Blair Kaplan’s entrepreneurial insights on the five resilience muscles needed now more than ever!

Transcript

Full transcript page · Interactive episode

============================================================
TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
============================================================

[00:03] SPEAKER_01: How are you doing? How's your mom? My mom passed away. Oh my god. Sorry. It's okay. There
[00:12] SPEAKER_03: was no way for you to know. It, uh, yeah, it escalated. But so I, if I had a bunch of
[00:24] SPEAKER_03: prep to do, if I just looked at the invite, I totally didn't do it. So I can do it after.
[00:29] SPEAKER_00: Honey, I'm sorry. It's okay. It's shit. Like I was coming to Winnipeg to set her up maybe for
[00:37] SPEAKER_00: treatment. She went to the hospital and like, didn't come out. She was like, we've been waiting,
[00:45] SPEAKER_00: we were waiting and waiting and waiting for a diagnosis. I'm just gonna go get tissue. Yeah, yeah,
[00:52] SPEAKER_00: yeah, we can also reschedule. Like, I mean, it's just like, it's fucked because she was told
[00:59] SPEAKER_00: you might have cancer, but it's in the liver, but we can't diagnose you because we don't know
[01:02] SPEAKER_00: where it's, which started. So we can't treat you. And it got worse and worse and worse and worse.
[01:08] SPEAKER_00: And when we talked to me last, my mom was in between hospital visits when we talked. Yeah.
[01:13] SPEAKER_00: And I almost took her to the ER, like I canceled a whole bunch of stuff and we got her in it with
[01:16] SPEAKER_00: an appointment. She went to the doctor. She couldn't, her pain, like her voice disappeared,
[01:20] SPEAKER_00: she was yellow. Basically, we went to the doctor. They stuck her in an ambulance and center to the hospital.
[01:27] SPEAKER_00: And we did not have an official diagnosis, but the ER doctor called me and they're like, your mom
[01:32] SPEAKER_00: has pancreatic cancer. It has spread to the point where we're just going to be able to make her
[01:36] SPEAKER_00: comfortable. There's nothing we can do. You have maybe a couple weeks left to the next day.
[01:43] SPEAKER_00: The doctor coming in and I looked at the doctor and like, are you sure it's a couple weeks?
[01:46] SPEAKER_00: Because I think it's a couple days and he's like, I think you're right. My mom went into the hospital
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: on the Friday and then died like early, early hours Tuesday. Oh my God. And she was 62, like,
[01:59] SPEAKER_00: no other health issues. But like, it's just like really frustrating because she's been going to the
[02:03] SPEAKER_00: doctor for months. And like, they're like, you have cancer in your liver, but we can't treat you
[02:08] SPEAKER_00: because we don't know where it started. And like, then to not being able to be treated and dying.
[02:12] SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, I'm 35. My sister just turned 32 yesterday. We both live in different parts of
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: Canada. Like, I'm in BC, she's in Ontario and right now I'm in Winnipeg. And like, our dad's in
[02:22] SPEAKER_00: palliative care, our parents are divorced. So it just like, this completely came out of nowhere.
[02:27] SPEAKER_00: And I'm the older sister and like the executor of the estate. So like, on top of running a business,
[02:34] SPEAKER_00: you know, we're packing up a house that we've had for 23 years and dealing with all the paperwork
[02:40] SPEAKER_00: and lawyers and, you know, so you want to talk about resilience and being an entrepreneur while doing
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: all of this. So I'm a little bit shell shocked. So sorry, I was kind of, it's something completely
[02:56] SPEAKER_02: different, of course. And yes, we were specifically going to talk about resilience today, being
[03:04] SPEAKER_02: such an apt, you know, need. My gut instinct is we should go for it. I think we should. I'm ready.
[03:13] SPEAKER_00: I put makeup on. Just like I, I'm ready. Like if I couldn't do it, I would cancel.
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: Okay. I just, I, I caught you off guard and made you upset. But I think I was reading your email
[03:24] SPEAKER_00: and I watched your videos this morning. And I was like, I think I understand. But I wanted to just see
[03:29] SPEAKER_00: because I think there's a really important story here about being an entrepreneur and going through
[03:33] SPEAKER_00: the really hard stuff in life and just a little bit of a backup. And I'm going to, I'll give a
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: trigger warning when we're talking about this. So it's a bit heavier. But it's who I am. I've had a
[03:42] SPEAKER_00: business for almost 13 years. I'm 35. And just from the beginning of November till now, I just told
[03:50] SPEAKER_00: I couldn't get pregnant. I got pregnant, I'm giving you a trigger warning. It's kind of heavy.
