, it was quite interesting to see where each of us landed with some of these questions!  Jules went through a variety of different questions during the exercise – each one very telling and enlightening for the participant.  If you were in the scared zone, she would ask people, ‘what would it take for you to get into the stretch zone?’  She would get all sorts of answers: “Well, maybe if I did it with a friend” or, referring to public speaking, “Maybe if it was a topic on what I love,” and so on. We always came up with answers that would move us from the scared zone to the stretch zone or the stretch to the comfort zone.

During the exercise, I thought “This is an incredible game!”

Jules asked, “Where do you think all of your growth happens?” And we all agreed that growth happens in the stretch zone. Now, this was probably something that we already knew, but it was a fun and illuminating exercise to really see visually and physically, where we happen to be, and that we all grow most in the stretch zone.

So my question was, “What do we need to do daily to move from our comfort zone to our stretch zone?”

I have come up with three things that I do and that can really help:

1.   I learn from those who have done what I am trying to do. So, for example, when I was trying to run marathons. I went from not running at all to running three marathons for Team Diabetes. That was probably the scared zone for me at first. But, I moved to the stretch zone when I learned from people who had already done it. You can take the same approach for business or anything you want to do.  Learn from speakers or others that have done what you are trying to do!

2.    Don’t do it alone. It’s kinda like sex. It’s always more fun with a partner! Learn from others. Get your support team together. There are a lot of people out there who would like to help and support you. Using my marathon example, I learned that I was not alone. Going to online communities or running groups really helped me. The socializing helped reaffirm that I was not by myself with these challenges.

Sometimes diabetics tend to think that we are the only ones on insulin; we are the only ones that have to test our blood, that we are the only ones that know what a blood glucose low is. And yet, others are out there too - struggling everyday with our same challenges. Support each other! Small actions like volunteering or opening yourself up will move you from the scared zone to the stretch zone.

3.   Make leaving your comfort zone a habit – daily. We generally are creatures of habit.  We do the same things with the same kind of people.  Instead, try to make it a habit to leave your comfort zone.  I know when I started doing some work in New York City, I was going from my comfort zone of Canada to a scared zone.  There were times that I’d be in New York and I would be walking the streets and I would think to myself, “What am I doing here?” I would feel so uncomfortable and I felt that I was so over my head.

But to grow, we need to go into those stretch zones, we need feel a bit uncomfortable and we need to make that a daily habit. And they don’t have to be big things. Small things matter too. For example, take a different route to work, read some different magazines, hang out with some different people or ask good questions! Kids ask good questions all the time and sometimes we don’t. Leaving our comfort zone will ensure our personal and professional growth!

If you do these three things, I think that you will find that you will be moving not only from the comfort zone to the stretch zone, but also from the scared zone to the stretch zone. And the stretch zone is where all the best learning happens.

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This past June, I had the opportunity to go to a conference in San Diego, California. I gotta say, that it was a wonderful three days of training that reaffirmed the often heard axiom: we reap what we sow.

One of the things that I have learned about entrepreneurs, as well as other people who “Think Big” about moving their dreams forward, is that they tend to invest significant time and effort into their own education and learning. 

No matter how far along you are on your journey, I am a true believer that by opening yourself up - even just a tiny bit - to learning new ideas, can set the stage for upcoming success in your life. Anything from reading a book, taking a class, or in my case, going to a conference can serve to motivate and generate new thoughts, ideas, and even new and exciting professional friendships.

And that’s exactly what happened to me down in sunny San Diego.

Now, for me, going out to the Southern-most edge of California by way of Toronto, Canada, was pretty expensive, but I really felt that I needed to venture off my normal path in search of new winds.

Over the course of the conference, I happened to meet a woman by the name of Janet Goldstein. While making small talk with her, I didn’t realize just what an expert I was actually talking to in the book publishing business. Janet has been in the publishing world in New York City for over 25 years and, I have to say, that I was very humbled to meet her. She is quite a big deal in publishing circles there, though one would really never know it when first meeting her because of her unassumnig, sincere and genuine demeanor. Janet is just one of those people I instantly connected with because of how substantive she is. 

The last night we were in town, a group of us went out to dinner. Among others, Janet was there and she had talked a bit about this exciting event that she had coming up at the end of July called, “Book Breakthrough New York City.” Honestly, at that time, I wasn’t really thinking about writing a book but there was something inside that tugged at me: I needed to spend more time with this person and learn a bit more from her, and that is what I intended to do.

