Life Matters

Guest:

Sarah Laing - Contributing writer at The Kit

'It's not what happens to you; it's what you do about it' What if what happens to you changes your life for the worse, and forever?   At age 27, Mitchell, a former US Marine, has a great job in San Francisco, achieved his first solo flight as part of his pilot training and is heading back home on his brand new motorcycle.  Tragedy strikes when a truck sideswipes Mitchell, turning into a horrific accident where his gas tank explodes. Mitchell wakes up in the hospital badly burned, face permanently, disfigured, with stumps for fingers.  After a long and painful road back, Mitchell becomes a successful entrepreneur and achieves his commercial pilot license. One morning, the unfairness of circumstance again occurs when Mitchell is in a plane crash and is paralyzed—forced into a wheelchair that he calls his prison. Mitchell's story is one of purpose and pursuit and not pity and of making choices. Mitchell, undefeated by his tragedies and will inspire you with his remarkable achievements including being a successful entrepreneur, a Mayor, running for Congress, and in the Hall of Fame for Motivational Speakers.  Mitchell shares his thoughts on how and what we can do, to battle the circumstances of life.   What you focus on in life is what you get back and what you concentrate on is who you become. Amy Deacon, Clinical Social Worker, joins LIFE MATTERS to discuss choice and why some succumb to painful circumstances, while others turn their pain into purpose.

'It's not what happens to you; it's what you do about it'

What if what happens to you changes your life for the worse, and forever?  

At age 27, Mitchell, a former US Marine, has a great job in San Francisco, achieved his first solo flight as part of his pilot training and is heading back home on his brand new motorcycle.  Tragedy strikes when a truck sideswipes Mitchell, turning into a horrific accident where his gas tank explodes. Mitchell wakes up in the hospital badly burned, face permanently, disfigured, with stumps for fingers.  After a long and painful road back, Mitchell becomes a successful entrepreneur and achieves his commercial pilot license. One morning, the unfairness of circumstance again occurs when Mitchell is in a plane crash and is paralyzed—forced into a wheelchair that he calls his prison.

Mitchell's story is one of purpose and pursuit and not pity and of making choices. Mitchell, undefeated by his tragedies and will inspire you with his remarkable achievements including being a successful entrepreneur, a Mayor, running for Congress, and in the Hall of Fame for Motivational Speakers.  Mitchell shares his thoughts on how and what we can do, to battle the circumstances of life.  
What you focus on in life is what you get back and what you concentrate on is who you become.

Amy Deacon, Clinical Social Worker, joins LIFE MATTERS to discuss choice and why some succumb to painful circumstances, while others turn their pain into purpose.

Presented by RBC Brooke Henderson.  She has Heart and Game We didn't have a lot of money growing up or a family car, so sports was always pickup.  It didn't shut down my imagination. Even under a streetlight in ball hockey, I was Guy Lafleur scoring the overtime goal or on a field, Joe Theisman throwing the winning pass. We played golf at the back of our high school with a course that included four holes and hours spent looking for balls the victim of errant shots.  I always wondered what it would be to play at the highest level and be one who went from dreaming to doing to contending for the best in the world.  This week on LIFE MATTERS, I chat with Brooke Henderson, who at 23 has won more major tournaments than any other Canadian golfer.  Brooke has also won the Founders Award, voted on by her fellow players, as the person who best exemplifies the Game's values.  We learn about what motivated her to take up golf, make tough decisions like turning pro or taking a golf scholarship, work within a family's dynamics - her sister is her Caddie, and her Father is her coach, and whether she feels she can continue to pursue her dream to be the best, now that she has fame, fortune and followers. For anyone who is chasing a dream, a podcast packed with incredible insights from Brooke Henderson, a golfer who has heart and Game.

Presented by RBC
Brooke Henderson.  She has Heart and Game

We didn't have a lot of money growing up or a family car, so sports was always pickup.  It didn't shut down my imagination. Even under a streetlight in ball hockey, I was Guy Lafleur scoring the overtime goal or on a field, Joe Theisman throwing the winning pass. We played golf at the back of our high school with a course that included four holes and hours spent looking for balls the victim of errant shots. 
I always wondered what it would be to play at the highest level and be one who went from dreaming to doing to contending for the best in the world. 

This week on LIFE MATTERS, I chat with Brooke Henderson, who at 23 has won more major tournaments than any other Canadian golfer.  Brooke has also won the Founders Award, voted on by her fellow players, as the person who best exemplifies the Game's values.  We learn about what motivated her to take up golf, make tough decisions like turning pro or taking a golf scholarship, work within a family's dynamics - her sister is her Caddie, and her Father is her coach, and whether she feels she can continue to pursue her dream to be the best, now that she has fame, fortune and followers.

For anyone who is chasing a dream, a podcast packed with incredible insights from Brooke Henderson, a golfer who has heart and Game.

