Id like to share the story of a good friend of mine. Its a Canadian success story. What is happening to his family, and others like them, should concern all of us.

The story

Warren owns a successful business in Burlington, Ont., and employs 125 people. He has poured his blood, sweat and tears into the business since starting it 25 years ago.

He has sacrificed much. He didnt spend enough time with his children when they were younger, because the business demanded his attention. Further, he put all his assets at risk over the years by making personal guarantees to borrow the funds necessary to grow the business. The early days were tough. He reminded me of a time when he had to take cash advances on his credit cards just to pay his staff. He took no salary for the first two years the business was in operation.

Warrens wife, Jeanie, made sacrifices, too. She gave up her full-time job to focus on their children and household, allowing Warren to focus on the business. Warren is the first to acknowledge that Jeanie has been as critical to the success of the business as he has been. Shes been a rock of stability at home. More than this, the equity in their home, which she helped to build while she was working, enabled Warren to borrow enough money to create a business that provides its employees with growing incomes, and has made many of them very well off financially.

Today, Warren and Jeanie are reaping the rewards of the risks and sacrifices theyve made. With the success of the business, Warren now has a good income. Jeanie shares in this success by receiving dividends from the company, as do the children, who have also made sacrifices over the years. None of the employees begrudge this familys financial success. On the contrary, they are grateful to be beneficiaries of the hard work and risks that started the business, which now provides them with good incomes.

The problem

Warren is irate. Tim, there is no way I would make the same sacrifices all over again if I were starting the business today. I simply wouldnt bother.

I asked him why he felt this way. The government today has changed the tax system so much, and is planning to change it again to stack the odds against the small-business owner. If I did this all over again, Id move to the United States first.

When the Liberals won the last federal election, they quickly increased personal tax rates on the financially successful often business owners to give more to others. Although Warren wasnt happy about the tax-rate increases made effective in 2016, he tolerated them because he believes he should pay a higher percentage of tax than people with lower incomes. He buys into the idea of a progressive tax system.

This Liberal government, however, seems so focused on the idea of redistribution of wealth that it completely fails to recognize that when a business owner becomes successful, and increases their income and net worth in the process, those employed by the business become better off as well. Successful businesses produce more, and more highly paid, employees.

When a business owner risks everything they own, is it so terrible that they should, say, triple their income and net worth, especially if it means the employees of the business double theirs, over time? Apparently this is a problem for the Liberals.

Proposed tax changes introduced on July 18 are designed to reduce the ability of business owners such as Warren to split income with family members, unless those family members have contributed meaningful labour and capital. I guess Jeanies sacrifices dont count here. I think Finance Minister Bill Morneau needs to explain that to her personally.

The proposals also will restrict Warrens ability to save money for retirement inside his corporation. The Liberals want Warren and Jeanie to be treated exactly like any employee who hasnt started an active business and owns a corporation. Perhaps Mr. Morneau should explain to Warren why the risks and sacrifices he made to create 125 jobs shouldnt provide him with any benefits greater than what his employees receive.

If the Liberals are trying to build a stronger middle class, as they claim, they will be doing exactly the opposite by penalizing small-business owners for their success.

Tim Cestnick, FCPA, FCA, CPA(IL), CFP, TEP, is an author and founder of WaterStreet Family Offices.

Click here for a detailed analysis of what the proposed tax scenarios will cost small business owners.

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The Liberals will only weaken the middle class if they proceed with proposed tax changes - The Globe and Mail

The CEO of the Success Academy charter schools forcefully distanced herself from President Trump in a Thursday note to parents and staff.

Citing Trumps response to the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Eva Moskowitz, who had aligned herself with the president over his pro-charter stance, ripped him in the message, which was emailed out to parents, and said she should have publicly denounced him earlier.

His comments have left many in our community feeling unsafe and uncertain about their place in society, Moskowitz said.

Its one thing to have a President with whose politics you disagree; its another to have a President who doesnt even seem to care about your welfare.

