Balancing the Hats

We made it to the end of Season 2 and I really want to thank all those who tuned in, all the guests who joined the show and each and every person that had a role to play in making this season a success.

It has not been an easy road, but we made it. Balancing the Hats of life is not easy, but I will continue to keep moving forward and I hope that you will join for as much of it as possible.

I do plan to be back for Season 3 and I promise to continue to make each season better and better. So stay tuned for Season 3 and of course, be sure to tell your friends.

You can always reach out to me through social media. I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what topics you'd like me to tackle next and which guests you'd love for me to have on the show.

Today I got the chance to gain a better understanding of what endometriosis is, its stages, symptoms, treatments and overall diagnosis, from a person who through the years has become a friend. Her name is Sasha Aimey and we've known each other for well over 10 years having gone to school together.

Sasha has been greatly impacted by this illness and has gone from been a very outgoing, athletic person, to someone who is now, almost always indoors and sometimes has to walk with a cane. She's been through a lot but continues to keep her faith and hopes that by sharing her story, she can educate others.

Aimey shares quite a bit about her journey and her struggles with endometriosis on her instagram page, so feel free to follow her on IG and of course you could reach out to her with a direct message as well. 

Aimey's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sashaaimey/

And as always you can reach out to me through the following links as well:

Life can be challenging for all of us and Lad Mandiola has experienced his share of challenges for sure. Being asked to leave his home at the age of 18 years old and bearing witness to violence and abuse, it took him a while to find out what he was supposed to do with his life. And even when he thought he had it all figured out, life threw him yet another curveball. But through some prayers and some mentorship, he was finally able to get on track to living a life of service.

His passion now is to help other new and existing e-commerce business owners succeed with the knowledge he has gained. If you asked Lad what he thinks is one of the most important things for a new business owner to master, he will tell you... MINDSET. “Minding your mind; developing the kind of mindset that leads you to focus forward.

Feel free to get in touch with Lad:

Have you ever been thinking about writing a book and didn't know how to start? Or have you had so much self-doubt that you just felt like giving up?

Larrian takes the time to explain her simple steps of not only writing her first book, Sandra The Manifest Queen. She explains how she got up and prepared herself for writing and in the times she got writer's block, how she managed to dance it out. Larrian and I also took some time to talk about some options for marketing her book and using Amazon KDP to get published.

Definitely feel free to reach out to Larrian through any of her channels listed below:

Often times mum's are overlooked after baby is born. We are exhausted, tired, hormonal and often dealing with low confidence, major adjustments, maintaining self-care and even setting boundaries.

Leslie Abraham, is a French perinatal osteopath DO and exercise specialist with over 12 years of international experience. She is the founder of Bonjour Baby and the creator of the Postpartum Body Solution program. 

We got the chance to discuss postpartum challenges such as hair loss, back pain, c-section recovery tips and so much more. Leslie shared her knowledge and expertise on how to make life as a mum easier. We discussed pelvic floor recovery and I even had the chance to do a quick breathing exercise with her.

I loved Leslie's holistic approach of mental and physical health working in tandem and look forward to having even more discussions in the near future.

Barb is a Certified Speaker, Teacher, Coach and a Maxwell Certified Behaviour Analysis Trainer on the John Maxwell Team. She is also an author, and is currently working on another new book. She's a volunteer with the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program for foster children in Southern Arizona and her motto is: 'Empowering others to reinvent themselves to achieve their best life'.

Barb and I got the chance to discuss Managing Your Child's Gifts. Barb enlightened me about the DISC method and helped me to get a better understanding of which categories I fell into, but more specifically, to identify the category that my daughter fell into. Having an understanding of who we are and who our children are as individuals and what their specific personality traits are, helps us to better understand and identify how to best meet their needs.

It was a privilege to have Barb share her knowledge and expertise with me.

Here's how you can get in contact with Barb:

Until recently I had no idea what Kahuna Lineage meant, nor how long it even existed. Thankfully I had the pleasure of chatting with Janese (Janese my niece) Ululani who gave me a break down of what it meant and some insight into her life and routine as a Kahuna.

We also explored the aspects of breaking karmic ancestral limitations and explored aspects of a positive mindset and attaching our self worth to going to work and paying bills.

