Oprah’s Own Lifeclass Tour in Toronto

Oprah’s Own!

Almost 9,000 men and women lined up around a full city block  in Toronto on April 16th, waiting to hear words of wisdom from Oprah and her chosen guests. The reason for the huge lineup was to get a chance to see the icon that has been an inspiration to so many for so long.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m one of Oprah’s own – I read her magazine, I watched her show, and I often quote something I’ve heard from her or one of the men and women she has taken under her wing.

My colleague Rebecca Follows and I travelled to Toronto together. When we arrived and saw the huge lineup we knew that we had to do a little creative thinking. My new book, “Cycles of Life, Keeping You on Track” had just hit the streets and I quickly recognized that I could use one of the lessons in the book to get us to the front of the line! The lesson was, “learn from the past”. I remembered when I was working at this venue and I duplicated what I had done then. I always valet parked, so that exactly what we did! Then, because I had a media pass, we were able to go directly to the area where the show was to be held. Learning from the past, we got to the front of the line.

As a journalist, I wanted to share what it was like to be in the audience; to experience that massive collection of human beings, men and women, all of whom were Oprah fans. I chatted with people around me, and I listened to their stories as they shared how Oprah or one of the guest speakers changed their lives. Later I found a colleague who has a complete collection of Oprah’s O magazines. She has 143 issues from May/June 2002 to May 2012, plus 2 Commemorative issues. That’s a true fan!

I learned that 80% of the wealth inNorth Americais controlled by women, but that statistic alone is not enough for us; we have to do something significant.  I’m positive that most of the women in the room were determined to have a life changing experience before they left the building.

The event, billed as a look at Oprah’s classroom, was an opportunity to share life lessons alongside teachers like motivational speaker Tony Robbins, spiritual healer Deepak Chopra, life coach Iyanla Vanzant and humanitarian Bishop T.D. Jakes.

The entire audience was spellbound as they listened to each speaker. And what an audience it was; it appeared that almost every culture from around the world was in that room! The multi-cultural mix reminded me of a song I sang as a kid in church, “Every colour, black and white all are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world!” Well this was Oprah’s world and we all felt the love!

The theme for this Life Class event in the world’s largest classroom in Toronto was forgiveness. The teachers each shared their personal insight on the power of forgiveness, into letting go and moving forward.  They supplied some of the tools needed to break free of the past and take control of the future.

Tools and Timely Tips from the Teachers:

Tony Robbins:  Live a passionate life. Fear is a counselor, not a jailer.

Deepak Chopra:  The true self is stable. The everyday self shifts constantly.

Bishop T.D. Jakes:  The pursuit of life is to find your purpose. To waste your life is to  miss that purpose.

Iyanla Vanzant:  We all play a role in the pain we experience. We show up for it. We  tolerate it. We acknowledge our contribution; then the healing begins.

I was there, in that room with 9,000 people and I recognized that everyone was there for a similar reason – they all needed a little inspiration, to kick start them on their journey of discovery.

Did we all find ways to forgive ourselves and those who have hurt us? Only time will tell, but from my observation, I think there were many who will forgive, and be forgiven.

I have my fingers crossed that Oprah will come back to Toronto with another Lifeclass.

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A Poem Written by Barb Babj

Many thanks for your poem Barb. I am including the link to the latest interview on That Channel with Hugh Reilly – it’s all about the New Entrepreneur – and to my thinking, that just might be you!

I sent you an email out of the blue,

You invited a call, though the contact was new. 

Amidst 400 emails, with no time to natter,

You were able to jump to the heart of the matter. 

In less than five minutes, as we chatted away,

You brainstormed some thoughts, held “yeah, but” at bay. 

Thoughts followed thoughts, with no time for blinking,

You expanded the space with lateral thinking, 

I looked at your website, I tiptoed around,

I learned many things as I covered that ground. 

You live your brand, about people you care,

For creative thinking you have quite a flair. 

Your sense of compassion is honest and true,

Your whimsy and humour are slightly askew. 

