3 great kids that I am very,
very proud of!!
Daughter - Christina (20's), Son - Jamie (late teens), Son - Ryan (early
teens).
All very active in sports, recognized in school for their efforts and social
skills, good grades, well rounded, caring, never been in trouble and leaders
in their own right. I love my kids, being there for them and being able to
attend almost every function or activity they are involved in, it makes a
huge difference.
Faithfully married to the same
woman at an early age and just celebrated our 25th anniversary (in 2008).
Survivor of major medical
condition as a child, not expected to live past my teens.
Experienced countless cardiac
arrests (too many for doctors to count in one afternoon) and was rushed to
hospital as a child (more than once) and was written up in a medical journal as being a
miracle child. Firstly for surviving a condition that has almost a 100%
fatality rate for 1 instance - yet I survived it many times over! Secondly for surviving without any
brain damage - although some may disagree with that, now ; >) HAHA!
Invited to present a cheque to
the Children's Hospitals Foundation of Ontario on live national television
during their annual telethon. I was given the honour of presenting this
cheque because the unit I managed had raised the most money in the company
for this, very near to my heart, cause. For the years our company was
involved in this worthy cause, my location was consistently the highest
money raiser in the company (68 locations) and often doubled our nearest
counterpart in donations solicited from our customers and staff. This taught
me what it meant to be dedicated to a cause.
Was invited to Wayne Gretzky's
inauguration into the Hockey Hall of Fame and was able to shake his hand
just after he received his place in the Hall.
Have met many great and/or well
known people and some not to famous but very great!
Some of the more well known include: Wayne Gretzky, Pierre Elliott Trudeau,
Bobby Orr (who is simply the nicest celebrity I have ever met), Dan Ackroyd,
Grant Fuhr, Gordie Howe, Mario Andretti, Don Cherry, Burton Cummings, Doug
Gilmore, Domenik Hasek, The Hanson Brothers (if you have to ask, you don't
want to know), my mom, my grandparents, and many others.
Set up and operated recreational
hockey leagues for adults while I was only 16, and continue to do so.
Created and operate my own
hockey league where players (we have divisions for adults and children) can
play for the love of the game, regardless of ability. This was done to
afford my then 14 year old son, a place to play where he could enjoy the
game without fear of injury or politics. Many media ran stores and praised
our new league as being revolutionary.
Travelled extensively in USA,
Canada and abroad, although I haven't seen nearly enough of the world yet!
On two occasions I was able to
spend an entire day driving a Formula 1600 race car and learning the
techniques professional race driving.
I have been recognized by the
media in Canada, the USA and Europe with over 20 television features &
segments, radio interviews and print coverage, all relating to my companies,
coaching, business innovations and success.
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Of course my kids are most
important in my life and I love to be involved with their interests and I
have been fortunate to be able to attend almost every play, event, sports
game, etc. in all three of their lives.
My own success motivates me, the
success of my clients is a huge thrill and empowers me to be able to work
even harder to help them continue to experience the life altering changes
they desire and need to fulfill their own inner needs.
I love music and have an
extensive music library including hundreds of CD's and albums (yep, vinyl)
that encompasses Rap to Heavy Metal to Bach, Shania Twain to John Lee Hooker.
Although I most often prefer good old Rock & Roll, particularly The
Beatles - individually or as a group, AC/DC, Tragically Hip, Led Zeppelin,
ZZ Top and many more. Music helps me find solitude and lets me 'drift away'
into my own world. I think of music as my drug, since I do not partake in
'real' drugs or alcohol.
I am very motivated to continue
my lifelong personal education of self improvement. I have always felt that
you can learn something new from everyone you meet in life and that we
should never stop trying to better ourselves. If you stop growing as a
person, you stop living!
Hockey is my second major
passion. Playing (I'm a goalie), coaching, watching, analyzing, etc. I love
it all.
Sunsets on the beach,
thunderstorms watched from inside by the fire, overlooking a lake or ocean
and letting my mind go blank while doing absolutely nothing, are times I
relish and need to maintain my inner balance.
Fast and exotic cars really
excite me, I love the speed and thrill of the adrenaline rush I get when
driving.
Ok, I'll admit it, I'm, a bit of
a geek. I like Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien and many other such movies, but I
also love a good comedy with Jim Carey or Jerry Lewis, or something thought
provoking and shocking like Silence of the Lambs. Sometimes you need a good
laugh, other times you need to allow yourself to go to fantasy land, while
there are some nights you want to watch a great movie with plot twists and
surprises that make you think as it moves along.
I have a very strong interest in
the Pyramids, unexplained phenomena and ancient Egyptian life. Travelling
the world to experience these things is something I would love to do.
MY LIFE'S PURPOSE
I realized my life's purpose after
leaving my 'dream job', where I enjoyed 16 great years and endured another 2
years before leaving and taking 1 full year off of from working. During this
time I did much soul searching and tried to figure out what it was I wanted and
more importantly needed from my work.
It was almost 2 more years before I finally realized what I needed to be content
with my life. I needed a job that allowed me to utilize my skills with people,
was challenging, rewarding, motivating, self satisfying, allowed me to be an
individual and an entrepreneur yet let me maintain my values. All of these were
important and required for me to enjoy my 'job' but there also had to be an
element of helping others and where I felt I was able to make a difference in
the lives of people. Life Coaching has given me all of this and so much more
that I cannot explain, aside from raising my family, this is what I feel I was
put here to do.
BUSINESS SUCCESSES
Built an independent Sports
Retail e commerce website to one of the largest (in it's category) volume
sites in the world, assuming 100% responsibility for all aspects of the
business, development and strategy.
Maintaining double digit growth
for over 12 straight years in a multi million dollar company, while I was
responsible for all areas. Sales declined over 50% in the first year after my departure and
never regained their previous levels.
Wrote, published and oversaw all
aspects of production of an annual 60 page Buyers Guide with a distribution
of almost 20 000, for 8 straight years.
Won annual SDC (Canada's largest
sports Buying Group with over 200 locations) award for best promotional
piece - 60 page Buyers Guide, which I independently wrote and
produced.
Was recognized as Manager of the
Year, primarily because of my people management skills. Regularly having the
lowest staff turnover in the company (68 units) and well below industry
standards.
Operate an International and
world leading Goaltending school, since 1988, annually bringing together
over 100 instructors and students, from around the world - 18 countries
represented in total.
Successfully expanded my own
company into the USA and Europe where we have had several successful
locations.
After being selected to head a
Buying Committee I annually presented programs to groups of up to 500
business owners, their employees and spouses. In addition I regularly speak
to smaller groups on a variety of subjects including; goaltending, coaching
skills, relationships, business skills or requirements, and life skills.
Nominated as 'Coach Of The
Year', by participants in large sports association with over 700 members.
Worked with several athletes who
have gone on to successful professional careers.
Took an International Shipping
Franchise store to top 5 in Canada for sales growth, in less than 1 year of
ownership.
Helped a small independent
restaurant to quadruple its business in just one year.
