From Rock Bottom to Rockin' It

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35: WW2 Child Survivor, Billion Dollar Tech Mogul, & Inspired Philanthropist // The Story of Dame Stephanie Shirley Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

Dame Stephanie Shirley CH is a successful IT entrepreneur turned ardent philanthropist. Having arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied child refugee in 1939, she started what became Xansa plc (now part of the Sopra Group) on her dining room table with £6 in 1962. In 25 years as its Chief Executive, she developed it into a leading business technology group, pioneering new work practices and changing the position of professional women (especially in hi-tech) along the way. Her Dameship in the Millennium honours was for services to IT.

She was awarded the Order of Companions of Honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2017. She served on corporate Boards such as Tandem Computers Inc. (1992-7), the John Lewis Partnership plc (1999-2001) and AEA Technology - previously the Atomic Energy Authority (1992-2000). Her philanthropy is based on her strong belief in giving back to society. She focuses on IT and autism (her autistic son Giles died age 35 in 1998).

Dame Stephanie was the first woman Master of the IT livery company; the first woman President of the chartered British Computer Society; and the UK's Ambassador for Philanthropy in 2009/10. Her charitable Shirley Foundation spent out in October 2018. It made over £67m grants and initiated a number of projects that are pioneering by nature, strategic in impact and significant in money terms. This included three autism charities: Autism at Kingwood (support); Prior's Court (education); and Autistica (research) which together employ over 1000 staff. In 2001 she co-founded the Oxford Internet Institute which focuses on the social, economic, legal and ethical issues – not the technology – of this network of networks.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I would love to hear from you! Contact me at us via: Email (eric@ericgilbertwilliams.com), LinkedIn (@ericgilbertwilliams), Twitter (@ericgilbertw), or Instagram (@ericgilbertwilliams).

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34: Leading a City out of Rock Bottom, Building Calgary 2.0 Mar 23, 2021

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Zane Novak is our very first returning guest and we are so glad to have him back on our show. If you haven't listened to his story yet, please check out his interview - Episode 12: Double Family Tragedy To CEO & Political Influencer // The Story Of Zane Novak. He is currently running for mayor and hoping to win the election this coming October in Calgary. You can get to know more about his platform and vision for Calgary by visiting his website: Zane4Mayor.ca

Twenty years ago, Zane Novak made the inspired move to Calgary because he was drawn to the energy and passion of this great city. His more than 23,000 volunteer hours serving Calgarians has driven him to pursue a higher service to this city. Whether as the president of the Kerby Centre or the Big Hearted Mavericks, an entrepreneur, or as a father and amateur baker, Zane is always looking for a better way forward. Zane brings dynamic leadership to Calgary and a plan to invest in its communities. He wants to enhance economic opportunity for Calgarians while bringing new energy to downtown.

Zane has created the Calgary 2.0, which is a platform for Calgarians to voice their concerns and opinions. Calgary 2.0 follows a grassroots approach, operated entirely by volunteers and concerned Calgarians. Now that the Zane4mayor has been formally announced, Calgary 2.0 will continue to be used as an outreach platform for the community. Calgarians can provide their feedback, thoughts, concerns, and visions for Calgary's future.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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33: $2 Billion in Sales while Persisting through Tragedy & Towards Positive Change // The Story of Jas Takhar Mar 09, 2021

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Toronto native, Jas Takhar, has been in the sales and service industry for over 25 years. Soon after deciding to try his hand in real estate, he co-founded the REC, and in the course of 15 years, has successfully propelled his team to the 1st place position in Canada under Royal LePage.

With 25 realtors and 10 support staff, the team advises and assists over 700 buyers, sellers and investors, yearly, across the Greater Toronto Area, resulting in a total of over $1.5B in transactions. Jas' area of expertise is in helping investors build out their real estate portfolios. Wanting to share his knowledge and experience with the masses, he wrote a book titled Real Estate Intelligence, which teaches others how to buy or sell real estate on their own.