LEST WE FORGET Kyle Davidson Combat Engineer How can I forget if I have no memories?  I wasn't there. I didn't experience living in a trench drowning in the cold, wed mud, and staring out at a twisted web of barb wire with the same intention as a spider has for a fly.  Or hearing a rail of bullets, a bomb screaming down overhead, or knowing you share a common goal with your enemy, to be killed or to kill.   My show today isn’t about the gore of war, it is about the individuals who serve our country and whose sacrifices we can never forget. I question whether as a society, as employers, and even as neighbours, to we serve these heroes to the same level they served us? Take Kyle Davidson. Kyle served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 12 years as a combat engineer, including an Afghanistan tour where one of his responsibilities was to clear the roads of bombs so that allied forces could safely deploy. Twice Kyle felt the full power of an explosion. First, when an armoured vehicle he was in took a hit, and second when Kyle stepped on a mine that sent him flying into rocks. Kyle suffered severe brain trauma, and with it an option to return home. He refused because he refused to leave his friends behind.  Kyle hid his injuries for years because he loved his job.  When he no longer could serve, Kyle struggled to find his way back into a society that places little value on military experience.  Kyle had to overcome a growing dependence on painkillers, and he did so by finding a new purpose in life.  Kyle's mission today is to help other veterans who come back less than healthy and give them time and a place to heal and reacclimatize themselves. Lisa Taylor from the Challenge Factory joins the show to talk about the vital role veterans can play in the workforce. Bruce Robinson from RBC shares his story of growing up with Kyle Davidson and what he admires most about this extraordinary individual.

LEST WE FORGET
Kyle Davidson Combat Engineer


How can I forget if I have no memories?  I wasn't there. I didn't experience living in a trench drowning in the cold, wed mud, and staring out at a twisted web of barb wire with the same intention as a spider has for a fly.  Or hearing a rail of bullets, a bomb screaming down overhead, or knowing you share a common goal with your enemy, to be killed or to kill.

 

My show today isn’t about the gore of war, it is about the individuals who serve our country and whose sacrifices we can never forget. I question whether as a society, as employers, and even as neighbours, to we serve these heroes to the same level they served us?
Take Kyle Davidson. Kyle served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 12 years as a combat engineer, including an Afghanistan tour where one of his responsibilities was to clear the roads of bombs so that allied forces could safely deploy. Twice Kyle felt the full power of an explosion. First, when an armoured vehicle he was in took a hit, and second when Kyle stepped on a mine that sent him flying into rocks. Kyle suffered severe brain trauma, and with it an option to return home. He refused because he refused to leave his friends behind. 

Kyle hid his injuries for years because he loved his job.  When he no longer could serve, Kyle struggled to find his way back into a society that places little value on military experience.  Kyle had to overcome a growing dependence on painkillers, and he did so by finding a new purpose in life.  Kyle's mission today is to help other veterans who come back less than healthy and give them time and a place to heal and reacclimatize themselves.

Lisa Taylor from the Challenge Factory joins the show to talk about the vital role veterans can play in the workforce. Bruce Robinson from RBC shares his story of growing up with Kyle Davidson and what he admires most about this extraordinary individual.

Presented by RBC Guest: Bryan Baeumler-  Building the Impossible Dream How many of you have dreamed about making a significant life change.  You might be holding a freshly printed lottery ticket, or on vacation immersing yourself in a new culture.  Some might not have a choice as an unforeseen circumstance has impacted your or your families life. I know the Pandemic has motivated me to rethink and reprioritize what matters most. Today Tony meets up with the extraordinary Bryan Baeumler. Bryan went from hammering nails at age 14, as he built his cottage from the ground up, to hammering out international TV and business deals. What you might now know is that to do so, Bryan had to overcome severe anxieties. He didn't want to leave his home, let alone stand in front of a TV camera. On the show, Tony chats with Bryan about his success, the values he learned from his parents, and how he managed to wrestle his anxieties to the ground.  They then talk about a five-minute decision that he took with his wife Sarah that turned their entire life upside down.  

Presented by RBC

Guest: Bryan Baeumler-  Building the Impossible Dream

How many of you have dreamed about making a significant life change.  You might be holding a freshly printed lottery ticket, or on vacation immersing yourself in a new culture.  Some might not have a choice as an unforeseen circumstance has impacted your or your families life. I know the Pandemic has motivated me to rethink and reprioritize what matters most.

Today Tony meets up with the extraordinary Bryan Baeumler. Bryan went from hammering nails at age 14, as he built his cottage from the ground up, to hammering out international TV and business deals. What you might now know is that to do so, Bryan had to overcome severe anxieties. He didn't want to leave his home, let alone stand in front of a TV camera.

On the show, Tony chats with Bryan about his success, the values he learned from his parents, and how he managed to wrestle his anxieties to the ground.  They then talk about a five-minute decision that he took with his wife Sarah that turned their entire life upside down.

 

Presented by RBC.  Tony chats with Mark Henick about his experience living with mental illness. Mark’s TEDx talk, Why We Choose Suicide, is among the most watched in the world with over 6 million views. His story of searching for “the man in the light brown jacket” who saved his life from a teenage suicide attempt went viral around world.  Mark brings a diverse and unique perspective of someone who has been a patient, a professional, and a policy influencer in the mental health system. He lives with his family in Toronto, Canada.