Later that evening, I went online and checked out her event and signed up;  I was one of the first to do so. 

Hosted by Janet Goldstein and Elizabeth Marshall, this event delivered much more than I had imagined. The phenomenal three days were inspiring, filled with real life success stories, had an incredible group of people, some very well-known passionate authors, editors, promoters, and publishing house executives. People from all over the world were in attendance.  It was a truly a rich experience.

While I had wondered whether I would actually fit in at this event, I wound up feeling inspired, making new friendships and on my way to writing a book about diabetes that publishers want.

Lessons Learned:

1.   Everything is about relationships and making choices through connections. I really like using the word “connections” because when you truly connect with someone, it isn’t forced. I personally don’t like going to “networking” events that are less about making connections than about making a sale or have something to do with a “quid pro quo” action on your part – you know, ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours?’ Sometimes, getting to know people and just listening is what matters most. Building relationships that are authentic and developing substantive connections are most important in every area of our lives.

2.   Answering the ultimate question of “Why?” Why are you writing this book? What brought you to this event? Why do you want to do this and why does this go beyond the ego of wanting to get on a ‘Best Seller’s List?’ Maybe it’s to help other people or to serve other people. I know that my book - which will be coming out next year – was an extension of my desire to serve more people. My book on diabetes will hopefully help people realize they can lead healthy, long, productive lives.

3.   Be humble. There were so many incredibly powerful people at these conferences but they were all humble. They didn’t let their ego control them or dictate their future. It kind of reminds me of the ‘Anchorman’ movie, where Will Ferrell says, “I’m a kinda of a big deal.” And there were rooms filled with people who were all ‘big deals’, but they were all humble. It makes me wonder if their humility and quiet confidence was responsible for their success. I can’t thank Janet and Elizabeth enough! 

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

To find out more about Shawn's exciting new telecourse please visit www.born2bealive.com

A former boss told me, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so be really selective.”  I often think about this.

Where you choose to invest your time and who you invest your time with is tremendously important.  If you spend your time with a complainer who is never happy, it’s going to rub off on your own state of mind.  It may even affect your ability to complete your goals, as you’ll find yourself joining in with the chorus of complaints.  Instead of wasting time with negativity, it’s better to invest your time with people who are making things happen.  These are people who are trying to make a difference.  When you surround yourself with positive, productive people, you can’t help but become a part of what they are accomplishing.  Thus, the decisions we make everyday—where we spend our time and who we spend our time with—are vital to our own success. 

This brings to mind Chloe Steepe, a woman who I’ve had the pleasure to meet and know through her not-for-profit group called, Connected in Motion. Chloe is someone I want to spend a lot of time with; she makes conscious life choices to be positive and productive while living with diabetes. 

Chloe’s organization connects people who have Type I or insulin-dependent diabetes with sports, recreation, and healthy living.  Chloe inspires me and others with her positive approach to life.  She shares her personal experiences living with diabetes, enabling her to make a true connection to other people who are also living with diabetes.  Her determination to make the world a better place and her commitment to living well with diabetes is infectious to those around her.  

The connections people make with each other through organizations like Chloe’s are tremendous.  It’s kind of like going to a party and instantly connecting with someone who you’ve just met but s/he happens to be from your hometown, or you share something in common.  You instantly click and have a great time talking, feeling completely comfortable with each other, as if you didn’t just meet but instead have known each other for years.  Times that feeling by a hundred and you would know what it’s like to connect to other people who choose to live well with diabetes; the connection is really that strong. 

Words alone do not articulate and convey the uniqueness of this community. Here is a video clip to watch to get a taste of what it's like to surround yourself with great people who share common experiences. In my case, it was a weekend in January of playing sports and sharing time with new friends who have diabetes. You can hear the passion and see the special community with your own eyes in this video clip.  The people in the organization truly make the experience wonderful. 