The repudiation comes after a period of guarded and politically perilous engagement between Moskowitz and the Trump camp.

While the lifelong Democrat voted for Hillary Clinton, Trumps vocal endorsement of charter school growth compelled some measure of collaboration and Moskowitz was even considered for education secretary at one point. She later endorsed his selection of Betsy DeVos for the post.

The Success Academy architect met with Trump after the election and gave a school tour to his daughter, Ivanka. A subsequent hosting of House Speaker Paul Ryan at a Harlem campus drew a block long crowd of jeering protesters and underscored Moskowitzs fraught political dilemma.

Those overtures offended many in largely Democratic New York City including some charter backers who deemed anything but blanket condemnation of the new administration as inadequate.

Moskowitz , a former city councilwoman from Manhattan, had been largely silent on Trumps turbulent presidency in recent months.

But in the wake of Charlottesville and a damaging racial gaffe by Success Academy board chairman Dan Loeb, Moskowitz aimed to thoroughly sever any associations with the Trump administration.

As I explained when I announced that I was turning down a potential opportunity to serve as Secretary of Education, I voted for Hillary Clinton and was sorely disappointed she didnt win, Moskowitz wrote. I am a Democrat and disagree with virtually all of President Trumps policy positions including those on healthcare, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, immigration, global warming, gun control, and tax reform.

I chose not to speak publicly about these disagreements, however, because I feel my responsibility as CEO of Success Academy is not to advance my personal beliefs on a broad range of political issues but instead to focus all of my energies on advocating for our kids and public policies that expand educational opportunity and parent choice, she wrote.

Moskowitz said her muted approach was wrongly interpreted as tacit support and that pre-existing charter school nemeses seized onto the perception to harm the sector as a whole.

In retrospect, I should have been more outspoken so that no one would possibly think that either Success Academy or I was tacitly supporting President Trumps policies, which are contrary to the values of respect, caring, and concern that are central to our mission, she said.

The missive made no mention of the controversy over Loeb, who used racially inflammatory language to rip state Senate Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins as beholden to politically potent teachers unions.

Meanwhile, hypocrites like Stewart-Cousins who pay fealty to powerful union thugs and bosses do more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood, Loeb wrote in a Facebook post that he later deleted.

In a prior note this week, Moskowitz condemned Loebs language but said entrenched charter foes were unfairly latching onto the debacle in order to malign Success Academy and its mission.

Read more from the original source:
Success Academy CEO rips Trump in email to parents, staff - New York Post

Alison Bender and Liam Twomey look back on the latest from Antonio Conte, as he endures a tough start to the season.

There is not a single doubt that Roman Abramovich's reign as owner has seen the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club soar to unknown heights. Every conceivable trophy has been won while the club's global profile has been elevated to sit among the cream of football's aristocracy.

But no relationship is without its flaws and one of the common threads throughout the last 14 years has been the quest for something beyond merely winning. After Jose Mourinho led Chelsea to their first English title in half a century in 2005 and backed it up with another the following year, the need to win in a certain style suddenly became all-important.

The vanity purchases of Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres each came soon after a title was claimed, but instead of ushering in a period of dominance the team's top-flight supremacy was undermined on each occasion.

In the past few years the focus has switched to winning trophies while also turning a profit. Ostensibly the route towards this is by buying young players with potential who will either make the grade at Chelsea or be sold on for a tidy sum.

While this policy looks good on paper, in reality it presents a paradox. Trying to climb the summits of the Premier League and Champions League without constant reinvestment is like trying to scale Everest without crampons. It just isn't going to happen.

Financial prudence and the nurturing of young players is a noble pursuit though the Chelsea board are kidding themselves if they think it will lead to sporting nirvana at the same time. Either trophies or youth development can be realistically targeted, not both.

The last two decades have seen Chelsea supporters experience an extraordinary roller coaster of a journey. Given the relatively scant amount of silverware in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet prior to the last 20 years, most fans that remember what it used to be like should be able to accept the odd fallow period now and again.