Dr. Toya is a fun loving wife, mother and past bungie jumper. Originally from the lovely Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Toya's also an an OB/GYN practicing in Northern California and the founder and CEO of Buy Default, an online platform that helps uplift the Black community by creating a space where black businesses can get the exposure they need to thrive.

We chat about what Black Joy means and why it needs to be embraced and celebrated and we also share a bit about our own experiences with racism and even our own individual insecurities.

Just over a year and a half ago, I had the privilege of chatting with this enthusiastic lady, Suzanne Redmond. She really inspired me back then and she definitely has re-inspired me now when I was listening to her episode once again.

Suzanne has been through tumultuous, toxic relationships, even from early childhood and battling all of this while having type 2 bi-polar disorder. In spite of all of this, she still managed to go back and finish high school, was bold enough to decide against having children until she was mentally ready, got married and started her own podcast to encourage others to be resilient.

I've since lost touch with Suzanne and haven't been able to reach her on her social media channels, but if need encouragement or a reminder not to give up, listen to Suzanne's story.

I got the chance to sit down and chat with the Lovely Leigh Phillips. We spoke about her EP, her Queen Album, the challenges she's faced in the music industry and the importance of working and developing your craft.

Leigh also offered some profound advice about how to get started in the music industry, doing your research and even developing your brand. She allows highlights the importance of being ready to seize opportunities and being prepared.

If you're anything like me, you're looking forward to seeing 2022. But how do you want to represent yourself or your business in the New Year? What are your plans for you and social media? Have you already decided on the type of content you want to post and when?

Well Ana Patricia and I have a chat about Managing You on Social Media. We discuss personal branding, adding value to clients, knowing your why and so much more.

Ana is a certified Business Coach from Montreal, with a mission to help ambitious women gain clarity and confidence in their purpose so that they can start or grow their online service-based business from a place of alignment and passion. She believes every woman has the power to be financially free & be their own boss and offers a course discussing the power of personal branding, social media & mindset to help her clients move from 1 - 2K to 5K+ in 90 days or less.

With Christmas in the air, I took the time to get some sound advice from Dr. Ritu Saluja Sharma. We chatted about the holistic approach to understanding and maintaining good health, the linkage between how what we eat could affect our sleep and how lack of sleep could affect our mental health as well. We also discussed a bit about her program Head, Heart, Hands.

Here's how you can get in touch with Ritu:

Today I got the chance to speak with a fellow photographer, Aleksandra Di Gesar, who is a fashion photographer. She's also a writer. and entrepreneur based in Milan, Italy. 

Aleksandra has a background in Law, but after moving from Poland to Milan with her husband, life's circumstances pushed her to pursue her true passion of photography. She uses this experience to encourage other photographers and creatives to pursue their passions as well.

I got to touch a bit on my own personal experiences working in a 9 to 5 job that I don't like and Aleksandra gave me some much needed encouragement to continue to work towards my dreams. 

We also share the challenges of being female photographers in a mostly male dominated industry, the pros of working in certain areas of photography and how best to work towards our strengths.

Jaco Vienings is a South African winemaker and founder of the Grape Unknown. His primary focus is to bridge the gap between wine makers and wine consumers and aid in making wine more accessible and enjoyable to understand. During our chat, Jaco shared how he actually got started as a winemaker, the challenges he has faced as an entrepreneur and I got a chance to answer a few of his questions as well. I also found out that he visited the beautiful shores of Barbados and had a chance to sample the Barbadian rum :)

Jaco also took the time to explain the concept of virtual wine tastings, which he does every Saturday, so have a look at his website and book your wine tasting session.

To connect with Jaco, here's a list of his social channels:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grapeunknown/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/GrapeUnknown
Website: https://grapeunknown.com/

It’s been more than a minute, but I’m here and I’m back for Season 2 and I promise it’ll only get better.

There are lots of interesting persons joining me once again and they all have amazing stories.

Tune in each and every Thursday as I explore the daily lives of men and women from around the globe. Employees, entrepreneurs, mums, dads, and people that share my interests in photography, writing, and music.

Learn about virtual wine tasting, have a chat with singing sensation Leigh Philips and so much more.

Balancing the Hats is back, so stay tuned and be sure to show me some love and of course, tell your friends.

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Interested in sharing your story? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me.

