Be Motivated by the Challenge

Introducing Heather Moyse

Have you truly challenged yourself lately? So many of us go through our daily lives and make excuses why we can’t take ourselves to the next level. Maybe we are just being lazy, have fears that we won’t live up to our dreams, or assume we are not good enough. Sometimes we just need to be motivated by someone that has done something extraordinary to kick-start our own challenges. Someone like two-time Olympic gold medalist Heather Moyse.

You would be surprised to find out that Heather wasn’t always so driven. She admits that her athletic prowess had more to do with genetics than dedication. Though she played three varsity sports in university, you wouldn’t have ever seen her in the gym lifting weights in her spare time. What Heather did enjoy was a challenge, which is just what happened when at the age of 27 she was given the opportunity to go to the Olympics just five months after being introduced to the sport of bobsledding. Find out how her challenge was almost if not more rewarding than her gold medals in this inspiring episode of the Boiling Point.

In this episode

• Monica is back filling in for Greg.
• We are introduced to Heather for both the person she is as well as her accomplishments.
• We learn about what Heather is up to now and her passion for empowering others.
• Heather tells us about the surreal experience of going to the Olympics.
• Heather makes the point that she was just one of the best in the world who were willing to take a leap of faith to try to best at something and we are all capable of more than we generally give ourselves credit for.
• We hear how Heather is inspiring others to take her path to become more than they could have imagined.
• She tells us about her “no regrets” philosophy and what that means to her.
• Heather tells us why we should strive for the “unlikely, but possible” and how she is now more motivated by a challenge than by mastering it.
• Dave likes the idea of stepping back to appreciate and embrace the challenge and not just being focused on the result.
• Monica wants to reevaluate where she may have had some limiting beliefs that may have stunted her in the past.

Links

- Heather's Website

- Heather on Facebook

- Heather on Twitter

- Heather on Instagram 

The Business of Brainstorming

Introducing Marilyn Barefoot and Barefoot Brainstorming

Children have a natural ability to be creative. You give a kid a box and she will imagine it as a million different things. At some point though a lot of us seem to misplace this creative ability to make random associations, but this skill is so important to so many professions, including creative entrepreneurs. This week’s Boiling Point guest is an expert in retraining your brain to become more creative once again.

Marilyn Barefoot is the head of Barefoot Brainstorming based out of Toronto, Ontario. Marilyn spent almost 30 years in the creative aspects of advertising and during that time noticed that in most agencies there was no process to being creative. Now Marilyn is helping companies all around the world by tapping into the creative abilities of their employees.

Check out this episode of the Boiling Point to see how you can get your creative juices flowing.

In this episode

• Previous BP guest, Monica Adair fills in as a guest host for Greg.
• We are introduced to Marilyn and hear a little bit about her background.
• Marilyn tells us what prompted her to go and find a process for creativity.
• We learn a little bit about the Osborn-Parnes model of creative problem solving.
• Marilyn notes that children have the innate ability to make random associations and it seems that formal education impacts our ability to make the same associations as easily.
• We hear a story of how random association helped Michelangelo invent the bicycle and how it helped develop Velcro.
• Marilyn teaches of the importance of divergence and convergence in the process of being creative.
• We hear some examples of how the brainstorming process has helped big companies make some unique decisions.
• Monica loves the idea of getting ideas and thought out of their typical “silos” and making new and interesting connections to seemingly unconnected things.
• Dave feels like there is so much more to lean from someone like Marilyn and notes the confidence she would have to have to facilitate such a creative experience.

Links

- Barefoot Brainstorming Website

- Marilyn on Linked In

- Barefoot Brainstorming on Facebook

- Marilyn on Twitter

- Barefoot Brainstorming on YouTube

Positivity and Transparency

Reintroducing Jake Rothschild and Jake’s Ice Cream 

Social media can be an incredibly powerful force for good, but often it is used to spread vitriol and to create a platform for unconstructive argument. Many are looking to tune out the negativity including this week’s Boiling Point guest, Jake Rothschild.

Jake was a previous guest of the Boiling Point and had introduced us to his amazing Joyscream, possibly the world’s healthiest ice cream. Like many Americans, Jake has many reservations about the USA’s current political environment, the division of its people, and the negativity and arguments he sees being spread online. As a man who knows how to get people’s attention, Jake is trying to change the conversation online by spreading positivity and by being transparent.

Jake has decided to remain apolitical for the foreseeable future but wants to promote the good news that is still out there. One great example of this was a Facebook page he created to follow his journey to lose weight. Within 60 days, Jake had lost 24 lbs. and was amazed by the number of people that joined his group sharing their own stories and cheering him on.

Check out this episode to see how Jake is spreading the positive vibes on this episode of the Boiling Point.

In this episode

• We hear how Jake gave Greg a marketing idea, which resulted in Greg finally selling his cottage.
• Jake tells us his thoughts on America’s current political environment.
• We hear about Jake’s former life within the media.
• Jake shows us some of the flaws of the current social media landscape and how it can make people miserable.
• We hear how he stopped being political online but started spreading the positive.
• Jake tells us how the support he found on social media helped him to lose 24 lbs. in 60 days.
• We also hear about Jake’s food business incubator is helping to launch other people’s businesses at the Irwin Street Market in Atlanta, Georgia.
• We hear how brands like Uber are jumping on board with Jake.
• Jake tells us how the community kitchen is a great way to test out new products without a huge investment.
• We discuss how the incubator is like a venture capitalist where the currency is expertise and positivity.

Links

- Jake's Previous Boiling Point Appearance 

- Jake's Ice Cream Website

- Jake's Website

- Jake's Ice Cream on Twitter

- Jake's Ice Cream on Facebook

- Jake on Facebook

- The Irwin Street Market Website

- Greg Selling his N.B. Cottage

The B Corp Bank

Introducing Craig Ryan and BDC

Financing is a big deal for entrepreneurs, but so often the charter banks just don’t “get” entrepreneurs. Luckily for Canadians, there is an option out there that is exclusively for entrepreneurs and they really do “get it”. That bank is the Business Development Bank of Canada and their director of social entrepreneurship, Craig Ryan, is our Boiling Point Guest this week.

The BDC was created by the federal government with the purpose to support entrepreneurship with special attention to small and medium sized businesses with loans, investments, and advising. The BDC is not just the bank for entrepreneurs but is also a B Corp and a great supporter of the cause. Check out this week’s episode of the Boiling Point to see how financing your social venture can be accomplished with the BDC.

In this episode

• We meet Craig and hear about how he and the BDC helped spread the message of “The Millennial Dream”.
• We hear about the purpose of the BDC and why that purpose is not a “mandate”.
• Dave mentions the difference between his experiences as an entrepreneur with the charter banks and the BDC.
• Craig tells us a little about some great B Corps across the country that you may not of heard about.
• We delve into Craig’s background to see how he became a director of social entrepreneurship at BDC.
• Craig tells us why the B Corp movement is so important to him and the BDC.
• We also hear how Greg and “the Millennial Dream” were used as bait.
• Craig also tells us about the Measure What Matters Tool, which is available on the BDC website and how it can measure your business’s impact in a very short amount of time.
• Dave thinks it is so cool that a bank is helping promote the message in “the Millennial Dream”.
• Greg is proud to be a part owner (along with all other Canadians) in a bank that gets entrepreneurs and believes in them.

Links

- The BDC Website

- The BDC's Measure What Matters Tool

- The BDC on Twitter

- The BDC on Facebook

- The B Corporation Website

- Craig on Linked In

- The Millennial Dream Website