[03:55] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Okay. And then November 3rd, we learned that my father in law, who was like the
[04:02] SPEAKER_00: dad I never had, that he had cancer. 10, like an hour later, I was in the ER having a miscarriage.
[04:10] SPEAKER_00: Three weeks later, he passed away from cancer. So we, he went from the same thing as my mom. We learned
[04:15] SPEAKER_00: he had cancer and then died three weeks later. And then this just happened with my mom. So I didn't
[04:19] SPEAKER_00: even have a chance to deal with the miscarriage because we learned my father in law was so sick.
[04:24] SPEAKER_00: And I went through that alone because my husband had to go be with his family in a different town
[04:27] SPEAKER_00: in Camelops and have to but like had to like go be with your family. So in it's a pandemic. So I
[04:33] SPEAKER_00: was alone for a miscarriage learning my father in law, who was like he and I were planning a father
[04:38] SPEAKER_00: daughter pie act trip. Like he, I loved him like my own father. And then I was just starting to kind of
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: feel like myself again. And then my mom suddenly got sick and left us. While running a business that
[04:52] SPEAKER_02: makes five figures a month. So let's do, I'm curious because let's talk about resilience,
[05:01] SPEAKER_02: which was our original theme. It's just going to take us lightly to pivot given what we, what we're
[05:05] SPEAKER_02: talking about today or the or what's happening in our near environment. But there is a difference
[05:11] SPEAKER_02: between being an entrepreneur and running your own business as I see it and you know, being able
[05:19] SPEAKER_02: to be to ask for time off. Right? Or oh my gosh. Show that there are social, your job is going
[05:27] SPEAKER_02: to be there, right? There's income coming in. There is, you know, social systems in place to
[05:33] SPEAKER_02: support, you know, the employee when crisis happen. And what I've found and listening, I just see
[05:42] SPEAKER_02: something I wanted to. Yeah. As an entrepreneur or even a small, small business owner, you know,
[05:49] SPEAKER_02: we don't have access to those social systems. We know there's nobody there when crisis hits and
[05:55] SPEAKER_02: we need to take off two weeks or four weeks. And I mean, that's just a situational analysis
[06:02] SPEAKER_02: for those of us who've been entrepreneurs or owned or business. But what can you share
[06:08] SPEAKER_00: from your experience? We're already interviewing. Is this already for the podcast? Let's just go for it.
[06:14] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Well, so I've really learned that if I bring on clients that are aligned with my values,
[06:24] SPEAKER_00: that when life gets really hard, they're there to support me. And the relationship with them
[06:29] SPEAKER_00: isn't just transactional. So, you know, like I just mentioned, like the last three months have been
[06:36] SPEAKER_00: very hard, right? I had one client that I was just starting to work with who wanted to work with
[06:42] SPEAKER_00: me. I disappeared. Like I, having the miscarriage and losing Dave in three weeks, I fell apart. And I
[06:50] SPEAKER_00: just couldn't bring myself to like do more than the bare minimum or what I like to call the blur
[06:56] SPEAKER_00: minimum. And so there was two people I was talking to, one of them, like eventually I resurfaced
[07:05] SPEAKER_00: apologize, explain what happened. And they wanted to work with me. And the other person we decided it
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: wasn't a good fit because of the way the situation was handled on both parties. So I think it's really
[07:19] SPEAKER_00: important that when you're working with people, if you can, you choose who you're with through thick
[07:25] SPEAKER_00: and thin, right? It's some clients are with you for a project or for four years, right? And who do
[07:31] SPEAKER_00: you want to be with you by your side? Yes, you don't need to like go for coffee and like spill all the
[07:35] SPEAKER_00: tea with them or whatever. But during the last two weeks or even further because I was in Winnipeg,
[07:43] SPEAKER_00: I am in Winnipeg and I was here to help my mom while running a business. And then it escalated,
[07:51] SPEAKER_00: like there was a very terrible plot twist to her passing away. I emailed the clients that I was
[07:56] SPEAKER_00: working with and they all understood. And it wasn't like they were losing anything. I said, don't
[08:00] SPEAKER_00: worry, instead we'll meet in a couple of weeks and I'll look, we'll meet for a longer time and
[08:04] SPEAKER_02: I'll extend our contract, but they get it. So there's an interesting concept here for me because I'm
[08:11] SPEAKER_02: flashing back in my mind to, you know, your family as your family, right? They're yours by blood,
[08:18] SPEAKER_02: you're stuck with them through thick and thin and most in healthy relationships. And where there
[08:26] SPEAKER_02: might be, you know, and not so healthy, people are pretty good within their family of setting up
[08:31] SPEAKER_02: boundaries or they should be. And maybe boundaries is one of the secrets, right? But once you talk
[08:39] SPEAKER_02: friends, which is your, I describe it as your chosen family, right? You're really, they're the ones
[08:45] SPEAKER_02: that are outside of your bloodlines that are your chosen family. Once you talk who you want to be in
[08:50] SPEAKER_02: business with, there seems to be the relationship, I call it relationship economics, right? These
[08:58] SPEAKER_02: are people that you're choosing to be in business with because you can accelerate them, you can be
[09:05] SPEAKER_02: of service to them, they can be of service to you. It is this synchronicity of blending of their
[09:12] SPEAKER_02: needs and your solutions and vice versa. And sometimes those are the most important relationships.