Self-image plays a big role in our lives. We all have doubts, fears, and insecurities. Renee breaks the barriers and reveals how it feels to be on the other side of the spectrum that is often overlooked, the skinny side of life. Explaining what it's like to look in the mirror and see a "box juice". Her talk is fun and full of laughs as we explore the importance of mindset and focusing on the 5 step approach of Focus on Self, Family, Fun, Food and Fitness.

Deirdre is a serial entrepreneur that knows what it's like to start from the very beginning. Having left the corporate world behind, she and her husband embarked on a journey of uncertainty and now have reaped great rewards. Tune in as she shares her failures and her successes, how she managed after a huge betrayal, and what she's learned along the way.

It was fun chatting with Warren and exploring a photographer's life. The challenges and successes, the different areas of photography, the things we love about it and even the different experiences male versus female photographers may have. Warren was the one that brought me back from my 10-year photography hiatus and I'm so glad he did. Listen to the full episode to find out more.

Elizabeth and I sit and chat about the realities of being a wife, a mother, and a business owner. The challenges of relocating with your family and having to close your business, only to have to now rebuild it again in a new place. We agreed that to overcome anything life throws at us, the most important asset we have is a positive mindset and that lowering our expectations is not necessarily a bad thing as we adjust to new ways of doing business in this time of COVID.

To connect with Elizabeth and find out more about Olive Consulting and the Olive Academy:

Keoma "RhyMinister" Malett is a popular emcee and rapper from the shores of Barbados. Especially known for freestyling, engaging lyrics, wordplay, and the energy he brings to the stage, he is a force to be reckoned with. Although a shy, deep thinker, he has managed to rise above his years of struggling with depression and encourages us to be ourselves, maintain a positive mindset, and surrounding ourselves with good people. 

In this, our last episode of the 3 things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Parent, four-part series, I chat with Jamaal Reifer of CeeVision Sports and Rosemarie Bainbridge, author of One Way or Another. We discuss the joys of parenting and touch on the areas of patience, shopping for baby items, the ever-popular unsolicited advice,  sibling love, and more. 

In part 3 of this series, Kellie and Julia take the time to share their insight on their journey through motherhood and the things they wish they knew. We talked about potty training, making early investments, not sweating the small stuff and more. 

So today we had the guys in to share their views and share they did. Both Anderson Rice and Adrian Green gave profound insights into the importance of understanding investments and peer attachment culture, among other things like patience and adjusting to having a family. Definitely some food for thought. and be sure to check out the book Adrian mentioned entitled, Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers. Give it a listen and I do apologise for the technical glitches experienced in the latter part of the audio.

I sat down for a chat with Lenora Williams and Toni Daniel, two first time mums, as they shared the things they wish they knew before becoming mums. We all agreed that we really never are truly prepared for mummyhood no matter how much we've read until it actually happens and babysitting a younger brother or sister just isn't the same thing. 

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Interested in sharing your story or just want to give some feedback on the episodes? 

I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me.

Celia Collymore and I sit down to discuss nutrition, the importance of listening to our bodies, and the reality that there is no one size fits all when it comes to maintaining our health. 

Be sure to check out BajanFusion

Today we share a deeper look into the music industry. Exploring how Indra got started, her achievements, what keeps her grounded, and things she wishes she knew before she got started.

Indra was mentored by Eddy Grant, who produced her first two albums. She is currently working on her EP, but has already achieved the chart-toppers listed below both locally and internationally:

#1MTV Africa, #1 German reggae charts, #1 BBC 1Xtra, #5 U.K reggae charts, #5 David Rodigan’s “Hot Hits” list, #7 Billboard reggae, Nominated for B.M.A’s Best Inspirational/Gospel song  Attended: M.I.D.E.M, W.S.I.S, S.X.S.W, W.O.M.E.X

Dr. Onika Shirley shares insight on how she manages to do all the things she does, through stacking and blocking, maintaining a passion for all she does and letting herself off the hook by not aiming to be a ten in everything.

In this episode, Kay talks about her challenges as a single mother of three while dealing with a cancer diagnosis and a son that has an auditory processing disorder. She expresses the importance of taking time out for ourselves, maintaining a positive mindset, juggling the antics of her boys, and encouraging other parents who are feeling overwhelmed.

Be sure to check out her group:

We all juggle multiple hats at some stage of our lives and that's what I'm here to talk to you about. 

So join me in each and every episode as I explore the daily lives of men and women from around the globe as they share their successes and their failures and the things they wish they knew. 

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Interested in sharing your story? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me.