POTENTIAL CLIENT - "We don't hire 'motivational speakers'."
STEPH - "What do you hire; boring, unengaging speakers?
ALL of your speakers should be motivational - yes, we bring important content but it's my job to MOTIVATE them to move into action!"
I didn't get that job, btw. ;)
Are you one of those people that can relate to being "Nice For A Living"?
It's my mission to help people who help people, so that they can help people - and themselves - even more!
If you want a power-pointy, didactic speaker - I'm not your girl. If you want a gold medalist, an Everest climber, a name that will put butts in seats, or a tragic story, I'm not your girl.
But...if you just want a great storyteller, an engaging, caring, real, everyday human-being speaker who will connect with your people, I am your girl.
I promise to exceed your expectations, work with your group to help you meet your objectives, and leave your people with valuable content and actionable tools to perform better in both their personal & professional lives. Let's connect, go straight here.
I assume you are on this page to find out a little bit about me, which is fine, but then you have to tell me a little bit about you (it’s only fair!).
You can find out what 250+ other people say about me on my LinkedIn page in the 'recommendations' section.
If you are interested in my back story, read on...
And that’s when I fell into the world of personal development and everything changed, not only for me but for those around me. For the first time in my life, I worked harder on myself than on anything else. I stopped trying to change other people, other situations, other circumstances, I just worked on changing me.
It didn’t take long before I started feeling, thinking, and acting differently. Better, stronger, happier. Like happy-happy!
I realized that I could love and appreciate all the ‘nice’ that I had in my life and still strive for something more and that was ok – no guilt required!
People started noticing that I had changed for the better, they started asking me how I ‘did it’ and if I could help them ‘do it’. Right about that time, I had one of those pivotal moments when you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing – this was one of those. I was lying in bed, reading a magazine article about this new thing called personal coaching and it was like the clouds parted, the heavens opened and angels started singing! I bounced out of bed to tell The Hub, “Helping people make their lives better is actually a profession!”
I was over the moon, this was what I was going to do with my life!
I planned a big party to make a special announcement, I was going to leave nursing and become a coach! The problem was it was 2006 – life coaching was practically unheard of. I will never forget that day in my living room, when I made the announcement to all my friends, the room suddenly turned into a library, it was soooo quiet. Finally one of my friends spoke up. “We have no idea what that is, but we are sure you will be very good at it!” At that everyone burst into applause. lol
So I trained to be a coach. I started doing personal coaching, then I did group coaching and then someone asked me if I could present at their event. I’d never done that before but I had a message to share and an overwhelming desire to share it, so I said yes. And then, one day the Mayo Clinic called, and I was on a stage in front of 1000 nurses. The next thing you know, you came to check me out – how cool is that?! OK, well there were a few steps in between coaching, training and the Mayo Clinic but you don’t have all day to read about me. Do you?
My recent epiphany – I am not the best speaker in the world – but I am real and genuine and authentic and when I speak whether it’s at Mayo or in the Middle East – people wake up, people get it. Not everyone, of course (I can’t want a better life for someone more than they want it for themselves) but enough to matter, enough to know that I am making a positive difference, I’m doing something very necessary, very, very important.
I’m not perfect but no one, no one, can tell me that this is not what I’m supposed to be doing for a living. I know to the core of my being that speaking is how I’m supposed to share my gifts with the world. People think what I do now is very different from what I did while nursing but I disagree. I went into nursing to help people and speaking is how I help people, speaking is how I nurse, speaking is my specialty.
Work harder on yourself than on anything else. If I only had a few seconds with an audience that’s what I would tell them. It’s my desktop screensaver. It’s what changed my life and helped me find that something more that I knew intuitively was missing.
In 2014, I was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year for Contributions to Community in my province. I'm pretty proud of that. To me, giving back to the community locally and globally is equally important as building a successful business.
I haven't won anything lately, mostly I come in last at things. I'm ok with that.
I do take my turn on Boards and am an active Rotary International member.