But Abramovich does not do fallow, so whenever standards start to slip the fall guy is inevitably the unfortunate manager. Carlo Ancelotti was the first under the Russian to start genuinely blooding young players with Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran featuring. But the crime of finishing second a year after securing the club's first and only double saw him summarily dismissed in the players' tunnel at Goodison Park.

The start of Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea seemed portentous after it was made clear that part of his brief was to provide a pathway for youth products to graduate to the senior side. Indeed, in 2014, he even asserted that so promising were Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown and Dominic Solanke that they were destined to play for England.

Within 18 months, Mourinho had been sacked by the club for a second time with none of those players having been provided sufficient opportunity to make an impact on the first team.

The aims and practices of the club seem to continually conflict. Instant success is targeted that precipitates significant outlay on major signings such as the arrival of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa in 2014 and N'Golo Kante, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso in 2016.

When success is subsequently acquired the club board then tighten the purse strings and demand that the team's exploits are repeated under completely different conditions.

The same seems to be happening this summer. True, Chelsea have spent the substantial figure of 130 million on Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger. But given the 60m received for Oscar in January and the 40m for Nemanja Matic, as well as the proceeds from the sales of Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake and others, the actual investment is not all that high. In any case, that trio have essentially just replaced the exiled Diego Costa, the departed Matic and the ageing John Terry.

Neither the first team nor the wider squad have been materially strengthened. At the same time, Chelsea'a brightest prospects such as Loftus-Cheek and Baker have once again been loaned out, making a mockery of their policy of promoting youth. The consequence is that Antonio Conte has been stripped of the resources to successfully defend the title, whether via his preferred route of signing experienced campaigners or by fielding homegrown talent.

In Friday's news conference ahead of the trip to Spurs, Conte was asked whether he regretted the club's decision to sell Chalobah and loan out Loftus-Cheek. His long pause and refusal to answer the question spoke volumes.

If history has taught us anything it is that Conte will be the one to carry the can if Chelsea's house of cards collapses. Everyone will know, however, that it is not the Italian that is ultimately to blame.

Phil is one of ESPN's Chelsea bloggers. You can follow him on Twitter @PhilLythell.

Read more here:
Chelsea's conflicting priorities sabotage club's long-term success - ESPN FC (blog)

Photo Credit: Artist David Roberts

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. -Thomas Jefferson

God prefaces many of His commandments with the line when you enter the land, meaning, many of these commandments need to wait until were in the Promised Land or are somehow dependent on the land itself. However, after one of these common introductions God goes on to give an unusually specific location and direction as to where the people of Israel should go and what they should do there.

He orders them to congregate at the twin mountains of Gerizim and Ebal next to the city of Shechem. There, in what turns out to be a massive natural amphitheater, the assembled nation of Israel are to proclaim the blessings that will be accorded to themselves and their descendants should they listen to Gods commandments, as well as the curses that will befall them should they choose to ignore Gods directives. What is physically unusual about the setting is that although the two mountains are almost identical in their shape, size, location and elevation, Mount Gerizim is verdant and alive; Mount Ebal is barren and desolate. Not surprisingly, the blessings were uttered upon Mount Gerizim, the curses on Mount Ebal.

Rabbi Hirsch on Deuteronomy 11:29 elaborates:

Both of them rise from the same soil, both are watered by the same precipitation rain and dew. The same air passes over them both; the same pollen is blown over them both. Yet Ebal remains starkly barren, while Gerizim is covered with lush vegetation to its very top.

Thus we see that blessings and curses are not dependent on external circumstances. Hence, whether we are blessed or cursed is not dependent on the superficial conditions that are imposed upon us, but on how we deal with them on our attitude

Whether we are blessed or cursed is not dependent on any outside force. Our fate doesnt rely on good or bad luck. Happenstance should not determine our inner reality. The opposite is true. Our attitude, how we see the world, how we perceive things, how we react, how we internalize the reality around us, that will determine whether we are blessed or cursed. It is completely in our hands.

