Humility. I was raised to value it, treasure the fact that I could have my own personal accomplishments and keep them to myself – my strength quietly feeding off my actions with no need for recognition or reward. But now, as I shoot myself into the world of politics, my advisors say I must explain where my inner strength comes from, where I learned to negotiate and where I picked up my ability to lead, and how I developed the capacity to motivate people to work together towards one vision. ...

Looking for a new job this year? There are interesting career opportunities being created by owners of companies who are partnered with private equity. I hire for these unique businesses and have come to see a huge difference compared to corporate recruiting. It may seem choke-on-your-chai-tea rude to say businesses with private equity on board do not care about your career. If you grasp this difference though, you are more likely to get the job and make them care. These businesses have ow...

I’m not the best environmentalist in the house – I admit it. Sometimes, if the compost bin is full, I put the onion skins in the trash instead of taking the compost outside and emptying it. But then again, I sometimes justify it by thinking that putting things in the compost bin is only the tiniest fragment of the environmental job. It’s easy for everyone else to claim the environmental high ground, even though they don’t ever take the full bin out to the composter and empty out the ...

I come from generations of ferocious volunteers – my father, who worked a full day running a textile business, would come home, eat, and gallop off to a committee meeting two or three times a week, a pattern which persisted for 40 years. In sharp contrast, I don’t like to leave the house except for shopping and parties, and these days I try to wriggle out of even those activities. This, of course, is very wrong and I am going to change. Robert Putnam, the Harvard sociologist who publishe...

The present theory on global warming – that humans, with our absurd levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) production are the main cause for the increase in the Earth’s temperature – is generally regarded as fact. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth hinged on this hypothesis. Governments dole out billions of dollars in funding for climatology each year, a ten-fold increase since the early 90s, because there is supposedly no other explanation that could be as apt as this “truth.” What i...

I spent three months backpacking through South and Central America last spring. When I returned home from travelling, Toronto welcomed me with the stench of the garbage strike and the new plastic bag bylaw. At first, I was confused when cashiers would ask me if I wanted a bag. Of course, I thought, how else would I carry my groceries home? After awhile, I started feeling ashamed when asked if I needed a bag, whispering to the cashier that yes, indeed, I would like one bag but just th...

You’re back at work after a hectic end of year. You’re settling back into the swing of things and catching up with the build-up of work left over from the holidays when, all of a sudden, your boss announces you’re due to take those two weeks of vacation you’ve accumulated. And soon! Normally, the prospect of a vacation seldom puts a frown on anyone’s face, but quite frankly, who has the time (or will) to plan a proper getaway? Let’s just say that after picking a destination, arran...

As temperatures dropped with the arrival of winter, thoughts turned to warmer climates, beaches, tropical fruit, and golden tans. Oh, to break free of heavy coats and winter slush! If you haven’t decided on a winter getaway, consider Bali. Yes, Bali – the magical Indonesian island that has enchanted mystics, 17th century explorers, surfer hippies, artists, and contemporary authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame. My first childhood memories are of Bali. I remembe...