I learned about dragons, the power of prayers,

I walked through the forest and read about bears. 

Some of your stories could rival Aesop,

There’s power in giving, you RISE to the top. 

I learned you’ve no time for the “Sorry, not-yetters”,

You give your support to the driven “go-getters”. 

The connections you form are often long-lasting,

You don’t disappoint, there’s no room for “bombasting”. 

Per our conversation, I needed a “WOW”

To elicit “Oh, Boy!” instead of an “ow”. 

You asked for a gift, of person or thing,

I decided to write, cuz I really can’t sing.

In closing, I offer my network, my time,

All that I am, and even this rhyme. 

And one tiny thing more, it may give you a lift,

A small talisman, I’d like to gift.

(a tiny Teddy Bear)
Teddy Bear

thatchanneltv has shared a video with you on YouTube: ThatChannel com Interview 2011 06j 14 Donna Messer The New Entrepreneur

 

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Women in Food Industry Management – When you Network you Get Work!

Today’s Blog is all about Women in Food Industry Management. The Director responsible for marketing the association has asked me to post the details on my Blog. One of the reasons is to encourage you to come out to the Networking event I’m hosting on Sept. 22^nd, 2010 at the Toronto Sheraton Airport Hotel.

If you’re in the industry, please consider joining us, not just on the 22^nd, but for all the events listed below. Remember, when you network, you get work!   

Hello WFIM Members and Friends!

It’s that time of year again!  It’s back to school and all the busy activity it brings, including the signs that signal fall is approaching. It’s been a great summer, but it’s time to focus on what’s going to happen over the next couple of months. www.wfim.on.ca

WFIM has a great line-up of not-to-be-missed events for you this fall. Be sure to mark your calendars for the following:

September 22, Opportunity Knocks! Networking to Get Work, Career 2.0 Donna Messer shares her wisdom and provides tools for taking networking to the next level, incorporating Social Media to achieve your objectives and build your personal brand. Sign up here.

November 18, Academy Leadership Roundtable Get tips for career development and advancement from a fantastic group of high profile, senior women. This is a great opportunity to network while learning from their experiences, wisdom and insights.

December 9, Holiday Gala Join us for fun and festivities as we close the year at our annual WFIM party. Networking and share some cheer in the beautiful, unparalleled setting of The Old Mill.

WFIM News:

• Have your say! In the coming weeks, you will be asked to participate in a Survey. Please take a few moments to complete the survey and share your thoughts so we can make YOUR organization the best it can be.
• Our Membership is growing! 52 new members have joined since January 2010 – that’s a 50% increase. WFIM is about connecting and developing relationships that produce measurable results. Come out and meet someone new at the next event.
• Did you know your WFIM membership allows you to connect with other members on-line? Find people you want to meet in the Membership Directory after you’ve logged in. Other member benefits include our Job Board and a FREE Dinner Event when you sign up 3 new members.
• WFIM Donates 20% of our Golf sponsorship to Second Harvest, plus any raffle money collected each year. WFIM is committed to feeding the hungry, and to that end we put our time and fundraising efforts to support Second Harvest. In addition, WFIM donates to various charities throughout the year on behalf of our event speakers.
• Join the conversation online! Share your thoughts, industry news, questions and comments by joining our WFIM Linkedin group here.
• We have made some updates to the WFIM website. It’s a good idea to change your password frequently, so as a security measure we are requesting that members change their password. To access the Member Login, go to your personal profile and “Edit Your Details.”  Enter your new password under Contact Info. Then select Portrait and select UPDATE to save your information.
• We need volunteers! Get involved in shaping your association by donating your time. It’s an enriching experience and a great way to meet new people. As the saying goes… you get out what you put in. Whether you have a few hours a month or more, we welcome your help in the following areas: Marketing, Membership, Sponsorship, Events, Social Media, or Administration. Please send me an email at Director_Marketing@wfim.ca indicating what area you wish to get involved in. We need you!

I’m looking forward to catching up with you at the next event.