May we be grateful for the blessings in our lives and see it as such.

Shabbat Shalom

Read more from the original source:
TORAH SHORTS: Weekly Biblical Thoughts: Parshat Re'eh - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

TODAYonline

Former swim champ May Ooi hoping to make a splash on ONE C'ship debut TODAYonline The conditioning, mental attitude and the discipline to train and eat right from my swimming days help a lot. I have gone through those things before and getting back into competitive sports now is second nature. Previously competing in smaller ... and more »

Read more here:
Former swim champ May Ooi hoping to make a splash on ONE C'ship debut - TODAYonline

A recent study published in theJournal of Personality and Social Psychologyand reported byEmotion Researchersurveyed nearly 1,300 American adults to better understand the relationship between accepting our emotions and mental health.

(Photo: ABC)

Iris Mauss, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and principal investigator in the study explained: "We found that people who habitually accept their negative emotions experience fewer negative emotions, which adds up to better psychological health."

While it's difficult to say exactly why that is, she think that when we accept negative emotions, we normalize them and give them less attention. According to Mauss, "if youre constantly judging your emotions, the negativity can pile up."

Those who resist their emotions or judge them are more likely to experience mood swings than those who accept feelings of sadness, disappointment and bitterness.

As Brett Ford, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, explains in an article available on the UC Berkeley site, "People who accept these emotions without judging or trying to change them are able to cope with their stress more successfully."

Three different tests were conducted on diverse groups of people, both in the lab and online, taking into account their age, gender, socio-economic status and other demographic variables.

"Its easier to have an accepting attitude if you lead a pampered life, which is why we ruled out socio-economic status and major life stressors that could bias the results," Mauss said.

In the first study, approximately 1,000 participants were given a questionnaire in which they had to rate how strongly they agreed with the following statement: "I tell myself I shouldnt be feeling the way that Im feeling." In general, those who did not feel bad about their feelings had higher levels of well-being.

In the second study, 150 people participated in a simulated job interview in which they had to describe their strengths and talents by giving a three-minute-long videotaped speech in front of a panel, after being allowed only ten minutes to prepare.

The participants then rated how they felt afterward. Those with a tendency to avoid their negative emotions had more difficulty with the test and showed higher levels of anxiety than those who were used to accepting their emotions.

Finally, over 200 people were invited to keep a journal about their most difficult experiences over a two-week period. Six months later, they were interviewed about their mental health, and no surprise those who had denied their emotions in regard to difficult experiences reported more symptoms of mood disorders than the others.

The next step for the researchers will be to examine factors such as culture and education to better understand why some people are more inclined to accept their emotions than others. As Mauss explained:

"By asking parents about their attitudes about their childrens emotions, we may be able to predict how their children feel about their emotions, and how that might affect their childrens mental health."

(Photo: ABC)

Read More->Meet The Woman Using Art To Open Up A Dialogue About Mental Health In Black Communities

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Accepting Negative Emotions Is Better For Mental Health, Study ... - Konbini

Multimedia personality, Toke Makinwa, has wowed fans with an act of benevolence as she is offering four lucky winners a sum of three million Naira.

Tagged #Imusthavemyown, Toke says the giveaway is her own way of saying thank you to her loyal supporters.

The On Becoming author made this known via Instagram, expressing her excitement over how she believes the project OnBecomingEmpowered would touch lives.

To stand a chance of winning the cash, participants are required to record and upload a one-minute video in which they are expected to pitch a creative business idea and state how the grant would help the business.