[09:18] SPEAKER_02: And people forget to, you know, look at those relationships. They think about clients as
[09:26] SPEAKER_02: their cash flow, their ticket to freedom, whereas you're suggesting an alternative.
[09:33] SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I just, I want to interject because while learning a lot about my mom
[09:39] SPEAKER_00: through the eyes of her coworkers, so my mom was a dental hygienist, okay? I would like to say
[09:45] SPEAKER_00: she was an intrapreneur. And I think intrapreneurs are really important because those are the people
[09:51] SPEAKER_00: who basically work within an organization, but take control and basically act as if they're an
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: entrepreneur, but in someone else's, you know, company. My mom was a dental hygienist at this one
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: office, East Codone and Dental Group in Winnipeg for 29 years. A lot of the patients, a fair amount
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: of patients have been going to her for almost 29 years. And it's because once or twice a year,
[10:14] SPEAKER_00: my mom would clean their teeth. They learned about her, me and my sister, but they kept coming back
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: because they built a connection. Okay? And, you know, my mom, being there for so long, like,
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: you know, top dental hygienist, like people were coming back, didn't want to see other people.
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: So she built up a following. She built up a loyal customer base with really, you know, with her
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: mad teeth cleaning skills, but, you know, that's a perfect example for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.
[10:45] SPEAKER_00: What are you going to do to have that connection? So when someone makes, you know, wants to make
[10:49] SPEAKER_00: a purchasing decision, they're choosing you. And what are you going to do so that they keep choosing you?
[10:56] SPEAKER_00: And just, you know, talking to you is reminding me, like, because we're starting to get cards and
[11:02] SPEAKER_00: messages people, hey, you've never met me. Your mom has been cleaning my teeth for 20 years. I've
[11:06] SPEAKER_00: watched you grow up. I'm so, so proud of you. The woman you're becoming. I'm going to miss your mom
[11:11] SPEAKER_00: so much. And strangers are coming out messaging us and sending us cards. Wow. How are you going to
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: be that person that when you go, you're leaving a legacy? Right? So breeding entrepreneurs or
[11:26] SPEAKER_02: entrepreneurs within companies, I think, is an actual strategy. And it's very difficult. And again,
[11:35] SPEAKER_02: I call it the relationship economy is breeding your or creating autonomy within your organization
[11:43] SPEAKER_02: for the persons, people who are frontline to make those connections, like Zappos, they, they allow
[11:52] SPEAKER_02: all of their frontline workers to have control the full entire customer experience and then be able
[11:57] SPEAKER_02: to offer feedback to, you know, the person next door to them who's controlling maybe assets or
[12:03] SPEAKER_02: or infrastructure or or software to, you know, there's a feedback loop. So really a, building
[12:11] SPEAKER_02: an autonomy and building this subset of entrepreneurs in a company, I think is an absolutely central
[12:19] SPEAKER_02: strategy for companies going forward. And, and I say companies, I mean organizations, I mean
[12:25] SPEAKER_02: nonprofits, I mean all of them, anybody who's in the in business, earning money in order to,
[12:33] SPEAKER_02: you know, be a functioning contributor to society and understanding what your legacy is, I think,
[12:41] SPEAKER_02: is really key. Right? What is the experience that you want others to have as they engage with you?
[12:49] SPEAKER_02: Do you want is it, and I call it power play. And the reason I call it power play is because there's
[12:55] SPEAKER_02: only really two states of being, you're either suffering or you're in a pleasure state. And when
[13:01] SPEAKER_02: you're in suffering, you can't, you know, you're just getting through, right? Once you either are
[13:09] SPEAKER_02: at risk, where you're open to new ideas or you're on the breakthrough side of things,
[13:14] SPEAKER_02: where you're playing, you're powerful, you're pleasure, you're, you're supportive of each other.