Gina Conte

WFIM Director, Marketing and Sponsorship

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iNetwork: An Invaluable Experience

                                                                           By:  Ima Ituen

Really, how hard is it to talk to another person? Well, depending on who it is, I guess, it could be tough. But most of the time, it isn’t that hard. Talking to strangers? Same difference. We do it all the time! I mean, the check-out girl at the grocery store is a stranger, right? But we can talk to her. “Three bags, please. Oh, and I’ll put that second block of cheese back, please.” Then she notices you’re buying cat food so she asks, “How old is your cat?” And you answer, “Three. A little terror she is.” Check-out girl responds, “Yeah, I know what you mean.  I have a male Cheshire, Taby, and a two-year-old female Siamese, Sam, and she won’t leave Taby alone!” On and on you chat until the groceries are all scanned. You offer her your credit card, heft your bags into your cart, and you say a quick ‘Thanks & Goodbye’ as you forget her and start planning what to make for dinner. Have you just networked? I used to think so. But thanks to Donna’s terrific session at MITACS, I found that I just had a conversation.

I, like many other sceptics, used to think that networking events were dull; a real drag. Oh, the food and cheap (or free!) and drinks were always a great draw, but I have hardly gotten anything out of the events. Therefore, I thought it was either an effort in futility, or possibly a task that needed a tremendous amount of luck to get what you wanted. Oh, how wrong I was! I simply approached it the wrong way.

Donna Messer showed us the value of using the W3 approach to networking. It’s sure to reap wonderful results and leave you fulfilled. The W3 answers 3 questions that could get your foot into just about any door: Who am I? What do I need? What am I willing to share?

The core of the W3 method is realizing that ‘networking’ isn’t just identifying the person in a room whom you want to meet, or finding someone who knows someone that can give you a job; it’s about asking someone what you can offer.

Donna showed us that EVERYONE has something to share, something that will be valuable to another person. For example, “You knit? Great! I was looking for cute booties and stockings for my niece.” And the person you’re speaking with is the wife of a board member of Coca-Cola – the company you’d like to do an internship with. Maybe she can put in a word for you with her husband now that she can buy booties from you…

A lot of the attendees in my session were students on the verge of completing their 2^nd or 3^rd degree, or students who are about to graduate in a few months, so just about everyone came to learn to “Network to get work” (Donna’s phrase). We found that one of the easiest ways to stand out from the other interviewees is to make who we are relevant. After introducing ourselves, telling what we know, and explaining what we need, we can ask how we can help them. By making ourselves interesting and likeable, we’re more likely to be remembered – and hired!

What was the problem with the cat scenario I referred to? Yes, we both had something in common – being cat people – but we did not really establish a link for ourselves. We didn’t offer each other anything that added value to our lives or experiences. That’s the difference. When you truly network, you give something and you get something. And there’s value added on all sides. Win-win, they call it…?

A very generous touch from Donna was a list of over 50 resources from a vast number of fields. This was extremely fitting since we were from diverse disciplines and had different interests. The list featured a club we could use to travel the globe on OPM (other people’s money), a resource to send out free cards (not e-cards!) to people, and even an organisation that offers mentoring to young professionals. I could go on and on about the value of this workshop. But don’t just take my word for it.

Here’s what some other attendees said:

“I am planning to join the work force after 4 years off to raise my 2 babies. I needed the energy and the ideas you imparted to start the journey again. I feel energized, my batteries are recharged and I’m motivated and confident to start that journey again.”

“The session was quite useful to me, it clarified some points I needed clarified and showed me new methods that I can utilize in both my career.”

“I’ve learned it’s not what you want that goes first, it’s what you can offer to the other party that should be uppermost in your mind.”

“I love the idea of “giving a gift” to another person to help build their network. It’s the pay it forward belief. Thanks Donna.”   

Yes, the iPhone, the iPod, iTouch, and Xbox are great. But let me challenge you to try something new: Engage in iNetwork. It won’t only enrich your life, it’ll take you to places you’d only dreamed and wished for.