- Print columnist- you can read about me in fancy-schmancy magazines like Redbook, Good Housekeeping (much to my mother’s shock) and I’ve actually been interviewed for O Magazine. Impressed? Don’t be – the articles are on the cutting room floor. Oh well, maybe next time! I also write monthly for SEASIDE Magazine - which I love!
- Founded three businesses (two successful – one a nightmare, you can’t win them all!)
- Multi-titled author, radio personality (Your Life, Unlimited weekly show – 12 years on Corus Entertainment), frequent podcast guest
- Digital and online content creator, app developer
- ‘Specialized psycho-social employee-wellness & workplace-health services consultant’ for Health Canada, yeah, they gave me that title, I’m not quite sure what it means either but it sure sounds important doesn’t it?
- Healthcare Consultant, working with everyone from front-line staff to physicians to the CEOs, to help develop their passion for personal leadership and serve their patients and colleagues with excellence.
- Professional MC (Emcee/Master of Ceremonies) I can make the telephone book sound fun – wait – what’s a telephone book? Beyond keynoting I do love to help conferences spice up their entire event by offering this service. I was host/producer/MC of Mo-Mondays Winnipeg for five years, a wildly successful, super-fun and uplifting evening that brought hundreds of people together every month for ideas, insight, and inspiration, that’s when I learned to be an awesome MC (if I do say so myself, which I just did).
- I am a forever advocate of Toastmasters International and a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM - an elite award earned by showing dedicated service and leadership over multiple years). I believe everyone can benefit from this great organization.
- Spirit of CAPS (Manitoba) award winner for demonstrating the spirit of sharing, leading, and inspiring others and possessing the qualities of generosity, spirit, professionalism, and reflected outstanding credit, respect, honor, and admiration in the chapter & community.
- The Hub and I have been a pair for many decades (in a row!) and we actually still like each other, isn’t that a pleasant surprise! We recently ran away from home (central Canada) to start a new life on beautiful Vancouver Island (West Coast of Canada) – we are happy-happy there!
- I have three crazy, awesome, healthy, happy, contributing kids and two really perfect Littles (I know it’s amazing because I’m only 37??). Currently, the moon and stars are revolving around Noah (4) and Adeline (1)!
- I remain a personal development “junkie,” and both family and friends scramble to get away when I tell them, “I have an idea …” they know that a new “technique” is about to be tried on them!
Thanks for researching, visiting, and reading. I hope I at least made you smile. If I’m not the right speaker for your event, please know I am very well connected in the speaker world and I’d be happy to make a recommendation.
- can preside over weddings & funerals.
- have been in jail (relax – just doing prison visits).
- once drove through a drugstore window – oops! (don’t worry, no one was hurt – except the window).
- have slack-lined, zip-lined, bungee jumped, hang-glided, para-sailed, and sky-dived.
- was in a dance flash mob.
- am a contributing author in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
- have slept in an igloo at 40 below (which begs the question…why?).
- met The Hub in junior high in 1977 and I still like him.
- have Morten’s Syndrome (the second toe is longer than the first, do you?).
- love adventures, travel, and adventure travel!
- was a runway model, a clown, and a mascot (a pelican, if you must know, and whew it’s hot in there!).
- can’t go underwater without plugging my nose **update - I am learning to do this**.
- was picked last for every sport in school.
- wrote a fiction book under a pen name (nope, I'm not telling).
- like romantic comedies and movies based on true stories.
- had terrible report cards.
- love to go out with audience members after an event (no, not on dates!).
- chose my high school because a boy I liked was going there - and no, it wasn’t The Hub.
- have never, ever had a cup of coffee.
- have the most unique sneeze you’ve ever heard, there will be about 7 in a row and you will never forget it once you’ve heard it.
- cry very easily, like at the National Anthem (even if it’s not my country)!
- used to teach aerobics (about 20 lbs ago).
- broke an arrow with my neck (long story!).
Now you tell me something about yourself, please!