This project is very close to my heart thank you Jesus for the vision. Sooooo Im sure a lot of you have wondered what #OnBecomingEmpowered is all about, go to my YouTube page (bio in my link) and watch this weeks Vlog. I am giving out 3 million Naira to 4 people. It is my own little way of saying thank you, it is also a call to action to get our minds thinking right. #Imusthavemyown because life can happen at anytime and I have seen things change overnight, from losing my parents at the age of 8 to going thru the most heartbreaking divorce at 30! I keep thinking what if? What if I didnt have a job, a dream, purposeetc. We all must be prepared. It breaks my heart to see people on social media daily in need and I cant reach everyone. I feel a of people feel stuck and in order to become some more, we must empower our minds. Its not about the money, its about impacting lives and this year we will start with business ideas, next itll be education. I truly want those who genuinely need the money to win the grant so do a one min video with your ideas and make it creative. Have fun with it as its going to be a fun process so get your videos up and tag @onbecomingbytokemakinwa, the best videos will be uploaded there and we can can all choose together who makes it to the next round. More info will be released as we go along! Good luck guys

A post shared by Toke Makinwa (@tokemakinwa) on Aug 17, 2017 at 7:14am PDT

Giving her life as an example, she also pointed out the fact that life has so many uncertainties and many people are currently in need. However, with creative ideas, a positive mental attitude and financial support, she believes people can become some more.

While Toke has had a fair share of lifes hard knocks, (losing her parents at a tender age of eight and having to go through a painful divorce at 30), one can say she has managed to rise above her struggles.

From her career as a Nigerian radio personality to a television host, vlogger, recently a bestselling author and her buzzing social media presence, she has succeeded in building a much-admired personality and much more over the years.

See more here:
Toke Makinwa To Give Out N3m To Four Fans - CHANNELS TELEVISION

Students and staff at Christleton Sixth Form are once again celebrating after receiving another excellent set of results in this years A Level examinations, with a 98.5% success rate across all 30 A Level subjects taught.

Over 65% of the 133 students taking A levels achieved one or more A*-B grades, with 11 students gaining at least three grade As. Overall, 47% of all grades were A*-B.

After many months of hard studying and weeks of nervous anticipation, it was a day of happiness for the sixth form students for whom today marked their first step on the way to university life, full-time employment, apprenticeship or internship.

Many students were delighted that they have been successful in their applications to prestigious Russell Group universities and will be taking up new challenges at institutions around the country.

Students enjoying exceptional success at A Level include: Freya McConnell (A*A*A*A*A*), Will Lannin (A*A*A*A*), Finlay Wojtan (A*A*A), Adam Stanworth (A*A*A), Katie Barker (A*AA), Jason Field (A*AA), Dominika Sadczuk (A*AA), Billy Walsh (A*AA) and Olivia Wood (AAA).

At the end of his first full year as head of Christleton Sixth Form, Mike Cosstick was glowing in his praise for the students achievements.

He said: It was fantastic to see so many happy faces as our students opened their results!

We had high hopes for this year group and this excellent set of results has more than met them. All young people today are under tremendous pressure to perform and such results can only be achieved by hard work and a really strong positive mental attitude and resilience.

Our students have been a pleasure to work with during their time with us and have consistently contributed a great deal to the everyday life of the school; today is the real reward for all of their efforts to be the very best they can be.

Headteacher Damian Stenhouse added: I really couldnt be more proud. As result of the combination of continued hard work by our students, great teaching and strong support from parents, I am so pleased that so many of our students have achieved what they deserved to.

On behalf of all of us connected to the school, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate each and every one of them on their considerable achievements.

A large number of our students have once again secured places at prestigious universities or jobs with reputable companies. We wish them happy and successful futures.

View post:
A Level results: Christleton Sixth Form students achieve exceptional success - ChesterChronicle.co.uk

Baraboo football coach Steve Turkingtons new philosophy is simple: Tough people win.

The saying, shortened to TPW, is not only reiterated during practice, but the acronym is printed on the back of the teams practice shirts as a constant reminder that no matter what adversity you face, tough athletes can get through it.

The Thunderbirds have faced more than their share of adversity over the past decade, failing to make the WIAA playoffs since 2006. That drought almost ended last season, as Baraboo was one win away from a postseason berth. The T-Birds had two losses of five points or less, both to playoff-bound foes.