Want to hear a true story? This is my first published blog – a venture I’d only secretly dreamed of. And it’s all come to fruition because I attended Donna’s teaching, and said ‘Yes’ at the right time.

Try it. You will NOT be disappointed. So when next opportunity knocks…?  iNetwork!

Contact Ima at itueni@univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca

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We, not Me: Networking 101 for Graduate Students

We, not Me: Networking 101 for Graduate Students

Donna Messer’s MITACS workshop, “Effective Networking,” is offered to graduate students who might not realize the value of networking or who might not know how to use networking as a tool. We are two graduate students who attended this workshop on 29 April 2010.  Here we share some of the highlights of what we learned.  

Julie: Jasmine, what is one of the take home messages for you from the workshop?

Jasmine: I think the best thing Donna offered us was a way into the world of networking. As grad students, we’re very familiar with research but we often need our professors to point us in the right direction. When it came to networking, so many of the students in the room had no idea where to start! Because Donna provided us with names of companies, services, and other resources to use as starting points, we could get on the right track. We can do the digging work once we’ve found the location of the buried treasure, but Donna gave us the map.

What about you, Julie?

Julie:  If I have to pick one thing to take action on right away, it’s that I (still!) need to work on my LinkedIn profile.  It’s definitely something I think a lot of us grads need to work on.  Even if it seems like a long time before you graduate, it’s a good idea to create a professional online identity for yourself as soon as possible.  It might yield an unexpected opportunity in the short-term and in the long-term will help ensure you have a large and vibrant network by the time you graduate. 

Related to this, Donna mentioned how Facebook is not a good tool for business or professional networking, which I think most of us realize.  But what about other parts of our online identity?  For example, I have a blog.  It started out as something to support my professional online identity as a researcher who works with Makushi Amerindian communities in Guyana on their “home sown and home grown” form of environmental education.  But during my recent reconnaissance visit, the blog became personal and poetic.  I’m proud of it as a work of art, but I will not put it as a link on my LinkedIn profile.  I’m working on having two distinct online identities: my personal identity, which uses the fun, informal network of friends and family (Facebook and my personal blog); and my professional identity, which will be hosted by the formal network of LinkedIn, and I might create a professional blog about my research.

Jasmine: That’s definitely a good idea. I’ve had my LinkedIn account for a couple of years now, but I’ve never known how to make it work for me. I was always nervous about asking to be connected to people I might learn from out of the fear of being too bold. I think there’s a negative stigma linked to the word ‘networking’ that Donna helped to destroy. Because she focused on what each person can bring to a relationship, networking didn’t seem self-serving. We needed to hear the straightforward truth: there are so many people who are able to help each other who would not be put into contact if not for networking. Connecting people is beneficial to all parties involved. 

Julie: You’re absolutely right, the key thing is to engage in ethical networking.  Donna is very well connected with a large network.  She is a hub, a connector able to make key connections for others.  For her, ethical networking means she only connects people when it will be mutually beneficial and when she trusts both parties will act with integrity.  In contrast, most of us students need to concentrate on building our network rather than on connecting our contacts to each other.  That will come later.  For now, acting with integrity and remembering what we have to offer helps ensure a hub like Donna will want to connect us with her contacts.

Jasmine: Yes. As for finding ways we can help others, I think Donna helped us understand how to make connections best with the “Building Relationships” exercise in her workshop. We were asked to pair up with someone in the room and share some of our skills, hobbies, and interests. After a short conversation we discovered that we had a lot in common and also had some advice to share. We were instructed to share a gift with our partners based on what we had learned from our brief encounter so that we would each benefit from the knowledge of someone else. I had the pleasure of connecting with a lovely woman who loves to cook. I’m not the queen of the kitchen, so maybe I’ll be able to get a recipe or two from her. She’s quite new to the country and hasn’t been a student in years, so I can share some of the resources I know of that are available for students.

The activities were enjoyable but also helped drive Donna’s messages home.