[13:21] SPEAKER_02: Right? All of those connection pieces really happen, a lot of them happen in the pleasure,
[13:26] SPEAKER_02: pleasure side of being. What's your experience there? When, you know, in your relationships with
[13:32] SPEAKER_02: clients, you know, if you're suffering versus being productive and playing.
[13:37] SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm in the communications realm, you know, I am storyteller, I am power entrepreneurs and
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: marketers to tell their stories in the digital space. That's what I do. I'm, I've been doing it for a
[13:50] SPEAKER_00: while and I have this thing where I, I would say maybe it's a gift, where if I'm passionate about
[13:55] SPEAKER_00: something, I can, I can get you passionate about it too. And my job is to teach my clients how to do
[14:01] SPEAKER_00: that. So I like to work with clients who are already in that positive state, you know, like,
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: I guess coming from a communication side, you know, there's the reactive and the proactive,
[14:12] SPEAKER_00: right? Um, I like to be very proactive. I like to be very proactive, but life happens, right?
[14:22] SPEAKER_00: So what do you do when you're in that survival state? What did you call it?
[14:27] SPEAKER_02: It's suffering. Suffer. You're on this side of the pool, whether it's boredom frustration,
[14:32] SPEAKER_00: you know, right, fear, all of those. And you know, I, I think everyone's different, but my business
[14:38] SPEAKER_00: and my life are want like people work with me because they want to work with me and they want
[14:43] SPEAKER_00: my skills to help them up level their business. And what if I'm going through stuff, they watch me
[14:48] SPEAKER_00: go through it, but a couple of things have really helped me. One, what I've learned is no matter what
[14:53] SPEAKER_00: in hindsight, there's always a silver lining and there's always a lesson. So even while I'm in
[14:58] SPEAKER_00: the darkest position, you know, during a situation like right now, just losing my mother a couple
[15:03] SPEAKER_00: weeks ago, I'm already starting to find some silver linings. And yes, this is the darkest cloud.
[15:08] SPEAKER_00: This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And I can do hard stuff. And I'm surviving this
[15:13] SPEAKER_00: moment by moment, but little things are popping up that are silver linings. And because I've gone
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: through so many situations, I just know when I'm feeling at my lowest in my business or my personal
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: life, I know that once I move through it, I'll be able to start seeing that silver lining. I'll be
[15:32] SPEAKER_00: able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And you move through life with those lessons. You
[15:36] SPEAKER_00: don't forget them. They become part of you and you become stronger and your business becomes
[15:41] SPEAKER_00: stronger and more people want to work with you because they see how resilient you are. They see
[15:45] SPEAKER_00: that you move through a really hard challenge. You can probably help me move through a really hard
[15:49] SPEAKER_02: challenge. Absolutely. And I think if anything that's portrayed here today, that's what I wanted
[15:56] SPEAKER_02: to share about your story is that you are resilient. You don't just talk about resilience. You
[16:02] SPEAKER_02: are resilient. And I think that's part of your purpose is to support people who through
[16:11] SPEAKER_02: through business resilient. Tell me a little bit about what specifically you're doing, not just
[16:17] SPEAKER_00: working with clients, but your side project. Yeah. So first of all, I just want you to think
[16:22] SPEAKER_00: about resilience as a muscle that goes through your entire body. We all have the ability to be
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: resilient. We are born to be resilient. So I just want you to remember that you can do hard stuff.
[16:35] SPEAKER_00: And so a little bit, a bit of a trigger warning. I mean, I'm talking about some heavy stuff,
[16:39] SPEAKER_00: so that probably should have came at the beginning of the interview, but maybe you can let me know.
[16:44] SPEAKER_00: We're good. And so my father lives with addiction. And he and my mom divorced when I was little.
[16:53] SPEAKER_00: I was seven and I was really close with my dad. But when they divorced, I didn't know he was
[16:57] SPEAKER_00: unwell and he was in and out of my life. And it caused a lot of heartbreak, confusion, sadness,
[17:03] SPEAKER_00: anger, trust issues, anxiety, depression. Like I didn't understand it. I didn't respect myself.