Baraboo has some big holes to fill as its leading passer rusher, and receiver were lost to graduation, but Turkington believes he has the players able to keep the teams progression going.

The season was just inches away from being something really magical, he said. So now this group came in, and theyre a different kind of group, but they worked so hard during the offseason that were really excited to see what happens.

Baraboo dropped a 28-27 heartbreaker early on to DeForest and was still clinging to a potential playoff berth when the T-Birds played Mount Horeb/Barneveld on the road in Week 8. Baraboo held a one-point lead at halftime, but missed out on a couple scoring chances and a roughing-the-passer penalty helped the Vikings escape with a 19-14 victory. While some teams would like to forget about the close games and move on, Turkington said the T-Birds are using them as motivation.

I obviously reflect on it every single day. You look at all the little details if we would have hit on some of these things, that would have been the difference in the DeForest game or the Mount Horeb game, Turkington said. Either one of those we could have won and would have been in the playoffs, but instead that kind of came back to bite us.

We use it as motivation to say were not going to skip out on anything. There will be no stone left unturned to make sure we make the playoffs this year and get those wins. Because those were ours.

It all goes back to TPW, a philosophy that Turkington hopes will push his team harder than ever before.

TPW is something we stole from a coach down in Texas, and the concept is more mental than physical, Turkington said. We want you to be physically tough, but mental toughness is really what were talking about. So when adversity strikes, youre going to push through it and youre going to come out a winner.

Its going to be our permanent thing, as long as Im here. We used it in baseball too. (Baseball coach and defensive coordinator) Steve Considine and I met this offseason, before baseball even started and started asking, What are we missing? Obviously weve got this kids working really hard. And weve got coaches, were teaching the game well, weve got fundamentals and all that stuff is being taken care of. What we were missing is the culture change across our sports. So we invested a lot of time and energy in culture.

Physically, the T-Birds will be tougher as well. Turkingtons Winning Edge workout program has seen record numbers.

I would say during the wintertime, Monday and Wednesday mornings wed have 50-60 kids in the weight room. And theyve never had that around here before, he said. Weve created this program where were going to make sure our athletes are doing it during the season and it becomes a year-round thing for our athletes.

You can see it in our kids. Were way bigger, faster and stronger than we have been in the past.

Read the rest here:
PREP FOOTBALL: Baraboo's "Tough people win" philosophy bringing new attitude - WiscNews

In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.

What is your name?Lucy Valnicek.

Where are you from and how long have you lived in Kelowna?I was born in Saskatoon but my family moved to Kelowna when I was five. I've lived in Kelowna for 18 years, to me Kelowna is home.

Who is your favourite person to spend time with and why?My favourite person to spend time with is my best friend Noora. You know that feeling when someone just gets you and you feel like you can be completely yourself? That's how it has always been with us. I think friendship is one of life's greatest gifts.

If you could go anywhere in the world right at this moment where would you go and why?Anywhere with large-scale natural beauty excites me! I'd love to spend some time hiking and camping in Patagonia.

What is your favourite local store in Kelowna and why?Nature's Fare Markets. I love all things health, food, and sustainability related. I really believe in what Nature's Fare stands for in creating healthier, happier communities through good wholesome food.

What is your favourite activity?Yoga, it's really changed my quality of life. Ever since I began to practice it regularly I have had so much more energy and just feel more relaxed as a person.

If you had to choose: pizza, tacos, or burgers?For a food-lover this is a very difficult question, but I have to say, I've never had a slice of pizza I didn't enjoy! So I would say pizza with cashew cheese and arugula.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?I still remember one time at my grandmas house when she had someone come to clean her windows, I was using the washroom when I heard a squeegee noise. I looked up and the window washer was right above me cleaning the skylight. I jumped right into the bathtub!

What is the most inspiring thing that has happened to you?I attended a conference with my sister on creating content on social media. One of the panelists said 'Dont think, create.' To this day that has been something that has helped me to get past my own doubts and insecurities and share.