Here are three lessons I learned (and they really apply to everyone):

• We are the average of the five people we spend our time with.  Be very selective.  Look at your life and what you want for yourself, and then figure out who are the people who will have a positive influence and the ability to inspire you.  These will be the people with whom you will want to spend your time. 
• Your physical environment matters.  It is important to change your environment from time to time.  If you stay in the same place, it is hard to change your thinking and go beyond the parameters of where you currently reside in your life.  New environments introduce new ways of thinking.                                                                       I’m lucky enough that I get to travel a lot for my work.  Being on the road for my work and changing environments so frequently enables me to constantly shift my way of thinking.  I get out of my comfort zone and encounter new experiences that have an impact on the way I look at things.  You do not have to travel or even spend money to experience a new physical environment.  In fact, it could be as simple as going on a walk, working in the library instead of your usual office, going to the park, or anywhere that is different from your ordinary work place.  In other words, a simple change of scenery can be powerful.
• Action is essential.  Everyone can talk about their great ideas, but talk is cheap.  Having the ability to act is what will make you successful.  You need to move toward your goal and what you want.  This requires you to also carefully choose the people you want to surround yourself with, because these people will have an impact on your ability to act.  Pick up the phone, send that e-mail, do whatever you need to do to make something happen.  The key is to act.

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

To find out more about Shawn's exciting new telecourse please visit www.born2bealive.com

There’s a fantastic worldwide organization called Right to Play that was founded after the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994.  It's an organization that uses sport to teach life lessons to children in underdeveloped or developing nations. 

I’m very new to the organization and I’ve been asked to help out with the first program that has ever been done in Canada.  Whenever there is an Olympics, or your country hosts the Olympics, you get to run what they call a legacy program and actually do some of the great Right to Play work in your own country. So this opportunity came to me a few months ago. 

One of the two programs that we’ll be running here in Canada is a hockey program which will be starting in the Fall.  The second program is a summer play program for children between the ages of 4 and 14.   Both of the communities that benefit from the summer sun program and the hockey program are remote First Nation communities in the northern part of Ontario, called Moose Factory. 

A few days ago, myself and the Right to Play Team left Toronto bound for Moose Factory.  After two plane trips and a boat trip we arrived.  Our plan was to spend two days with our youth councilors training them on Right to Play games and activities so they would be ready to lead groups of children starting next Monday.  The camp will offer a variety of sporting activities, plus other activities such as cooking, karate, science (building a rocket), and even a class where the kids will get a chance to be a reporter going around taking pictures and writing articles for a weekly newspaper.  The program will run from Monday to Friday, with a big community celebration being planned for the Friday afternoon.

When we started the training we were made aware of some of the differences between the First Nation community and the urban culture where we’re from in Toronto. We had three main messages that we really wanted to stress with the youth councilors.  In no particular order these messages were:

1. To be safe.  We wanted to stress that with the youth councilors needed to be safe not only with themselves, but also physically and emotionally with the kids.
2. To have fun.  In everything that I do I believe that if it’s fun, it gets done!  So we wanted to let them know that they should have fun and make sure that the kids have fun too.
3. Learn something new every day.   How the power of learning something new whether that’s a new skill or making a new friend or whatever that was.

So that was our three big points:

-To be safe.

-Have fun.

-Learn something new every day.

The irony of our two day visit with the First Nation in Moose Factory was that although it was our goal to leave these points with the youth, they taught these same things back to us!  The first one of being safe; from first arriving by boat we were welcomed the entire time by everybody in the community.  Everywhere we walked we were greeted with happy, smiling welcoming faces and had so many great conversations with people, including the youth.  They made us feel not only safe, but they also made us feel extremely welcomed.  We really appreciated that.

The second one was having fun.  Well, to say that we had fun while we were there is an understatement!  We went out and were welcomed to their twice-a-week softball game.  We experienced lots of laughs throughout the two days, lots of genuine sharing, and most definitely we had a lot of fun!

The last one, learn something new every day.. well the ironic thing was that we probably learned a lot about the community and the people by being there, and observing.   I think the biggest lesson I learned is that sometimes you need to listen more and talk less.  I learned this from the people in Moose Factory.  I learned of the strength of community, the power of community, the power of helping each other, and the power of just being really genuine, honest and trusting.  That’s something that didn’t leave me when I returned to Toronto. 

So the three main points and lessons that I learned from Moose Factory are:

1.       To be safe.

2.       To have fun.

3.       To learn something new every day.

And I think it was a little ironic that that was something we were trying to teach, and leave with them– and yet it’s what they left with us!

To find out more about Shawn's exciting new telecourse please visit www.born2bealive.com

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