[17:08] SPEAKER_00: I didn't really like myself. But there was a lot of mental health stuff that went on with my
[17:12] SPEAKER_00: father's addiction and the way it impacted me. But in my 20s, I decided that I didn't want to have
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: that those feelings anymore. And I went to this thing called the landmark forum. I worked for Lululema
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: and Athletic Up for three and a half years. I was living in Edmonton at the time and they said,
[17:27] SPEAKER_00: do you want to go to landmark? It's in Vancouver. And I was like, yeah, Vancouver free trip. I didn't
[17:32] SPEAKER_00: even care about landmark. I had no expectations. But something they're clicked. And I'm
[17:42] SPEAKER_00: calling card I memorized and calling my dad. And I had the tools to forgive him.
[17:47] SPEAKER_00: Something clicked and I was able to just accept him for who he is, except whatever relationship he
[17:52] SPEAKER_00: was able to give me and just forgive him. And I shared some words. I cried my face off in public.
[17:59] SPEAKER_00: And then we continued the conversation and private later on while I was back at my hotel.
[18:03] SPEAKER_00: And we started to develop this really beautiful relationship. Now, what I really learned,
[18:08] SPEAKER_00: this is just a sidebar. My dad's an entrepreneur. He used to be a diamond dealer before he got sick.
[18:13] SPEAKER_00: He was very innovative. And beginning of my career, I didn't really know much about that.
[18:19] SPEAKER_00: I'm actually a lot like him when it comes to business. So it's super cool to know that because
[18:23] SPEAKER_00: he was very successful. But we got to know each other and he started to come from Winnipeg
[18:28] SPEAKER_00: to Vancouver to visit me. I got to know him. I started to understand who he was and we started
[18:32] SPEAKER_00: to develop a really beautiful relationship. And it wasn't the relationship I always wanted as a kid.
[18:38] SPEAKER_00: It's just a relationship I was able to accept. You know, calling me texting me, visiting me,
[18:43] SPEAKER_00: it was great. He got to walk me down the aisle. But at the end of 2018, we learned that he was
[18:49] SPEAKER_00: terminally ill with COPD and lung cancer. And I felt robbed. I felt like the wind was sucked out
[18:57] SPEAKER_00: of my sales or whatever the saying is. And I started telling my story. So I started going for coffee
[19:03] SPEAKER_00: with friends just like, you know, I have like this gift of verbal diarrhea. And I just,
[19:09] SPEAKER_00: this is the story. This is what happened. This is how I'm feeling. And what was happening was
[19:12] SPEAKER_00: that people were getting back to me. Blair, after the coffee date with you, I went and made an
[19:15] SPEAKER_00: appointment with a therapist. I'm really inspired. Blair, I heard your story and I just flew across
[19:21] SPEAKER_00: the country and forgave my dad before he dies. And I was like, oh, we got something here.
[19:26] SPEAKER_00: In fact, I actually just went for a walk with a girlfriend who said that she shared my story with
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: one of her friends and her friend left her husband because she was in such an unhappy marriage. And
[19:37] SPEAKER_00: she's like, your friend Blair inspired me. And I'm going to live my best life. Whoa. Don't tell,
[19:44] SPEAKER_00: don't tell the husband. But so I was like, dad, like, you know what, this legacy of yours,
[19:51] SPEAKER_00: you know, I know we didn't have the best relationship. I know we have something like decent now. But
[19:56] SPEAKER_00: why don't we use our story of forgiveness, addiction, resilience to inspire others.
[20:02] SPEAKER_00: Why don't we tell our story and gather other stories and write a book when I say we it's not him.
[20:08] SPEAKER_00: It's me. But let's tell our let's tell our stories because growing up like in the 80s and 90s when
[20:13] SPEAKER_00: you had an addiction, it was swept under the red. It wasn't talked about. And so, you know, and I'm
[20:20] SPEAKER_00: like, whoa, millennial, like I'm a geriatric millennial. I'm going to tell my story. I'm going to
[20:24] SPEAKER_00: let you all know how I feel. Let's change the stigma. That's how it is. And I grew up in the Jewish
[20:29] SPEAKER_00: community of Winnipeg and like things are changing. But it's a, you know, everyone knows each other.
[20:32] SPEAKER_00: Everyone knows each other's business. And it's like that in any tight-knit community. And so,
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: I think it's really important to talk about the hard stuff so we can support each other.
