Let it Grow

In most Canadian gardens, there is too much clay or sand content, say experts in this field. Both are responsible for a compromised growing environment – and that spells frustration for those of us who work hard to grow flowers, tomatoes, vegetables and fruit.

“For plant roots to thrive, they need a proper balance of moisture, nutrition and aeration,” says Syd Pell at Miracle-Gro. “Clay soil is dense and heavy, with tiny pores, so the oxygen level is low. Water cannot readily pass through, causing drainage problems that essentially drown the plant. At the other extreme, sandy soil has large pores and is low in organic matter, making it difficult to retain nutrients as water drains away far too quickly. If the roots can’t get sufficient water and oxygen to transport nutrients, the plants will shut down.”
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High Roller

It’s too high for me; look at it! It hurts my neck,” says Vaughan resident Jimmy Leone as he sizes up Canada’s Wonderland’s towering new ride from a coffee shop at the corner of Jane Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. A young man a few seats away has a different point of view. “I’ll go this summer. Why not? It’s fun, it’s exciting.” Suddenly, all that’s heard is a group of people echoing the back-and-forth dialogue that began when news broke last August that a 306-foot roller coaster was coming to town. Stretching far beyond the city, thrill-seekers and evaders are dogmatic about whether or not they will strap themselves into the prodigious seafoam green Leviathan, set to debut this May.
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You Should Have Asked

Human beings are fascinating. It’s too bad that most of the general population doesn’t agree. I know this because over the past 15 years I’ve spoken to over one million people. During that time, I’ve noticed that we’ve become a species that has literally stopped asking each other good questions. I have observed this at networking functions, fundraisers, parties, and even in line at Tim Hortons.

I’m not trying to brag, but I have a pretty cool job. I produce musicals, write books, host radio shows, shoot videos, get interviewed on TV and help big Canadian companies reach new levels of success. When someone asks what I do for a living, I obviously don’t give them the entire list, and instead default to one thing by saying, “I’m a professional speaker.” Quite often, the person will not dig deeper and will say something like, “Wow, that sounds like fun. And do you live in Toronto?” I kid you not when I say that at least 99 per cent Read more

Robin’s 73 Best Business and Success Lessons

“I have summarized the 73 best ideas/insights/lessons I’ve learned for winning in business and life below. I hope they help you. And I hope you’ll share them with others who will benefit from them. Again, thanks for supporting my mission to help people in organizations around the world Lead Without a Title. I’m grateful. 
” 
Robin Read more

If You Think Your Children Need More, Think Again

How much is too much to give your children? Consider this: for everything you give, you are taking something away. This applies to buying your teenager a new car, giving them a down payment on a home, or leaving them $100,000 when you die. The typical parent, at all income levels, imbibes the fiction that it is his or her responsibility to take away the struggle in their children’s lives. When parents assist their children frequently, it dulls the character, integrity, work ethic and socialization skills their children need to become responsible adults. The responsible and intentional parent makes an effort to contemplate, discuss and if possible, determine what life lessons will be missed if financial support or a gift is given.
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Fitness in a New Light with Paul’s Boot Camp

After losing her father to lung cancer, watching her marriage break down and finding out that she had a cyst in her lung, mother-of-three Patricia Testani decided to take control of her life. On Dec. 17, 2009, she joined Paul’s Boot Camp by Integrity Fitness, and has since seen her life change in immeasurable ways.

Testani started off taking Level 1 circuit training classes two to three times a week, focusing on a combination of cardiovascular and resistant exercises. “They were very encouraging,” she says. Then, during the summer of 2010, despite being a non-smoker, she was told that her cyst had evolved into a tumour that would require surgery. Less than two months after having a third of her lung removed, she was back at Paul’s Boot Camp. “They were very helpful, they knew when not to push me and when to push me, and it worked out very well.”
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Meditation 101

Seven years ago I watched an Oprah Winfrey interview with David Bach, bestselling author of Smart Women Finish Rich. He was a top financial advisor on Wall Street and described how his stress-ridden life had become divided into “15-minute units”. One morning he arrived at the office, looked at his calendar and found he had one ‘unit’ unfilled. He went into a mild form of a panic attack. This, followed by a big ‘ah hah’ moment, changed his perspective of life and his destiny forever.

It is very easy for most of us to fill up every ‘unit’ of our day with work, commitments, emails, and now, for many, frenetic text messaging. But when and if we finally get a little break, we immediately look to fill up that space and find something else to occupy our mind.
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The Bits and Pieces of a Hoarder

At a Second Cup on the corner of King West and John streets, Carol* sits across from me at a back table in a black blazer and white blouse, her dark jeans pulling the look together in a smart-casual sort of way. She’s somewhat tentative, looking down before making eye contact, sipping on the chilled green tea before her while carefully revealing pieces of a story that many are too ashamed to tell. She flips her cellphone intermittingly, taking a call, checking the time, not wanting to be away too long from the design firm where she works as an interior designer with a penchant for simple spaces. And yet herein lies the disparity: this shipshape woman – blond hair bordering flushed cheeks and an emerald gaze, lined precisely with eyeliner, framed with dainty eyeglasses – can’t do for herself what she does for others. Her home instead is a blueprint for an underground psychopathological design: Read more

Get Real

RIVERWALK ON THE CREDIT
Walk your way into a neighbourhood designed for family and friends. Located in Streetsville in Mississauga, Riverwalk on the Credit is as close to Pleasantville as it gets. Designed by Caliber Homes, these quality townhomes situated near the banks of Credit River offer ravishing views.
www.riverwalktowns.com

ONE SHERWAY
Affordable Etobicoke living is heightened with the introduction of One Sherway. Seconds away from Sherway Gardens mall, fine dining, entertainment, highways and public transportation, One Sherway Condominiums cater to couples, bachelors and families with an appetite for urban amenities.
www.onesherway.com
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Kitchen Conundrums

Chefs need routine, and when they are taken out of their habitat (the kitchen) to an off-site location without the proper equipment to execute their dishes, it causes immediate panic. Catering is all about preparation. Sometimes caterers may be viewed as second-hand cooks when compared to restaurant chefs, but that’s certainly not the case, especially with The Food Dudes. After opening our first restaurant concept, I know now more than ever that high-level catering is just as challenging as cooking at a fine dining establishment.
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