Tell us your favourite childhood memory.My grandparents had a cabin outside of Saskatoon in a place called Waskesiu. I loved going there so much because my Grandma (Babi) would let us kids run free by ourselves to the park and the shops, something my parents didnt let us do. There was also a family of foxes that lived in the forest next to us and loved to come and visit.

Where do you volunteer or give back to in the community?Ive always loved the quote by Frederick Buechner: 'Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the worlds deep need.' For me personally, I feel the greatest gift I can give to others is my presence and joy. Theres nothing that warms my heart more or make me feel more purposeful than to change someones day for the better. Be it through a simple smile or hello, or to take the time to connect with someone new through conversation and bring that sense of 'were all in this together.'

If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?I think I would want everyone to know how beautiful and important they are. I think its only when we forget that simple truth that things go a bit awry. So I guess teaching people to love and value themselves so they know how to love and value each other.

What is your favourite activity in Kelowna?I love to hike and get outside and explore. We really are so blessed to live in a place where nature and outdoor activities of almost every kind are so easily accessible to us.

Where would you sneak away to in Kelowna to spend some time alone?There is a forest near my house that I hike in with my dogs. For me, this is my happy place. I love spending time in solitude and Ill often just find a nice rock to sit on somewhere out there and meditate.

Where would you like to see positive change in Kelowna and why?I would love to see more bike paths like the one on Abbot Street, and gathering spaces like our outdoor skating rink all around Kelowna. Places where people can get outside, meet friends and just have fun!

What do you think makes Kelowna great?The more I travel the more I see just how unique our little city is. Kelowna really facilitates being active and living a healthy lifestyle with our mountains and the lake. Its pretty easy to feel lucky to live here, all we have to do is look around.

What are 3 things on your bucket list?1. Learn to surf (Ive been a few times but would love to get better).2. Write a book on self-love, and empowerment.3. To never stop learning new things.

Tell us something that not everyone may know about you.I spend am embarrassing amount of time reading epic-fantasy/sci-fi novels. I just love getting lost in a good adventure. One of my favourites is 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss.

How do people connect with you, personally, through social media?My favourite form of social media is definitely Instagram. I love seeing other people's creativity and getting a peak into their lives. I find it very inspiring, I love to share and connect with people through Instagram.

What is the name of your business/organization?I have a Youtube channel called Purely Lucy.

Why did you get into/start this business?My life has changed so much since I began to eat more plant-based, meditate and take care of my body. I really wanted to share what Ive learned with others too.

What is the goal of your business?To help people realize their beauty, power and goodness. To empower people and help them know that they are worthy of their dreams.

What has been your biggest struggle either in work or life?Probably caring too much what other people think. I wanted to create a Youtube channel for many years before I actually took the leap. Over time I learned that the more I am able to share without caring how its received, the more fun and success I have!

If you could start all over again would you do things the same or would things be different?Im still very much in the beginning stages but I wouldnt change a thing. Every misstep has taught me something valuable even if it's just how to laugh at myself and not take mistakes too seriously.

What do you always find yourself saying?'Everything is always working out for me' - even if it seems like things are going wrong, I like to remind myself that in the big picture things are always working out for the good.

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?The first person that comes to mind is the author Eckhart Tolle, he really taught me how to live in and enjoy the moment, rather than letting life pass me by. I think it would be very interesting to spend some time with him. Either him or Elon Musk.

Why do you think it is important to shop locally?Were all so connected. I think supporting local is supporting a healthy community, and a healthy, and thriving community is good for everyone.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?It might sound a little cheesy but I think it would be listening to my heart above all else and becoming the person I always wanted to be.

Give someone you think that deserves it a shout out and explain why!Right now it would be my neighbour Bernie. Hes in his late 80s, and is probably the happiest person I know! He always has the biggest smile and loves to share everything he grows in his garden with the neighbours. I hope to be like him someday.

My choice for the KelownaNow In Focus spotlight is:Sally Wallick.

We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna.

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In Focus | Lucy Valnicek - KelownaNow