[20:41] SPEAKER_00: And so my dad said, that's a great idea. I was like, I guess I should start a website to collect
[20:45] SPEAKER_00: story. So I started a website. I mean, I guess I need social media. So I started social media. And
[20:50] SPEAKER_00: the I am resilient project was born. And so the website is I am resilient.info. Now that was two
[20:57] SPEAKER_00: years ago this March. So now it's about two years ago. So my dad is still alive. He's in palliative
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: care. The goal is to get the book out before he moves on. I mean, we started it because we learned
[21:08] SPEAKER_00: he was dying and we're ending it right after my mom passed away. So it's a really kind of interesting
[21:14] SPEAKER_00: journey we've been on. When I say we have actually brought my sister into the project,
[21:17] SPEAKER_00: Atlanta. She's my project manager and she's also a therapist. So she's a child and family
[21:22] SPEAKER_00: therapist. We've gathered stories from all over the world like New Zealand, all over the states,
[21:27] SPEAKER_00: New Europe, all over Canada. Stories are coming in on our website. Anyone could submit a story.
[21:32] SPEAKER_00: Every story should be told. And then we're picking about 52 stories to publish in our first book.
[21:38] SPEAKER_00: But every story that comes in is told on our website and social media. The past couple of weeks
[21:42] SPEAKER_00: we've taken a bit of hiatus so we can be present with our family. But starting Monday, we're
[21:46] SPEAKER_00: going to be starting to tell stories again. And we're just working on our first book that hopefully
[21:50] SPEAKER_02: will be out in the next few months. And what experience do you are you looking to create for the
[21:59] SPEAKER_02: people and not really I see two key the contributors, right? The part of the journey is actually the
[22:07] SPEAKER_02: contribution and and participating, but also the end reader. What what are you hoping to do? Yeah.
[22:14] SPEAKER_00: So our community that I'm resilient community is a place where people can come and share stories or
[22:19] SPEAKER_00: read stories of resilience to help them move through their challenges. You know, when I've been in
[22:23] SPEAKER_00: the darkest times of my life, like the miscarriage, I googled, I didn't know what to do. How to have a
[22:28] SPEAKER_00: business and have a miscarriage, like how to run a business and have a miscarriage. I didn't I
[22:33] SPEAKER_00: did not know what to do. Right? Like, and so then I wrote an article. I wrote an article about it.
[22:41] SPEAKER_00: I think I want to be a resource. So when you're in a place of hard times that you know that there's
[22:48] SPEAKER_00: this resource that you can go through and you can read about people's challenges and how they
[22:51] SPEAKER_00: overcame them and their words of advice because every story includes words of advice for someone
[22:56] SPEAKER_00: going through something similar. Okay. It's super empowering. But also if you are open to share and
[23:03] SPEAKER_00: you don't have to share your name, you can be anonymous telling your story is extremely
[23:07] SPEAKER_00: therapeutic, whether you write it in a journal, talk to a therapist or put it on the internet for
[23:11] SPEAKER_00: the world to see like I do. You know, it's very therapeutic. You should never keep everything
[23:16] SPEAKER_00: bottled up inside. And I'm a writer like my therapist told me, you know, we have big feelings
[23:22] SPEAKER_00: right. And so I, you know, I'm obviously working through a lot of stuff. So I'm writing when I have
[23:27] SPEAKER_00: the energy. But if you are open to telling your story, some people, you know, writing your story
[23:33] SPEAKER_00: for the I'm resilient project, it might be your tenth time telling it. Some people is the first time
[23:37] SPEAKER_00: they've ever said it, not even told telling their friends or family. We exist so you can heal.
[23:43] SPEAKER_00: We exist so you can help other people heal. That's it. And I started it because it was helping me
[23:50] SPEAKER_00: heal. I was starting it because it was helping the people in my life heal. We also do what we were
[23:55] SPEAKER_00: doing in person events. We were doing like panel discussions where people shared their stories.
[24:00] SPEAKER_00: And we were raising funds and awareness for counseling assistance programs. Unfortunately with
[24:05] SPEAKER_00: COVID, we postponed three events, one in Toronto, one in Pemberton, one in Whistler. We pivoted
[24:11] SPEAKER_00: and did an interview series. So just like we're doing now, but we did it on Facebook and YouTube.
[24:15] SPEAKER_00: And we were just in the middle of working on a podcast. But we paused that for the time being and
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: just going to focus on some healing and writing our book. Awesome. Well, and what's the timeline for
[24:28] SPEAKER_02: the book? Did you say you're still accepting some contribution? Yes. So we are always accepting
[24:35] SPEAKER_00: contributions always. Like if I wake up tomorrow and there's 300 stories in there, we will probably
[24:42] SPEAKER_00: put out a second book right after the first book. Like it's a project. There's no end goal beginning
[24:47] SPEAKER_00: goal. My goal is to get at least the first book out, you know, by spring and spring is now.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: Obviously I had a bit of a bump in the road. But we have most of the stories we'd like to
[24:57] SPEAKER_00: contribute. And we're kind of at that, you know, in a really fun creative process. So potentially in
[25:03] SPEAKER_00: the next couple months. So where are we, March? Yeah. Like May or June.