Furthering his pursuit to educate and motivate, he now hosts one of the top business podcasts in the country, the REC Experience; here he interviews guests who share their success stories on real estate investing, entrepreneurship and leadership. He also hosts a daily Instagram Live show called "Nite Cap with Jas" where he answers his follower's most frequently asked questions. His hope is to provide inspiring content to aid others in removing the friction for their own life, in order to help them get from where they are to where they want to be.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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32: World Dance Champion & Sexual Assault Survivor // The Story of Anya Katsevman Feb 10, 2021

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Anya Katsevman is an acclaimed award-winning dancer and performer with over 20 titles in the International Latin circuit. Her many international performance credits include tours with well known shows such as Burn the Floor and Dancing With the Stars. Together with partner Luis Aguilar she also holds numerous titles in salsa. Among them, she is a two-time World Champion as well as the San Francisco International Salsa Congress and New York Salsa Congress Champion.

Anya is a passionate teacher who's popular workshops often include philosophical musings as well as detailed and technical dance instruction. She is also a talented designer who's dresses and costumes have been popular with other top dancers around the world. Born in Kiev Ukraine, Anya Katsevman has been living in New York City for 17 years. She has danced in the films La Epoca and Dancing Scared and in numerous TV productions.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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31: Ugandan Musician to Black Entrepreneurship in the USA // The Story of Muyinza Kasirye Jan 20, 2021

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Muyinza Kasirye is a highly experienced artist, songwriter, producer, and videographer. He is the founder of APRT Media, which is a digital marketing agency that helps customers thrive in today's digital environment. This company is composed of all black individuals from diverse backgrounds that have combined their skill sets to assist fellow black businesses to grow.

Being an immigrant from Uganda has been very challenging for Muyinza, especially during his early teenage years when they moved to Boston. Growing up with little money but armed with a lot of knowledge and passion for music, Muyinza made his way to the top of the entertainment industry. Today, he is an accomplished artist, producer, and media creator who has built and runs his own professional-grade recording studio in Los Angeles. You can check out one of his best-produced music videos on YouTube entitled Cold Blooded.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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30: NHL Hall of Famer & Child Sex Abuse Survivor // The Story of Sheldon Kennedy Dec 01, 2020

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Sheldon Kennedy won a Memorial Cup, World Junior Gold Medal and skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career. He is best known for his courageous decision to charge his Major Junior Hockey league coach with sexual assault for the abuse he suffered over a five-year period while a teenager under his care. Through this disclosure, and the important work that Sheldon continues to do, he has become an inspiration to millions of abuse survivors around the world.

In 1998, he in-line skated across Canada to highlight the issue of child abuse and donated 100% of the proceeds ($1.2M) towards abuse prevention programs. During this skate he was presented with the keys to the cities of Ottawa, Toronto, and Winnipeg. His life story was made into an Award-Winning TV movie.

Sheldon was Co-Founder of the Calgary Child Advocacy Centre, the first-of-its-kind in Canada, offering full wrap-around services for victims of child abuse. He is also the Co-Founder of Respect Group, which provides empowering online abuse, bullying and harassment prevention education to sport organizations, schools and the workplace.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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29: 12 years Working with Human Trafficking Survivors // The Story of Jessica Minhas Nov 03, 2020

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Jessica Minhas is a human rights advocate, author, social entrepreneur, and media commentator who makes complex human rights issues relevant, understandable and actionable for audiences of all ages. For the past 12 years, Jessica has worked in media, carefully producing inspiring media content on complex human rights issues; and the survivor advocacy space, crafting economic empowerment programs and investigations on behalf of sex trafficking victims.

In addition to her humanitarian work, Jessica is the Founder and CEO of I'll Go First, a nonprofit organization dedicated to leveraging media and technology in order to provide remote psychosocial care to marginalized trauma populations throughout the developing world, and is working on her first book- an investigative memoir entitled, "I'll Go First"- following her personal journey of searching for her biological family and finding her life's calling.

Jessica graduated from the University of Central Florida, and has completed graduate studies work in Journalism at NYU, and in Global Mental Health Trauma and Refugee Recovery with Harvard Medical School. She has been honored as a Rising Leader by the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, is a recipient of a Noble Award on behalf of The Blind Project, and is currently a Hive Global Leader, a New York New Abolitionist, a Global Shaper on behalf of the World Economic Forum and a United Nations Global Accelerator.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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28: Extreme Alcoholic to Sober Forever // The Story of Susan Laurie Oct 05, 2020

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Susan Laurie is the author of From Rock Bottom To Sober Forever, which is the story of how a hopeless alcoholic, resigned to an early death, found complete freedom from her addiction. This book is her story of conquering alcoholism forever, and it is essential reading for anyone concerned about their drinking or the drinking of someone they care about.