Julie: That’s especially true of the last activity. Our final activity was a group reflective exercise.  First, we each thought of one word to describe the keys to networking that we had learned about in the workshop – but from a different perspective than our own.  Our group came up with: Innovation, Adaptation, Attentiveness, Flexibility, Creativity, Interaction, and Awareness. Then as a group, we had to put our words into a coherent sentence!!!  Here we share a distilled version of our take-home message from the workshop to spare you, gentle reader, from a mammoth run-on sentence:   

 We have learned that to succeed together on our life’s journey, we must become more creative and adaptable. We need to put a plan in place so that we can meet the people we need to know in order to build a mutually beneficial relationship.

 Jasmine:  Not bad!  The other group played on similar themes. They concluded: To solve problems effectively, we should be flexible, learning to accept and adapt to different communication styles. We can become more observant, to analyze and accommodate new ideas. We can learn to solve problems based on ever-changing situations, and understand that there is never just one solution.

 All in all, the workshop helped us get our feet wet in the world of ethical, reciprocal, and effective networking.  That means we must be creative and adaptable when making connections, but even more importantly, we have to remember not to lose the genuine desire to make a human connection.  In the end, as Donna says, “Networking is about people!”

Jasmine Ball is an English M.A. student at Carleton University. Julie Comber is a PhD Candidate in Education at the University of Ottawa.  Connect with us on LinkedIn! 

* Julie and Jasmine are both connected directly to me through LinkedIn. I look forward to working with both of them many times in the future!  Donna

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Being Busy and Staying Connected!

I don’t often write about myself in my Blog, but today is an exception!

The reason I’m doing this is to let all my friends and colleagues know where I’m going and all about the people I’m meeting. November has been a very busy month for me. I just got back from Nova Scotia where I met a group of dedicated women business owners. The event was Watch Me Grow 2009 Conference. www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca

 There were some really good speakers at this conference, all with a wealth of knowledge to share.

 Carissa Reiniger, is an incredibly talented young woman who showed by example how to use her Ask & Answer philosophy. www.wec.ca

 Laraine Kaminsky, Lead Strategist for WEConnect Canada, was introducing an organization that is opening doors to new supply chains for women business owners. www.weconnectcanada.org

 Colleen Francis, is a passionate, professional sales expert, who condensed her winning formula into an action packed session where participants learned how to overcome challenges and measure results.  www.engageselling.com

 What was very interesting to me, is that all of us, shared the same message – it’s all about relationships – building them, supporting them and keeping them active.

 And now the rest of November…………..

 November 17^th – I’m in Newfoundland at Memorial University speaking to Graduate students through MITACS – www.mitacs.ca   MITACS links businesses and government with Canadian universities, through research projects. The programs focus on developing and training the next generation of Canadian researchers through graduate and post-doctoral internships, skills training & entrepreneur workshops.

November 19^th – Again with MITACS – this time at U of T – Toronto

November 20^th – New Start – a full day workshop for women starting a new business in Halton. http://www.haltonwomenscentre.org 

November 21^st & 22^nd – Nat’l Ethnic Media Conference – Seneca College 

November 23^rd – Jake’s House Charity Networking Event at Texas Lone Star on Dixon Rd in Mississauga. www.JakesHouse.ca   

November 25^th – Network to Get Work – Liaison College, Richmond St West Campus – pre-registration is requested. http://www.connectuscanada.com/invitation/ntgw_25nov09.html

November 26^th – Volunteer Consultants Serving Toronto Non Profits – full day workshop www.masadvise.ca

Dec. 1^st – MITACS – University of Ottawa

Dec. 2^nd – Strategic Leadership Forum – www.slftoronto.com

Dec. 4^th – Oakville Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn – www.oakvillechamber.com

Dec. 9^th  – CIBC Mellon – Toronto www.cibc-mellon.com

Dec. 10^th – CMA – Oakville – www.cma.com

While some of these events are open to the public all are connections that I will happily share with permission.    Please check them out and if there is any of interest to you – let me know! I hope to see some of you at one of the events listed above!    Donna

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