[25:08] SPEAKER_02: And are you taking who would you like to purchase the book? So we've got the contributors,
[25:14] SPEAKER_02: which you know, it, whether you ever sell a book, the therapeutic process of contribution, I think,
[25:21] SPEAKER_02: justifies the project. What about the readers? Who do you think should use it as an end consumer,
[25:30] SPEAKER_02: but potentially also organizations or institutions that, you know, have the same goal is to help their
[25:37] SPEAKER_00: people feel? Yeah. So my vision for the book is like a beautiful hardcover book with these stories.
[25:44] SPEAKER_00: And each story has a photo or an image and the story. And we've divided it into different sections.
[25:50] SPEAKER_00: You're going to have to wait till the book comes out. But I think it's a beautiful book that can wait
[25:55] SPEAKER_00: beyond coffee tables. So I mean, I'm assuming the world's going to start to open up and in waiting rooms
[26:02] SPEAKER_00: will be magazines and books again. But I think every, you know, every sort of office, dental office,
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: doctors office, therapy office, you know, lunchroom anywhere where a coffee table lies where people
[26:13] SPEAKER_00: maybe take breaks is a great spot. But also your own homes. Maybe you have, you know, a family
[26:20] SPEAKER_00: and you have teenagers. I remember being a teenager going through some hard stuff because of my
[26:24] SPEAKER_00: dad, what if I had a book where someone told me the story of their father having an addiction and
[26:30] SPEAKER_00: that they wish they knew that their father loved them and not, you know, and not what I thought.
[26:36] SPEAKER_00: So I think if you feel like or you can anticipate, you know, teenage life or maybe the hard stuff in
[26:44] SPEAKER_00: life or I think really the book belongs on, you know, in everyone's home, but like that, you know,
[26:51] SPEAKER_00: not possible. We're going to have a digital version. So because for me, it's not about like,
[26:56] SPEAKER_00: we don't make money, like we'll make some money from the book sales, but we're still looking at
[27:01] SPEAKER_00: which organization, but a portion of the proceeds are going to get donated back to support mental
[27:05] SPEAKER_00: health initiatives to support a Canadian company, at least for the first book because we're in Canada.
[27:11] SPEAKER_00: But the goal of the project is to help people. Yes. It's not to become a billionaire. It's to help
[27:18] SPEAKER_00: people. Like I have a business. I make my income through my communications company.
[27:24] SPEAKER_00: This is how I give back. I've been giving back since I was a child. I'm volunteering, donating my time,
[27:29] SPEAKER_00: donating my services, donating money, whatever it is. I'm able to give back a refugee family,
[27:34] SPEAKER_00: refugee family come to Pemberton. I've volunteered with Ovarian Cancer Canada. I'm always
[27:38] SPEAKER_00: up service. I love to be of service. My business is of service too, but that is for profit. This book
[27:43] SPEAKER_00: is about helping others. I have had a very difficult journey with my family. I'm still in the middle
[27:48] SPEAKER_00: of a difficult situation, but reading people's stories that come through. The stuff that people
[27:55] SPEAKER_00: have survived and thrived through and their words of advice, even though some situations have
[28:00] SPEAKER_00: nothing to do with the situation I'm in have helped me. Well, it's interesting. You say that.
[28:06] SPEAKER_02: I want to explore one idea with you. That is the business that I'm in,
[28:15] SPEAKER_02: concept, which is transactional, and then the additional service that I provide.
[28:22] SPEAKER_02: For me, I've been working with Canada's podcast two and a half years, and I say that. This is
[28:27] SPEAKER_02: my passion project. This is what I do for free to help entrepreneurs network their story. Read
[28:36] SPEAKER_02: and pre-pandemic. I was in, I'm building innovation hubs and co-working spaces.