Alcoholism took hold of Susan's life and brought her to her darkest and deepest rock bottom moments facing imminent death. After finding a treatment that really worked, she regained control of her life once again. Today, she is a High Profile Expert at the House of Lords Commission on Alcohol Harm.

If you are having problems dealing with alcoholism or you just want to get some guidance and directions, you can visit Susan's website at SoberForever.co.uk

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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27: Severe Depression Survivor to TV Star & Professional Comedian // The Story of Jessica Holmes Sep 22, 2020

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Jessica Holmes has opened for comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Leslie Nielsen, and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as hosted events for such visionaries as Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey! Although a comedian at heart, having performed with the Second City and Just for Laughs, Holmes has recently delved into writing: penning the book I Love Your Laugh: Finding the Light in My Screwball Life. Born and raised in Ottawa en Anglais et Francais, Holmes sat back and enjoyed the hilarity that was her family: a handful of older brothers, a mormon father and a feminist mother. Not a sitcom, just her family.

The Second City, Just for Laughs and TV shows like Little Big Kid and The Itch got her noticed as a funny, quirky presence in the comedy community. After her comedy special Holmes Alone taped, she was offered her own sketch series: The Holmes Show. A Carol Burnett style series with lots of characters & impressions, Holmes became known for her oddball personifications of Celine Dion, Liza Minelli and Geri Halliwell. Holmes was delighted to join the cast of Royal Canadian Air Farce (having applied to be their secretary five years earlier, and been turned down…they still have her typing test!). There she played politicians and celebrities; including Michael Jackson and Jessica Simpson.

During her years on Air Farce, Jessica had two children, Alexa and Jordan, with her actor husband Scott. Holmes wrote her first book, I Love Your Laugh: Finding the Light in my Screwball Life, in 2010. Having fallen in love with public speaking, Holmes decided to deepen the scope of her material by becoming a Life & Career Coach through San Diego's Life Purpose Institute. She now enjoys a mix of comedy & motivational speaking.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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26: Racism, Hollywood Movie Star, and Entrepreneurship // The Story of Tommy Chong Sep 15, 2020

Show notes

Grammy Award winning comedian Tommy Chong is legendary for his invaluable contribution to American counter-culture as part of the iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong. During their reign, the twosome recorded six gold comedy albums, including the 1973 Grammy winner "Los Cochinos," and starred in eight films, most of which Chong co-wrote and directed. The first, Up In Smoke, was the highest grossing comedy of 1978, topping $100 million at the box office. Others were Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980), Nice Dreams (1981), Things Are Tough All Over (1982), Cheech and Chong: Still Smoking (1983), and The Corsican Brothers (1984).

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Tommy began his entertainment career as a musician in a Canadian-based rhythm and blues band. Eventually, he landed a gig with the "Vancouvers"" and co-wrote the band's 1960's hit, "Does Your Mama Know About Me."" From here, Chong eventually turned towards the life as an actor. The first step was forming "City Works," an improvisational group where he consequently met his future comedic partner, Richard "Cheech" Marin. Throughout the 1970's Cheech & Chong earned a massive following until eventually, the duo had run its lengthy and prosperous course and they both embarked on solo careers.

Earlier this year, the highly anticipated, award winning documentary A/K/A Tommy Chong was released worldwide. The documentary features the journey that Chong took after a fully armed SWAT team raided the comedian's home in February of 2003. Tommy Chong was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drug paraphernalia through "Chong Glass," a family business specializing in handmade glass water pipes, or "bongs." Making history this year, Tommy Chong reunited with his old comedy partner, Richard "Cheech" Marin to announce their first tour in over 25 years with Shelby Chong opening the show. The "Cheech & Chong: Light Up America & Canada" tour has proven to be one of the most successful comedy tours of the year, selling out multiple shows from coast to coast.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & More on this episode please visit our website: RockBottom2RockinIt.com. ***

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