[28:44] SPEAKER_02: The transactional business model was on-demand meeting event and office space, which pretty much
[28:50] SPEAKER_02: ground to a zero halt. I could see that this had a longevity to it. The pandemic
[28:59] SPEAKER_02: right away. Ironically, it was one of one of the interviewees in Vancouver that talked about
[29:07] SPEAKER_02: coming out of bear economy and really taking these tools quickly, assessing where you're at in
[29:12] SPEAKER_02: the market, assessing your cash flow and see how long can you, how long can you hemorrhage
[29:17] SPEAKER_02: if you like your highest expenses of labor and rent, let's say. I made a quick decision very quickly
[29:25] SPEAKER_02: to exit stage left and put everything behind me as structured as possible to keep the momentum
[29:31] SPEAKER_02: and flow in the essential business. I've pivoted myself to going, why don't I just take
[29:39] SPEAKER_02: so my transactional basis is now coaching and working with commercial property owners in,
[29:45] SPEAKER_02: coming from a linear analog, physicality of space, business into the digital world.
[29:52] SPEAKER_02: And becoming hybrid digital spaces, I call them exponential organizations based on place.
[30:02] SPEAKER_02: So that's my transaction. But this engagement and storytelling is really what I love
[30:08] SPEAKER_02: and do the best. Hence, my role here at Canada's podcast. So,
[30:13] SPEAKER_02: now we've shared each of our passion projects. And I just hope that we can get more stories.
[30:21] SPEAKER_02: I don't have a story that I can contribute, but I can think of a lot of people that
[30:25] SPEAKER_02: could take advantage of your healing offer. So I hope that we get lots of books and do maybe
[30:33] SPEAKER_02: it will become a book series of what makes somebody resilient in Eastern Canada versus Western Canada
[30:43] SPEAKER_02: versus a remote community. What do those look like depending on place? There might be an interesting
[30:53] SPEAKER_00: evolution there. It can be like a chicken soup for the Teenage Soul style series. Maybe it's
[30:58] SPEAKER_00: women, maybe there's teenagers. Who knows? I mean, it's a project. Now, one thing I do have to say
[31:03] SPEAKER_00: is that once I get the first book out, I need to probably grow my team a bit because I need to share
[31:07] SPEAKER_00: some responsibility. I'm very big into manifestation. And 2019, my word was resilient. And
[31:13] SPEAKER_00: the universe is still testing how resilient I really am. So I think I need to share the
[31:17] SPEAKER_00: resilience with people. But yeah, like the website has a submission form. It guides you into how
[31:25] SPEAKER_00: to tell your stories. So you don't need to be a creative writer. Some stories come in in their
[31:28] SPEAKER_00: three sentences. Some come in in their 500 words. This is for you. And it guides you how to do it.
[31:36] SPEAKER_02: I am resilient.info. So I'm resilient.info was one great way to connect with you, post podcast.
[31:42] SPEAKER_02: The other one, let's just touch quickly because I know, you know, in your transactional business,
[31:47] SPEAKER_02: you work with companies in their engagement process, right? Once they know
[31:52] SPEAKER_02: what their massive transformational purposes and themselves and their being of service,
[31:58] SPEAKER_02: you identified that you'd like them to be positive. But if you could wave a magic wand and say,
[32:04] SPEAKER_02: hey, I want to connect with this type of company or this niche, please connect with me, post podcast.
[32:11] SPEAKER_00: Who would they be? So my other business Blair Kaplan communications there, you could learn all
[32:16] SPEAKER_00: about me, Blair Kaplan.ca. I have a podcast, I wrote a book, became the best selling author in
[32:21] SPEAKER_00: the pandemic. So you can just go there. I don't take, I won't take up too much more of your
[32:25] SPEAKER_00: ear time. But if you are like, whoa, Blair, I want to learn more about you and work with you.
[32:31] SPEAKER_00: Are you the right person for me is I love working with entrepreneurs and marketers to empower
[32:38] SPEAKER_00: them to tell stories and up level their social media skills more specifically passion driven
[32:43] SPEAKER_00: businesses, not oh, I just bought a subway franchise, but I started this business because I had
[32:48] SPEAKER_00: this dream and this helped me and I did this. I want to help you tell your story in the digital space
[32:54] SPEAKER_00: not only teaching you the skills of technical skills on social media marketing and public relations,
[32:59] SPEAKER_00: but empowering you to tell those stories and how to tell not sell.
[33:05] SPEAKER_02: Awesome. Blair has been an absolute pleasure. You of course triggered me off guard at the beginning,
[33:11] SPEAKER_02: but I mean, that's part of our relationship rate is being vulnerable with each other. I appreciate
[33:17] SPEAKER_02: getting to know you earlier before this podcast today and I absolutely know we will keep in touch
[33:22] SPEAKER_00: over time. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so honored.